Nebraska Team Report

GETTING INSIDE

No basketball team in the Big 12, or perhaps anywhere on the Division I landscape, will look as different as Nebraska.

After fielding the smallest lineup in the country last season, the Huskers will be far taller, although fourth-year coach Doc Sadler insists height doesn’t necessarily equate into minutes.

“Just because you’re tall doesn’t mean you should get minutes if you don’t play as hard as the guys beside you,” Sadler said. “That’s not ever going to change with me.”

The demands Sadler maintains weren’t met by all the Huskers during an 18-13 run last season, which included an 8-8 mark in the Big 12 and earned the team a berth in the NIT, where it lost in the first round to New Mexico.

Nebraska was consistently bothered by long scoring droughts, which contributed to the second-lowest average for points (64.5 per game) in the Big 12.

The Huskers sometimes accommodated for the problem with the league’s best scoring defense (60.4), but Sadler would prefer the Huskers pose a greater offensive threat.

“We got tired (last season), but I don’t think that will be a problem,” he said. “I also think we’ll be able to score better on the low post and that always helps open things up.”

The difficulties last season could be attributed to using a lineup that often didn’t include anyone taller than 6-4. That adjustment was difficult at times after the Huskers relied on All-Big 12 center Aleks Maric for consistent inside production the year before.

Still, the 8-8 league finish continued a series of one-game improvements under Sadler, with the Huskers going 6-10 in his first season and 7-8 the next year.

With an off-season knee injury keeping center Christopher Niemann out for the season, the Huskers will position 6-11 redshirt freshman Brian Diaz on the low block along with 6-8 junior college transfer Quincy Hankins-Cole.

Experience exists along the perimeter, though seniors Ryan Anderson and Sek Henry, as well as sophomore Brandon Richardson, must develop consistency. Henry is the only returning starter and also the top returning scorer after averaging 6.7 points.

NOTES, QUOTES

• F Christian Standhardinger must miss the first 15 games as part of an NCAA ruling stemming from his participation for a club team in his native Germany. The NCAA did, however, allow Nebraska to exceed the 13-scholarship limit by one to create room for the 6-8 Standhardinger. The waiver was allowed because the NCAA supplied Nebraska with incorrect information after recently changing the grading scale for evaluating transcripts from German students. Standhardinger, the fourth international player to sign with Nebraska under coach Doc Sadler, averaged 22.7 points and 8.3 rebounds for his German club team.

• Rather than conduct a midnight function to begin practice, Nebraska did something more sensible by trying to capitalize on the following in town for an Oct. 17 football game. A makeshift court was placed at the Nebraska track complex and the team greeted fans, with questions answered by veterans Ryan Anderson and Sek Henry, as well as Sadler.

Last Year:   18-13 overall, 8-8 in the Big 12, lost in the first round of the NIT.

Head Coach:   Doc Sadler (career 233-97); fourth year at Nebraska (55-40).

Quote To Note:   “We’ve been an OK team before Big 12 play starts, but once we’ve gotten into the Big 12, the stakes are bigger, the players are bigger and our size becomes an issue. Over a 30-game schedule we would break down. With the way it is now with our size, hopefully we’ll be better once we get into those Big 12 games.”—Nebraska coach Doc Sadler.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Scouting The Newcomers:   Putting some height on the floor will be a welcome relief for Nebraska after mismatches led to the worst rebounding margin (minus-6.6) in the Big 12 last season. “Doc’s Dwarfs,” an affectionate label for the group coach Doc Sadler assembled, will give way to some potentially strong frontliners. The biggest impact could come from C Brian Diaz, who encountered eligibility issues last season and was forced to redshirt, though the move enabled him to pad some muscle on his 6-11 frame. G Lance Jeter will attempt to fit in at the point with a bulky frame that could suit him well in the rugged Big 12 as long as he’s in shape.

Key Early-season Games:   Nebraska coach Doc Sadler would prefer not to play five nonconference games away from home. “That’s not good for inexperienced team,” he said. Still, the schedule is what it is, and includes a trip to the Las Vegas Classic, where the Huskers play Tulsa and either BYU or Nevada right before Christmas. Oregon State is the biggest name among opponents Nebraska plays at home.

Program Direction:   Few coaches in the Big 12 get as much out of limited talent as Doc Sadler achieved in his first three seasons with Nebraska. Scratching out an 8-8 league record and an eighth-place finish a year ago was better than anyone expected from a lineup that often consisted of no one taller than 6-4. Attracting better recruits to a football school is an issue Sadler must solve, though the talent level at Nebraska is slowly beginning to improve.

Probable Starting Lineup:   F Quincy Hankins-Cole, C Brian Diaz, G Ryan Anderson, G Sek Henry, G Toney McCray.

Roster Report:  

• G Toney McCray was cleared for full participation once practice began after suffering a detached elbow ligament in a September pickup game. McCray wore a brace to limit his upper-body mobility during conditioning workouts.

• C Christopher Niemann will miss the season because of a knee injury.

• G Lance Jeter shed 20 pounds between the time he arrived at Nebraska and the start of practice. The 6-3 junior was down to 220 and expected to be even lighter by the start of the season.

• G Myles Holley must cope with sore legs, the result of two major knee surgeries in the past.