Another week has passed for Nebraska men's basketball in Portal, and it's been a very eventful week. Coming out of the recruiting dead period last Friday, the Huskers hit the ground running and began rebuilding their roster.
Nebraska, which had six players leave last season, has been slowly adding to its roster and made significant progress last week. The Huskers gave him a two-commit deal via the portal last week.Both players are former Utah guards. laurie wurster and former Rutgers guard Gavin Griffiths Fills a coveted role at Nebraska.
Wurster, who has started over 100 career games, is an experienced Power 5 point guard who will make an immediate impact for the Huskers. Last season, Wurster averaged 9.9 points and 5.5 assists per game.
The worst part is the distribution floor general that Nebraska was looking for. In 2023-24, the Huskers' assist leader was junior center Lienk Mast, but he's not necessarily a strong passer. Wurster may have to compete for the starting point guard spot with junior point guard Aaron Ulis, who is returning from a one-year suspension, but Ulis has not yet been given the slot.
Griffith, another transfer the Huskers acquired last week, is also a guard, but a much different player than Wurster. The 6-foot-8 freshman struggled, starting just three games in his first year of college basketball, but averaged 5.8 points per game and shot 32.4 percent from the field.
Despite his troubled first year, there are many bright spots for Griffith. He's a consensus top-50 recruit in the 2023 recruiting class and has unusual length for the guard position. Not only does Griffith add a promising bench member to Nebraska's roster, he also adds a much-needed young player with three years of eligibility remaining.
In addition to adding a few players last week, the Huskers are still working on adding more players to their roster. They have four scholarship spots for next season and still have a lot of potential.
Last Saturday, Nebraska welcomed the junior forward from Charlotte. Igor Milicic. Milicic is a former teammate of Huskers junior forward Bryce Williams. In the 2023-24 season, Milcic averaged 12.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while shooting 37.6% from the field.
Milicic has improved each season of his career and could see major improvements in head coach Fred Hoiberg's system. Milicic also visited Baylor and Tennessee this week, and he plans to attend his next school soon.
Former Minnesota forward Farrell Payne Nebraska still has some attention. He has not set an official visit date with the Huskers, but he is rumored to still be interested. Mr. Payne has visited many major programs. He visited Indiana last weekend and Oregon this week.
There are also rumors that Nebraska has contacted the former Villanova sophomore point guard. brendan housen. Hausen shot over 40% from deep during his freshman season and is another elite shooter the Huskers could add. There is no official connection with Hausen yet, but his name is worth remembering.
Nebraska is also scheduled to host former Oklahoma State junior forward John Hagley IV this weekend. But Mr. Huguely made an appointment with Mr. Xavier after taking an official visit last week. Hagley was scheduled to visit Lincoln during his last transfer portal cycle, but that fell through.
This past week put the Huskers in a good position heading into this offseason. They have built a solid foundation for their roster and there is still room to truly take this team to the next level. But if Nebraska wants to build on last season's momentum, it will need to properly utilize the open spots.
sports@dailynebraskan.com
