Former Nebraska Cornhuskers star Jaz Shelley continued to cement her legacy as one of the best women's basketball players to ever come through Lincoln on Monday when she was the first Husker to get drafted to the WNBA in a decade.
Shelley was the 29th overall pick chosen by Phoenix Mercury in the final round. Now she'll be tasked with helping to turnaround a team that was just 9-31 last season. The Mercury finished dead last in the league in the 2023 season.
Shelley is going to get to work quickly. The first Phoenix preseason game tips off on May 7 and the regular season begins just a week later. That means the sharpshooting guard has only had a few weeks to rest and recuperate from a Nebraska Cornhuskers season that went into the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
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A message from the voice of the Huskers @SharpeGreg. pic.twitter.com/a0JXJnGXSz
— Huskers Radio Network (@HuskersRadio) April 16, 2024
While Nebraska Cornhuskers nation spent a portion of Monday night celebrating Jaz Shelley getting drafted, there was some sad news as well. Longtime NU broadcaster Greg Sharpe announced he'd been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
He also announced that he would almost certainly have to take some time off from his radio show and calling Nebraska Baseball games while he dealt with the treatment.
The responses to Sharpe's announcement was swift. It was clear that the entirety of Husker nation is behind the beloved broadcaster and hoping he makes a full recovery.
Jaz Shelley wasn't the only Nebraska Cornhuskers star who had big news on Monday. Earlier in the day, former Huskers' three point artist Keisei Tominaga announced on Instagram that he was engaged to longtime girlfriend Hannah Fitzpatrick.
“The room kind of runs itself.”
— Mitch Sherman (@mitchsherman) April 15, 2024
A spring check-in on the Nebraska offensive line. It’s the most reliable entity for the Huskers on offense, with 152 starts among seven players at the Power 5 level — and a group of young difference makers. https://t.co/hM1PoSwNU6
The excitement over the Nebraska Football team starts with the offensive line. There was improvement last year for sure and as Mitch Sherman wrote on Monday, there's expected to be even more improvement this year.
After posting a career-high nine strikeouts and pitching seven scoreless innings against Rutgers, Mason McConnaughey is the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week.
— Grant Hansen (@HansenNotHanson) April 15, 2024
That's the second consecutive week a Nebraska arm has claimed the award.
While it wasn't a great week for Nebraska Baseball, there was one player who had himself a time. Mason McConnaughey had the only Huskers win of the week, in a Saturday tilt against Rutgers. Now he's got the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week. He follows Brett Spears who won it last week.