Fred Hoiberg, Nebraska still have work to do in transfer portal

Nebraska basketball has done a nice job of building its roster during the transfer portal window, but head coach Fred Hoiberg still has some work to do.

That became clearer on Tuesday as 6-foot-11 forward/center Ugnius Jaruševičius entered the transfer portal. Jaruševičius played in one game for Nebraska basketball last season, missing the year due to a back injury.

He was All-MAC in 2024-25. However, his role with Nebraska was sort of unclear. We might have found some clarity as Uggy is now in the portal, and Nebraska has another need to fill.

Boden Kapke committed before this happened, but there were rumors that this was happening. That leaves Nebraska basketball with Kapke, Leo Curts, and Sam Orme. Kadyn Betts is another forward that was added, but he only played nine games last season for Montana and has averaged 5.7 minutes for his career.

Drew Fielder committed to Alabama, so he’s obviously off the board, but the Huskers need someone else who can the play the four. They need more rebounding and defense in the paint. Curtis will help with that, but he’s never been a part of the rotation in his college career. Adding a proven big would be nice, and the Huskers have three spots to work with

Nebraska also needs another guard with ball-handling experience. Trevan Leonhardt will be the starting point guard. Cale Jacobsen can handle the ball in a pinch, but if Leonhardt got hurt, having Jacobsen as the starting point guard would be worrisome, as much as I love all the stuff he does.

So a big and a backup point guard/combo guard. Watch out for some new targets to emerge. Ice Emery is a name to watch at guard. He took a Zoom meeting with Nebraska earlier this week. He was the Horizon League Sixth Man of the Year in 2025-26.

It’s been a solid haul so far, but Freddy Portal (Hoiberg) still has work to do.