(04-03-2022 04:02 PM)pono Wrote:  keeping an eye on NIU bball from a distance as UT/MAC fan, I'd say Burno is trying to find an identity for the team but it's too early to see if it will come together. Losing average, mostly older, players to the portal is bad if you otherwise got a contending roster and those transfers are key role players/depth. NIU is at the bottom of the league so holding onto average MAC players who have had time to develop isn't going to make you competitive. Burno's recruiting is all over the place, literally. Generally, good MAC teams are building most of their roster from the MAC region and finding a couple key guys from outside of it. Also, looking at transfers out, it's not the # but who they are. Toledo loses 4 players but none were key productive guys and only 1 seemed to have the potential to grow into a good MAC player. OU lost 3 guys buy they are their 2 best returning players.

I'm not sure why it matter where recruits come from. Why should a coach limit their prospect pool to a couple of states?

I think, for the most part, MAC schools recruit heavily from Ohio and Michigan because that's their backyard and it's easier. They also never get the top talent from those states because those kids 100% don't stay in state if they have a better offer. So, you're hindering yourself to 2* kids from one small region. That's not wise.

Recruiting on a national and global stage is easier now but it also takes tons of effort. At this point, the jury is still out on if Burno's efforts will pay off or not. I do know that P5s recruit from all over and from other countries so why should a mid not do the same?

Its not like the players from within a geographical footprint have some kind of loyalty to those schools. We see this with the portal. No one is beholden to any region. These kids also don't really push attendance at all. Success does and no fanbase is going to favor local/regional mediocrity over success.

In regards to the players Toledo has lost, yeah, I pointed out that they were freshman or whatever because one of the original comments was that teams/coaches need to keep players inhouse and develop them long-term (I think this was a complaint about losing Myrick). Toledo lost some guys who didn't play but had 3 or 4 years left of eligibity. Just because they didn't play this year doesn't mean they don't become bigger contributors or reliable players down the line. I mean, if losing them was nothing to the program, then that's bad recruiting because they brought in 3 guys who didn't matter and now are being replaced.

I mean...yeah...I kind of agree with you but I was responding to the argument that NIU is doing such a terrible job of keeping kids in the program when, realistically, they only lost one kid who really mattered (the grad transfers aren't even worth talking about because I never expect a kid to stay past their obligation). NIU was really weak in the post this year and Myrick was a post player who couldn't get on the floor. Granted...he was hurt a lot. But there's a lot of bigs coming in next year and I get why he's moving on (probably JUCO).

6‘6“ point forward from Oswego East high school Mekhi Lowrey “ Thanks to Coach Burno and the NIU staff for offering me my first D1 offer!”. Gotta love the size, length and local flavor of this kid. Hope getting in early pays dividends

(04-04-2022 08:22 AM)huskies77 Wrote:  6‘6“ point forward from Oswego East high school Mekhi Lowrey “ Thanks to Coach Burno and the NIU staff for offering me my first D1 offer!”. Gotta love the size, length and local flavor of this kid. Hope getting in early pays dividends

I know it's early, and Lowery probably will get more D1 offers, but ever since Zach Miller, I get nervous when I hear that that NIU is the only D1 program to offer a kid a scholarship.

I know I am comparing apples to oranges when bringing up Patton's recruitment efforts and eye for talent to Coach Burno, but I still have nightmares from the Patton regime.

Zach Miller sums up Patton's tenure in a nutshell.The only recruit that Patton could sign for 2011-2012 was a 5'8"white kid whose only D1 offer came from NIU.

I do feel bad for Monty for what he inherited from Patton.Not only did Monty inherit Zach Miller, but he inherited Zach Miller's father

Recruiting Update:

JUCO Transfer Yazid Powell (who signed a LOI with NIU and later backed out of it) is transferring to Buffalo.

(04-04-2022 09:23 AM)Schaefer Beer Wrote:  

(04-04-2022 08:22 AM)huskies77 Wrote:  6‘6“ point forward from Oswego East high school Mekhi Lowrey “ Thanks to Coach Burno and the NIU staff for offering me my first D1 offer!”. Gotta love the size, length and local flavor of this kid. Hope getting in early pays dividends

I know it's early, and Lowery probably will get more D1 offers, but ever since Zach Miller, I get nervous when I hear that that NIU is the only D1 program to offer a kid a scholarship.

I know I am comparing apples to oranges when bringing up Patton's recruitment efforts and eye for talent to Coach Burno, but I still have nightmares from the Patton regime.

Zach Miller sums up Patton's tenure in a nutshell.The only recruit that Patton could sign for 2011-2012 was a 5'8"white kid whose only D1 offer came from NIU.

I do feel bad for Monty for what he inherited from Patton.Not only did Monty inherit Zach Miller, but he inherited Zach Miller's father

What's the story on Zach Miller's father? This sounds like a fun "little" story.

