PurpleWhiteBoy said:

The NBA has gone to great lengths to legislate the old-fashioned centers out of the league...

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Can you expand on this assertion? I don't follow the NBA much and I have no idea what you're talking about.

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Catreporter said:

Ty Berry looked ready to go and I believe he will be a focal point of the offense. I thought Clayton looked improved and Chris Collins had some praise for Mullins. Nicholson moves really well for a big guy. I just wish he had a better touch on his shots, although he did show a little half hook with his left hand that could help. I don't expect much immediate help from the Frosh. This team will go as far as the veterans and two transfers will take us, and we can't afford injuries to key guys that we managed to survive last year.

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I'm sure the dynamic will change a lot once Brooks joins in, but from what we saw yesterday I think Ty will spend a lot of the offense without the ball, moving around the arc for a three on the third pass.

Mullins, Windham, and Leach all look like they will be doing the drive and dish with Matt/Keenan, while Nick/Blake/Brooks (Luke) are moving and screening low. I think Leach had the best shooting results, but I was pretty happy with what Windham was doing.

Angelo looked 'the most' lost of the guys and I'm pretty sure I heard Collins say something to him like 'I know you don't know the plays, but try...'. Setting that aside, he has a nice touch and moves well. He just might not see too much court until he learns a bit more specifics to the team.

I was generally happy with everything I saw out of the guys and I'm confident that playing time will come down to who can get the best handle on the defense the soonest, because they all look like they can compete. The worst part of the practice for me, really, was just Matt flubbing so many of the passes to him on the move. There were some optimistic (bad) efforts to get him the ball, but there were several solid into-his-hands throws and he didn't capitalize on most of them. We need that to change by next week, imho. But even there, he was moving really well for a guy recovering from a foot injury earlier this year. Ty also moved well, btw.

PurpleWhiteBoy said:

What is the impending deal to give colleges more control over NIL?
And was the "better for NU" part relative to the current chaos, which is pretty clearly not good for NU.
In other words, are we looking at "The current NIL situation is bad for NU, but there should be a deal that makes it less bad."

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Settlement of the House suit with the NCAA which Chris indicated should be in place by next April.

Catreporter said:

Chris gave a nice half hour talk after the practice yesterday. Talked about the trajectory of the program. Said he is getting a lot of kids to answer his recruiting calls now given the NCAA appearances and the atmosphere in the new arena. Said that the impending deal to give colleges more control over NIL will be good for NU (probably in fighting off the poachers?), but mentioned his use of the transfer portal will be limited. Loss of the covid year may affect ability to get grad transfers so we will see where that takes us next year. I don't think he's looking for another gig, but he acknowledged how tough the challenge of the "New Big Ten" will be. He mentioned that besides Illini and Purdue, NU has the third best record in the Big Ten games the last two years. That is a remarkable achievement to this long time fan.

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I was interested in how emotionally invested he is in the program. Between introducing the players and then later talking and doing the Q&A, he was visibly moved and reigning it in three or four times.

TheC said:

Come on..... not everything is a conspiracy.

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The NBA has gone to great lengths to legislate the old-fashioned centers out of the league... so there is a business motive (or preference) to make sure guys like Edey fail.

In fact, I predicted that Edey would get the short end of the stick in the NBA for that reason. Obviously the NBA controls its referees.

Whether Edey can overcome it remains to be seen.

NUCat320 said:

Lots of topics in the piece, @lou v.

Maybe I’m naive, but I really hope NU doesn’t go portal-hopping for a QB. On the offense, WR and OL have to be the peak priorities in the portal. (Is it ten catches between non-Kirtz, non-Henning WRs?)

If NU has the ball inside their own ten inside of a minute left in the half, I really hope the lesson has finally been learned.

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Agreed on portal priorities. Plenty of good WRs you can “plug and play” but not sure it’s that easy for OL since it is much more of a unit. So maybe poach multiple players from the same OL? Idk

Skunkpilot said:

Big Matt looks like he’s about 45 in the team photo.

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You mean Mattbraham Lincohlson?

Purple Pile Driver said:

Not exactly fired up about this possibility. Win six or get out the golf clubs.

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Yes. Amen. We do NOT want the APR title (which yes we own because we are smart and do it the right way and don’t lower standards!). Let’s get to 6 and party in Detroit!

Cats 18
Io_a 14

Catreporter said:

Said that the impending deal to give colleges more control over NIL will be good for NU

Click to expand...

What is the impending deal to give colleges more control over NIL?
And was the "better for NU" part relative to the current chaos, which is pretty clearly not good for NU.
In other words, are we looking at "The current NIL situation is bad for NU, but there should be a deal that makes it less bad."

remember, if you're not OSU, Ala, Oregon, UGA, Tex, PSU, MIA, TENN, LSU, CLEM, or the team from So. Bend your team is just playing for the fun of it!

Not much to add. It was hard to get a sense of the rotation or who looked good just based on the offensive and defensive drills that they were doing. I did notice that Barkley was working with the wings not the big men. Still don't know if he'll be a contributor, but I was wondering how the coaches saw him fitting in.

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Hungry Jack said:

Leach shot 48% last year (granted, against MAAC)

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Right, in conference he had a breakout year. Let's hope he can build off that this year and elevate his game. Believe me, I want him to succeed!

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The next game is always the biggest game of the season

Leach shot 48% last year (granted, against MAAC)

FeralFelidae said:

Maybe we can sneak into a bowl with 5 wins due to APR rankings?

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Typically there is 1 APR rep, so yeah that would be the likely route if we find 2 more wins.

Catreporter said:

Leach's good shooting touch was a highlight of yesterday's practice for me.

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I think he’ll be a double-digit scorer. Not as one dimensional as Ryan Taylor.

Leach's good shooting touch was a highlight of yesterday's practice for me.

Chris gave a nice half hour talk after the practice yesterday. Talked about the trajectory of the program. Said he is getting a lot of kids to answer his recruiting calls now given the NCAA appearances and the atmosphere in the new arena. Said that the impending deal to give colleges more control over NIL will be good for NU (probably in fighting off the poachers?), but mentioned his use of the transfer portal will be limited. Loss of the covid year may affect ability to get grad transfers so we will see where that takes us next year. I don't think he's looking for another gig, but he acknowledged how tough the challenge of the "New Big Ten" will be. He mentioned that besides Illini and Purdue, NU has the third best record in the Big Ten games the last two years. That is a remarkable achievement to this long time fan.