1-on-1 with DP – 93.7 The Ticket KNTK - One-On-One with DP: November 1st, 3pm – Buzzy Caruthers (Husker Men's Basketball)

Episode Date: November 1, 2021

One-On-One with DP: November 1st, 3pm – Buzzy Caruthers (Husker Men's Basketball)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It's time to go one-on-one with D.P. Coming at you live from the Coppull Chevrolet GMC Studios, here is your host, Derek Pearson, presented by Beatrice Bakery, on 937 The Ticket and The Ticket FM.com. Good morning, good noon, good afternoon, good evening. Let's get them all in. Happy Monday, everybody. And what's up?

I appreciate you guys. It was a good weekend in meeting a lot of folks, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Appreciate you guys. Met a lot of folks at the basketball game yesterday morning. A lot of you, quite a few of you on Saturday going to the game, coming from the game after the game, greatly appreciate it. Appreciate you guys. You were spectacular. You folks that hung out with us at Tanner's Saturday night in the post game, you know, bravo.

Bravo. Great show, great numbers, the crowd you guys brought juice. It was cool to sit back and kind of go through it together. It was necessary because it wasn't easy. It was not easy. But appreciate it. You guys know the deal. You know the rules. If you want to engage, please hit me with the What's Up DP on the Sartre-Hammon text line. 4-2-464-5-6-85. You can call in the Honda Lincoln Hotline. same number you can jump on the Sartar Hammond video stream check it out check it out you might want to do that at 330 just just FYI

Facebook YouTube Twitch YouTube there's a chat you can go in we'll follow we'll respond you should have already hit the bell you should have liked you should subscribe that way it comes straight to your phone when it's time and it's all good it's all good Let's bring in. This guy had a busy weekend.

He had a busy weekend. They had recruits in town. He's doing, he had to do some play-by-play. He's getting his work in, you know, meeting families, high-fiving, you know, chest bumping. But I think he should be in a good mood today. I'm going to go out on a one. Let's bring in Nebraska basketball. It's director of player development, Buzzy Carruthers.

Coach. What's up? What up, D. Oh, man. Oh, man. It's good to see you and your crew stretch your legs a little bit. Right. Right, to just let the thing that you've been in the lab, right?

And, you know, folks don't get to see the recipes that get screwed up. They don't get to see all the different versions of this thing. But that's a pretty good display that you guys put on yesterday. Talk about it. First things first. What's the first impression, the greatest thing that you saw yesterday? You know, I've been asked that a couple times. And I personally feel like defensively we played really well.

We didn't play a full 40 minutes of defense, which, you know, we'll take the 30 to 35 minutes that we did play and build off of that. but that's one thing that I was really looking for going into the game was how would we defend? Because obviously, I mean, you know, you guys got up for this game a little more than they did, you know, Peru State, obviously for, you know, a number of reasons, but the main being, you know, Peru State to NIH. So, you know, guys don't always, you know, get up for those games like that. But, you know, to have another Power 5 in the building, and to, you know, just get a really, really good look at what you have going against another Powerfired team like Colorado, who, you know, had some returners, had some newcomers as well.

I think it gave us a boost of confidence the way we performed. So I was happy on all fronts, but particularly the defensive end. I was very satisfied with how we played defensively. Buzzy, this was interesting because it's an early morning game, Sunday morning, no less. The crowd, I was interested because they rather enjoyed you. Like to just to see, right? Like, did you? Like, did you? Like, did you notice that? No, I mean, you know, it was so fun. Like both games, it was just, it was so fun to hear the crowd. and then to hear them respond to like Ksay's D3.

Right. It was, yeah, it gave you a little bit of chills. It made you smile for sure. When you plot this thing out, right, that the coaches will have kind of their own private boxes to be checked, right? Things that we have to do to be good, to be great and to be elite. Let's start with the elite list because that's the hardest corner to get into, right, where you're dealing with perfection or at least the ideal of your team. What are it going to be the toughest things?

