Fred Hoiberg encouraged by how Nebraska roster filled out

Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg is feeling good about where his roster sits heading into the 2023-24 season. Despite losing two of their top three scorers from last season, the Cornhuskers brought in four transfers and also return a couple of key contributors.

That includes senior guard Keisei Tominaga, who broke out last season to average 13.1 points per game on 40% shooting from 3-point range. Hoiberg also highlighted the return of guard CJ Wilcher, who started 24 games this past season to average 80. points per contest.

“I feel very good about our roster with getting the guys back that had a big impact, especially once we had the injuries,” Hoiberg said. “That experience that our guys gained in that area in roles that maybe increased as the season went on with Jamarques (Lawrence), with Sam (Griesel). CJ (Wilcher) I thought finished the season playing his best basketball.”

The four transfers that Hoiberg added this offseason helped Nebraska to rank No. 7 according to On3’s Transfer Portal Team Rankings. Among those players is former Iowa starting point guard Ahron Ulis, who put up 6.1 points and 2.1 assists per game with the Hawkeyes in 2022-23.

Nebraska also has Rienk Mast, a 6-foot-10 forward and first team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection this past season at Bradley, joining the fold. Former Charlotte guard Brice Williams and New Mexico forward and Lincoln native Josiah Allick round out the transfers.

The Cornhuskers brought in only one freshman, three-star small forward Eli Rice. He ranks as the No. 261 overall player according to the On3 Industry Rating, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. Hoiberg had good things to say about all the new additions.

“You look at adding the types of players that we did, getting experience at our point guard position with Ulis,” the coach explained. “Brice Williams, to me, was a huge pickup for us because of versatility. He finished off last season playing incredibly well and won one of the postseason tournaments where he was the MVP. Guy that shot over 40% last year at over 6-7. Eli Rice has come in. He’s measured almost 6-8. He’s a guy that I think has a very bright future. Freshmen obviously have a very big learning curve, but the fact that we have these two months leading into the Spain trip and then get some valuable experience over there.

“Ramel (Lloyd Jr.), coming off his redshirt season, he’s made big gains in the weight room over the summer. Then the other additions with Rienk and Josiah. Those were huge for us because of how we play and the skill level and unique skillset that those guys bring to the table as well. I just really think this is a group that has versatility.”

Fred Hoiberg updates health of Juwan Gary, Blaise Keita

Finally, Hoiberg noted that Nebraska will also get back a pair of players who missed time due to injury this past season. Juwan Gary, who transferred from Alabama last season, started the first 17 games of the year before suffering a shoulder injury that ended his season.

Before that, Gary averaged 9.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. He is still working his way back onto the court, but Hoiberg expects him to be ready to go by the time the season arrives in a few months.

“We get Juwan Gary back,” the coach said. “He’s almost full strength now. He’s gonna do things on the floor starting on Monday. Not full. He will not be cleared for contact for probably another month, but he’s doing pretty much everything. He was able to do a lot of one-hand shooting and really address some of the things to hopefully make him a more consistent shooter. Had some really consistent games for us out there, but I think when you look at what he was able to work on because he couldn’t use his left arm, it will hopefully fix a little bit of the balance issue that he’s had since he started his college career.”

Finally, Hoiberg offered an update on Blaise Keita, who started the first five games of the 2022-23 season but was limited in conference play with an ankle injury.

“He will be able to start doing some light work on the floor,” Hoiberg said of Keita. “No jumping yet, but he’ll be able to do some spot shooting and then hopefully in the next 3-4 weeks he’ll be cleared for full activity as well. So we should have him for at least a limited role once we get to Spain. Everything’s coming together and, again, I think we’ve got different lineups we can put out on the floor. We can play small. We can play big. It’s been a good offseason for us.”

The Cornhuskers finished 16-16 this past season but will hope their reloaded roster can improve on that this upcoming season. They’ll leave for a nine-day summer trip to Spain on July 28.

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