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Nebraska Basketball has a top 15 recruiting class for 2021

By Leigh Oleszczak

Mar 1, 2021; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Fred Hoiberg calls out to his team in action against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the first half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 1, 2021; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Fred Hoiberg calls out to his team in action against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the first half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nebraska basketball is making waves this offseason, as their 2021 recruiting class is ranked No. 14 on 247 Sports. Michael Bruntz of 247 Sports wrote that it’s the highest recruiting class for the Cornhuskers “in the internet era”.

This is quite the accomplishment for Nebraska, which hasn’t been considered a basketball school pretty much ever. Football rules the roost in Lincoln, even when they’re not very good, but basketball usually has to have a decent product on the court in order to get fans truly invested. This year’s team is going to be more than a decent product.

Bruntz offered this analysis on Husker hoops’ Top-15 ranking,

"Nebraska finished at No. 14 overall in the 247Sports team rankings and third in the Big Ten rankings behind Michigan, who had the nation’s No. 1 overall recruiting class and Michigan State, who checked in at No. 9. Michigan, Michigan State and Nebraska were the only Big Ten teams to sign a five-star prospect in the 2021 recruiting cycle."

Fred Hoiberg is doing good things for Nebrasketball despite only being at the helm for two seasons now and this recruiting class is proof of that. As Bruntz mentioned in the blurb above, Nebraska was one of three Big Ten programs to bring in a five-star prospect, which is rare for them in basketball.

Bruntz continued with his analysis,

"The Huskers’ five-man recruiting class includes Bryce McGowens (No. 23 overall), Wilhelm Breidenbach (No. 99 overall), Oleg Kojenets (No. 197 overall), Quaran McPherson (206 overall) and Keisei Tominaga (No. 10 overall JUCO prospect). Nebraska also added transfers CJ Wilcher from Xavier and Keon Edwards from DePaul. Both are former Top-100 prospects and neither are factored into the 2021 team rankings. McPherson was officially announced as a signee by Nebraska on Wednesday. Nebraska has one scholarship remaining in its 2021 recruiting cycle, but is likely to carry that over to the 2022 recruiting cycle."

Nebraska basketball is heading in the right direction.

For those who haven’t been following along as closely with the basketball recruiting, the names listed above sums it up. Bryce McGowens is the name to get excited about (his older brother, Trey McGowen, was already with the team and likely played a large hand in why Bryce chose to join the Big Red machine). Back in November, Robin Washut of Husker Online wrote an article about why the five-star recruit picking Nebraska was such a huge deal.

The biggest reason was that it gives Nebraska basketball a more flattering reputation. When most people who aren’t Nebraska fans think of Nebraska basketball, they zero in on the fact that the Cornhuskers have never won a game in the NCAA Tournament. It’s hard to ignore that statistic.

Next. 5 Most Difficult Matchups on 2021 Schedule. dark

With this kind of roster, Nebraska has one of its best teams in years and could finally win a tournament game. Not only that, but they could make a deep run in March Madness in 2022. There’s a lot to like about what Fred Hoiberg is doing for Husker hoops and this upcoming season should be a ton of fun.

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