Nebraska Basketball Finally Has a Big Man, But Will He Play Right Away?

Nebraska basketball head coach Tim Miles has been looking for a big time center for a while now. Jordy Tshimanga fits the bill, as long as he can play as a freshman.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers basketball team has been in search of a center they could rely on down in the paint ever since Aleks Maric graduated. Considering his final season for the Big Red was the 2007-2008 campaign, it’s indeed been a long time since the Huskers have had someone they could count on down low.

Likely one of the things that eventually ended the Nebraska career of previous coach, Doc Saddler, it’s been a thorn in the side of Tim Miles as well.

Finally, as Miles gears up for his fifth season in Nebraska, the coach has someone who should be able to be a force in the paint. Jordy Tshimanga gave his official commitment to play for Nebraska early Monday morning at an event at his high school.

It’s literally a big get for the Huskers, considering Tshimanga stands 6’10 and weighs in at 230 pounds. It’s also a big get in the metaphorical sense as it’s become quite clear Nebraska wasn’t going to be taking the next step under Miles until it had someone who could be a game changer at center.

The question that should be at the tips of most Husker fans’ tongues now is whether or not Tshimanga is going to play this year, as a true freshman. While the kneejerk reaction is going to be “yes, he has to” the return question is going to be “can he?” He certainly has the height, but 230 isn’t exactly a heavyweight when talking about someone who’s 6’10” or 6’11”.

There’s a decent chance that setting foot on the court as a true freshman is going to result in Tshimanga getting shoved around, at least early on. Perhaps this is where the college basketball season can be used as a quick tutorial.

If he can get his feet wet against some of the lesser opponents, he’ll know what to expect once conference season rolls around. That leads us to the final question most everyone around the program is likely asking this afternoon. “Can the program afford not to start him as a true freshman?”

It appears from comments made right after Tshimanga’s commitment that the barren cupboard when it came to big men (Nebraska currently has no one over 6’8″ on the roster), was a big factor in luring the Massachusetts native here.

Jordy’s brother Yannick told HuskersOnline that very thing earlier this morning when he said, “immediate playing time factors in heavily, because the kid wants to play, and he’s built the momentum now within the past year where he’s used to playing a lot.”

The good news is, Jordy likely won’t need to know every aspect of the Nebraska playbook right away. With his size, Miles could use him in a kind of “plug and play” situation where Tshimanga just throws himself at his opponents for a while, until he really gets a feel for the game on offense.

Next: Nebraska Basketball: Cheap Seats – Michigan

It’s going to come down to this fall camp and whether Tim Miles sees a player he’s comfortable putting on the court right away. That decision could ultimately be the one that decides the trajectory of a Nebraska Basketball team that has talent but hasn’t put a winning season together in the last few years.