BIG Props to #0

[PeltzFan12]

The guy could have very easily packed it in when he got benched and went from a starter to not seeing more than 2-3 minutes per game.

 

Many of us on this board predicted he was going to go back home after the season, and some openly hoped he would transfer or decide to leave on his own.  

 

I like Tai's potential.  He has the body, he has the quickness and athleticism.  He didn't always have it in the mental game.  I'm not sure he has completely gotten over some of his lack of confidence, but I think we will all agree, a confident Tai is a productive Tai, which will help us out immensely.  

 

 

[Huskerpapa]

Amen.  Tai has grown up over night so to speak.  For the naysayers who had him packing and going home, I hope that you are now seeing a glimpse of the talent...the kid is going to be a good one.

[hskr4life]

David Rivers 2.0

[Norm Peterson]

David Rivers 2.0

I thought the same thing.

[HB]

 

David Rivers 2.0

I thought the same thing.

 

Well, for both of them, a benching and working with the scout team got them going.  Tai has a higher ceiling if he can keep it going. He was playing "cool".    Today he led the team in floor burns. 

[throwback]

Coach Miles continues to show an ability to find the right buttons to push with each individual player. He seems to be an expert at the "come to Jesus" meetings.  First Parker, then Rivers, now Webster.

 

Hopefully Tai can keep it rolling, especially on the defensive end and/or with hustle plays.

[PeltzFan12]

I think Tai's ability to lock down Hollins in the Minny game and today, at times, Travis Trice and others really helped.  Again, nothing against Benny, I love his energy and hustle, but 5'8" is not 6'2" or 6'4"

[AuroranHusker]

Tai's my guy. Said it when he wasn't playing very well... I wonder if Tai's minutes will cut into Benny or Tarin. Doubt it will be in lieu of Rivers or Pitch as Leslee & Moses will take up a majority of those minutes.

[Section_316]

Pretty clear he's gonna eat up Benny's minutes and maybe even a little of TP or Shields.... All of which are good things imo

[Swan88]

Actually, don't see Benny's minutes declining much, due to his role on defense.  Last night when Benny sat on the bench with four fouls, Michigan St. made their first run to close the gap significantly.  So, Miles put Benny back in the game with quite a bit of time left, despite his four fouls.  At the end of the game Miles substituted back and forth with Tarin for offense and Benny for defense.

[HB]

Actually, don't see Benny's minutes declining much, due to his role on defense.  Last night when Benny sat on the bench with four fouls, Michigan St. made their first run to close the gap significantly.  So, Miles put Benny back in the game with quite a bit of time left, despite his four fouls.  At the end of the game Miles substituted back and forth with Tarin for offense and Benny for defense.

 

Its a helluva deal when you have to sub out your starting point guard on offense down the stretch.

[MandRHusker]

I am very proud of Tai too! I loved the sequence when Tai was stripped in the backcourt (didn't like that part so much) but went back after the ball and scrapped until he got it back. That scrappy Tai Webster deserves more minutes!

[AuroranHusker]

 

Actually, don't see Benny's minutes declining much, due to his role on defense.  Last night when Benny sat on the bench with four fouls, Michigan St. made their first run to close the gap significantly.  So, Miles put Benny back in the game with quite a bit of time left, despite his four fouls.  At the end of the game Miles substituted back and forth with Tarin for offense and Benny for defense.

 

Its a helluva deal when you have to sub out your starting point guard on offense down the stretch.

 

 

Also kind of amazing that Miles subbed in a guy with 4 fouls on D, too.

[throwback]

If you haven't read Chatelain's column on Tai in the OWH today, you need to. Pretty impressive attitude shown by Tai.

 

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/chatelain-great-expectations-gone-webster-goes-from-worst-of-times/article_3ef6af10-820b-5545-80de-c39fa14a4ce9.html

 

Here's a little bit:

 

....