Maybe I am wrong but wasn't Bruno's first class more impressive than the current one? This one seems to have more er reached in it.

(04-05-2022 07:07 AM)emu79 Wrote:  Maybe I am wrong but wasn't Bruno's first class more impressive than the current one? This one seems to have more er reached in it.

His first class had a transfer named Keshawn Williams.

So, comparing anything to that is going to be unfair. He brought in 3 freshman and I think the two most people were high on were Kon and Myrick. Russell was an afterthought for most and he's the one that looks like a future starter. Kon and Myrick look like either bench pieces or depth chart casualties (Myrick has already deemed himself this).

Hunter was okay. Manual was meh. Osten was terrible (but we probably all figured he'd be decent).

So, no. I wouldn't say his first class was more impressive unless you weigh everything on Williams. Granted, his "first" class possibly includes Mitchell but I'm not exactly holding my breath with anticipation for a guy who didn't even play anything for the past year.

Losing Powell hurts the class, imo. If there is still space and they can get Anthony Roy to replace Powell, that more than makes up for it. Coit seems like a pure scorer, hopefully that translates.

If Mitchell does come and is a starter...added to Xavier Amos, I'd have to say this class is more impressive (depending on where you want to slot Mitchell). But, it's also hard not to judge last year's class devoid of their results.

(04-05-2022 06:24 AM)HawaiiToNIU Wrote:  

(04-04-2022 09:23 AM)Schaefer Beer Wrote:  

(04-04-2022 08:22 AM)huskies77 Wrote:  6‘6“ point forward from Oswego East high school Mekhi Lowrey “ Thanks to Coach Burno and the NIU staff for offering me my first D1 offer!”. Gotta love the size, length and local flavor of this kid. Hope getting in early pays dividends

I know it's early, and Lowery probably will get more D1 offers, but ever since Zach Miller, I get nervous when I hear that that NIU is the only D1 program to offer a kid a scholarship.

I know I am comparing apples to oranges when bringing up Patton's recruitment efforts and eye for talent to Coach Burno, but I still have nightmares from the Patton regime.

Zach Miller sums up Patton's tenure in a nutshell.The only recruit that Patton could sign for 2011-2012 was a 5'8"white kid whose only D1 offer came from NIU.

I do feel bad for Monty for what he inherited from Patton.Not only did Monty inherit Zach Miller, but he inherited Zach Miller's father

What's the story on Zach Miller's father? This sounds like a fun "little" story.

If memory serves me right, one of the first thing that Monty did was take away the scholarship to Miller. Monty rightly thought that Miller was not a Div. 1 caliber player.
Zach Miller's father got upset and complained to STF, the NIU president, the Northern Star and DeKalb Chronicle. It got some noise in the press, but then blew over. Zach Miller then went on to have a decent basketball career at Division 2 Hillsdale College in Michigan.
Kind of funny if you think about it, Monty thought that Zach Miller was not Division 1 caliber, but thought that Tavon Jones and Adong Makoui were.

Mitchell is not coming

(04-05-2022 11:17 AM)huskies77 Wrote:  Mitchell is not coming

Is that a gut feeling or a fact?

(04-05-2022 11:17 AM)huskies77 Wrote:  Mitchell is not coming

If that is confirmed, Burno needs to get another big in the portal. They have very few post players.

(04-05-2022 11:38 AM)HuskieJ Wrote:  

(04-05-2022 11:17 AM)huskies77 Wrote:  Mitchell is not coming

If that is confirmed, Burno needs to get another big in the portal. They have very few post players.

Agreed. An no, it's not confirmed. But after losing Myrick, and if Mitchell doesn't come, then they are down to two incoming freshmen and maybe.....Chris Osten.

That's bad.

Although, Payton Sparks was a freshman last year and was really good. But...he also had depth pieces around him to help out.

But yeah...the depth is really lacking in the post.

(04-05-2022 11:44 AM)Big Red Wrote:  

(04-05-2022 11:38 AM)HuskieJ Wrote:  

(04-05-2022 11:17 AM)huskies77 Wrote:  Mitchell is not coming

If that is confirmed, Burno needs to get another big in the portal. They have very few post players.

Agreed. An no, it's not confirmed. But after losing Myrick, and if Mitchell doesn't come, then they are down to two incoming freshmen and maybe.....Chris Osten.

That's bad.

Although, Payton Sparks was a freshman last year and was really good. But...he also had depth pieces around him to help out.

But yeah...the depth is really lacking in the post.

I read on Minnesota boards that Mitchell has left our school. I hope Burno catches a break soon. We desperately need the recruits.

Fact.

(04-05-2022 05:59 PM)huskies77 Wrote:  Fact.

77, not disputing it, but can you elaborate?

(04-05-2022 05:11 PM)HawaiiToNIU Wrote:  

(04-05-2022 11:44 AM)Big Red Wrote:  

(04-05-2022 11:38 AM)HuskieJ Wrote:  

(04-05-2022 11:17 AM)huskies77 Wrote:  Mitchell is not coming

If that is confirmed, Burno needs to get another big in the portal. They have very few post players.

