Huskers Add Xavier Transfer C.J. Wilcher

Lincoln – The Nebraska men’s basketball program added another former top-100 recruit with high major experience with the addition of C.J. Wilcher (pronounced WILL-chur) who will join the Huskers for the 2021-22 campaign.   Wilcher, a 6-foot-5, 195-pound guard from Plainfield, N.J., transferred from Xavier, and will have four seasons of eligibility at Nebraska.  

Nebraska Coach Fred Hoiberg believes that Wilcher’s skillset will be a great addition to the Husker roster.

“You can never have enough shooting, and C.J. is an elite-level shooter,” Nebraska Coach Fred Hoiberg said. “He was one of the best shooters nationally in the class of 2020, but his game is much more than that. He has good size on the perimeter and uses it to create space and has an aggressive mindset. He played significant minutes at Xavier and that experience will help him in the transition to the Big Ten.”

Wilcher played in 15 games for Xavier which finished with a 13-8 record in 2020-21. He averaged 3.3 points and 1.1 rebounds per game in just over 10 minutes per game, while shooting 40 percent from the floor and 35 percent from 3-point range. Wilcher saw more action down the stretch, playing 10 or more minutes in seven of his last nine contests, including more than 20 minutes per game in the Musketeers’ final four games. He closed the 2020-21 campaign with seven points in 20 minutes against Butler in the Big East Tournament. His best performance of the season came in his first collegiate start on March 6 at Marquette, where he had season bests in points (10) and minutes (32). Wilcher had four points and a season-high six rebounds at Georgetown on March 2. He hit two 3-pointers in six minutes off the bench in the win over Providence on Jan. 10 and added five points, including a 3-pointer, in 10 minutes of action in the win at Butler on Jan. 30.

A four-star recruit coming out of high school by ESPN, 247Sports and Rivals, Wilcher was ranked No. 81 by ESPN in the class of 2020 and was a top-150 recruit by all three services. He spent his senior season playing for Dave Boff at Roselle Catholic, averaging 18.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game despite missing nine games because of injury. Wilcher had 50 3-pointers as a senior, highlighted by hitting six 3-pointers in a 59-58 win over Gill St. Bernard’s in the sectional championship in what would his final high school appearance. He starred for St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark during his sophomore and junior campaigns, averaging 18 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 2018-19 en route to a state runner-up finish. As a sophomore, he had 28 points, including five 3-pointers, in a 59-58 win over Blair Academy in the state championship game. Wilcher played AAU ball for both Team Rio and City Rocks on the EYBL Circuit, averaging 19.7 points per game with City Rocks in 2019.

Wilcher is the son of Sergio and Kimberly Wilcher, and comes from a basketball family, as his father played collegiately at Morgan State.