And most fans would simply say, well, it's keeping folks off the offensive board. Would you agree with that? Certainly. I mean, that's an emphasis that we've had from day one here, just, you know, rebounding better. I think now we actually have the size to rebound in the front court. And then also, too, we have guys that are, well, guards that are good rebounders, like a tray, like Alonzo, like Bryce. I think those guys are going to help out even more just because they have good noses for the ball. And so all we really need to do is, you know, just check our men, tag our men, just be fundamental when it comes to the defensive.

and it's something that we work on every day, Coach Royberg, Coach Linder, they're big on making sure we have some boxout drills in practice. So we continue to build that habit of finding a man, tagging a man, and making sure we go secure that defensive rebound. When you guys, you guys use a lot of overlapping defenses, right?

You've got guys that are in defend early. They're high upside, other than the backside, you know, the fifth player, everybody else is kind of hedging, right? You're kind of, you want forced to make passes difficult. And sometimes that makes it difficult to match up, find a body, bang it, move it, all within the matter of a shot, getting from fingertip to the rim. So how do you adjust that? How do you get wing players who are defending a full 19 feet, 20 feet, 21 feet to box out?

especially to handle long rebounds? Well, the biggest thing is communication, in my opinion. If we communicate on that defensive end, which was more so kind of where we broke down when we did have those breakdowns and they were able to get offensive rebounds. If we communicate, you're in the right position. And so if you're in the right position, usually when that shot goes up, there's a man that you'll be able to see and tag and box out. I think the times where, you know, they got multiple offensive rebounds,

we didn't communicate on that defensive end. And that caused us to be out of position. And then when you're out of position, I mean, it's sort of like playing a zone. You know, it's hard to rebound out of the zone. So we have to do a better job communicating. And just if we communicate, we'll be in the right positions when that ball goes up. What was, is this rebounding size issue, effort issue, can effort outwork size?

I don't think it's either. I think it's just we're so excited to get to the office of NDP. That's the next question. We want to start that break so fast, you know, guys, you know, and, you know, guys are, you know, lucky. They do have a guy down there like Derek. I mean, Derek put on a great display of his power and his strength yesterday. battling those guys, those bigs yesterday,

and just showing that he is, you know, the big dog of dogs. And sometimes you get a little spoiled when you see Derek down there, and our guards kind of forget, you know, they leak out a little bit. But I think it's just a matter of continuing to pound, you know, habits and just continuing to produce them in practice. And I think eventually as we go on, I mean, as we get to Big Ten play, Hopefully that's something that we can nip in the bud, and we're really solid at it.

Talking to Husker Basketball, Director of Player Development, Buzzy Carruthers, and when you talk about getting in transition pretty quickly, is that a trade that you're going to make, a wide open three for the risk of an offensive rebound? You said, is that a trade? Is that a trade? Is that a fair trade? Because that leak out, that runout,

is purposeful because you've got shooters that'll be in the box who have to get to the far wing in transition and be prepared for a shot. So do you have to sacrifice one to get the other? Is that always the trade situation that you have to deal with? I don't think you have to sacrifice one to get the other. I think it's just going to be a matter of mentality, honestly, because you have to sprint either way. on a make or on a miss, you have to sprint to those corners. Coach preaches, guys, sprint to the corner, sprint, sprint, sprint.

And what we always want is just a quick kick-up. And if we can, we want to get, you know, into our pistol action and go into a handoff or if we can get a quick kick-up, we want to get a transition three. I think the bigger issue is just consistently sprinting off of, of a made basket off of a bad possession, you know, just having that mentality of when we go to offense, we have to sprint and not, you know, maybe have a bucket or a momentum bucket that the other team makes. And, you know, we kind of slow our momentum. You know, coach is always about pushing the

pace. We want to be one of the fastest teams in the nation. We want to be in the top 10. So I think it's just a matter of mentality, just building that habit. Defensively, just knowing that, whether make or miss, you have to sprint to the offensive end. Yeah, and that stretch that's provided, especially with the pure shooters you have who are getting out front and get to those corners. I've tried to say to people that Big Ten, if you've got a bunch of Frankensteins and you've got to have big guys who have to run the full floor and then get from front of the rim out to a corner three and then back to the rim to rebound and do that over several