Agreed. An no, it's not confirmed. But after losing Myrick, and if Mitchell doesn't come, then they are down to two incoming freshmen and maybe.....Chris Osten.

That's bad.

Although, Payton Sparks was a freshman last year and was really good. But...he also had depth pieces around him to help out.

But yeah...the depth is really lacking in the post.

I read on Minnesota boards that Mitchell has left our school. I hope Burno catches a break soon. We desperately need the recruits.

From how it was first reported, he was and has never been at NIU. He was going to transfer but missed the window or something and was going to go to a JUCO for a year (but didn't play basketball for some reason) with the intent to complete the transfer this upcoming year.

The whole thing always seemed fishy but with literally zero reporting aside from huskies77 inside information he's so willing to elaborate on... the whole thing is a mystery.

To be honest, I don't know if he's coming and wouldn't be surprised if he's not. But until I hear from a solid source (or if he takes the NIU uniform off his Twitter avatar), then I'm going to proceed under the assumption he'll be a Huskie next season.

With that said, my expectations for him, after not playing for a season, are pretty low. But he's talented, so he might be fine.

But it is true, if he's not in the fold and Osten is still AWOL, our front line is really thin with only two incoming freshmen on the roster. Well... and Crump. I feel like we'll always have Crump.

Going with the assumption that Martice Mitchell will not be a Huskie next year and with the assumption that Chris Osten will (for whatever reason...). I'm not super excited about the breakdown of the team. Without Osten, it's actually worse (if that's possible).

PG
Kaleb Thornton (Sr)
David Coit (So)
Noah Kon (So)
Zion Russell (So)
Taku Youngblood (Fr)

SG
Darweshi Hunter (Sr)
Zarique Nutter (Jr)
Keshawn Williams (So...I think he was playing as a freshman last year)
Armandas Plintauskas (Fr)

SF
Anthony Crump (Sr)

PF
Xavier Amos (Fr)
Yanic Niederhäuser (Fr)

C
Chris Osten (Sr)

If Osten is gone, they HAVE to get another post player. Of the players he's made offers to I'd push hard for Jerome Palm. He'd come in as a junior JUCO transfer, is 6'10" and is built like a beast. He might not be any good at this level but he's big, strong and won't get pushed around.

However, if Osten is still on the team... well... hopefully he lasts the entire year, rarely fouls and is somewhat passable as a college basketball player. Which would be an improvement over what he showed (in all three of those aspects) last season.

(04-05-2022 09:58 PM)Big Red Wrote:  

(04-05-2022 05:11 PM)HawaiiToNIU Wrote:  

(04-05-2022 11:44 AM)Big Red Wrote:  

(04-05-2022 11:38 AM)HuskieJ Wrote:  

(04-05-2022 11:17 AM)huskies77 Wrote:  Mitchell is not coming

If that is confirmed, Burno needs to get another big in the portal. They have very few post players.

Agreed. An no, it's not confirmed. But after losing Myrick, and if Mitchell doesn't come, then they are down to two incoming freshmen and maybe.....Chris Osten.

That's bad.

Although, Payton Sparks was a freshman last year and was really good. But...he also had depth pieces around him to help out.

But yeah...the depth is really lacking in the post.

I read on Minnesota boards that Mitchell has left our school. I hope Burno catches a break soon. We desperately need the recruits.

From how it was first reported, he was and has never been at NIU. He was going to transfer but missed the window or something and was going to go to a JUCO for a year (but didn't play basketball for some reason) with the intent to complete the transfer this upcoming year.

The whole thing always seemed fishy but with literally zero reporting aside from huskies77 inside information he's so willing to elaborate on... the whole thing is a mystery.

To be honest, I don't know if he's coming and wouldn't be surprised if he's not. But until I hear from a solid source (or if he takes the NIU uniform off his Twitter avatar), then I'm going to proceed under the assumption he'll be a Huskie next season.

With that said, my expectations for him, after not playing for a season, are pretty low. But he's talented, so he might be fine.

But it is true, if he's not in the fold and Osten is still AWOL, our front line is really thin with only two incoming freshmen on the roster. Well... and Crump. I feel like we'll always have Crump.

Rick and Ilsa have Paris, we got Crump....and Kyle Pugh.

Zool Kueth has hit the portal.

That leaves Osten as the only actual question mark.

(04-06-2022 10:40 AM)Big Red Wrote:  Zool Kueth has hit the portal.

That leaves Osten as the only actual question mark.

Nooooo! Not Zool! That is so not cool!

How are we going to replace the 3.8 pts/GM in 16 minutes of play? And how are going to replace all those missed 3 point shots?

2 more to for the cleansing to be complete- Matthias from the 1971 movie Omega Man.