Juwan Gary, Brice Williams to return to Nebraska basketball

Gary transferred to Nebraska from Alabama in 2022 and played in 17 games before a shoulder injury ended his season. He missed time in his second year with a suspension to begin the season, then a calf injury in January, but was a major contributor when he saw the floor. He averaged 11.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, providing physicality on defense and toughness on the glass.

After Nebraska’s season ended in the NCAA Tournament, Gary said he was undecided on returning — he still needed to discuss it with his family — but was open to spending one more year at NU because of both basketball and a desire to get his degree.

“I would definitely come back here for my last year in college just to play with the group of guys that’s gonna be here next year, just play under coach Fred (Hoiberg) one more time because we built that relationship to the point like he’s like a father to me at this point,” Gary told the Omaha World-Herald. “Talk about anything, personal things, stuff that’s off the court for sure.”

Williams arrived after four years at Charlotte and started every game for Nebraska, first at shooting guard, then as the point guard over the last 11 games of the season. He averaged 13.4 points per game while shooting 38.8% from 3-point range as one of the Huskers’ go-to scorers.

Bringing back Gary and Williams, both of whom played more than 55% of available minutes last season, is a major step in retention for a program that has seen six players enter the transfer portal since the end of the season. Nebraska still has seven open scholarships to fill, but its outlook is slightly more in focus as it tries to build on its first tournament appearance since 2014.

In the announcement video, Gary is driving when he gets a call from Williams.

“They saying we gotta run it back,” Williams says.

“You running it back? I’ll run it back with you,” Gary says after a brief exchange.

A highlight package of both plays before cutting back to Gary.

“Yo, Fred, we running it back. Say no more.”