NCAA Basketball: Predicting best player from top 2021 recruiting classes

By Ian Mumm | Aug 14, 2021

Mar 21, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys guard Cade Cunningham (2) yells from the sidelines during the second half in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament against the Oregon State Beavers at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports /

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NCAA Basketball Nebraska Cornhuskers Trey McGowens Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports /

18. Nebraska Cornhuskers

Recruiting Class: Bryce McGowens, Wilhelm Breidenbach, Quaran McPherson, Oleg Kojenets, and Keisei Tominaga

Nebraska failed to show large improvements in their results this season compared to last season. A 7-20 mark highlighted many struggles for Nebraska on the court and not just on the offensive end. A big problem for Nebraska under Fred Hoberg’s tenure has been a lack of roster continuity, which has continued this offseason. Hoiberg has been required to spend a lot of time rebuilding and retooling the Cornhusker’s roster to return it to a consistently competitive state.

With many players leaving the program again this offseason, the outlook ahead of the 2021 campaign is cloudy. Yet, there’s reason to be more optimistic in the wake of personnel joining the program. Hoiberg landed a talented perimeter trio via the transfer portal in Alonzo Verge Jr. (Arizona State), C.J. Wilcher (Xavier), and Keon Edwards (DePaul). He also managed to assemble his best-recruiting class since taking the job complete with a 5-star guard and a 2nd top-100 player: Bryce McGowens, Wilhelm Breidenbach, Quaran McPherson, Oleg Kojenets, and Keisei Tominaga.

The pair of top-100 recruits are easily the biggest offseason assets for Hoiberg to utilize next season. Breidenbach is a physical player and does the dirty work in the paint. His presence is going to be largely appreciated especially with the departure of Yvan Ouedraogo this offseason. However, the length and versatility Bryce McGowens can offer is even better.

The departure of wing Dalano Banton in the NBA Draft was a success for the Husker program, but his absence and production at the top of last year’s roster will be missed. McGowens is a player that can immediately come in and produce for Coach Hoiberg alongside his brother Trey. He will be in a comfortable situation to adjust to the college game, but his pedigree as a huge scoring talent with length and touch around the rim significantly elevate his potential next season.

Prediction: Bryce McGowens

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