The transfer portal giveth and the transfer portal taketh away. Here’s a quick update and then some interesting news regarding Jamarques Lawrence.
Berke Buyuktuncel, a Nebraska fan favorite, has transferred to Vanderbilt. I am not faulting Berke at all, but the fact he ended up at Vanderbilt is just bizarre merely because of how their game ended. If the reports are true that Berke essentially was asking for double what he was getting then you simply just wish him the best.
Quentin Rhymes was a Freshman from Las Vegas who redshirted this past season. He has ended up at Fresno State.
Ugnius Jarusevicius is in the transfer portal. This is one that I really wish would have gone better at Nebraska. He is 6’11” but a back injury derailed his time at Nebraska. Jarusevicius was all-conference at Central Michigan. I will be interested to see where he ends up.
Kendall Blue is in the transfer portal. He is in the same situation that Jamarques Lawrence is in regarding sitting and waiting.
Taj DeGourville from San Diego State. A 6’5” 211 pound guard who appeared in every game for the Aztecs and averaged 5.5 points and three assists per game. Shot 34.5% from the three point line. Robin Washut of On3 notes that he has an impressive 23% assist rate while only playing 19 minutes per game. Might be an underrated addition to the roster.
Boden Kapke from Boston College. Likely the replacement for Reink Mast at the five spot. He is 6’10” and shot 33% from three point range last season. He averaged 10.6 points per game for the Eagles. He scored a career-high 25 points against Virginia Tech and played better against ACC competition.
Trevan Leonhardt from Utah Valley which is a WAC school. He averaged 12.9 points and 5.4 assists and was first team All-WAC. Shot almost 38% from three. It was between Arizona State and Nebraska but it was Fred Hoiberg who won out in the end. Also interesting is that he was on the All-WAC Defensive team as well.
Kadyn Betts from Montana. Betts played off the bench for Montana but only played in nine games because of a season-ending ankle injury. He did shoot 62.5% from three (5-8). This is a depth piece I believe. The ceiling may be pretty high and Hoiberg probably believes he can get a lot out of this kid.
Sam Orme from Belmont. He is a 6’9” post who can shoot the three. Likely takes Berke’s spot. He averaged 12.7 points per game and 5.0 rebounds over 29 starts. He shot 40.3 from three. He was second team all-conference in the Missouri Valley.
It is likely that Trevan Leonhardt, Boden Kapke and Sam Orme will be penciled in as starters along with Pryce Sandfort and Braden Frager. Coming off the bench would be Connor Essegian, Taj DeGourville, Cale Jacobsen and Leo Curtis.
But what about Jamarques Lawrence you ask? Almost everybody who follows Nebraska basketball expected Jamarques Lawrence’s college basketball career to be over and that his eligibility has been used up.
Well there is this change the NCAA might push through which would give players an additional year of eligibility. It’s called the 5-for-5 rule which means that there are no more redshirts or medical exceptions, a player has five years to play five. I like this rule because the days of players hanging around just to get paid will be over. They are on the clock.
I also like it because if they pass the 5-for-5 rule then that means Jamarques Lawrence will be back next year in Lincoln. This also applies to Kendall Blue which is why he’s in the portal.
If the NCAA’s proposed 5-for-5 eligibility rule passes, Jamarques Lawrence wants to return to Nebraska next season.However, he and other 4th-year seniors can only wait. 🌽🏀“This whole thing is just confusing. We’re all trying to figure it out.”🔗: https://t.co/1pYJsjCvw4 pic.twitter.com/YcLPQVrEWy
I think Fred Hoiberg is setting up for a pretty good Nebraska basketball team next season and if they are able to add Jamarques Lawrence back in the mix then that would be a big deal.