Northern Kentucky Scouting Thread

[huskerbaseball13]

Thought I would get this started.  NKU did not have a great year last year going 9-21(5-13).  But, they return every starter and it's a team that almost beat Purdue the first game of the year last year losing 77-76.  And we know going to Purdue is not the easiest task in the world.  Jordan Jackson appears to be their go to player and he put up 24 PTS and 8 boards that game.  They got smoked vs Kentucky last year losing 93-63 but only lost by 15 in Chapel Hill while be doing 5 at half.  With them returning every starter this game could prove to be more difficult than I first thought. But, as long as we show up we should still win by double digits.  NKU is predicted to finish 5th in the Atlantic Sun this year.   

[Norm Peterson]

http://board.huskerhoopscentral.com/topic/5789-nine-weeks-from-yesterday/

 

Rather than retyping a summary, I'll just cut and paste:

 

Northern Kentucky.

 

OK, from the files of "Norm Can't Wait," I bring you ...

 

Nickname: "The Norse."  (An interesting mascot for a school located south of the Mason-Dixon line.)

 

Head Coach:  He's been there 10 years.  You won't recognize his name but it's Dave Bezold, for what it's worth.

 

Fun Fact:  NKU is in their 3rd season transitioning to D1.

 

Last year:  9-21.  They lost by 1 point at Purdue in their first game of the season and lost by 4 at Florida Gulf Coast early in the year before getting trounced by 20 against FGCU in their last game of the season.  Their biggest win came in OT at Tulane where they prevailed 91-86.

 

The good news (for them):  They return their starting lineup basically intact, including a pair of guards who both scored in double figures a year ago.

 

The not-so-good news:  Their tallest player is 6'7"; their tallest starter is 6'6"; and their starting front line goes 6'6", 6'4", 6'3".  Which goes along with a backcourt that goes 6'2", 5'9".  (Compares very favorably in size to Lincoln High's varsity boys.)

 

The bad news:  They gave 21 minutes/game and 16 starts last year to a shooting guard who nails treys at a 17.5% clip.  Buuuuut ... he was their 4th leading rebounder and 2nd on the team in fouls.  So, there is that.  AND he returns!  For his junior year.

 

A year ago, they put up 68.1 points/game but gave up 73.7, which is why they only won 9 games on the season. 

 

Bottom line:  They probably suck pretty badly and if this game is competitive past the first media timeout, Coach Miles would have to be a little pissed.  As would the fans.  Had Serge stuck it out another year, he probably could have seen pretty good minutes in this game.

 

Prediction:   We win.  (What?  You were expecting a score?  OK, how about this:  Runzas?  Clowdy with a strong chance of Runzas.  Keep an eye out for triple digits.)

[huskerbaseball13]

http://board.huskerhoopscentral.com/topic/5789-nine-weeks-from-yesterday/

 

Rather than retyping a summary, I'll just cut and paste:

 

Northern Kentucky.

 

OK, from the files of "Norm Can't Wait," I bring you ...

 

Nickname: "The Norse."  (An interesting mascot for a school located south of the Mason-Dixon line.)

 

Head Coach:  He's been there 10 years.  You won't recognize his name but it's Dave Bezold, for what it's worth.

 

Fun Fact:  NKU is in their 3rd season transitioning to D1.

 

Last year:  9-21.  They lost by 1 point at Purdue in their first game of the season and lost by 4 at Florida Gulf Coast early in the year before getting trounced by 20 against FGCU in their last game of the season.  Their biggest win came in OT at Tulane where they prevailed 91-86.

 

The good news (for them):  They return their starting lineup basically intact, including a pair of guards who both scored in double figures a year ago.

 

The not-so-good news:  Their tallest player is 6'7"; their tallest starter is 6'6"; and their starting front line goes 6'6", 6'4", 6'3".  Which goes along with a backcourt that goes 6'2", 5'9".  (Compares very favorably in size to Lincoln High's varsity boys.)

 

The bad news:  They gave 21 minutes/game and 16 starts last year to a shooting guard who nails treys at a 17.5% clip.  Buuuuut ... he was their 4th leading rebounder and 2nd on the team in fouls.  So, there is that.  AND he returns!  For his junior year.

