Since the Nebraska basketball team suffered a first round loss in the NCAA Tournament, the program has suffered through a steady stream of bad news. It’s possible that Thursday was a big turning point. A reversing of the curse, so to speak.
First, there was the announcement that Nebraska basketball head coach Fred Hoiberg won the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year award. Then, amid what has been a rather tumultuous exodus of players, two of the biggest stars on the team announced they’re running it back for one more season.
Juwan Gary and Brice Williams will both be back for the 2024-2025 season. Not only are they staying but they announced their return with some serious panache.
Gary took to his X account with a video post captioned, “I think The people WanT to hear ThiS.” The video then showed Gary driving in his car and talking to Williams on speaker phone. The idea was that they were discussing returning and both decided to run it back.
@HuskerMBB I think The people WanT to hear ThiS🦻🏾 pic.twitter.com/Vf6G43q0Lt
— Juwan Gary (@takflight24) April 4, 2024
Duo of Nebraska basketball stars bring news to ailing fanbase
The announcement is certainly welcome news to a Nebraska basketball fanbase that has gotten a bit jumpy after seeing some impact players like CJ Wilcher and Jamarques Lawrence depart via the transfer portal.
Hoiberg has been working overtime trying to fill the now seven roster spots that are now on the Cornhuskers but so far there haven’t been any new commits. The various departures have fans more than a little nervous that Nebraska isn’t going to be able to run it back.
Gary and Williams returning certainly help the effort to get back to the NCAA Tournament in the 2024-2025 season. There’s at least one player that the Nebraska basketball program is waiting to hear from. Center Rienk Mast could come back for one more year if he desired. So far, he hasn’t announced anything.