When one wonders just why the Nebraska basketball program has had so much trouble winning an NCAA Tournament game, or even get to the NCAA tournament for that matter, a deep dive into the most successful alums in the NBA helps shed some light on things.
Some very good players have come through Lincoln over the years. Some have even been able to take their game to the next level. But when you really look at who had the best careers once they left the Nebraska basketball program, one thing is clear. The list is not long. Nor is it littered with guys who went on to star in NBA All-Star Games or play important parts in NBA championships.
That doesn’t mean, as the Huskers appear poised to take the next step in the program’s evolution, that we need pay attention to the people that came before Keisei Tominaga and Juwan Gary and Fred Hoiberg.
So with that in mind, let’s take a look at the guys who helped put Nebraska basketball on the map. The guys who excelled in Lincoln and then took their game to the next level. The best of the Nebraska basketball alums who played in the NBA.
Nebraska basketball represented well by Tony Farmer
Counting backward, Tony Farmer makes number 10 on this list thanks in large part to the fact that there simply aren’t all that many former Nebraska basketball stars who had a remotely decent career in the NBA.
Farmer played just one season with the Cornhuskers after transferring from San Jose State. This was back in the day when a player had to sit out a year after transferring. In the 1990-1991 season, he made the most of sitting around and waiting by scoring 12.4 points and 7.4 rebounds.
It took Farmer quite a while to break into the NBA after leaving Lincoln. He finally got his shot in 1997 with the Charlotte Hornets. He played in 27 games and started 2, averaging 2.48 points and 1 rebound per game.
In the 1999-2000 season, he played 74 games and started 9 for the Golden State Warriors, averaging 6.2 points and 4 rebounds per game. The former Nebraska basketball player’s NBA career came to an end after that season.