Nebraska...not feeling Frosty anymore

[entropy]

btw... the guy at CBS who wrote the story about Bo's comments...

Here's the author's twitter description:

Jerry Hinnen. @JerryHinnen. CBSSports.com college football blogger, Auburn fan and occasional contributor at The War Eagle Reader

[entropy]

Things I know and think I know:

Please bear with me for a moment.

You often hear coaches say they want their players to trust the "process." Fans and media sometimes grow tired of hearing the word. It's coach-speak. We're generally more interested in the bottom line. But "process" means a lot to most coaches.

What does it mean to Tim Miles?

I asked him Saturday because we're still getting a feel for the first-year Nebraska men's basketball coach.

"It's a dependable, discernible style of play," he said. "It's this is the way we play, OK? We take pride in how we do it, OK? It's work ethic, competitiveness, intensity. It's just having pride in the process."

Scoff if you will. But you wouldn't scoff if you saw Miles angrily get in his players' faces during a timeout late in the first half of Saturday's home victory against Northwestern. He barked at one player, then another, then another, in rapid-fire succession. The crowd roared its approval, apparently appreciative of his fire.

Miles was burning hot because he said he saw his players "losing focus on the details of our game plan." Intensity waned. Defenders simply can't lose focus against Northwestern's patient Princeton-style offense, he said. The Wildcats feast on teams that forget about discipline, even temporarily. He saw his team surrender a clean back cut. In a three-possession span, he saw the Wildcats grab two offensive rebounds.

He had seen enough, hence the timeout.

Miles is interesting. His sense of humor and upbeat nature are endearing traits. But his infectious smile and quick wit belie a razor-sharp edge. He's a killer, in a sporting sense. His abundant energy and toughness should give Nebraska fans hope he can pull the program from a malaise that has dragged on for a decade-plus.

As for the process. …

"It has to mean something to a player to miss that block out," Miles said. "It has to mean something to be the first one on the floor diving for a loose ball. It has to mean something to turn it over and they run their offense off of our offense.

"I want to see that it's important to our guys. All those things do matter."

For now, in the infant stages of Miles' tenure, establishing his "process" is arguably more important than wins and losses. Bottom line, Miles inherited a roster with severe limitations. He had six scholarship players available Saturday. Six!

"We're not on a level playing field with what we're trying to do," he said.

For example: "We don't have a playmaking guard who gets anybody a good look (against man-to-man defense)," he said.

Considering its shortcomings, Nebraska (11-10, 2-6 Big Ten) generally has held up well this season, especially considering the strength of the conference.

"You can have a losing season, but that doesn't mean you're a loser," Miles said. "You can have a rough stretch. But that doesn't have to define you. How you react to that adverse situation, or that adverse season, is more important to me."

It is for now, at least. That said, if you've been around Miles at all, you know wins and losses matter greatly to him. All you had to do was watch him light up that first-half huddle.

* Nebraska football coach Bo Pelini hears flak from some folks who think he should designate seasonlong team captains in August. He won't hear that opinion from Husker baseball coach Darin Erstad.

Erstad doesn't designate captains for his squad. Get this: He said Friday he has "no clue" who were the captains when he was the starting punter for Nebraska's 1994 national championship team.

"But you always knew who the guys were who spoke up and supported you, that were in your corner," he said. "I mean, one guy was (cornerback) Tyrone Williams. Who would've thought him? He was one guy that always would come and pat me on the back. (I-back) Lawrence Phillips was another guy who would always come over and talk to the punters.

"Were they considered the captains of the team? No."

It becomes a philosophical discussion.

"I think if you start designating captains, other players say, 'Well, I don't have to do anything,' and they stop their growth and development," Erstad said.

Makes sense. Pelini would agree.

* According to Erstad, Indiana probably has the most talented baseball team in the Big Ten, and Minnesota has two left-handed pitchers who are potentially first-round draft picks. Wow. Shows you how much I don't know about Big Ten baseball. Erstad, with his unyielding energy and enthusiasm, has a way of sparking interest.

* When he called Nebraska coaches to say he was reneging on his verbal commitment, wide receiver Dominic Walker of Orlando, Fla., said Pelini told him, "Best of luck, you're going to need it." If Pelini did say that, should we be offended? My take: It's recruiting, where geniality takes a back seat. Bo doesn't need to be Henry Kissinger this time of year. No harm, no foul.

Signing Day (Feb. 6) can't arrive soon enough.

Reach Steven M. Sipple at 402-473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.

[entropy]

after they found out he was visting....


from another poster:

He lied to our staff about taking the visit to Auburn. Once he did, we went in home right away on monday and told him very bluntly that we did not appreciate being lied to and if he wanted to go elsewhere, just say so. He said he was very sorry, his friend talked him into going anyway and he was 100% solid to NU again and would call and tell Auburn's staff that he was done with recruiting.

The next night, he lets Auburn coaches into his home anyway and then started tweeting about needing to decide where to go.

The next morning, we got ahold of him and told him we were done recruiting him and were moving on, and good luck.

updated based upon more recent information.. We won't know the exact details, but I think this is the right sequence/direction it went

[Rocky Bleier]

But you can't really complain about someone flipping your recruits when you do the same. I'll be pissed if Saban flips our recruit, Poggi, but we've poached a few ourselves this season. Can't play by the old rules, if they ever existed, when other teams hire vipers to run their programs.

[entropy]

rocky... maybe I wasn't clear. i hate the sec. I think they're dirty, have different rules than everyone else and feel the NCAA is a fraud because they've allowed this to continue (even things they know like over signing).

[entropy]

also.. each year, UNL seems to lose a recruit late to an SEC school, or a place like Oregon... schools that had no interest until the very end and those kids suddenly had a change in heart. months of relationships gone with one visit.. and I'm not talking about the kid who grew up in bama and dreamed of playing for the tigers.


I know kids flip. they're 18.. and this is a big decision. just be honest with the coaches. that said, you'll have to understand, I do believe things are not above the board when it comes to the SEC this late in the game.

[Rocky Bleier]

Things are not above board in the SEC? Is there a correlation between that statement and osu's hiring of Urban Liar?

[Wild Hoss]

First off...who is the chick in the avatar pic Rocky? My God.

Second...apparently Suh saved comedian Louie Anderson from drowning today while filming their ridiculous reality show. Another mark on his already checkered record? You decide.

[Mike]

Second...apparently Suh saved comedian Louie Anderson from drowning today while filming their ridiculous reality show. Another mark on his already checkered record? You decide.

LOOOL! That really made me laugh.

[entropy]

Hoss...lol

[entropy]

Heard is leaving the program. UNL messed up on this one n

[THE_WIZARD_]

Damn. I thought he was our most versatile back too. WTF is going on?

[Wild Hoss]

He sabotaged us with McWilson as well.

[Wild Hoss]

Every Top 100 player Bo has recruited, save Baker Steinkuhler, has left the program.

[Rocky Bleier]

First off...who is the chick in the avatar pic Rocky? My God.

Second...apparently Suh saved comedian Louie Anderson from drowning today while filming their ridiculous reality show. Another mark on his already checkered record? You decide.

Roselyn Sanchez. YouTube her. She likes bananas.