At practice after the Iowa loss, Webster stood on the sideline as NU’s top players competed against the scout team. Finally, he got tired of watching. One day he went to assistant Jim Molinari and requested a spot on the scout team.

That’s right, Miles’ first big-time recruit was joining the walk-ons.

“I had to do something,” Webster said. “I wasn’t just going to sit down and sulk the whole time and feel sorry for himself. I felt like I needed to do something to help the team.”

And out of nowhere, he turned a corner. The key: shedding his identity.

The scout team’s sole job is to prepare the regular rotation for the next opponent. So before the Minnesota game, Webster was assigned the role of Gopher standout Andre Hollins. Suddenly, he didn’t have to yield to Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields. Suddenly he could play stress-free.

....

 

 

 

The key for him now is remembering how it felt to get benched and continue to use that as fuel to get better and to play with confidence. Refuse to slip back into old habits after tasting some success, which is always the toughest part for anyone.

 

And I'd be surprised if he re-enters the starting lineup any time soon. Seems like the confidence/attitude he gained playing on scout team is sparking him, so if I'm Coach, I don't change anything with him at this point.

[TheKamdyMan]

maybe Kenny Bell can let him borrow his blue scout team jersey to remember the struggles.

[Huskerpapa]

I love enegry coming off of the bench...so I do like Tai coming off the bench rather than starting.  I will argue that the same could be said about Benny and David.  If you had Moses, Benny, Tai and David as your benchmen...the starting line up could look like this:

 

PG TSmith

SG TP

SF Shavon

PF Walt

P   Leslee

[doc1394]

Favorite quote from the Chatelain article above:

“Never once did I think I was gonna quit,” Webster said. “If I was gonna be off the team, it was because he was gonna throw me off the team.”

[#GATA]

Had a casual talk in the Railyard with a guy before the game on Saturday.  The subject of Tai came up, and I said that after watching him against Minnesota, he looked like a different, confident player. This guy was not having it and said Tai is for sure leaving after this year.  I shook my head, told him Tai would have a great game, and then I walked away.  I would've loved to seen the dude after the game to buy him a beer.

 

I do think Tai is somewhat understanding it more.  His confidence and ball handling have improved so much since the beginning of the season, and I really thought that he started to show signs of digging himself from the proverbial grave against Minnesota.  Keep it rolling. 

[Fullbacksympathy]

I think he's beginning to figure it out defensively, and that's giving him confidence on the other end.  I really think Molinari has reached him.  He's a completely different defender than last year or earlier this year.  The way he's played on D justifies him being on the court no matter how he's performing offensively.  Also, the kid has very good speed and when he works his ass off, he can be a real nuisance for the opposing team just from hustle plays.  He's beginning to play like Benny with more upside, and that's a major compliment. 

[Ron Mexico]

If you haven't read Chatelain's column on Tai in the OWH today, you need to. Pretty impressive attitude shown by Tai.

 

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/chatelain-great-expectations-gone-webster-goes-from-worst-of-times/article_3ef6af10-820b-5545-80de-c39fa14a4ce9.html

 

Here's a little bit:

 

....

Suddenly, he didn’t have to yield to Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields. Suddenly he could play stress-free.

....

 

 

 

Not sure if this line by Dirk is necessary, nor am I sure it is even true. 

[Silverbacked1]

If you haven't read Chatelain's column on Tai in the OWH today, you need to. Pretty impressive attitude shown by Tai.

 

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/chatelain-great-expectations-gone-webster-goes-from-worst-of-times/article_3ef6af10-820b-5545-80de-c39fa14a4ce9.html

 

Here's a little bit:

 

....

Suddenly, he didn’t have to yield to Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields. Suddenly he could play stress-free.

....

 

Not sure if this line by Dirk is necessary, nor am I sure it is even true.

Dirk has to have his dig at UNL even when he is writing an up beat piece.

[ajb5856]

If you haven't read Chatelain's column on Tai in the OWH today, you need to. Pretty impressive attitude shown by Tai.

