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Enjoy our terrific photos from the Texas Tech pregame festivities at the Husker Nation Pavillion, as Doc Sadler and the Nebraska men's basketball team made an appearance for some fun and introductions...enjoy...and upload your own photos today!

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It's not quite a do-over. There are, after all, a handful of Nebraska basketball players left over from last year's overachieving, 18-13 squad. And those guys – Ryan Anderson, Sek Henry, Brandon Richardson and Toney McCray – should play big roles in 2009-2010.

But as NU opens practice Friday afternoon at the Bob Devaney Sports Center – the 5 p.m. session is open to fans - it is, frankly, tabula rasa for head coach Doc Sadler. Blank slate. Through three years, Sadler's small, tenacious teams nipped at the heels of the Big 12's elite and took bites out of every one of them except Kansas. With the help of exactly one big man of any professional caliber – Aleks Maric – the Cornhuskers qualified for the NIT two years ago. On the back of a self-sacrificing forward – Ade Dagunduro – they did it again last season.

Nebraska really had no business vying for NCAA Tournament bids. Not with the roster Sadler had on hand, a roster that was mostly of his own making by last year. The superior coaching job Sadler performed – NU never had a player taller than 6-foot-6 on the floor for more than ten minutes in any Big 12 game last year – overshadowed some poor – and unlucky – recruiting efforts. Roburt Sallie. Shang Ping. Alex Chapman. No need to recount their stories, or others.

The bottom line is this: Sadler threw away the old blueprint and stocked the roster with guys he thinks can compete in the Big 12. A couple JUCO kids from Florida in Lance Jeter and Quincy Hankins-Cole. An athletic wing from Maryland in Myles Holley. A seven-foot Puerto Rican center in Brian Diaz, who's skilled, but has hardly played basketball in the last two years. A German import in Christopher Standhardinger, who has to sit out the first half of the season and probably carry far too much expectation with him into the conference campaign.

The size and athleticism is there. But it's a lot of raw talent that needs to be shaped into a winner. Sadler has two years to do it.

Yes, two. If Sadler is going to build this bunch right, the Huskers are going to take some lumps this year. Chemistry takes time. Leadership development does, too. And when Standhardinger joins the mix, deciding how and when to utilize his shooting skills, will take time.

The Huskers are a true melting pot. Every kind of background you could imagine. Prep school kids, high school sleepers, former football players. Every corner of America, plus three international players. Just imagine what happens if Angolan Vander Joaquim shows up next year.

Sadler's a master motivator and holds his own with a white board, but it's going to take time to figure out to push each of his players' buttons. His most interesting project is Diaz, a talented, mild-mannered kid who will have to mix it up with stronger, bigger bodies. Sadler knows how to get Anderson or McCray's attention for sure. How will he do it with Diaz?

NU upgraded its non-conference schedule at an inopportune time. A tournament in Las Vegas could very well be an 0-2 trip. Games at Creighton, USC and Saint Louis will test a young team. Oregon State heads to Lincoln with realistic hopes of an NCAA Tournament bid.

And the Big 12 is better than it's ever been, with Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State nestled inside the top 25 and Missouri and Kansas State knocking on the door. Every team but NU and Baylor returns the core of its team from last year. For the first time since Larry Eustachy tore into a case of Natty Lights, Iowa State actually has fighting chance, too. The Huskers may hold their own at home, but stealing many on the road – especially with Big 12 South games at UT, OSU and Texas A&M – seems unlikely.

Nebraska could be a better basketball team than it was last year – and not win 16 games. A postseason trip of any kind would be an achievement.

But Sadler and the Huskers need this crucible of a season to set the stage for 2010, when Oklahoma State Kansas and Kansas State lose their best players and Texas and OU invariably lose some guys to the NBA Draft. By then, the Huskers will have a pecking order in scoring and an offensive comfort on the floor.

NU isn't going to write off this year. Sadler's good for two or three upsets on his coaching – and his team's effort – alone. The Huskers will still play tough defense. Still drive some Big 12 coach mad with their ability to create havoc and steals. And they'll still struggle to score sometimes, too. And shoot. And run the point.

It takes some guts for Sadler to overhaul the roster like he did. To chart a new course for the program just three years after he was hired. He's gambling on this melting pot of talent. Nebraska fans owe him 24 months, however messy the cooking process might get.

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