NCAA Basketball: State of Nebraska turning into hotbed of high school talent

Current Division 1 players from Nebraska

There are currently 29 players on a division one roster who have been at their division 1 college for at least one season. The players run the gamut of conferences. As of this writing, the state has players currently playing for Central Connecticut State, Colorado State, Creighton, Jackson State, Liberty, Longwood, McNeese State, Missouri-Kansas City, Nebraska, North Dakota, North Dakota State, Old Dominion, Omaha, Oregon, San Diego State, South Dakota, South Dakota State, Texas Rio Grande Valley, Wichita State and Wyoming. Nearly every player as mentioned plays a role on their team and helps them win games.

Javen Udofia (Bryan High School) -Central Connecticut State

Udofia did not play much as a Freshman, playing in only six games. Entering his sophomore season he hopes to get more of a run on the floor.

John Tonje (Omaha Central) – Colorado State

Tonje played in all 31 games for the Rams and showed his ability as a three-point shooter and was efficient when he did score. He is going to play a huge role in the coming years for the Rams

Shereef Mitchell (Omaha Burke) – Creighton

Mitchell was one of two true freshmen to start the season opener. He played in 27 games and started two games. Mitchell looks to improve on his 2.7 points per game in his freshman year.

Aguir Agau (Creighton Prep) – Fresno State

Agau transferred in the offseason after playing in 23 games with 10 starts. Agau has not released his current offer list. He seemed to fall out of the rotation after an injury.

Kesaiah Parks (Lincoln High) – Jackson State

Parks did not see any game action as he was a redshirt. The Walk-On hopes to have a much bigger role for the Tigers this upcoming season.

Shiloh Robinson (Kearney High School) – Liberty

Robinson played in every game for Liberty and showed his ability to stretch the floor and come out and hit an open shot. His role should increase greatly this upcoming season with the graduation of some key players for the Flames.

Nate Lliteras (Seward High School) – Longwood

Lliteras redshirted his first year at Longwood. He is athletic, bouncy and is going to be a matchup nightmare for many of the guards in the Big South because of his length and ability to get to the basket.

Dru Kuxhausen (Scottsbluff High School) – McNeese State

Kuxhausen played his first two years at Western Nebraska before heading to McNeese State. The junior guard is one of the best shooters in the country and he showed that his first year in Division 1 college basketball.

Josiah Allick (Lincoln NorthStar) – Missouri Kansas City

The forward played a huge role on the Kangaroos a season ago. He was second on the team in both blocks and rebounds. He is a great defensive player and one of the best rebounders in the WAC.

Akol Arop (Creighton Prep) – Nebraska

Arop is extremely athletic and showed his heart and his hustle in the limited playing time he got for Nebraska. He is back for year number two hoping to earn more minutes.

Jace Piatkowski (Elkhorn South) – Nebraska

Piatkowksi was meant to play for Nebraska given his father was one of the best players in the program history. The younger Piatkowski was a walk-on who redshirted last year for the Big Red.

Bret Porter (Millard North) – Nebraska

Much like Piatkowski, Porter redshirted his first season at Nebraska.

Brady Danielson (York High School) – North Dakota

The sixth man averaged double-digit minutes last year. He led the reserves in minutes and showed his promise with an 18 point 8 rebound performance against Oregon State.   Danielson will see his role expand and expect his shooting numbers to improve after his adjustment to the college game.

Sam Griesel (Lincoln East) – North Dakota State

Earned all-tournament team for the premier Summit league team. Teamed up with fellow Nebraskan Jared Samuelson for the Bison. Played 24 minutes per game and was one of the team’s leading rebounders.

Jaylin Hunter (Creighton Prep) – Old Dominion

Hunter is the son of former Nebraska assistant Kenya Hunter. He left after his junior season and played in 29 games for the Monarchs in a reserve role. Hunter will see his role increase this season.

Ayo Akinwole (Papillion-Lavista) – Omaha

Akinwole enters his senior year as a starter at point guard and is coming off of his best college season. The senior hopes to lead Omaha to the top of the Summit League and earn the first-ever tournament bid in school history.

Wanjang Tut – (Omaha Burke) – Omaha

Tut is a good rim protector and a great defender in the paint. He is athletic and can score when he needs to. He is going to be relied upon to fill the void in the frontcourt. He is hoping for his breakout year.

Kyle Luedtke (Creighton Prep) – Omaha

The junior played sparingly at Omaha last year. His minutes may increase but there are still some players in front of him on the depth chart.

Hayden Miller (Lourdes Central Catholic) -Omaha

Miller like Luedtke played sparingly last year. He has yet to crack the regular rotation entering his junior season.

Grant Frickenstein (Archbishop Bergan) – Omaha

Redshirted a season ago, hopefully the decorated High School player can crack the rotation.

Lok Wur- Papio South-Oregon

Wur redshirted his first season in Eugene. He is a special player who has a great skill set. He is going to thrive for Oregon once he gets his chance to play, it will come this year.

Aguek Arop (Omaha South) – San Diego State

The one-time Nebraska commit has found his role playing on the west coast. Arop was a key piece to the rotation for San Diego State. He provides a good defensive presence and had more offensive rebounds than defensive rebounds. His younger brother plays for Nebraska.

Brady Heiman (Platteview) – South Dakota 

The big man redshirted last year after transferring from Nebraska. He is a good rebounder and shot-blocker and will do well in the summit league.

Kanon Koster (Kearney High School) – South Dakota

Another redshirt after transferring from UNK. Koster is a good scorer and great shooter. He is another player who is going to help make South Dakota get to the NCAA tournament.

Charlie Easley (Lincoln Pius) – South Dakota State

Easley played a big role for Nebraska and Fred Hoiberg last year but transferred to earn a full scholarship at South Dakota State. Easley will have to sit out a year before running the point for the Jackrabbits.

Baylor Scheierman (Aurora High School) – South Dakota State

The athletic guard played every game a season ago and was a stat sheet stuffer. The guard can do a little bit of everything and is a huge asset to the Jackrabbits.

David Wingett (Winnebago) – South Dakota State

Wingett started his college career at Memphis, then transferred to South Dakota State where he turned into one of the countries best shooters from deep. Wingett can let it fly and he can make a lot of them.

Anthony Bratton (Omaha Burke) – Texas Rio Grande Valley

Bratton made his way to Texas by way of Indian Hills Community College. While playing for the Vaqueros, the senior forward was a part-time starter and showed he can be a good rebounder. Bratton led his team in rebounding twice throughout the year and showed a prowess defensively.

Isaiah “Poor Bear” Chandler (Omaha Central) – Wichita State

The former Central Eagle has not averaged over 10 minutes per game at the college level yet. That should change this year and he is an intimidating post presence along with a skilled scorer around the basket.

Javier Turner (Omaha Northwest) – Wyoming Transfer

Turner has announced he is transferring from Wyoming after one season in which he was used sparingly. The 6’11 big man will eventually land a Division 1 again.