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/chatelain-great-expectations-gone-webster-goes-from-worst-of-times/article_3ef6af10-820b-5545-80de-c39fa14a4ce9.html

Here's a little bit:

....

Suddenly, he didn’t have to yield to Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields. Suddenly he could play stress-free.

....

Not sure if this line by Dirk is necessary, nor am I sure it is even true.

Dirk has to have his dig at UNL even when he is writing an up beat piece.

[ajb5856]

If you haven't read Chatelain's column on Tai in the OWH today, you need to. Pretty impressive attitude shown by Tai.

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/chatelain-great-expectations-gone-webster-goes-from-worst-of-times/article_3ef6af10-820b-5545-80de-c39fa14a4ce9.html

Here's a little bit:

....

Suddenly, he didn’t have to yield to Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields. Suddenly he could play stress-free.

....

Not sure if this line by Dirk is necessary, nor am I sure it is even true.

Dirk has to have his dig at UNL even when he is writing an up beat piece.

I guess I'm too stupid to see what you guys think Dirk is implying with that statement. My take on it is this. At the beginning of the year when Tai was pulled from the starting lineup, Miles' explanation was that he hoped it would give Tai some confidence on the offensive end by allowing him more opportunity. Miles was quoted saying something like Tai was the 4th option on offense with the starting rotation but if he came off the bench he could be maybe the 1st or 2nd option depending on who was in. The hope was that this would get him going. I thought it was kind of the same scenario here. Being on the scout team he could just play, let things fly, and get some confidence going in his game.

[Silverbacked1]

To me it says that everybody has to let Tarren and Shavon have first dibs on the shot, if you are lucky enough to get the ball from one of them then you can take the shot. Maybe that is just me and some of the things I have heard people say about. Terran being a ball hog and not a team player, even though in my opinion he is far from tjat.

[Ron Mexico]

 

 

 

If you haven't read Chatelain's column on Tai in the OWH today, you need to. Pretty impressive attitude shown by Tai.

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/chatelain-great-expectations-gone-webster-goes-from-worst-of-times/article_3ef6af10-820b-5545-80de-c39fa14a4ce9.html

Here's a little bit:

 

....

Suddenly, he didn’t have to yield to Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields. Suddenly he could play stress-free.

....

Not sure if this line by Dirk is necessary, nor am I sure it is even true.

Dirk has to have his dig at UNL even when he is writing an up beat piece.

I guess I'm too stupid to see what you guys think Dirk is implying with that statement. My take on it is this. At the beginning of the year when Tai was pulled from the starting lineup, Miles' explanation was that he hoped it would give Tai some confidence on the offensive end by allowing him more opportunity. Miles was quoted saying something like Tai was the 4th option on offense with the starting rotation but if he came off the bench he could be maybe the 1st or 2nd option depending on who was in. The hope was that this would get him going. I thought it was kind of the same scenario here. Being on the scout team he could just play, let things fly, and get some confidence going in his game.

 

Not stupid, very few, in any of us who post here regularly are stupid. Dirk rarely writes an article that doesn't involve some sort of dig, and this was just par for the course. Dirk is, in essence, is blaming TP and SS for his, Tai's, struggles up until the last few games. TP and SS have absolutely nothing to do with why TW had been struggling. Miles said he had tried everything with Tai, meaning that what was holding Tai back was himself, and Tai admitted to as much. Tai was having trouble getting out of his own way. He had to stop thinking so much and just play. Spending time on the scout team, where there is no pressure, allowed him to get back to that place mentally where he could just play and stop thinking so much. He has all the tools which is why it was frustrating for fans to watch him play. I believe he is past that now and that absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with TP and SS.

 

One implication that can be easily drawn by that statement from Dirk is that TP and SS are ball hogs.

 

What Dirk should have said, and would have more accurately portrayed what had been going on with Tai, is that Tai needed to get back to that place mentally where he was just playing basketball.