[HUSKERNSAV]

Brian Diaz left the court after Monday’s basketball practice and headed to the weight room.

Doc Sadler make a joke about Diaz going to visit his new best friend.

So, yeah, Nebraska’s newest recruit, a 6-foot-11, 235-pound center, could stand to add a little muscle.

Not enough by Wednesday, obviously. That’s when the Huskers face arguably the Big 12’s top player, Oklahoma center Blake Griffin.

“The last thing I want to do is put (Diaz) in a situation where he’s having to think,” said Sadler, the Nebraska men’s coach. “It’s too hard of a game against too good of a player to be in there not really feeling comfortable.”

Yet Sadler was impressed enough after Diaz’s first practice that he wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Diaz playing sometime this week.

“It’s possible he could play Wednesday,” Sadler said, “but probably more possible that he could play Saturday.”

That’s when Nebraska hosts upstart Oklahoma State. A home game against Kansas follows next week.

Nebraska, 12-4 overall, is off to a 2-1 start in Big 12 Conference play, and Sadler said he’s willing to do whatever it takes to win as many league games at possible.

Whether that means burning a year of eligibility for a player who’s arrived with as few as 14 games on the schedule remains to be seen.

Sadler said redshirting Diaz is still possible.

“I think that conversation probably takes place around Friday or Saturday,” Sadler said. “(But) I’m not saying he couldn’t play Wednesday.”

Factoring into the decision is the declining health of 6-8 forward Chris Balham, the tallest player on the nation’s shortest team. Balham continues to battle problems with his knee.

“Chris is probably as in bad of shape health-wise as he’s been in a long time,” Sadler said.

While Balham missed most of practice Monday, freshman guard Brandon Richardson did practice. He has missed the last three games with a shoulder injury.

Although Sadler said things were moving “pretty fast” for Diaz on Monday, the coach was pleased with his newcomer’s mental grasp.

“Obviously, the speed, he’s going to really have to pick up,” Sadler said. “That’s why I don’t want to get into a situation where he’s thinking. The speed of the game, once he learns what we’re doing, it’s got to pick up twice as much.”

Sadler said Diaz is “not even close” to the conditioning level Sadler wants him, but that he was in reasonably good shape and able to complete practice.

“Tomorrow,” Sadler said, “I’m sure he’s going to be really sore.”

Sadler said he was pleased with Diaz’s offensive skills, “which I knew were there.”

Diaz is not yet speaking with the media.

Hill ‘most valuable’

Lincoln native Matt Hill, a sophomore center at Texas, played a career-high 27 minutes in the Longhorns’ 71-49 victory Saturday at Texas Tech. That’s 22 more than his season average.

“After the loss at Oklahoma, I told Matt Hill, ‘If I were you, I’d be upset with me. You’ve done everything I’ve asked you to do, and I haven’t given you the opportunity,’ ” Texas coach Rick Barnes told the Austin American-Statesman. “I said it won’t happen again.”

Hill had six points, five rebounds and one blocked shot, leading teammate Damion James to call Hill the “most valuable player on the court today” in post-game interviews.

On the bright side? ...

Suffice it to say Texas Tech coach Pat Knight wasn’t happy after his team’s home loss to Texas, which dropped the Red Raiders to 10-7 overall and 0-2 in the Big 12.

Said Knight in his postgame news conference: “The second half, we couldn’t shoot, we couldn’t pass, we couldn’t guard, we couldn’t rebound, we couldn’t play. We didn’t have one guy who looked like he could play in the Big 12. That’s the bottom line. We’re an awful basketball team. I’m an awful coach right now. This team’s bad right now.”

Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.

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HuskerExtra.com - Lincoln, Nebraska - Mens Basketball

[huskerborn]

well, it was best he passed this season. Nu should be a force next year!