Family was everything on 2023 5-star Simeon Wilcher’s NU visit

On the same day that new Xavier transfer C.J. Wilcher arrived on campus to begin his career at Nebraska, the Huskers had the luxury of hosting a 2023 five-star prospect who just happened to be there along with him.

Simeon Wilcher, C.J.’s younger brother and the No. 8 overall player in the ’23 class, took his first unofficial visit to Lincoln this weekend while he and his family helped C.J. move onto campus.

According to his father, Sergio, the family’s first trip to Nebraska couldn’t have gone much better for everyone, especially Simeon.

“He loved it,” Sergio said. “He loved the environment. They’re basketball guys, so just sitting down and getting to talk to a former pro about playing basketball, it was a great experience for him. It was an amazing experience for him.

“He’s a fan of Coach (Fred) Hoiberg. He got to go back and look up some things, and he was like, ‘Did you know he played against Kobe and Shaq?’ He had no idea. For Simeon to see all that up close was really good for him.”

Hoiberg and staff had the usual message for Simeon during his visit, highlighting their five-out offense and the strong culture they’ve built within the program over the past two years.

But the obvious sales pitch was that the Huskers had already won over C.J. and his parents in landing him as a transfer this spring.

“They’re extremely close,” Sergio said of C.J. and Simeon. “Simeon, of course he loves his big brother, but he’s watched his brother go through the process. (C.J.) has experienced it firsthand, from the training when you’re younger, the trials and tribulations through AAU and high school.

“So he listens to his brother a lot and pays attention to what he’s going through and learns from his brother’s experiences. That’s really one of my proudest as a father, how close they are.”

After C.J. committed to NU in March, he told HuskerOnline that he had already turned his full attention to recruiting Simeon to join him at Nebraska.

“I played with my brother my senior year of high school, and that was probably the best experience, basketball-wise, that I’ve ever had in my life,” C.J. said.

“That’s something I would like to do at the college level, to be able to make his transition as easy as I possibly can like I did for his freshman year of high school. So the recruitment has started already.”

Is the excitement about that possibility mutual for Simeon?

“Oh, absolutely. Absolutely,” Sergio said. “(Simeon) wants to play with his brother. He loves his brother. Again, because their relationship is so close, they’ve spent almost every day together throughout their whole lives, so when C.J. left to go to college, it was a really big deal. (Simeon) missed him…

“I still think it’s really important to experience the whole recruiting process, because his journey is still going to be his journey. But it could be a beautiful thing. It could be a beautiful thing.”

Sergio said the plan was for Simeon to take a few more unofficial visits this summer (though none have been scheduled yet) before taking his official visits in the fall.

HuskerOnline reported last month that it’s expected Simeon will take an official visit to NU sometime in October.