possessions, that's a lot of work. Man, the lungs are empty. Yeah, I agree. It's going to be very, if we play how we're supposed to play, you know, if we play, obviously we want to play better than we did yesterday, but I felt like we shot the ball, how we're going to shoot the ball. I think we'll see, we should see nights like that every night. I was just so hyped to see some of the lineups out there,

and I was so hyped to see guys not turn down threes and just let it fly and have that ultimate confidence of, you know, just shooting the ball. And that's what Coach Hoyberg gives guys. You know, he wants guys to take the open shots and continue to just play with flow and not necessarily have to think a whole bunch when they're on the offensive end. So I think a game like last, like, yeah, I say last night, but yesterday morning, a game like yesterday morning, I think that's something that we should see on a consistent basis throughout the year. here's an interesting thing.

Your first group is the steadiest of the bunch, right? And guys that right place, right time otherwise. But you have a dilemma because your second group is just juicy, right? That when they hit the floor, everybody in the spot now knows, oh, let me lean up a little bit. Because, again, the fan favorites are as they develop, right? Right, right, right. And there's literally nothing you can do about it.

That if, if Brighton Bach and Tominaga and Wilcher and Keon hit the floor, whoever it is coming off your bench hits the floor, folks know that there are some specialists who are elite at what they do hitting the floor. How do you deal with that? Because they're going to be nights where that second group is actually your 1A for the evening. I mean, I think it's just a matter of staying together, just having that togetherness. You know, next man up mentality. I know that's cliche, but the other thing I was really, really pleased with yesterday was our team's camaraderie on the bench,

cheering guys on. You know, like Alonzo had said, you know, the past few weeks, you know, it's been tough because these guys have been beating up on each other. So in practice, you know, it's gotten chippy. But to see yesterday the guys all just cheering for each other and wanting the same result and not showing any type of bad body language because they might not play as much as they want to or might not have shot the ball as many times they want to or scored as much as they want to. Nobody cared yesterday who got the credit. And that's something that we're going to have to continue to keep on doing just to stay together.

So I think that togetherness was a big. take away from yesterday. And, you know, like you said, that second group, obviously, K. Shavonaga and Wilhelm, they are definitely the fan favorites right now. And, you know, when they get on that floor, you know, fans do probably, you know, get to their seat a little bit more because, you know, there's such exciting players to watch. And I think it's just going to be fun to watch coach Hoyberg.

play with the lineups. So, you know, in Casey, Tomonaga, Alonzo Verge, Wilhelm Brighton, you know, Bryce and Trey McGowan, you get that lineup out there. You could have some really, you could have a highlight every play. Yeah.

You could have a highlight every play. And it's crazy that those highlights could be kickout to three-pointers. And nobody be mad over. Right. Right. Or just. like a step back three from Wilhelm because Wilhelm yesterday, again, you know,

feel is so important for basketball. And I think Kay Shea and Wilhelm's feel is one of their best skills. And, you know, not only do those guys have feel, but these dudes have a swagger about themselves, D.P., like, you know, Wilhelm, he'll chirp at you a little bit. Kshay might not say much, but he'll just smile at you. You know what I mean? Look. I'll smile at you, throw that three down, you know what I mean?

Those guys, I mean, I'm excited, man. I'm really, I really am excited. I was just so happy to see our guys camaraderie yesterday. So, you know, I think togetherness is just going to be that big key when if that first group doesn't have it going or a couple guys in that first group don't have it going, that second group is going to be ready to take, you know, take it or do whatever is needed and have that next man up mentality.

It was funny too that this group had it so going on that the moment it sticks the most in my mind is end of the half you get a rebound and K-Shay takes a, he lobs a shot from three-quarter court. And while it was in the air,

literally everybody in the building went, eh, that could go. Right. Right. It was like, wait a minute. That has, okay. If you heard me on the broadcast, I said he will make me. Yeah, like it was, but that was the thing.

