Nebraska Basketball: No Ed Morrow for Tim Miles’ Tomorrow
Ed Morrow is the third player to transfer from Tim Miles’ Nebraska basketball program this offseason.
Nick Fuller? “More or less expected.”
Jeriah Horne? “Wasn’t a great fit, won’t hurt the core group to lose him.”
Ed Morrow?
“This one hurts.”
Last season, Nebrasketball went 1-8 in games when Morrow was injured or playing limited minutes.
Of course, the season wasn’t outstanding aside from those games, but that record says something.
It says that the best recruit to land in Lincoln in decades was a key contributor for Miles’ young and talented albeit snake-bitten 2016 squad.
It says that there was a blueprint for the future and pieces to the puzzle were there for a make-or-break 2017 campaign.
It says there’s something wrong, especially when a double legacy walks out the door.
“Miles recruits so well, it’s just a matter of time.”
Argument received. His recruiting has been above average. Young and talented often correlates to growing pains.
That much isn’t hard to believe. However, there comes a time when the fruits of recruiting and development ripen into high expectations.
These are the expectations you sell your fan base. You sell them to recruits. You sell them to your boss.
Should you have to sell them to your players? Shouldn’t there be a hunger? To rise from the depths of mediocrity and fight with the big boys where you know you belong?
Something like that, right?
Athletic director Shawn Eichorst gave Miles another year. The fan base has been forced to accept that fact, willingly or not.
For reasons unknown, Morrow wasn’t buying it. Even with the influx of talent in the backcourt (see two transfers from the East and a stud commit from Illinois).
When a vital player can’t commit to the vision of your coaching staff and can’t trust them to develop him into the player he believes he can be, you can’t blame the kid when he decides to do what’s best for him.
Who can we blame?
Eichorst, the business savvy leader of the Big Red Machine?
Personally, I can’t help but give him the benefit of the doubt. He trusted that his investment was showing signs of an upturn.
However, if you look at the people closest to that investment, all signs point to yet another year of diminishing returns on the court.
He got fooled.
Next: Pick a Coach: Tim Miles or Tom Crean
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
If you thought this year was a make or break year for Miles & Co., take a deep breath, because if it’s possible, the stakes just rose.