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Nebraska Basketball: Huskers make program history with Bryce McGowens

By Bryan Mauro

Wren's Bryce McGowens (5) celebrates with loved ones after beating Greenville 71-68 Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019.Jm Wren 021919 030
Wren's Bryce McGowens (5) celebrates with loved ones after beating Greenville 71-68 Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019.Jm Wren 021919 030 /
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Nebraska Basketball
Bryce McGowens Wren Vs Lower Richland Boys Basketball Class Aaaa Playoffs /

What this means for Nebraska Basketball

The Nebraska coach has that NBA experience and many players know him not for playing in the NBA and for being the coach of the Chicago Bulls.

Every single recruit that is in contact with Nebraska has that fact resonate with them, many of them have not wanted to pull the trigger for a lot of reasons and most of them usually stems from the lack of history, no winning, and the lack of former players in the NBA. Someone had to the first one to buck the trend and change this program around and it was McGowens.

As mentioned, this commitment is going to have lasting effects on the program. Why?  Yes, McGowens is just one player and he is still currently the only five star to choose Nebraska, but the Huskers have now broken that door down. The fact that a five-star player was even considering Nebraska was going to be a win either way. McGowens signing on the dotted line and playing in Lincoln is going to be the icing on the cake for Nebraska.

Getting your foot in the door is always the hardest part of the battle, but now that it has happened, the Huskers are going to be a player potentially for some different type of athletes. All these kids know each other and respect each other, kids talk, and the guard is going to be able to use his experiences to positively spin things into Nebraska’s favor.

Why was McGowens the first?  The Husker coaching staff had a leg up on the competition. It doesn’t hurt that the guard’s brother Trey McGowens is currently on the roster after a transfer from Pitt and the younger guard mentioned that he had a desire to play with his brother.

The other factors in Nebraska’s favor are fellow freshman Elijah Wood is one of Bryce McGowens best friends and they are going to be reunited as well. The final reason and something that changed the fortunes of the program long before the first five-star recruit was the hiring of Fred Hoiberg and his elite staff of recruiters. It seems that when Hoiberg speaks those kids listen. No way to think of this as anything but positive for Nebraska going forward.

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