Trey McGowens to Turn Professional

Nebraska guard Trey McGowens announced Tuesday that he will pursue a professional basketball career and will not use his final season of eligibility.

McGowens, a 6-foot-4, 196-pound guard from Pendleton, S.C., started two seasons at Nebraska and averaged 9.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game while he was often assigned to the opponent’s top perimeter scoring threat.

“Trey has decided to stay in the draft and embark on a professional career,” Nebraska Coach Fred Hoiberg. “He has meant a lot to this program over the past two seasons, and his toughness in coming back from injury strengthened our team down the stretch. I thought Trey was one of the best defenders in our league last year, as he showed the ability to guard several positions. Trey loves to be in the gym and work, and I think his best days are still ahead of him. We will do everything to support him as he begins the next chapter of his basketball career.”

Last season, McGowens averaged 6.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game despite missing 15 games with a broken bone in his foot suffered in the third game of the season. He was playing some of his best basketball down the stretch, averaging 7.8 points on 55 percent shooting, 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game over the Huskers’ final six contests. McGowens had a season-high 13 points along with four steals and four assists at Penn State.

In 2020-21, McGowens made an immediate impact after transferring from Pittsburgh. He started all 27 games and averaged 10.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He finished fifth in the Big Ten in steals per game and ranked second on the squad in both scoring and assists. McGowens who shot just 32 percent from 3-point range in his first two seasons, raised that number to 37 percent and totaled 17 double-figure efforts, including a season-high 20 points against Indiana.

McGowens, who was a two-year starter at Pittsburgh before coming to Lincoln, finishes his collegiate career with 1,167 points, 387 rebounds, 262 assists and 192 steals.