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Post by oldmanred on Oct 20, 2014 13:57:18 GMT -5
Wow; the natives are getting restless! GO HUSKERS
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Post by vbmom10 on Oct 20, 2014 13:58:48 GMT -5
Agree with these latest posts. My kid has played against the twins since 14--they haven't changed much. Their reputation in high school and club was they were not the best teammates, not fun to play with. Was at the game Saturday, no energy, no fun atmosphere. The most fun was when the Illini students came in with red shirts on, sat in the student section directly ahead of us, took of the red shirts when its dark during introductions, appeared in their orange shirts and were fun and loud for the first few points, and then evicted to high seats opposite.
Cook would be a hard coach to play for, definitely not for everyone. Always heard Werth wanted to leave but he said he would never give her a release, not sure if that is true. Have also heard from a former player, (left after freshman year), promised all sorts of things, delivered on little. Saw Cook tear into Meske and Dani B the last couple of games, haven't really paid attention to that before. Tough year for the Huskers, hope they can turn it around.
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Post by volleyguy on Oct 20, 2014 14:06:15 GMT -5
and no dorothymantooth to stick a finger in the dike (eeeww, that sounded dirty).
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Post by VolleyTX on Oct 20, 2014 14:12:49 GMT -5
dirty's good, but the moderators will probably shut it down.
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Post by nothingbutcorn on Oct 20, 2014 14:13:17 GMT -5
As I have stated on VT - Not a fan of Cook. I think he could of had two more final four teams had he made the right choice with Lauren. He should of had Lauren sit her first year here. Sydney running a 5-1 and that team would of had a better chance of making a final four. Had Lauren redshirted her soph. year here then she would have set last year. I think that team would had made it to the final four with Lauren running it.
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Post by oldmanred on Oct 20, 2014 14:19:42 GMT -5
and no dorothymantooth to stick a finger in the dike (eeeww, that sounded dirty). Now that you mention it; it's been awhile since I've seen a post from Dorothy! GO HUSKERS
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Post by volleyguy on Oct 20, 2014 14:21:38 GMT -5
and no dorothymantooth to stick a finger in the dike (eeeww, that sounded dirty). Now that you mention it; it's been awhile since I've seen a post from Dorothy! GO HUSKERS You must have missed it. He had some drama.
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Post by Nsanity on Oct 20, 2014 15:21:47 GMT -5
(First time poster, many year stalker/reader- Big Ten VB fan- Nebraska fan- based on where I live-season ticket holder)Agreed the team is in a rebuilding year, (young team, average setter) however there are many many issues with this team; most that were there last year but were overshadowed by Kelsey Robinson who was amazing. I hear this from a source associated with the team last year....... Mary - great leader off of the court, not always on the court. When she struggles (gets tight) it affects the other team members, making them play tight too- gets frustrated easily. K. Hunter- the better setter, won China, won fall camp, Cook didn't know what to do with Mary? So he sits the better setter (the team wanted K. Hunter).Would like to pull her redshirt, but probably too late. Struggles to set the middles and RS, ongoing problem, Kelsey Robinson masked her abilities, because Kelsey could hit anything and get a kill. Very hard worker, very fit, all around nice girl, liked by her teammates. Only senior. Twins- rules don't apply to them. Anyone else playing poorly they get pulled not the twins or at least not very often (game three of Michigan game). Attitude issues - moreso Katie...not the best teammate. Yells at her teammates constantly, negativity. When getting beat or playing poorly- gives up. Only cares how she plays, not the team. Yells at her teammates when she makes errors, never because of her play. Every coach has had trouble with her, no different w Cook. Sat her in Hawaii- didnt work. Threatens to sit her or not start her, kicks her out of practice, she doesn't care, she knows he cant sit her and has even said that. Doesn't ever cheer for her teammates. Amber struggling because of Mary. Easier to get along with. More positive, often tells Katie to knock it off when she's screaming at her team or screaming at Cook (yes Kadie screams at him too). Amber often gets lumped in as "the twins" unfair, less issues with her. If Cook pulls Amber, Katie pouts and then she plays bad. Maybe a twin thing? Both talented,(moreso Katie) doesn't understand the team concept. I'm told their presence has hurt recruiting, because of their reputation- some girls just dont want to play with them. (again more Katie). They work hard when they want to, athletic. Cook, don't envy him having to deal with the twins, not easy. Screamer, not very encouraging. Knows VB, doesn't know girls. (many girls have left, hard to play for). Creates more problems by not treating everyone fairly when it comes to rules (twins). Plays favorites (twins). Threatens, doesn't follow through. Doesn't listen to his assistants, screams at them too. Doesnt have a relationship with his players, afraid to talk to him. Better recruiter. Doesn't seem to understand that being positive and encouraging at least some of the time, gets more out of female athletes. Courtside demeanor very negative, as a girl comes off the floor- usually yelling at them. Girls afraid to make a mistake. Athletes play in spite of him not for him. (listen to media clip after China- where the girls had a meeting, were mad at the coaches for being so negative so they came up with a keyword "Black shirts" (coaching were all wearing blackshirts)meaning they were out there doing for themselves not for the "black shirts" coaches. Great Nebraska supporter, great media skills. VB players are treated well at Nebraska, as good as the FB players- and many schools that doesn't happen, much of that is because of Cook. So nothingbutcorn you are correct, Volleytx you are correct- girls are not having fun. Hoosierdraft and Volleyhead you are correct. fbjr1 and huskerhawk you are correct. It's going to be a long season, but I am still a fan through thick and thin. Hopefully it doesn't get thinner!
