Nebraska Basketball: Huskers land both Brice Williams and Rienk Mast
By Bryan Mauro
What’s Next?
Nebraska is in no way done in the portal yet, they did get two huge wins and Mast will be the talk of the commitments, but Williams is going to help them a lot this season. Heading into the offseason the Huskers had a list of things they needed. They can cross off the big man and the scoring wing off the list. They have now turned their sites to the backcourt. As it stands on April 13th the Huskers do not currently have a point guard who has played any meaningful minutes at the spot at the college level. Quaran McPherson is a point guard, and he is still on the roster but he has not played in 2 years due to knee injuries.
The Huskers have a point guard and two combo guards coming to campus for a visit and coach Hoiberg likes his chances with all three of them. First up is Omaha native and Fullerton transfer Latrell Wrightsell Jr. as he takes an official visit on April 14th. There is a lot to like with Wrightsell as he can play both guard positions and is a dominant offensive player. He also plays great defense and can shoot the ball well from outside. The guard is a Nebraska kid and the appeal of playing in front of the home state crowd has a lot of appeal to the guard. Wrightsell is a commitment I expect Nebraska to get, and they will likely get it over Minnesota and Alabama.
Javian McCollum a point guard transfer from Siena is next as his visit will take place April 15th-17th. McCollum is a high-scoring point guard, who is a great passer and will elevate the offense of any team that he is on. The Husker coaching staff had watched McCollum play at least once this season in person in the holiday tournament when Siena played Florida State. McCollum is an elite offensive player, will have 3 years to play for the Huskers, and is a player who will be an all-conference type of player.
The next player visiting in the backcourt is one that All Huskers fans want to see commit to Nebraska. Hunter Sallis is the highest-ranked recruit in Nebraska history, one of the most decorated high school players in Nebraska history and comes to Nebraska from a blue blood program of Gonzaga. The guard didn’t live up to his hype at Gonzaga, but his game would fit perfectly into what coach Hoiberg is trying to do and he is a good defender. Sallis is going to have a breakout season and can easily be one of the best players in the Big Ten. Nebraska would get him for two seasons if he does elect to come. He will be visiting the weekend of April 21st.
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It does appear that coach Hoiberg is in the driver’s seat with both Wrightsell and Sallis. I do not believe McCollum does commit to Nebraska, but he would be a great piece to the puzzle for Nebraska to build around. These moves signal that the Huskers are tired of being the doormat in the Big Ten and are going to be here to stay and hopefully, the Huskers can finally get that coveted NCAA tournament win in a few seasons.