By
Joel Welser
The loss of three starters may make the
beginning of the season slightly painful for
Nebraska, but the
quality recruiting class coming in will have the Cornhuskers
ready to roll by the time the conference schedule comes around.
The talent is there, they just need Barry Collier to rally the
troops for Nebraska to start thinking about the NCAAs.
Who’s Out:
Marcus Neal, Jr. averaged 8.6 points and a team high 3.3 assists
as a senior last year. Fellow backcourt mate Jake Muhleisen
averaged 6.7 points and was second only to Neal in assists with
2.9 per contest. Corey Simms played a significant role off the
bench making four starts and averaging 2.8 points per game. The
frontcourt loses senior leader John Turek. Turek averaged a
solid 8.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per contest his last season in
Lincoln.
Who’s In: A
group of four power forwards will compete for minutes and the
starting role. B.J. Walker, a 6-9, 245 pound transfer from
Garden City Community College, is a great all around player. He
averaged 16.2 points and 8.7 rebounds last year. B.J. Walker has
two years of eligibility remaining. Chris Balham hasn’t been
playing basketball for very long since coming across the
Atlantic from France. The 6-8, 225 pounder has a lot of upside,
but has some work to do before seeing a lot of minutes for the
Huskers. Kyle Marks is an athletic 6-7, 205 pound power forward
who will have to battle for minutes. Rounding out the talented
group of big men is redshirt freshman Jim Ledsome. The 6-9
Maryland native averaged 14 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks
per game as a senior at Severna Park High School. It is the
backcourt that needs more help and Nebraska will receive it with
point guards Marcus Walker and Jamel White. Marcus Walker
averaged 26.9 points and 5.0 assists per game last year at
O’Hara High School in Kansas City. He’s not a true point guard,
but has a great scoring knack to go along with his passing
abilities. White brings in some more pass-first point guard
skills. It should be an interesting battle between White and
Marcus Walker for minutes at the point. Marcus Perry and Paul
Velander redshirted last year and will add more depth to the
backcourt. Perry, a transfer from Southern Union State Community
College, is a tremendous scorer, averaging an incredible 25.4
points per game two years ago. Velander, a walk-on from
Blacksburg, Virginia averaged 16.8 points as a senior in high
school.
Who to Watch:
Joe McCray had a stellar freshman campaign
last year. The 6-5, 210 pound guard averaged a team high 15.5
points and added 5.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per contest.
McCray can create his own shot and isn’t afraid to launch the
long ball. He was prone to turn the ball over as a freshman, but
that number should go down with more experience. It may be
difficult for McCray to put up similar numbers this year with
more scoring prowess in the backcourt, but if he does it could
be a great season for Nebraska.
Projected Conference Rank:
A 9th place finish in the Big 12
will be disappointing for the Husker faithful, but this is a
young team that hasn’t proven that they can be consistent. If
things come together, the Big 12 will have to take notice by
March.
Projected Post-season Tournament:
NIT
Projected Starting Five:
Marcus Walker, Freshman, Guard, DNP last season
Joe McCray, Sophomore, Guard, 15.5 points per game
Jason Dourisseau, Senior, Guard, 9.8 points per game
Wes Wilkinson, Senior, Forward, 7.7 points per game
Aleks Maric, Sophomore, Center, 8.0 points per game
