NU Hoops Blog -- April 2010

Posted by: Jerry Trickie
April 22, 2010, at 11:32 a.m.

Thinking Ahead... and Back
It's been a couple weeks now since the end-of-season banquet for the team and I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I'm actually ready for next season to get started.

I know, I know. I'm crazy. My wife tells me all the time.

Baseball just got going (is this really the year for my Cubs?? Don't answer that. It was rhetorical), and the NFL Draft is tonight, the NBA Playoffs are rolling (sorry to intern Brandon, whose Bulls are not going out the way he hoped) and then next thing you know, it'll be football season. Not just the NFL, but Husker football season, and everyone loves that.

But I love college hoops. It's equally my favorite sport with college football, and I actually can't get enough hoops.

So I'm ready to get it started. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen, so I'll have to use my time to inform you on other goings-on around the hoops program, and other general items you might enjoy.

• Everyone already heard that the team is going to Puerto Rico in November. The Puerto Rico Tipoff will include Nebraska along with West Virginia, North Carolina, Vanderbilt -- that's three teams that could easily be in the top 20 to start the year -- as well as Minnesota, Davidson, Hofstra and Western Kentucky. We won't have the pairings for games until probably in July, but here is a PDF if you want some information on tickets and travel packages to San Juan to come down and join us. The tournament has travel packages and there are good prices for tickets. And I'm sure we have a big guy on the team who we can some good opinions on where to get awesome local food (in case you didn't realize, Jorge Brian Diaz's hometown of Caguas is less than an hour away from San Juan and he's said we'll have a pretty good sized rooting section there anyway, so come join us). We'll have more as the summer goes on about the tournament.
• I haven't written anything here since before signing day, which was a good day for the Huskers. Adding a first-team JUCO All-American moves the program in the right direction and adding a veteran BCS point guard will only make the team better. Welcome to Caleb Walker and Kamyron Brown.
• Here's a quick pic of Caleb (sent via Twitter) talking about signing with the Huskers. When I met him, I was thinking a combo of Ade Dagunduro and Marcus Perry in terms of physical size and build. Those are two good JUCO players I hope he can follow.
• If you didn't catch today's Lincoln Journal Star, check out the article on Toney McCray and his return to the court. He's worked hard all winter and is in great spirits. When I talked with him before he did this interview, he was chomping at the bit to start playing again. He looks a little bigger too, although some of that is probably offseason weight from not playing in so long. He said he's always been easy to get back in playing shape and looks forward to the fall, even if they Doc has another intense preseason week like before Toney's redshirt freshman year.
• Toney also mentioned to me he'd like to play at about 215 or 220, but you have to remember, that's the weight in the fall. Just playing so hard and so often, most players loose eight to 10 pounds during the year (or so it seems; I haven't fact-checked this, just going by my memory). I personally think he'd be fine at that weight and could be more effective too. No matter the weight, it'll be good to have him back on the court. And Christopher Niemann too. He's had a tough go with the two ACL injuries, but he's a bright, strong-willed kid and I believe he will be a big boost for the team. Again, when does the season start? Not soon enough for me.
• Here's a cool season video from Aleks Maric's team in Serbia. They start the Euroleague Final Four on May 7 (sorry, I said before it was April 7... I was wrong), and they've had a great year. I was really surprised, even though I shouldn't be, about the crowds at some of the games. Seemed like an amazing atmosphere.
• If you have kids and haven't checked out Doc's summer camps and clinics, here is the link to info. Register online and enjoy.

Until next time, thanks again for checking in again at NU Hoops Blog. Don't forget that you can email us at NUhoopsblog@hotmail.com or tweet us at www.twitter.com/nuhoopsblog with your questions and comments.

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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
April 7, 2010, at 1:22 p.m.

