Breaking down commitment of Braxton Meah to Nebraska basketball

If you want to compete in the Big Ten conference in hoops, you have to frontcourt depth and Nebraska basketball was short on that — at least until Tuesday.

After hosting 7-foot-1 center Braxton Meah over the weekend — who played four seasons for the Washington Huskies — the big man committed on Tuesday, agreeing to play his final season in Lincoln.

It’s the fifth transfer portal addition for Fred Hoiberg and the Huskers. Andrew Morgan joined the program from North Dakota State, while Gavin Griffiths, Connor Essegian, and Rollie Worster transferred from Rutgers, Wisconsin, and Utah respectively.

Meah averaged 5.5 points and 5.3 rebounds last season, as well as 0.8 blocks. However, he played just 16 minutes per game. But the season before that, he averaged 8.8 points, 7.2 rebounds (2.3 offensive), and 1.6 blocks. The big man also made 70 percent of his field goal attempts.

Nebraska basketball still hasn’t gotten official word on what Rienk Mast will do. He was dealing with some injuries at the end of last season but hasn’t entered the draft or announced his return. We’ll see what happens but it’s hard to get a good read.

As far as Meah, here are some thoughts on his commitment.

Breaking down Braxton Meah to Nebraksa basketball

Meah has started 47 games over the past two seasons, so he’s experienced. He’s probably the replacement for Josiah Allick. My hope is that Andrew Morgan isn’t the replacement for Mast. If that’s the case, the Huskers still have work to do in terms of adding big guys.

If not, and Mast is back, the Huskers can use their final scholarship spots to hunt the best players available. We have seen them miss on guys like William Kyle. But they have added some nice pieces. Worster is an upgrade at point guard since Nebraska didn’t have one last season.

Griffiths and Essegian aren’t Keisei Tominaga. But they are sharpshooters. Griffiths has All-Big Ten potential or his recruiting ranking suggests he does. Hoiberg will get the most out of those guys, just like he did Tominaga.

Yet, a key thing for Nebraska last season was finally having the bigs to play in the Big Ten. Meah can be part of the equation. Mast and Morgan are both capable of playing as fours, so there would be enough minutes to go around. He adds a third low-post presence and some rim protection that’s desperately lacking.

The roster isn’t perfect but if Mast returns, it’s good enough to get back to the NCAA tournament.

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