 

A year ago, they put up 68.1 points/game but gave up 73.7, which is why they only won 9 games on the season. 

 

Bottom line:  They probably suck pretty badly and if this game is competitive past the first media timeout, Coach Miles would have to be a little pissed.  As would the fans.  Had Serge stuck it out another year, he probably could have seen pretty good minutes in this game.

 

Prediction:   We win.  (What?  You were expecting a score?  OK, how about this:  Runzas?  Clowdy with a strong chance of Runzas.  Keep an eye out for triple digits.)

 

Whoops, didn't see your post from yesterday.  Maybe I'm a little gun shy after the first half in the exhibition but they may give is a better game than I first thought...atleast in the first half.  Agreed that if we are playing to our potential we should roll.   

[Norm Peterson]

You didn't see it because I posted it 9 weeks ago.  (I was getting antsy for the season to arrive.  What can I say?)

[AuroranHusker]

Norse play at Wisconsin on Friday, Nov. 14th. Guess we'll get a better idea on their team tomorrow...

[hhcmatt]

Since they're bringing back almost everyone, last year's KenPom numbers should be relevant

 

They've been a slow down team under Dave Bezold, who ushered them into the Div 1 world in 2013.

They don't become a full D1 school until 2016 which explains the young roster.

They had some good DII success under Bezold. Unsure if he had a different style during that time that will show itself when he has the appropriate personnel.

Last year they were awful on D, so-so on offense, and spent a lot of time jacking up 3s.

[Huskerpapa]

You can bring back a starting five, but if that starting five is average or below average in talent, they can only be "so much" better.  I anticipate it may be a bit tight at the beginning of the game, but eventually our talent will overrun them.  At least that is my expectation.  We will lead by single digits at half, but ultimately win by 15 to 20 points...or more.

[AuroranHusker]

You can bring back a starting five, but if that starting five is average or below average in talent, they can only be "so much" better.  I anticipate it may be a bit tight at the beginning of the game, but eventually our talent will overrun them.  At least that is my expectation.  We will lead by single digits at half, but ultimately win by 15 to 20 points...or more.

 

So, NU will win by somewhere between 15-50?!

 

 

BTW, the Norse return 13 of their 14 players, which seems to be extremely rare to return all but 1 guy. NKU has 3 guys who scored double figures per game in their last season (1 of 'em redshirted last yr, so his 10+ occurred 2 yrs ago).

[LSEHusker]

Fun Fact NKU is where Eshaunte Jones ended up

[trickey]

Fun Fact NKU is where Eshaunte Jones ended up

This may a fun fact for you...but I still wonder...how was it 4 Bear?

[HuskerActuary]

Wisconsin hosts Northern Kentucky tonight. They are 28.5 point favorites.

[hhcmatt]

BTW, the Norse return 13 of their 14 players, which seems to be extremely rare to return all but 1 guy.

 

It's probably not so rare 3 years after you declare you're going division I and won't be eligible to play in the post season for 4.

[AuroranHusker]

 

BTW, the Norse return 13 of their 14 players, which seems to be extremely rare to return all but 1 guy.

 

It's probably not so rare 3 years after you declare you're going division I and won't be eligible to play in the post season for 4.

 

 

Wouldn't you think they'd a graduate in there somewhere? ... one team can have only 13 scholarship players total.

[AuroranHusker]

BTW, Northern Kentucky vs Wisconsin will be featured on BTN tonight at 8 pm CST to scout 'em both.

[jimmykc]

The game was too boring to watch in its entirety but I noted two things: 1. Now that the Italian guy from OSU is gone, Frank has to be considered the preseason favorite for Big 10 camera breaker 2. Decker moved into a new (and much larger) body during the summer. Fearless prediction: Walter will not be shut out on Sunday.

[ajb5856]

Did anybody watch the game and have a scout on NKU? Did NKUs defense cause problems and make it difficult for the Badgers to score? Or was Wisconsin just being Wisconsin? Are they a formidable opponent or will we roll on Sunday? I realize NKU didn't put up any points but if they're stingy and we come out like we did in the exhibition, it has the makings to be an ugly game. Id much rather come out with a bang (obviously) and get things rolling like we did against FGCU in last years opener. You know, since we sport the national ranking and all now.