Nebraska...not feeling Frosty anymore

[entropy]

Iowa City, Iowa - The No. 11 Nebraska men's gymnastics team finished in second place at their Big Ten opener in Iowa City, posting a team score of 336.500 on Saturday night. The No. 6 Minnesota Golden Gophers took first place on the night (340.000), while the No. 12 Iowa Hawkeyes finished in third (334.500). *

[entropy]

Best article I have seen on Nebraska Basketball...

http://sports.omaha.com/2012/02/11/blurred-vision-the-future-of-nebraska-basketball/

Worth the read..

[entropy]

And I agree with the article. Unless you have a plan and commitment, a new coach won't change things. Frankly, I don't know if Nebraska fans care enough about basketball.

[Wild Hoss]

I would say that the fans care enough now, for a couple reasons.

First, the program has fallen from decent under Nee to "meh" under Collier to downright bad under Sadler. Nee lost plenty of games in his own right, but he had the talent and style of play to provide hope. On the right night, they could beat anybody. Collier generally kept things competitive, even though he didn?t get the signature wins to stay afloat. Sadler fields a boring, shitty team with no talent that gets whacked by mediocre teams. Its too much to pass off between football seasons anymore.

Second; he Big Ten. Everyone views it as a move into the high-rent district, so this 1980s view of BB as an afterthought is passe. Its not enough just keep the lawn mowed while the paint peels and the siding rots. There is no excuse for money anymore either, if there ever was one.

Third: Creighton. The Jays are humiliating the "flagship" university, and its gotten so bad that the alumni are well and truly starting to bitch.

The sad part is that its taking so long and so much embarrassment for this discussion to begin taking place in earnest. Failure in leadership has us two years behind where we should be in rectifying this situation. The Athletic Director is paid to LEAD, not hide behind the ramparts until the townsfolk threaten revolt. Osborne is years behind the curve that?s been building.

[lineygoblue]

I think if Nebraska plays it smart, they can build a very good program in the B1G. Players who really want to play for a B1G school, who can't get the attention of the MSU's and Indianas, can probably be snapped up by the Huskers. Lots of kids like to come back to their home states and show the home teams what they passed up on.

Also, it probably wouldn't hurt for the Huskers to develop more of a national recruiting strategy for basketball. If they can get the top women's volleyball players to come to Lincoln to play volleyball, they can attract top players for the mens basketball program as well.

[Wild Hoss]

First thing we need to do is quit hiring coaches out of the bargain bin. Open the checkbook and hire a good, proven coach and assistants with recruiting connections. If that entails overpaying- and it will- then so be it. Its the price for decades of neglect.

[The Oracle]

I think if Nebraska plays it smart, they can build a very good program in the B1G. Players who really want to play for a B1G school, who can't get the attention of the MSU's and Indianas, can probably be snapped up by the Huskers. Lots of kids like to come back to their home states and show the home teams what they passed up on.

Also, it probably wouldn't hurt for the Huskers to develop more of a national recruiting strategy for basketball. If they can get the top women's volleyball players to come to Lincoln to play volleyball, they can attract top players for the mens basketball program as well.

Uh, I don't think that's even close to reality. Two totally different profile of the targeted athletes. The reasons for women's volleyball players aren't going to be the same as top men's basketball players to go to Lincoln, Nebraska.

[Hannibal]

I would say that the fans care enough now, for a couple reasons.

First, the program has fallen from decent under Nee to "meh" under Collier to downright bad under Sadler. Nee lost plenty of games in his own right, but he had the talent and style of play to provide hope. On the right night, they could beat anybody. Collier generally kept things competitive, even though he didn?t get the signature wins to stay afloat. Sadler fields a boring, shitty team with no talent that gets whacked by mediocre teams. Its too much to pass off between football seasons anymore.

Second; he Big Ten. Everyone views it as a move into the high-rent district, so this 1980s view of BB as an afterthought is passe. Its not enough just keep the lawn mowed while the paint peels and the siding rots. There is no excuse for money anymore either, if there ever was one.

Third: Creighton. The Jays are humiliating the "flagship" university, and its gotten so bad that the alumni are well and truly starting to bitch.

The sad part is that its taking so long and so much embarrassment for this discussion to begin taking place in earnest. Failure in leadership has us two years behind where we should be in rectifying this situation. The Athletic Director is paid to LEAD, not hide behind the ramparts until the townsfolk threaten revolt. Osborne is years behind the curve that?s been building.

Sounds like Michigan in around 2007.

[entropy]

DeZiel Collects Fifth Straight Big Ten Honor
Lincoln, Neb. - True freshman Jessie DeZiel continued her impressive streak of Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards on Monday, collecting her record fifth straight honor. DeZiel was honored after her performance in the Huskers' victory over No. 20 Washington, No. 22 Michigan and Southern Utah at the Masters Classic on Saturday, Feb. 11. Penn State's Sharaya Musser won Big Ten Gymnast of the Week for the second consecutive week.

