‘Slo’ Moe, the son of Oklahoma State legend Henry Iba, was a defensive minded coach and the fans were not enthused with the style so Devaney, the AD, has brought in Danny Nee from Ohio University to bring a fast paced style to Lincoln.  He is also a terrific recruiter and has supposedly brought in a terrific group of freshmen they are calling the ‘Fab Four’ around Lincoln in response to Michigan’s highly touted five up in Ann Arbor.  Of course the hype for these kids has only went as far as the Big Red swath of influence goes to which is quite a large area of land though does not cover a huge population base.  You might not know what is going on in Lincoln but these rabid fans do though as this point it is miopic towards the football team.  There is some hope here that Nee can put a product on the court that someday can compete with the other big schools of the Big 8 though to think they are going to get anywhere near the level of gridiron greats.  That is the future and for now Nee has to see if these kids can compete with the upperclassmen for playing time as he tries to move this program forward.  One thing for sure in this conference Nee better get some of those ‘corn fed’ big men to come to Lincoln if they have any chance of competing with the monsters of the midway in the Big 8. 

Don’t get me wrong the Huskers do have some size returning as arguably their best player sophomore Dave Hoppen is a 6’11 post.  Hoppen, however, is not the most physical player on the planet as he relies on nice moves and a deft touch to score baskets in bunches.  He averaged over ten points a game as a freshman and should only get better this year as he takes guys like Tisdale and Lovelette out to the perimeter and tortures them with a deft mid-range game.  Of course they usually return favor on the opposite but leave a few more bruises.  Hoppen will start the year as the team’s power forward but just because he is 6’11 does not mean he plays like he is six eleven especially in the paint.  The fan favorite came from up the road in Omaha and is better suited playing the four especially on the defensive end as he was dominated last year by Kurland and Chamberlain when he was playing some center but in this league it won’t get much better at the four.  He does need to get stronger but for now he is the best big man the Huskers have and will be counted on as a primary offensive option though he does have trouble creating shots on his own.  Senior Bus Whitehead started a bunch of games before Hoppen took over last year and did okay and will bang but has nowhere near the athleticism or skills (or size at 6’9) to hang with the beasts in this league.  His minutes are in jeopardy if the rumors are true that Nee is recruiting as many bigs as he can to come to Lincoln to keep up with the Joneses in this league.  Still, Whitehead was a bonafide stud at one point here which now seems like a lifetime ago when the Huskers actually were competing at the top of the old Big 7. 

Starting besides Hoppen on the other post should be junior Chuck Jura.  Jura hails from the small town of Schuyler Nebraska and has some size at 6’10 but like Hoppen is a bit more finesse than mauler.  Jura can score and does help on the boards and will block a shot but his best attribute is his ability to run the court as a big man.  Jura has a nice touch as well and can handle the ball and actually plays the game more like an European than a corn fed Nebraska kid.  He took a trip to Italy in an All-Star trip a few years back and he learned some skills that have obviously stuck.  The problem here is that these are two similarly styled big men who are both better suited to play the four and the Huskers need some beef down low to bang with the aforementioned goliaths in a league known for it’s dominant big men.  Sophomore Andre Smith, on the other hand, is only 6’7 but is a much more physical presence on both ends than either Hoppen or Jura.  Smith played more than expected last year and though he is not a great board guy showed some real skill and toughness around the basket and will be in the mix though guarding a Kurland or Chamberlain is quite a lot to ask for a guy of his size.  All three of these guys are more four than five and this team needs some true fives.  Badly!  But no fear, Nee supposedly has brought in a couple of true seven footers who will compete with these two for playing time and with a new coach that usually means these new recruits will get more than a fair shot at some minutes to try and unseat at least one of these carryover big men. 

The best player on the team and for sure the most outspoken may be senior guard Stu Lantz.  Lantz is a 6’3 guard who can score, board and defend and has the skill set to be a decent point guard.  Lantz is a superb athlete who’s ability to rebound is higher level and he can also distribute the ball to his teammates.  With this team however Lantz will play the two guard and be relied upon to score and defend the other team’s best as well as be the vocal team leader which he has shown more than the capability of doing.  He will not lack for minutes as the Huskers are a bit thin on the wing.  Nee realized this right away and has supposed brought in a group of wings that are dubbed the ‘Fab Four’ (Freshmen Erick Strickland, Badgett, Jaren Boone and Wooldridge are the real ones, Piatkowski will replace Wooldridge who we mentions bails out at the last minute to Iowa perhaps) in response to the much more hyped fivesome from Ann Arbor.  Nee better hope that at least a couple of these cats work out as Lantz will be gone soon and the duo battling for the starting role next to him at the three will also be graduating.  Seniors Tom Baack and Nate Branch are about as opposite as they come playing the three.  Baack is a wily 6’5 vet who knows how to score but is not the most athletic dude in Lincoln.  Branch is!  This cat can jump to the moon and can defend but his outside shot is a bit inconsistent.  Neither one, however, is a great long range bomber and in today’s basketball you better get a few of those on your roster if you want to compete.  These two will rotate until Nee thinks his young dudes are ready which could be fairly early if the hype is anywhere near the reality.  One of these new kids is nicknamed the ‘Polish Rifle’ so you know he (Eric Piatkowski) can shoot so you can see what Nee is trying to do here. 

As far as point guard Nee has some options though none of them are going to get confused with Magic Johnson.  Seniors Grant Simmons and Jim Buchanan have traded off playing next to Lantz for three years and know their roles.  The problem is sort of like Lantz they are more combo guard than true point guard and have some issues with quicker waterbugs.  They are both solid scorers though and will platoon until Nee finds it fit to bring in one of his recruits if things start to go south.  Sophomore Jack Moore, a 5’9 nat from Muncie Indiana has the quickness and desire and is a true point guard and might be in the mix for a huge increase in minutes.  Might.  Like all of the other positions except for Hoppen and Lantz the playing time will be fluid and with Nee’s big time recruits things can change rapidly in Lincoln depending on how well this team is doing. 

There are a couple of other upperclassmen in line for some minutes in the back court and these guys can play.  Senior Claude Retherford and Herschel Turner and Juniors Jerry Fort and Marvin Stewart are a quartet of two guards that have showed they can score when getting on the court.  Retherford used to be the man here but has faded into a supporting role as more athletic players have matriculated to Lincoln. The other three are exactly those type of players but they have been stuck behind Lantz since they got to Lincoln and Iba used some unique lineups to get them on the court.  Many three guard sets or Lantz moving to the point have allowed them to play but their ability to hit shots from three point range needs to be utilized even more especially Fort who averaged over 12 points a game the second half of last season. You have to put the ball in the hoop from distance in today’s basketball and as good as Lantz is that is not his game.  Hopefully some of these freshmen are the kind of shooters this team needs.  Desperately.  Amongst many other things. 

Nobody is expecting the Huskers to jump to the top of the Big 8 this year but there is hope with a fairly pedestrian schedule (the only top 25 team they play out of conference is the aforementioned Wolverines) this team can make a move up the totem pole at least as far as wins and losses. How high will this team go?  Getting out of the basement is the first step and that will be no easy task.  This might not even be the year they do that as they are in a bit of a rebuilding mode (perpetually?).  Well those freshmen will have a huge impact but one thing for sure under Nee the offense will almost for sure be more exciting than it has been in the past.  The defense however might have some struggles!  Of course if you wander over to the small town of Gatlin you might get some help from the kids in the corn!