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Nebraska Basketball: Don’t Give Up On Tim Miles

By Kraig Lundberg

Jan 1, 2017; College Park, MD, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Tim Miles watches during a game against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2017; College Park, MD, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Tim Miles watches during a game against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports /
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At 12-15, a postseason berth for the Nebraska basketball team is all but lost for a third straight season. Head coach Tim Miles’ 2014 coach of the year award seems like ancient history and the pressure to win is growing rapidly.

His football counterpart could sympathize, it would seem.

Anyone who has been tracking the Nebraska football program’s offseason has sensed an undeniable air of urgency exuding from the top down. Head coach Mike Riley and athletic director Shawn Eichorst know that both of their jobs — and legacies — at Nebraska hinge upon winning football games and doing it fast.

That’s why Riley fired two assistants, close friends he’d worked with for years, after just two seasons in Husker red. Their replacements were plucked up within days and reflect an all-out effort to accelerate the development of the program. 

We’ve seen Miles make some coaching changes himself, but for different reasons. In his time at Nebraska, a few assistants have left for bigger and better positions. Craig Smith, for example, is now the head coach at South Dakota. As of this writing, his Coyotes are first in the Summit League. They came to the Vault earlier this season and gave the Huskers as much as they wanted in a 73-61 loss.

The success of former assistants like Smith seems to be a testament to Miles. He must be doing something right as a coach if his guys are moving up. What has gone wrong over the past three seasons and can the ship be righted? Fans have grown impatient as they wait for answers.

Many of those fans may hope Miles gets the axe if he doesn’t produce by next season at the latest. However, when considering history, it’s important to question whether that’s fair.

Reasonable Expectations

The urgency we see from Riley and company reflects the high expectations fans rightly have of Big Red football. It has a legendary history, after all. It makes sense.

What history does Nebrasketball have that warrants such high expectations, though?

The Huskers have never won a NCAA tournament game. They’ve had a chance to do that only seven times. Nebraska basketball objectively has one of the worst histories in the NCAA. Competing for recruits who have the option to go to schools the caliber of Michigan State and Kansas is next to impossible.

Fans simply can’t expect a basketball coach to come to Nebraska and make the Big Dance consistently without dodging a few years of adversity.

Miles has already gotten over that hump once. Was it flukey? Certainly, to a degree — but it still happened. In his four-plus seasons, Miles has also brought in assistants with sparkling resumes and dramatically improved recruiting. Nebraska’s roster is stacked with young talent oozing with potential.

With all the positives Miles has brought to a program void of much positive history, it seems reckless to become impatient with him at this point. It’s not hard to see development within the program in spite of recent struggles.

Talent and Development

Following the 2014-15 season, a youth movement resulted in four freshmen being immediately thrust into Nebraska’s rotation. Glynn Watson, Ed Morrow, Michael Jacobson and Jack McVeigh were all thrown into the fire right out of high school. This season, those four are just sophomores and three other key pieces of the rotation are true freshmen. 

Unless you’re Kentucky, that kind of youth doesn’t usually equate to overwhelming success.

Nebrasketball’s budding nucleus holds great future promise, however. Not only is that group loaded with talent, but tangible, individual growth can be seen as the Huskers fight through another tough season. 

Watson is starting to look like an All-Big Ten point guard. Morrow’s jump in production was very important, and his absence during injury was keenly felt. McVeigh made it through a tough stretch, and his stroke is gaining steam. Freshman center Jordy Tshimanga has progressed rapidly in his first year. Freshmen Isaiah Roby and Jeriah Horne have flashed abilities that should make fans drool.

Each of those players has gotten much better, but Nebraska’s poster boy for development has been senior Tai Webster. A high profile recruit, Webster failed to live up to expectations during his first two years. Many labeled him a bust. However, the combo guard has taken huge steps forward during his second two seasons.

Webster emerged as a reliable third scoring option as a junior, averaging over 10 points per game. As a senior, he’s been nothing short of outstanding while leading Nebraska in scoring and assists.

It’s also important to keep in mind that while these improving players have still produced a losing record, they’ve been competitive. In losses to Ohio State, Rutgers, Wisconsin and Clemson, the Huskers are five total points away from being 4-0 (and 15-12 overall).  Given their strength of schedule, Nebraska would still be in the NCAA tournament hunt with that record. 

Of course, at some point, those kinds of losses have to start becoming wins. Still, the fact that a team this young seems so close to breaking through is plenty of reason to grant Miles patience.

The Future is Bright

A glance into the foreseeable future does no more to temper optimism. Every integral rotation player not named Webster will be back in 2017-18.

In addition to the continued development of those young players, the Huskers will get guard Anton Gill back from injury and add two high-profile transfers. Wing James Palmer and former five-star forward Isaac Copeland will bolster an already talented roster.

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Most of those players have at least two more years in the program. Barring a total collapse in 2017-18, it would be crazy not to give Miles at least two more seasons on the job before deciding whether to cut ties.

For those that disagree, remember that Nebraska basketball cannot reasonably be held to the same standard as Nebraska football.

Their histories just don’t warrant similar expectations. After all, if you get rid of Miles, you have to find someone to replace him. Would anyone with a resume significantly better than Miles’ even glance at a job like Nebraska?

If Nebrasketball is ever to find success, its coach needs to be afforded ample patience as he builds his program. Considering the youth and talent of his team, nobody should be ready to concede that Miles isn’t the right guy for the job.

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