Catching Up
As I've said before, in the offseason I may only post on here once a week and sometimes maybe not for a couple weeks at a time. I'll just keep a list of things that might be interesting to you and pile them all together. Today will be the first one, although a little shorter version. So let's get started:

• Many of you are probably already aware, but tonight is the final appearance of the 2009-10 Nebraska men's basketball team in public. The Huskers will hold their end-of-year awards banquet at the Lincoln Train Station and will salute the senior class of Ryan Anderson, Sek Henry, Ben Nelson and Chris Balham. Congrats to all of them. Check Huskers.com later tonight for a full story and announcement of the award winners.
• Tonight we'll see another tremendous video put together by the basketball team's HuskerVision specialist, Brad Colee. His highlight videos are awesome and I'm sure this year will be the same. We'll try to get it linked here in the next couple days for those of you who can't make it tonight.
• Speaking of Brad, he put together his Top 10 Moments for the 2009-10 season in a video highlight. His is a good list, although I'm sure everyone has their opinion as to what else could have made it. For example, I would have considered adding the end of the game at No. 7 Kansas State, where Nebraska trimmed a nine-point deficit in less than 20 seconds to tie the score during the final minute of the game. Do you have any other highlights that might have made it? Email us at NUhoopsblog@hotmail.com with your choices for other additions that could have made it and we'll list them here for debate. Include your name and favorite play.
• For those of you who are stat junkies like myself, here is a link to the final Nebraska quick notes and stats, along with another link to the final NCAA stats for this season. Study away.
• And lastly, as I mentioned last week, former Husker Aleks Maric is playing in the Euroleague Final Four this week with his Belgrade Partizan team. Aleks has had a great season and is up for All-Euroeague and league MVP honors. You can help him with the fan vote by logging on here and voting for Big Al.
• I'm sure many of you saw the article in today's Lincoln Journal Star about the demolition going on at the State Fairgrounds around the Devaney Center. It's pretty amazing. I ran over on Tuesday to talk with the coaches and was blown away by how fast they're starting to tear things down. Progress is starting and it's exciting for the campus and for the athletic department. Now I can't wait for the practice facility to get into full swing here in a couple months.

Thanks again for checking in again at NU Hoops Blog. Don't forget that you can email us at NUhoopsblog@hotmail.com or tweet us at www.twitter.com/nuhoopsblog with your questions and comments.

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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
April 1, 2010, at 4:53 p.m.

Big Man Making Big Waves
A little congrats go out to former Husker center Aleks Maric, who continues to impress this year in his first season with Partizan Belgrade. Playing in the Euroleague championships, Aleks helped his team defeat Macabi Tel Aviv on Thursday, 76-67, as Partizan advanced to the Euroleague Final Four for the first time since 1998.

Aleks had nine points and five rebounds for Partizan today. He hit 9-of-14 shots from the free throw line to finish third on the team in scoring. On the season, including the Euroleague Top 16 playoffs, he is averaging about 13 points and eight rebounds per game while shooting better than 63 percent from the field.

Aleks has gained a lot of attention this season, not only by fans but by pro scouts. Aleks' teammate Jan Vesely is projected by many to be a top-15 selection in this year's NBA Draft. Draftexpress.com lists Vesely as going 11th to the Chicago Bulls.

Keep track of Aleks and his team on the Euroleague web site as they prepare for the semifinal showdown with Olympiacos in Paris on April 7. Good luck big guy. 

Thanks again for checking in again at NU Hoops Blog. Don't forget that you can email us at NUhoopsblog@hotmail.com or tweet us at www.twitter.com/nuhoopsblog with your questions and comments.

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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
April 1, 2010, at 1:05 p.m.

No Fooling
While there are plenty of jokes going around for April Fools Day, many of which are playing out nicely with staff around here, I thought I'd be nice and make a little post to start the month off on the right foot, without any kidding.

The reason: the National Junior College Athletic Association announced it's All-America teams this week and a Husker signee is on the list. Pretty cool stuff.

Andre Almeida, a 6-10, 315-pound Brazilian who played the last two years at Arizona Western College, was named to the third team. He had a strong season going with about 14 points, eight rebuonds and four blocks per game before sitting out the final few weeks of the season after having his appendix removed.

Last year, Nebraska signed Lance Jeter, who went on to start every game for the Huskers in 2009-10, after he was named to the honorable-mention All-America squad.

Andre signed with the Huskers back in November 2009 during the early signing period. For the full list of the NJCAA All-Americans, check here.

Thanks again for checking in again at NU Hoops Blog. Don't forget that you can email us at NUhoopsblog@hotmail.com or tweet us at www.twitter.com/nuhoopsblog with your questions and comments.

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