Nebraska Basketball: Huge in-state commitment keeps good vibes rolling
Nebraska Basketball landed a huge commitment on Monday.
There is no doubt that the walk-on program for Nebraska Football is very successful. Now, it appears that maybe some of the luck of the football program is rubbing off on the Nebraska Basketball program. While obviously those two things have no correlation, it is apparent that Nebraska athletics like to take walk-on’s. After all, some gems can be found there, and it is better to tap into the program and take a chance then potentially leaving talented players with no opportunity to play. Monday, Fred Hoiberg did just that. He took a chance on Charlie Easley, and it has a tremendous opportunity to pay off.
Hailing from Lincoln Pius X High School, Easley is a bona fide stud. The pride of Lincoln, Nebraska, he averaged 22.3 points per contest to go along with 6.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. He is ranked the No. 160 overall player and is the top player in the state of Nebraska per rankings from Maxpreps.com. The guard is a scoring machine. Playing on the varsity team for three seasons, he averaged 17.6 points per contest as a junior in 2017-18. He made quite an impression as a sophomore, averaging 13.2 points per contest.
Perhaps the most impressive part of his game is his efficiency when shooting the basketball. His career field goal percentage is 53%, and his best mark came in his sophomore campaign. That year, he registered a 60% field goal percentage and made 105-of-176 shots. He was a scoring machine in the 21 games he played in. If he can score like that for Nebraska basketball, they should be able to have an instant weapon on the offensive end.
I’d like to thank God, my family, coaches, and teammates for helping me become the person and player I am today. Thank you to the coaches who have recruited me. I’m excited to announce I will be pursuing my academic and athletic career as a walk-on at the University of Nebraska! pic.twitter.com/YXdtCTu9ic
— Charlie Easley (@CharlieEasley4) May 6, 2019
What does this mean for the program? For one, this is a big get for the coaching staff as it keeps a player in-state. For instance, the top player in the state of Nebraska’s 2019 class, Shereef Mitchell is off to Creighton. The best player in the state for 2020, Evan Mobley is off to USC to continue his basketball career. Having a player of Easley’s caliber stay in-state is an important step for Hoiberg and the coaching staff. It could set a very positive precedent moving forward.
It seems like the surprises just keep coming for Nebraska Basketball. Fred Hoiberg has a vision for how he wants the team to look, and so far it looks great. They have a mix of veteran talent and scoring depth, something that is important for a team that lost a ton of talent last year. It will be interesting to see if they add any other players to the roster moving forward.