Nebraska Basketball: Breaking down Cornhuskers 2019 roster additons

Commitments for Nebraska

The below list are all players who were not on Nebraska’s radar before the new coaching staff arrived in Lincoln. These players were all offered by the current staff and have committed to the current staff.

Haanif Cheatham – Senior

Cheatham is an immediately eligible grad transfer, who makes his way to Lincoln after previous stops at Florida Gulf Coast and Marquette. Cheatham averaged 13 points per game, to go along with 5 rebounds per game. He only played in 10 games due to an injury. The guard is a pick and roll player, and rim runner. He can make threes, but he is more effective inside the arc and running to the rim. Cheatham is explosive and should treat the fans in Lincoln to some electric dunks. The underrated part of the senior’s game is his ability to be a lock down defender. You can put Cheatham on an island on the opponent’s best player and he can shut them down.

Matej Kavas – Senior

The Slovenian big man does not play like a big man. He is a great three-point shooter and is going to have a role in the offense as a deadly shooter. While at Seattle he shot over 42% from the three-point line for his career. A season ago he averaged just over 10 point per game to go along with 5 rebounds per game. Kavas is also an immediately eligible grad transfer. He is a good rebounder, but he is not a great defender. It will be interesting to see how the coaching staff utilizes him on that end of the floor.

Cam Mack – Sophomore

When Mack committed to Nebraska on his official visit last weekend, the media and anyone who has seen the guard play understood that this was the commitment Hoiberg needed. Every team needs a point guard and the point guard is also the commit who could potentially define the Hoiberg era in Lincoln. Mack is a program changing recruit and he is going to be treated by many in that exact way.

The guard has three years of eligibility remaining after spending one year at Salt Lake Community College in Utah. The former St John’s commit is the No. 2 ranked JUCO player in the country and averaged just under 20 points per game to go along with 8 assists and 6 rebounds per game. Mack has a chance to be one of the best players to ever wear a Nebraska uniform. That is saying something after the fans were treated with Glynn Watson for the last 4 years.

Dalano Banton – Sophomore

Banton is the latest to commit to Nebraska, and he committed after his official visit over the last weekend. The 6’8” guard is originally from Toronto, Canada and makes his way to Nebraska after spending his freshman season as a member of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Banton decided to transfer after he fell out of grace with the Western Kentucky coaching staff towards the end of the season, that part of the season saw his numbers plummet. His 3.4 points included a game against Wisconsin, that the Hilltoppers pulled off the upset in. Against the Badgers the guard was 2 points away from a triple double with eight points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.

When the guard arrived at Western Kentucky the plan was for him to run the offense and be the point guard, as a young freshman who reclassified into the 2018 class, that did not go well. He had a hard time adjusting to the speed of the game and was turnover prone. A redshirt year is going to do wonders for Banton. He needs to mature and put some weight on his slender frame. His skill set is perfect for Hoibergs offense and he is going to be very good for the Huskers.