Fastbreak: Miles discusses leadership, lofty expectations

Nebraska head coach Tim Miles held his annual preseason press conference on Monday morning. Here is a full recap of what he had to say about his team going into a very important 2018-19 campaign...

***Nebraska was in a similar situation to where it was going into the 2014-15 season regarding outside expectations, but Miles said he had no interest in comparing that team with this team. He quoted NU assistant Jim Molinari by saying, “Comparison is the thief of joy.”

Miles said ’14-15 “had some exceptional” adversity to overcome both on and off the court and seemed more in the “upstart” stage. He said this year’s team has “excellent practice habits” and feels much further along in the program building process.

***Miles said one of the best ways to describe his team was that it “just works.” He said there wasn’t “a lot of variable to them” in that you know what you’re going to get from them every day, and they “have great habits” in doing what they need to do to get better.

***Miles said one of the biggest voids left from last season was not having a true vocal leader as they had with Evan Taylor. Miles said he wasn’t sure they would have a player step up and be that guy, but they could make up for it with “a collective voice” from some veteran leaders. Miles admitted that “it worries you” not to have a clear vocal leader, “but at the same time, this is such a rock-solid group I don’t worry about it a lot.”

***Of all the players who could be that vocal guy in the locker room, senior point guard Glynn Watson might be the closest. He said Watson had been fully bought in since the start of the offseason, and he even texted Miles as soon as he got back from summer break and asked him what he could do to get better and help the team get to the next level. “I’m reading that, and I almost cried,” Miles said.

***Miles said freshman forward Karrington Davis was still coming back from a significant hip injury and needed to improve strength and mobility. His chances to play this season are yet to be determined.

***Miles said junior forward Isaiah Roby was still dealing with effects from his bruised heel injury this summer, saying Roby was now fighting some plantar fasciitis. Roby has been shut down from workouts for a bit but would “be in reps” once practice starts tomorrow.

***Miles said Nebraska put in a lot of work to build a challenging -yet-manageable schedule and doesn’t foresee the issues that kept them out of the NCAA Tournament last year being problems again this year. “I think it should be enough schedule to get us where we need to go.”

***Miles said he told freshman forward Brady Heiman to prepare himself to play this season from the day he committed. Now with Jordy Tshimanga gone and Heiman’s rapid development this offseason, Miles said it’s “almost a certainty he’ll play” as a true freshman.

***Miles said they might not have as much depth as they’ve had in previous years, but the top-level talent was as good as it’s been and they have a much better identity. He said they obviously need things to go right regarding injuries, fouls, etc., but they now know exactly what they have and how to use it.

***Miles said sophomore guard Thomas Allen has taken on a different mentality this offseason. He said he talked with Allen after last season and asked him what his best games were as a freshman. Allen said Kansas and Michigan. “So your two best games were against Final Four teams?” Miles asked, saying he told Allen the biggest thing he needed to work on was to believe in himself and play with confidence.

***Miles joked that he wanted to get Roby and Allen “Batman” costumes to help them play with an alter ego. He said they needed both players to be more like Batman in games and less like Bruce Wayne.

***Miles confirmed that forward Tanner Borchardt would be on scholarship for the fall semester and has been since last spring.