http://northernstar.info/sports/article_...78c22.html

There may be some truth to this but this kid has not had the help needed. How many freshmen at the D1 level starts all year playing center at 6"6 and has success. We have seen some bright spots out of him this year. String of double figure games and a couple double doubles. I’m sure he came to NIU to play PF with Kowal and Toler teaching him the tricks of the trade. In poker and Black jack this would have been a bad hand dealt. I’m glad the article and Patton did not throw him under the bus. Can u imagine a freshman reading this article and it destroys what little confidence he has left. Good points in the article.

I really like what I've seen from Rucker and anybody with reasonable expectations should be impressed. He's shown flashes of being a double-double's machine.

Plus, he's just fun to watch. The dude plays hard and physical. If we can move him over to power forward, he's going to take off, I think.

I have been saying that all year long Frisky. When you look at the games he is the only one that has to guard all the bigger and older guys. He is the youngest on the team at 18. Remember our freshmen were older this year. He gets no help from Toler nor the guards droping down to help out. 6"11 going to beat 6"6 anyday. Now he has a bad game and here come an article about him when he should not be in this position to begin with. Hopefully he has a bounce back tonight.

I wish they would play him at power forward. The team is bad anyway. Why not develop him at his true position. Storm, Toler or Fisher can all get their butt kicked by a bigger guy just as good as Rucker. Why demoralize the kid.

All our guys have been demoralized trying to play inside. Kowal leaving did a lot to us offensively, but it really did a lot more damage defensively. That and not having any back-up center to fill in when he did leave. I think that is what Toler and Madlock were supposed to be, but Toler can/will not defend bigger guys in the post. Madlock was too thin and is gone now anyway. Rucker is the next best option. Bolin and Storm have played inside, but neither one physically is a post player. They have partially been forced to play it out of necessity due to the roster as it ended up. Fisher is a post and uses athletic ability and quickness to battle, but he is only 6-6 at best. No matter who has been inside we haven't been able to match up. Obviously we need a center, but even when matched on older power forwards Rucker is going to struggle as a freshmen. Until we get more bigs, the staff has to do what they can. Regarding the thought of a wall: There is something to a freshmen wall in my opinion. I think it exists. This is the first time any player all of a sudden has basketball all year long under a schedule of conditioning, weights, skills, practices, games, and classes. Plus they are away from home for the first time. It is straining on anyone, especially someone the first time. Even the season itself is more draining because they are playing against men for the first time on a regular basis. All of that is new to Rucker. There is going to be a wall to experience. I think all players, even older ones, hit a version of the wall each year. How can you not?

I think in Rucker's situation it is more extreme. He was asked a lot for a freshman. Most freshmen come along slowly. This kid playing vet minutes and started out injured. Playing a really hard position for a 6"6 kid. I do think at PF he would be more dominating even on the vets. U just cant keep guarding 6"10 and 6"11's and it not take a toll. Not your normal circumstance. Im surprised he did not hit this a long time ago. Dumb recruiting not to have another big.

(02-15-2011 03:48 PM)huskiebbfan Wrote:  I think in Rucker's situation it is more extreme. He was asked a lot for a freshman. Most freshmen come along slowly. This kid playing vet minutes and started out injured. Playing a really hard position for a 6"6 kid. I do think at PF he would be more dominating even on the vets. U just cant keep guarding 6"10 and 6"11's and it not take a toll. Not your normal circumstance. Im surprised he did not hit this a long time ago. Dumb recruiting not to have another big.

the kid would make a fine power forward, however, the coach has put him in a tough position by not putting together a team that made sense. Hope he sticks it out for the new guy

Plus wasn't Rucker banged up coming into the year? He had an ankle issue or something, I seem to recall. He's really been a ray of light during this cloudy year. Hope we can get a few bigs to help him (and the rest of us) out.

Rucker has done a phenomenal job being the Huskies only true inside presence this season. He has been a bit inconsistent throughout the season, but you can attribute that to bad coaching and the fact that he has been asked to do a lot for a first year player, guarding the other team's big men night in, night out.

He's also had a lot of nagging injuries throughout the season. I suspect that banging bodies down-low all season by himself has taken a toll on him. He's got a nice frame, it would be nice to see him add 5-10 lbs of muscle in off-season weight program (does NIU bball even have one?) so he can stay healthy next season.

The sad part is that Toler could help him out down-low with his big body, but for some reason beyond my comprehension he is allowed to hang out in the perimeter most of the game.

