5 thoughts on Nebraska basketball after transfer portal additions

In the past week, Nebraska basketball has won the Crown and also rebuilt the roster for the 2025-26 season.

So far, Nebraska has suffered just two departures via the transfer portal. Just one of those was unexpected. Gavin Griffiths clearly wasn’t coming back.

Nick Janowski left. He was the top recruit in the 2024 recruiting class out of Wisconsin. He’s a stellar 3-point shooter but played point guard for the scout team. The addition of Jamarques Lawrence probably pushed him out.

Beyond that, Hoiberg has added Ugnius Jarusevicius, Pryce Sandfort, Lawrence, Will Cooper, and Kendall Blue. There could be more additions on the way, but for the most part, the roster seems set.

Here are five thoughts.

Fred found a new point guard, sort of

Lawrence will be the starting point guard for Nebraska basketball next season. There’s no doubt in my mind about that. As long as he’s healthy, he’ll probably start every game for the Huskers in 2025-26.

However, Hoiberg also said that he doesn’t think Nebraska needs a true point guard. The Huskers want multiple players who can bring the ball up and run the offense. Rienk Mast has done that before. He averaged three assists per game during the 2023-24 season, which is tops on the team heading into next season.

So Nebraska has plenty of playmaking. Kendall Blue averages 2.5 assists per game, too. Lawrence is too (2.5 assists in 2024-25). He also does a stellar job of touching the paint, shooting the 3-point shot, and defending.

Nebraska basketball would have been better with Lawrence as the point guard last season.

It was good to see Fred correct that mistake.

3-point shooting has been addressed

Hoiberg talked about the dropoff in 3-point shooting from 2023-24 to this past season. Nebraska basketball made 56 fewer 3-pointers.

The five additions from the transfer portal, in addition to Mast, knocked down 200 3-point field goals in 2024-25. The players leaving Nebraska made 138 last season. That’s 62. Nebraska also added three players — Lawrence, Sandfort, and Blue — who shot 39 percent or better from beyond the arc.

Cooper made 20 triples last season (37 percent). He has a lot of room to grow, but went 6-for-12 against Fresno State. The kid is a pure shooter, and across the board, Nebraska basketball upgraded its 3-point shooting.

No doubt about it.

A more balanced scoring effort

One thing that made the 2023-24 team dangerous was that so many players could take over offensively. You had Juwan Gary, Brice Williams, Keisei, Mast, and even C.J. Wilcher. That team was loaded with shooters, and this team is too. There isn’t a player who will be in the rotation who can’t shoot the 3-ball.

Jarusevicius adds a true low-post presence, which was missing last season. Berke can develop into a more consistent scorer — just think about the Ohio State game — and the Huskers will be able to play through Rienk.

This season, Brice and Juwan had to carry the offense. In 2025-26, carrying the offensive load will be a more balanced effort.

Some interesting position battles

Position battles tend to be overrated in basketball. As long as you’re part of the rotation, even if you don’t start, you can play heavy minutes, sort of like Connor Essegian this past season or Wilcher in 2023-24.

The way I see it, Lawrence, Sam Hoiberg, Essegian, Blue, Sandfort, Jarusevicius, Mast, Berke, Cooper, and Jacobsen are bound to be the top 10 guys right now, pending other additions. Justin Bolis is another name to know along with Braden Frager.

Essegian came off the bench this season and made 78 3-pointers. He started for Wisconsin and is good enough to start for Nebraska, but Kendall Blue should contend for that spot too.

Jarusevicius and Berke will battle it out for the other spot. As long as Mast is healthy, he’ll be among the starters. I could also see a lineup of Mast, Sandfort, Essegian, Blue, and Lawrence in certain situations or the first four plus Hoiberg.

The good thing is that, just like the 2023-24 Huskers, Nebraska basketball can play a lot of different ways. It can play big, it can play small, and regardless of who is on the floor, almost everyone can shoot.

Feels like an NCAA tournament team

Nebraska was close to making the NCAA tournament this past season. The Huskers also weren’t that far off back in 2022-23. In both seasons, a few wins would have made all the difference.

In order to make the NCAA tournament, the frontcourt needs to excel. Jarusevicius averaged over 16 points a game last season and had a usage rate of 27 percent.

The transition from mid-major to the Big Ten is a big one, though. Fred has had success with up transfers such as Mast, Brice Williams, and others. In some cases, the production is similar or better. In other cases, it’s worse.

That feels like a major X-factor, along with the development of Berke. He needs to play like a borderline NBA draft pick next season. If those two are playing well, and Mast finds his form, Nebraska basketball has enough shooters and scorers to be dangerous.

I don’t think this will be an elite defensive team. There isn’t much rim protection, and outside of adding a superstar, the Huskers should add someone with defensive prowess.

Hoiberg is an offensive guru, though. This team should be very good on that end, good enough that a return trip to the NCAA tournament is very much in the cards.

It won’t be easy, and it feels like that’s the ceiling, although if you can make the NCAA tournament as a bubble team, you’re good enough to win a game.

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