Nebraska men’s basketball in for lively April of key transfer visits and decisions

When the Nebraska athletic director has big news to break on Frank Solich returning back to Memorial Stadium, Trev Alberts’ assessment of Nebraska men’s basketball got a smaller headline.

So it’s worth reviewing what Alberts said on his monthly radio show pertaining to Husker coach Fred Hoiberg’s program. In short, he liked it.

“What I was pleased with was to see the resiliency and the fight, and see them stay together,” Alberts said. “And to see young men — who ordinarily didn’t have a large role on the team — in the middle of the year come together. I thought they had good unity. I thought they were a much tougher team. I think they played good defense.”

Alberts then added that Hoiberg and his coaches had a “big offseason” ahead.

One month after a loss to Minnesota in the Big Ten tournament, that offseason remains relatively quiet.

Two Huskers — Oleg Kojenets and Denim Dawson — left quickly, but no one else has. Keisei Tominaga has yet to enter his name into the NBA Draft. And NU has yet to add any players to its roster.

April projects to be a lot louder than the last half of March, starting with a key reported visit happening next weekend.

That comes from Pittsburgh transfer center John Hugley, who has already visited Georgia Tech and will visit West Virginia, according to On3. In between those trips, the 6-foot-9, 265-pounder will see Nebraska April 17-19.

Hugley peaked in 2021-22, averaging 14.8 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists for a Pitt team that finished 11-21. A lengthy highlight video from that season showed Hugley’s ability to run and dunk in transition, find shooters from underneath the hoop and make the occasional 3-pointer. Ranked as the No. 33 overall transfer by On3, Hugley’s skillset and size is similar to that of former Husker Derrick Walker.

In the 2022-23 preseason, Hugley hurt his knee. He appeared in eight games, averaging 8.0 points and 3.6 rebounds, before announcing Jan. 14 that he was sitting out the remainder of the season “to fully invest in healing mentally as well as physically.” He hit the portal March 16, just after Pitt won its “First Four” NCAA tournament game. The Panthers eventually advanced to the second round.

Elsewhere in the portal, Nebraska missed out on Kerr Kriisa, the Arizona point guard who ranks 19th on the On3 list. Kriisa announced Wednesday his commitment to West Virginia. The Pac-12 leader in assists per game had narrowed his list to Nebraska, West Virginia and Xavier.

There has been consistent contact between Nebraska and Gonzaga transfer Hunter Sallis, as well, according to a source, though Sallis’ father, Trevis, expected to take at least this week to sort through options. Hunter Sallis had limited offensive opportunities with the Bulldogs but emerged as a defensive stopper this season.

With eight known returnees and one 2023 high school signee — IMG Academy forward Eli Rice — NU has four scholarships available. Hoiberg said in a mid-March interview that Nebraska would add at least two — a versatile center and a point guard — and assess from there, adjusting as needed to Tominaga’s decision-making and portal availability.