[entropy]

Oracle.. Agree. Also UNL has spent years building HS volleyball in Nebraska. When schools like Stanford and Cal recruit Nebraska, there is talent. Heck, last year, ISU had 3 starters from Nebraska alone.

Nebraska does recruit around the country and in Canada, but Nebraska kids are a big part of the program. Same with Husker women's basketball. Men's, not so much.

[lineygoblue]

I still think Nebraska can be more than a bottom feeder in mens basketball in the B1G.

[The Oracle]

I'm thinking penny statish, tops.

[entropy]

http://sports.omaha.com/2012/02/13/recruiting-the-race-to-2013-begins/

[entropy]

Sipple

Coaches everywhere advocate the importance of building a "winning culture," and perhaps you just know it when you feel it.

Here's a dose of winning culture for you. As Will Bolt speaks, you might be amazed how much he sounds and even looks like Dave Van Horn. It's a little scary, really -- and just what Nebraska first-year baseball coach Darin Erstad wanted for his staff.

Erstad, a volunteer assistant last season at NU, noticed the Huskers often were competitive until about the sixth inning, "then the wheels would fall off," he said. After three straight subpar seasons, Erstad and his staff need to teach the players how to win.

Enter Van Horn, er, Bolt.

Bolt played for Van Horn. Ran through walls for him. From 1998-2002, Van Horn took Nebraska from the dungeon of the Big 12 to back-to-back College World Series appearances (2001, 2002). Bolt was a captain on those teams, and he's now an associate head coach under Erstad.

Van Horn's idea of a winning culture rubbed off on Bolt, a scrappy infielder. From the start, Van Horn and his staff talked about winning championships at Nebraska -- never mind the Huskers hadn't even qualified for the NCAA Tournament since 1985.

"They had a very confident air about them," Bolt said.

Bolt was a freshman at Nebraska in 1999. The Huskers had especially strong leaders in Justin Cowan and Brian Johnson. They made sure teammates always were ready to practice, Bolt said. Van Horn wanted a squad that essentially would treat every practice as if it were the last.

"Then, you win a couple times and you start to like the feeling of it," Bolt said. "You're like, 'OK, this is what they're always talking about.'"

Perhaps Nebraska will experience such an epiphany this weekend, when it plays Gonzaga in a three-game series beginning Friday in Peoria, Ariz. The Zags are picked to finish second in the West Coast Conference.

No matter what happens this weekend, Erstad always will ask his players to practice at game speed. Sounds easy enough. But fatigue becomes an issue, and life is full of distractions. The best players put aside the external factors, Bolt said.

"If you work hard and compete (in practice), and develop some mental toughness, you're going to win some games," he said. "We preach to the guys, 'This is your national championship day. How are you going to prepare for it? How would you respond if you had to play for a national championship today?'

"Then, when you turn on the lights and put the chalk on the field, you're not really changing anything."

Team leaders are emerging, Bolt said. He mentions senior outfielder Kale Kiser, who came to Nebraska to play in NCAA Tournaments. Kiser isn't much of a rah-rah guy. But teammates notice how diligently he goes about his business.

"I think you also have to have a few guys who, when things aren't going the way they need to be going, step up and say, 'Hey, let's get it going,'" Bolt said.

He was that guy for Nebraska.

Does NU have that now?

"We're still searching for it a little bit," Bolt said. "You don't necessarily have to have that. But it certainly helps to have those guys that say, 'Hey, this is what the coaches expect, and this is what we need to do.'

"You have to remember we're a new coaching staff, and the players are still getting used to us as well."

Erstad and Bolt have similar personalities -- they're intense and get to the point quickly. They also have a similar approach to the game.

"I remember sitting down in his office (last June) and him saying, 'OK, tell me a little bit of your philosophy on base running and hitting,'" Bolt said. "A couple times after I spoke, he said, 'I was just getting ready to say the same thing ...'"

Bolt coaches infielders, including true freshman Pat Kelly, who is expected to start at shortstop. A native of Red Wing, Minn., Kelly is a "high-energy guy" with a strong arm, Bolt said. Kelly possesses another trait that's even more important to Bolt.

"He comes to work every day ready to go," Bolt said. "That's the blue-collar mentality we want."

[entropy]

NU baseball picked 4th in Big Ten

Posted by: Steve Sipple on February 15, 2012 at 10:42AM CST


Big Ten coaches have picked Nebraska to finish fourth in the 11-team league (Wisconsin doesn't play baseball).

Three Husker juniors were named to the "Players to Watch" list: right-handed pitcher Travis Huber, right-handed pitcher Tom Lemke and first baseman/designated hitter Kash Kalkowski.

After winning a share of the Big Ten title last season for the first time since 1979, Michigan State was picked by the coaches as the league favorite. The Spartans were followed by Purdue, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State and Illinois. Only the top six were released by the league office.

Nebraska will learn plenty about itself Friday, when it begins a three-game series against Gonzaga in Peoria, Ariz. The Zags are picked to finish second in the West Coast Conference.

Side note: I came across Darin Erstad on Wednesday morning at Haymarket Park. Let's just say the guy was in game mode. This is going to be fun.

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I think UNL will finish higher