Connect with us

Huskers Online

Iowa transfer Ahron Ulis commits to Nebraska


Ahron Ulis spent three seasons on the Hawkeye side of the Nebraska-Iowa rivalry. But as he enters his fourth year of college basketball, the Chicago native will be trading in his black and gold for scarlet and cream.

The Huskers dipped into the transfer portal to land Ulis, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound point guard who played in 84 career games for head coach Fran McCaffery in Iowa City. He’ll have two seasons of eligibility.

Inside Nebraska confirmed on Sunday that Ulis, who announced March 22 he was entering the portal, was in Lincoln to officially visit the Huskers. He becomes Nebraska’s third transfer addition of the offseason, joining forward Rienk Mast (Bradley) and guard Brice Williams (Charlotte).

Nebraska now has two scholarships available for the 2023-24 season. The Huskers hosted 2023 three-star guard Brady Dunlap last month. The 6-7 Dunlap had the Huskers in his top-five following his decommitment from Notre Dame.

Ulis was a reserve his first two seasons at Iowa, but started 27 of 32 games last season. He averaged 6.1 points, 2.1 assists and 1.6 rebounds per game in 2022-23.

Ulis is the little brother of former Kentucky guard and current Kentucky assistant coach Tyler Ulis.

What does Ahron Ulis bring to the Husker roster?

Nebraska needed a ball handler following the departure of Sam Griesel, and Ulis will fill that role as he handled it often at Iowa last year. Ball-screens were a large part of what Ulis was asked to do.

Ulis’ offensive numbers won’t blow anyone away, but he has shown he’s a capable scorer. He scored in double-figures five times last season, and there was a three-game stretch in late January where he poured in 12 points at Ohio State, 17 at Michigan State and 16 vs. Rutgers, the top defense in the Big Ten. More consistency in that area will be needed from Ulis, though.

Ulis will be asked to be a facilitator in Fred Hoiberg’s offense. Last season Ulis dished out 67 assists, which was tied for third-most on the team. His season-high in assists was five against Georgia Tech.

Maybe the most important traits Ulis brings to Nebraska’s roster is perimeter defense and a winning background. He’s a solid defender who won’t shy away from being tasked with guarding the hardest perimeter assignment each game.

Ulis’ experience playing on a team that’s gone to three NCAA Tournaments and won a Big Ten Tournament championship will help this group of Huskers, too. When Hoiberg talked about the additions of Griesel, Emmanuel Bandoumel and Juwan Gary last year, the coach noted they’d be taking what they learned from those winning programs and injecting it into their new program.

In his first two seasons, Ulis was a member of a team that won 71 percent of its games, so he knows what good basketball looks like from within, and the hope is that rubs off on his teammates in Lincoln.

Nebraska 2023-24 roster breakdown

* = Redshirt Freshman ; ^ = Walk-on

Transfers out

Former Huskers who have entered the portal:
>> Oleg Kojenets (transferred to Wyoming)
>> Denim Dawson (transferred to Tennessee State)
>> Quaran McPherson



Source link

Related Topics
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Advertisement

Must See

Advertisement Enter ad code here
Advertisement

Facebook

Advertisement

More in Huskers Online