I've seen it. Right. Like, we. Buzzy, it was like every, like all the people around me, we just kind of looked at each other like, eh, that's pretty good chat. I've seen it. I have seen it in practice. He will make those.

And it's effortless, too. Yep. It's a natural stroke. It's a natural stroke. Talking to Buzzy Carruthers' basketball. And I want to thank you for bringing me closer to the program, being able to see practice. And this is what I try to tell people. You can watch things in practice because those things inevitably will show up in games.

And you guys run, your cut drills are exceptional. And you use them all the time, right? So you've got several people running at a time. You've got some people popping out for a three. you've got people who make that pass, the entry pass, and they make a back cut. And we saw it several times yesterday. But Derek Walker and Kese, again, not really,

it wasn't even communicated. Oh, actually, it was Eduardo O'Handro. Eduardo came up to the high post, took it, and Kese figured out that his defender didn't have his eyes on him, and he sprinted to the basket and a beautiful bounce pass. Right. This is, this team is more athletic than previous teams. It also has a higher basketball IQ than previous teams.

Is that not a fair statement? I would definitely agree. This is the most athletic team we've had since we've been here. And yeah, we do. And to play in Coach Boyd-Birk's system, you have to have a high IQ because, you know, it's a read-and-react system. And I think I would also agree with that as far as, you know, not only have our vets learn the system and have that,

field, but the guys that just got here for them to actually, you know, feel like they've been here before. They were here last year and had that field. It's big time for the squad. And, you know, the more natural, naturally they're able to play with each other and bounce off of each other, I think the better it would be for all of our guys. But as far as just being able to pick and plug with lineup. So, yeah, I would definitely agree.

Definitely more athletic. I mean, this is probably the most athletic team we've had. And you know what's funny? I feel like, you know, like the athleticism kind of just rubs off on everybody. Well, also, too, I give some credit to Kurt Joseph or Street to conditioning coach because I see differences in some of these guys, you know, vertical and quick-twitch stuff since he's been here that's been really, really good for these guys athleticism too.

So he'd credit to him, but I would definitely agree. Both high-fi-Q team we've had so far and the most athletic. Buzzy, how do you guys look at the statutes after games, I mean, aside from Wends being the first thing that pops off the board, but on a day when you take 60 shots at score 82 points, I would say from an efficiency standpoint, being able to get Derek Walker 12 points on six shots tells me a lot about the efficiency. of this team, the way the system is set up.

I love the fact that you got me. CJ Wilcher, 11 points on six shots. You have a lot of guys who are doing good work, yeoman's work with the shot selection and being able to finish. Is this a better finishing team than previous? You know, I think finishing, for sure, I think Derek has a really, really good feel now for the offense, and I think he just has that confidence now.

and he's playing, you know, he's maxing out right now. I can't wait for him to continue on to this season and to see what he does. But I feel like a lot of this is because of Alonzo Burge. I'm really excited with the Burge and Derek Walker tandem because, you know, that middle ball screen the past two games, it's been phenomenal. I mean, Zoh just, I mean, he could just read. makes the great reads.

And then when Derek gets it, he makes it even better read, whether to finish or the kick to spray out. And so these past couple games, they really haven't checked that middle ball screen, right? They're really not tagging that middle ball screen. And if you don't tag it, then it's going to be open every, there's going to be a layup or dump for Derek every time. But once they do start sinking in BP, to bag that dude, that's just going to open up our perimeter guys.

will have K-Shea in one corner, CJ in the other corner, or Bryce in one corner and, you know, Kian in the other corner. So they're going to have to pick their poison. They're either going to have to tag Dave Walker on the roll or not tag them and stay, you know, connected to the shooters on the perimeter. It's fascinating to watch Alonzo Verge in that space. And I'm glad these exhibitions were at home

so that folks can get to know and see. One, he's not taking the temperature in the room. He's setting it. And it's really good to have a point guard who was smart, fast, quick, and tougher than expected. Talk to me about Verge. Yeah, no, he's definitely been a big time difference maker for us. Just because, again, going back to IQ, he has one of the best fields that we've

had so far as far as being at that point gone position. And then add to that, his mid-range game as far shooting the ball is exceptional, then add to that, his three-point shooting is going to be really, really well because I think Coach Boyberger just boosted his head with his confidence of shooting a three ball. And he makes the Nets pop when he shoots it. So I think he just is such a big difference maker because he can score.