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Post by bkedane on Oct 20, 2014 15:44:43 GMT -5
Now that you mention it; it's been awhile since I've seen a post from Dorothy! GO HUSKERS You must have missed it. He had some drama. Most of the regulars who disappear return with new screen names. Maybe it's already happened in this case like in so many others.
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Nside
Sophomore
Posts: 201
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Post by Nside on Oct 20, 2014 15:48:09 GMT -5
As I have stated on VT - Not a fan of Cook. I think he could of had two more final four teams had he made the right choice with Lauren. He should of had Lauren sit her first year here. Sydney running a 5-1 and that team would of had a better chance of making a final four. Had Lauren redshirted her soph. year here then she would have set last year. I think that team would had made it to the final four with Lauren running it. That 2010 decision still upsets me to this day and I agree with what others have said about it affecting the setting position this year. After watching Cook's press conference today one thing stood out. Towards the end Cook mentioned he just finished reviewing tape/stats for the past 6 matches, and found that the Huskers blocked, passed, and dug better than most of their opponents (not including Michigan). This confirms what everyone has been saying about Pollmiller, and setting is clearly one of the Huskers biggest issues.
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Post by eov4nu on Oct 20, 2014 15:56:36 GMT -5
This reminds me a lot of the year Terry Pettit redshirted Christy Johnson to give the nod to a less talented Nikki Stricker for her senior year although I don't remember the glaring team problems that this group is having, that group of Huskers struggled without a quality setter.
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Post by nothingbutcorn on Oct 20, 2014 16:07:30 GMT -5
I find it very interesting that Cook would state that to the media.
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Post by leftypower on Oct 20, 2014 16:18:12 GMT -5
OWH tweeted that the Huskers are hitting .238 as a team, which is the lowest percentage since at least 1999, which is when the online records stop. I don't know if there's much better evidence to what Neb is struggling at the most.
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Post by jgrout on Oct 20, 2014 18:06:32 GMT -5
I remember Coach Cook's press conference after his national semi-final loss to Stanford in San Diego back in 2001. Even though the Huskers lost 3-0, it was as if they had just won 3-0. He seemed almost detached from the reality that his team had just lost. To be fair, all three set losses were very close... Stanford just had a little bit more.
However, the main take-home from that Final Four was that Nebraska fans literally had no idea of how good both Long Beach State and Stanford were. Long Beach was so strong that they actually won first-place votes in the final AVCA poll after losing the national final to Stanford (something that had never happened before... mostly because having a final AVCA poll after the tournament had been a recent change... and it has never happened since). Going into the Final Four, the newspapers back in Omaha and Lincoln were telling Nebraskans that the Huskers were the favorite to win the national championship and never gave the slightest indication of how strong other programs were that season. The 2005 Huskers were dealt a somewhat better hand but, once again, Nebraska was significantly overestimated and Washington was significantly underestimated in the Nebraska media.
To the extent the Nebraska media's job was to celebrate the Huskers, they succeeded. To the extent the Nebraska media's job was to report the volleyball scene in a fair and unbalanced fashion, they failed... and I believe their fans were hurt unnecessarily in the process... at least all the ones I talked to in San Diego. They were shocked silly... and those were the ones that came back for the final. Many of them didn't (though that's another positive about Nebraska volleyball fans at the Final Four... most will come back even after the Huskers have been knocked out, or even come if they had hoped the Huskers would make it but didn't... e.g., to Sacramento in 2007).
P.S. After Stanford won the first national semi-final in Omaha in 2006, Gabi Ailes' whole family took off their Stanford garb, revealing their Nebraska garb underneath, and rooted for the Huskers. They did wear Stanford garb to the final. Stanford was lucky to be there, as Gabi's big sister Tatum did her best to knock them out of the tournament in the sub-regional final against Mizzou, which went five desperate sets: Stanford only won because Foluke Akinradewo played Superwoman... and on the court, not just on TV. A number of us went out of our way to tell Tatum what a great job she had done (we had to avoid Gabi, since she had signed but not yet enrolled at Stanford... to this day, there are Stanford fans who believe that if Gabi had been on the court for Stanford, we would have beaten Nebraska in the final... my take is that we will never know).
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Post by Billy on Oct 20, 2014 18:15:18 GMT -5
Cook is what he is. A great fundamental trainer and a good strategist. However he coaches for himself which is one reason many of the kids play for themselves. You could say he bears a great deal of responsibility for how the twins behave today. If you have been coaching VB in Nebraska for 20 years like I have, the twins horrible attitude is the worst kept secret in Nebraska. They committed to the huskers without ever have been to a volleyball match. Gwen Egbert, their high school coach became JC's right hand women...coaching fundamentals reasonably well but ignoring their horrible attitudes and constant berating of setters. The twins and their parents dictated to coaches who played and who the setter was. Twins were never benched for bad attitudes or the poor treatment of teammates. Got even worse at the club level with Wishmeyer. Spoiled them even worse. Any player who stood up the the twins was benched or ostracized. Likely all under Cook's supervision. Now he has to eat his own cooking...no pun intended.
I would add they he is brutal on assistant coaches. He still get them to come in because they know it will help them get a head job. And of course you can't bad mouth him after you leave. But Erik Sullivan couldn't wait to get our of there and neither could Conners. For sure Werth asked for her release on more than one occasion. And don't forget Rachel Holloway. It took Cook to take the joy out playing for her.
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