SIGNED 2019 PF Kevin Cross

[HS_Coach_C]

 

 

[HS_Coach_C]

 

[HS_Coach_C]

 

One spot left, two if (when) Roby gets drafted.

[SouthLincoln Husker]

I like this kid.   Handles the ball really well for a big guy.

[BIG ERN]

Has more of a Georges Niang game than someone who is gonna bang down low 

[ColoradoHusk]

6'8"-9" guys are gonna be the biggest guys that Hoiberg is going to recruit.  That will be fine against most schools.  NU might play a handful of teams that feature near 7-footers.

[BigRedBuster]

21 minutes ago, ColoradoHusk said:

6'8"-9" guys are gonna be the biggest guys that Hoiberg is going to recruit.  That will be fine against most schools.  NU might play a handful of teams that feature near 7-footers.

I don't think that's the tallest guy he will ever recruit.  I think he realizes those are much more plentiful.  If a good 7'er is interested, he will go after him.

[ColoradoHusk]

39 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

I don't think that's the tallest guy he will ever recruit.  I think he realizes those are much more plentiful.  If a good 7'er is interested, he will go after him.

Yes, there will always be outliers, but don't expect the roster to have one or two 7-footers each year.  I just keep on seeing a lot of posts about "needing more size".  I would rather have 6'8" who are strong, quick, and versatile, than a 6'11" stiff.

[BigRedBuster]

22 minutes ago, ColoradoHusk said:

Yes, there will always be outliers, but don't expect the roster to have one or two 7-footers each year.  I just keep on seeing a lot of posts about "needing more size".  I would rather have 6'8" who are strong, quick, and versatile, than a 6'11" stiff.

When those comments were being made, we did need more size.  We had mostly shorter than 6'8" and the ones who were taller, were light and thin.  Now, we at least have some bulk.  But, we are still going to possibly struggle in the Big 10 against some teams without at least a 6'10" or 6'11" guy in the middle.  And....yes....obviously they can't be stiffs.  Just because that's what Nebraska has typically had, doesn't mean that's what people claim we should have in the future.

We need size and athleticism.  

[ECisGod]

1 hour ago, ColoradoHusk said:

Yes, there will always be outliers, but don't expect the roster to have one or two 7-footers each year.  I just keep on seeing a lot of posts about "needing more size".  I would rather have 6'8" who are strong, quick, and versatile, than a 6'11" stiff.

I was one who was looking for more size, but at the time we had Roby who's probably gone, Kavas who is too thin to guard in the post & Banton who has to sit this year (and is too thin to guard the post) and everyone else was 6' 6"  or shorter & under 210 lbs.  With Ouedraogo & Cross I'm good if we don't get another player this year - they provide the size that the team needs.

[SouthLincoln Husker]

1 minute ago, ECisGod said:

I was one who was looking for more size, but at the time we had Roby who's probably gone, Kavas who is too thin to guard in the post & Banton who has to sit this year (and is too thin to guard the post) and everyone else was 6' 6"  or shorter & under 210 lbs.  With Ouedraogo & Cross I'm good if we don't get another player this year - they provide the size that the team needs.

It still would be nice to get a grad transfer that had some size, as our 2 big guys will be freshman.

[Atbone95]

4 hours ago, ColoradoHusk said:

6'8"-9" guys are gonna be the biggest guys that Hoiberg is going to recruit.  That will be fine against most schools.  NU might play a handful of teams that feature near 7-footers.

A handful = nearly every school in the B1G?

[ECisGod]

20 minutes ago, Atbone95 said:

A handful = nearly every school in the B1G?

There were 26 combined players in the B1G that were 6' 10" or taller last year.  Several were seniors and most of the returning ones played very little.  Ohio State & Penn State didn't have anyone over 6' 9".  Other than inexperience, I think we will be OK in the post on both ends of the court.

[ColoradoHusk]

54 minutes ago, ECisGod said:

There were 26 combined players in the B1G that were 6' 10" or taller last year.  Several were seniors and most of the returning ones played very little.  Ohio State & Penn State didn't have anyone over 6' 9".  Other than inexperience, I think we will be OK in the post on both ends of the court.

Taking this review a little deeper, I looked at the B1G rosters and tried to identify the "effective big men" who were 6'10" or taller.  This is from 2018-19, but it should be reflective of the general "size" in the Big Ten.  These are the effective big men I found:

 

Iowa -- Luke Garza

Maryland -- Bruno Fernando and Jalen Smith

Michigan -- John Teske

Minnesota -- Daniel Oturu

Ohio State -- Kaleb Wesson (technically only 6'9", but at 270 lbs, I am calling him big enough)

Purdue -- Matt Haarms and Trevion Williams

Rutgers -- Shaq Doorson and Myles Johnson (calling these two "effective" may be stretches)

Wisconsin -- Ethan Happ

 

So, I found that just over half of the Big Ten teams have big men who are any good at all.  They may give a smaller, Hoiberg roster trouble when NU is on defense, but I think with NU's pace and space style of Hoiberg's offense, it could more than make up for points given up on the other end.  I think when people think "Big Ten" basketball, there is the reputation of every roster carrying 2-3 quality near-7-footers who can dominate inside.  I think we have shown that in reality, NU won't be a supremely "undersized" as we think, especially in a couple years when the young guys are able to gain size and other transfers come in who are 21-22 years old (with man bodies) and are 6'7"-6'9" tall.

 

EDIT:  Added Purdue's big guys because I forgot to check their roster.

[BigRedBuster]

9 minutes ago, ColoradoHusk said:

Taking this review a little deeper, I looked at the B1G rosters and tried to identify the "effective big men" who were 6'10" or taller.  This is from 2018-19, but it should be reflective of the general "size" in the Big Ten.  These are the effective big men I found:

 

Iowa -- Luke Garza

Maryland -- Bruno Fernando and Jalen Smith

Michigan -- John Teske

Minnesota -- Daniel Oturu

Ohio State -- Kaleb Wesson (technically only 6'9", but at 270 lbs, I am calling him big enough)

Rutgers -- Shaq Doorson and Myles Johnson (calling these two "effective" may be stretches)

Wisconsin -- Ethan Happ

 

So, I found that half of the Big Ten teams have big men who are any good at all.  They may give a smaller, Hoiberg roster trouble when NU is on defense, but I think with NU's pace and space style of Hoiberg's offense, it could more than make up for points given up on the other end.  I think when people think "Big Ten" basketball, there is the reputation of every roster carrying 2-3 quality near-7-footers who can dominate inside.  I think we have shown that in reality, NU won't be a supremely "undersized" as we think, especially in a couple years when the young guys are able to gain size and other transfers come in who are 21-22 years old (with man bodies) and are 6'7"-6'9" tall.

 

I'm surprised you don't think Purdue's big guys were "effective big men".