Freshman wall or not, Rucker has had a fine season for a freshman and is a nice building block for whoever is coaching next season.

(02-15-2011 05:44 PM)niuliger09 Wrote:  Rucker has done a phenomenal job being the Huskies only true inside presence this season. He has been a bit inconsistent throughout the season, but you can attribute that to bad coaching and the fact that he has been asked to do a lot for a first year player, guarding the other team's big men night in, night out.

He's also had a lot of nagging injuries throughout the season. I suspect that banging bodies down-low all season by himself has taken a toll on him. He's got a nice frame, it would be nice to see him add 5-10 lbs of muscle in off-season weight program (does NIU bball even have one?) so he can stay healthy next season.

The sad part is that Toler could help him out down-low with his big body, but for some reason beyond my comprehension he is allowed to hang out in the perimeter most of the game.

Freshman wall or not, Rucker has had a fine season for a freshman and is a nice building block for whoever is coaching next season.

+1

Add insult to injury fisher stared tonight

Thanks guys for supporting Nate. There are some things going on right now that does play into a freshman's mindset. I thought the article was a little weird but was not anything bad. Actually there is a lot of truth in it. At this point other than a miracle we got to start getting ready for next year. I see a lot of people on this board talking about developing players. There is a lot more into than most common fans know. This is not my first rodeo so I got some experience on this matter. With all the NCAA rules now the head coach has too much hands off. Lot of rule changes over the last 5 years has caused a serious development problem. Coaches can’t have much contact with players in the off season, not just freshmen but current players also. Most of the development come thru asst coaches. With that said the players must take responsibility for their summer time development. Some players choose to go home and do nothing, others play pickup games with talent way under theirs and there are those that work in the summer so hard that they are totally diff next season. We have a program here in Memphis where all the freshmen and upperclassmen return for summer workouts. Combine like situation. We go over film from the year and all summer work on weakness, strengths, and the players overall game. They play against NBA players and nothing but D1 talent. So we are grateful that he has played this many minutes as a true freshman even though out of position. We are just going to sit back and see how this story play itself out. Love u guys

(02-15-2011 08:08 PM)huskiebbfan Wrote:  Add insult to injury fisher stared tonight

Calm down fan. This is something I wanted to see myself. It worked!. Only 2 fouls and had big second half. Just got to fix the FT issue.

Huskiebbfan is a little narrow-sighted when it comes to Nate. Outside of Mr. Rucker, nobody is a bigger fan.

(02-16-2011 09:50 AM)High On NIU Hoops Wrote:  Huskiebbfan is a little narrow-sighted when it comes to Nate. Outside of Mr. Rucker, nobody is a bigger fan.

Yea I know. I told Nate he has a big fan at Northern. I think his Memphis connections helps out LOL

Can we send our whole team to Memphis for the summer? Joking aside, that sounds like a great program.

Will be interesting to see what happens in just a month or so now.

(02-16-2011 10:22 AM)17Huskies Wrote:  Can we send our whole team to Memphis for the summer? Joking aside, that sounds like a great program.

Will be interesting to see what happens in just a month or so now.

17 it was something we started a little before my daughter went to colorado. We had so many college players in the area girls and boys that went away and just fadded away with no development. Mostly due to the NCAA hands off rules. So we came up with a program with ex memphis, ole miss, TN and other college players in Memphis. It's really good. The players really go at it every day with weights, 1 on 1 with a ex players at their position, film, and NBA players. Over all its a really good summer camp and they all finish off playing in the Bluff City classic. So they go back to school more experienced and stronger.

(02-16-2011 10:22 AM)17Huskies Wrote:  Can we send our whole team to Memphis for the summer? Joking aside, that sounds like a great program.

Will be interesting to see what happens in just a month or so now.

I'm not even kidding, I'd like to see returning players spend some time down there this summer if it were possible.

And yes, until there's solid info otherwise, might as well assume everyone with eligibility will be back. There will be changes, but who knows what those will look like.

Well Mr Rucker I just like what I see out of your son. He can be a big focus here with the right players around him. Just as Kent State coach said, he will be a force in the MAC for years to come as long as you guys dont jump off this Titanic. I know you will not respond to this but I do understand how it goes when a new coach come in. Just for our sake give it a shot. I saw Nate play long before any of these guys ever heard of him. So I bragg a little because I was right :).

Mr. Rucker please tell Nate to invite one or two players from the team, like a Bolin and Jones. Nothing like starting next year with a good core of 3 players.