Nebraska basketball holds head high after NCAA loss

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Juwan Gary smiled.

Nebraska’s self-professed glue guy forward was unmistakably upset in the wake of the Huskers’ loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but he simultaneously felt a sense of accomplishment.

The forward from South Carolina hasn’t had the opportunity to play meaningful basketball this late in the season for Nebraska. Not after his season-ending shoulder injury last season.

After the ACL injury that took his entire 2019-20 season while at Alabama, he doesn’t take this opportunity to play March basketball for granted.

“This means a lot to me,” Gary told the Journal Star, reflecting on this season. “I’ve been dealing a lot of injuries throughout college — ACL, shoulder. I’ve been through a lot of adversity. This year definitely shaped me into who I am. It shaped me into a mature, young man. Went through a lot of adversity this year, but we knew how to deal with it.”

For him personally, he missed the first three games of the season for undisclosed team-related reasons. He missed three more games due to a calf strain — one that he initially believed to be an Achilles tendon tear before follow-up imaging.

Even still, Gary — an All-Big Ten Defensive Team snub — averaged a career-high 11.6 points per game while shooting at a 49.8% clip from the floor and a career-high 30.6% from deep. His average of 6.1 rebounds per game came just shy of his mark from last year. His 35 assists more than doubled his output from 2022-23, too. His 31 steals? Also a career-high.

“This season, for me, it was a big statement for a lot of people who don’t know who Juwan Gary was,” Gary said. “They definitely know who I am now.”

Nebraska — Juwan Gary included — has a lot to be proud of.

Second-most wins in program history. First time in the NCAA Tournament in a decade. First Big Ten Tournament semifinal appearance in program history. Their season average in scoring was the highest they’ve had in nearly 30 years. They’ve shattered school records. They decisively took down a No. 1 ranked team, something a Nebraska squad hadn’t done in 42 years. Weeks later, down went another giant.

“I’m proud of these guys for going out on a really high note with what they accomplished this season,” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said. “There’s a lot of really sad faces in that locker room right now, a lot of tears after that game. But I told them, each and every one, you need to walk out here tonight with your head held high for what you helped this program accomplish.”

Through the sting. Through the pain. Through the heartbreaking, gut-wrenching agony of a defeat like this, the Huskers heard Hoiberg’s words.

For Brice Williams, he needed to hear them.

On a team full of talent, he led them. A team-high 1,010 minutes. A team-high 37 steals. Second on the team with his 13.4 points per game average. Third on the team with his 5.5 rebounds per game clip. Third on the team with his 84 assists.

“This year’s been hard. Nobody thought we could do it,” Williams told the Journal Star. “Honestly, probably some of the guys in the locker room didn’t think they could do it. We just persevered. Whether the days were hard, whether our bodies were hurt, whether it was injuries, we showed up every day. We worked. We worked hard to build a culture, a good culture. And that’s why we did the good things we did do this year.”

For Rienk Mast, he needed to hear them.

No one went through more than he did this year between the downtown assault that left him with a facial injury and the knee injury that required a mid-season procedure. Through it all, he led them. A team-high 95 assists. A team-high rebounds, an average of 7.5 per game. Third on the team in points, averaging 12.3 per game.

“Obviously in the next couple of days, it’ll probably sink in more of how special this season was for Nebraska,” Mast said of the season-long accomplishments. “We’ve done a lot of firsts this year — or at least things that haven’t been accomplished in a while. But that overall feeling is that last little thing that we weren’t able to do, and that’s win the first NCAA game.

“This season, we showed that Nebraska can also be a basketball school. People talk about it being a volleyball school and a football school. I think we’ve left — especially the seniors that are for sure done now — have left this team in a better place. I just hope that moving forward, this program can only go up from here.”

For C.J. Wilcher, he needed to hear them.

As one of the longest-tenured players on this roster, the vocal leader of this squad had tear-stained cheeks and red eyes after Nebraska’s loss. He — after averaging 7.7 points on 45.1% shooting and a team-high 93.9% on free throws — wanted this for Nebraska. He was on that 10-win team, willing to take a leap of faith in Nebraska despite the team having won a mere seven games the year before. For the Huskers to get to this point, it doesn’t happen without him.

“I thank God I was able to be a part of something special here,” Wilcher told the Journal Star. “To be able to impact lives through playing the game of basketball, that’s what we did. We were able to touch a lot of people with the way we played and just the individuals we had in this locker room, it’s a special thing to see and be a part of. I feel great about what we did this year.”

Gary, Williams and Wilcher — they all have eligibility remaining. They all could return to Nebraska and try to run it back next year.

But they won’t be able to do it with two special adored and beloved members of their crew: seniors Keisei Tominaga and Josiah Allick — both of whom took the post-game podium as their eyes welled with tears.

They cared about this place. Both for different reasons.

For Tominaga, this was his home away from home.

A place where he was welcomed with open arms for three years. A place where he was embraced and cherished and allowed to be his fun-loving, electric self. In his final season for Nebraska, the All-Big Team second-teamer led Nebraska with 15.1 points per game — and shot at a 46.6% clip.

“Of course, it’s sad that we lose, but it’s also sad that I can’t play for Coach Hoiberg anymore or play with my teammates,” Tominaga said. “That’s the most sad thing right now.”

For Allick, this was his home.

After spending the majority of his college career in Kansas City and then New Mexico, he repped the N for his final season of college hoops — pacing Nebraska in field goal percentage at 55% over the year.

Everyone showed the Lincoln North Star alumnus all of the love. And he gave it right back. Every time Allick stepped on the floor, you could feel the overwhelming sense of pride he felt in having Nebraska across his chest.

That’s why this stung. That’s why this loss broke his heart.

“I just know how much this team means to this city and to this state and to all the Huskers outside state lines,” Allick said. “And I just knew the opportunity that was here and the type of team and staff, and just kind of momentum they had from the previous year.

“And I wanted to be a part of that team that kind of gave something back to this community. I don’t regret my decision for a second. Obviously, I’m frustrated as hell that I didn’t do enough to get that done, but I’ve loved every second of being back home and getting to really get a deeper understanding of this community and just the support this year, just how special Husker Nation is.”

As the old cliche goes, only one team ends its season on a happy note. Of the 68 teams that make the dance, only one cuts down the nets in April.

While this loss wasn’t what any of them expected, they should know they did Nebraska proud.

Success on the hardwood hasn’t been a given for Nebraska since this program began in 1897, but this team gave Husker Nation hope of what can be possible going forward under Hoiberg.

And Hoiberg? He knows it, too.

“There’s no reason this team can’t have sustained success,” Hoiberg said. “This can’t be another decade before Nebraska gets back in the NCAA Tournament. We need to be there again next year.

“… It’s something where we can look back on this hopefully when we do get over the hump and say that these last two years have really helped us build a program the way that it needs to be built. And we’re going to get back here and hopefully get us to the point where we’re winning games at this time of year next season.”