Nebraska head coach Tim Miles met with reporters on Friday afternoon to discuss the Huskers’ upcoming game vs. South Dakota on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Here is a quick recap of what he had to say…
***Miles said he was definitely looking forward to reuniting with his longtime right-hand man Craig Smith, who served as his assistant coach for 11 seasons at four different stops before leaving NU for the South Dakota job in 2014.
Miles said he and Smith have been friends for over 20 years now, and as soon as Smith went to USD they started talking about playing a game against each other down the road.
“They thought I promised that we would go there,” Miles said. “Their hearing is faulty. But we’re more than excited to have them here.”
***On the heels of three straight losses and games with Creighton and Kansas looming next week, Miles said Saturday was obviously a very important game for the Huskers to get a win and regain some much-needed momentum.
***For Nebraska to have a legitimate chance at making the NCAA Tournament this season, Miles said 19 wins was probably the magic number, and likely no fewer than 18 to even be in the discussion.
***Miles said NU must improve its 3-point shooting, especially because of how much every made 3 changes the game for the Huskers. He said improving the perimeter shooting will have to be done by simply getting guys’ confidence back up, but also manufacturing better 3-point looks through designed sets and actions.
***With where the season currently stands for Nebraska at 4-3 and a daunting schedule ahead, Miles said he told his team this year is going to go one of two ways - it’s either going to turn around the way it did it in 2013-14, or its going to completely fall apart the way it did in 2014-15.
“It’s our choice, because it’s in our control," Miles said. "If we go out with a defensive mindset like we did in 2014 and stay with it, we will find enough offense. I truly believe that.”
***Miles said he obviously was concerned about sophomore forward Jack McVeigh’s current shooting slump (he’s 3-24 from the field over the past four games), but not to the point where he thinks anything drastic needs to be done. Miles said McVeigh is going to continue to get opportunities, especially because of how good he’s been in NU’s team defense.
***Regardless of who it is, Miles said some of the young guys need to step up and have bigger roles for Nebraska. However, if they are unable to guard and handle the ball the way they’re expected to, they’re not going to play.
***Junior guard Anton Gill is another guys Miles still has hope will become a bigger factor this season.
“When Anton Gill takes good shots, he does really well,” Miles said. “When he tries to do too much, he usually has struggled to have success.”
***Miles admitted his team was feeling some fatigue from four straight road games and traveling coast-to-coast in the process. He said NU went through a really light practice on Thursday and would do a bit more on Friday, with an effort to help recharge the players for a 1 p.m. tip on Saturday.
***Miles said the reason Nebraska didn’t call a timeout in the final seconds against Clemson was because senior guard Tai Webster - who was responsible for calling one if sophomore guard Glynn Watson didn’t get a good look early in the possession - decided not to call timeout when he saw Watson driving to the lane because he though Watson was going to get a good shot.
Instead, Watson lost control of the ball and it eventually ended up in the hands of Gill, who was called for traveling. Miles said the new NCAA rule where only players can call timeouts during live action has now cost Nebraska two games - against Clemson and then last year against Ohio State.
Miles said he told assistant Jim Molinari, who used to be on the NCAA rules committee, to call everyone he knew on the committee to change “that B.S. rule” as soon as possible.