at all three levels and then his underrated vision that he hasn't really gotten to display. I think he really, I think that's something that he is really focused on displaying this year, letting, you know, NBA teams, you know, European teams, letting these pro teams know that, hey, he is a real point guard. Like, he's a true point guard to the teeth and he can distribute just as well as he can score. Yeah, anybody's asked the question whether Lonzo Verge is a professional point guard, true point guard is missing it. They are missing it.

I had to set some people straight yesterday as well because it was, well, it seems like Bryce doesn't play hard. I'm like, no, no, no. That's called smooth. There's certain people, right. Right. There's certain people that played a different pace different than everybody else. He just makes it look slower than it is.

And that's, I think that. And here's the thing. I want to give him credit because Bryce plays the cerebral game as well as anybody on the floor. Like he knows where to be, when to be there, and what plays need to be made. Very true. I mean, you couldn't, I couldn't put it any better. I have my friend that I trained, Alec Berks, you know, that was something that they said in his career early, you know, that it doesn't look like he plays hard. And the fact was that he's just smooth. He was just smooth. He's playing hard. And that goes for most of the guys in the NBA, you know,

guys, you know, a lot of people always think that these guys don't play hard. It's not that they're not playing hard. It's just that, for one, they're going against the best of the best elite, the best guys in the world. So things are going to make, things are going to look easy. Right. But it's also that these guys, you know, they're playing hard. They're just smooth. They're just really good.

And they make everything look graceful when they do it. And I would say that's the same thing with Bryce. He plays hard. and he just makes things look easier. So when he does do some of the things that he does, you know, you're sometimes, you know, thinking that, man, I feel like he should have done this, should have done that. But in reality, you know, he's just smooth.

He's just a smooth player. I'm so happy that he had the game to do yesterday because that's only just going to add to his confidence. You know, I thought he took great shot, that they thought he had good shot selection. He had a couple bunnies where he probably should have dunked it, and he'll tell you that he should have dunked it on them on them dude. Amen.

But that's part of, you know, growing and understanding, you know, you're up another level. You know, you've got to punch that thing on them, dude. So he's getting it. He said it as soon as the game was over. He was like, man, I should have been going to the rack harder. I should have dumped on the dude. So he sees it.

And I'm just really excited for him. because I really enjoyed, you know, how he played, like you said, with that cerebralness. And he does, D.P. He really does. He sees everything. You know, he hasn't really displayed. He's had some good passes, but he's such an underrated passer. And that's a great way to describe his game D.P. He is. He's very cerebral and sees everything. You have eight days until Western Illinois next Tuesday.

What are you guys doing? So we had a light practice today, cleaned up a few things. We'll be off tomorrow, get back at it the next couple days, and take another day off over the weekend. I'm not sure which one, though. And then we'll get after it Sunday, Monday, for sure. And we'll probably start going over, you know, Western Illinois stuff, Saturday or Sunday. and then we're off to the races.

We'll be ready to roll. But the big thing for this week is just making sure these guys get some good recovery. Obviously, you had a lot yesterday, tweak his ankle, so get him back healthy. You know, Kobe didn't play. He's got some back spasms going on right now, so get him back healthy. And so, you know, the basic things to do just this week is really just get healthy. like don't have any injuries, stay locked in mentally,

and just build off of yesterday. Again, two great exhibitions. Good to see. Folks are starting to get behind it. It's starting to be excited. It's going to be a fun team that we know. Buzzie, thank you, kind, sir, for joining me on a Monday. Appreciate your brother.

I'll talk to you tomorrow, man. It's what we do. Budgie, that's Buzzie Good Brother's director. Play, Development, Husker, basketball, toward the break. Come back. We're going to have a special guess. Moose. Moose is mad fresh.

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