kyle young

Previously: Part One (Illinois-Minnesota)

Today's post will cover the back half of the Big Ten and next week I'll post a part three that (finally) ranks the league by current roster outlook. Let's get this going before anyone else moves.

Nebraska

Key departures: W Teddy Allen (left team during season, transfer), F Yvan Ouedraogo (Grand Canyon transfer), G Elijah Wood (transfer), W Akol Arop (transfer)
Key additions/super seniors: G Kobe Webster (super senior), W Keon Edwards (DePaul transfer), W CJ Wilcher (Xavier transfer), G Keisei Tominaga (JuCo transfer), 5* W Bryce McGowens (2021 signee), 4* F Wilhelm Breidenbach (2021 signee), 3* C Oleg Kojenets (2021 signee)
Up in the air: F Thorir Thorbjarnarson (possible super senior), F Shameil Stevenson (considering pros)

Color me shocked, there's a lot of transfer action in a Fred Hoiberg program. While that reflected a poor Nebrasketball program the last couple years, however, this offseason shows some promise for the Huskers.

Hoiberg did a good job of holding the roster together after leading scorer Teddy Allen left the program midway through the season. The only other rotation player to leave is backup big Yvan Ouedraogo, while the other players who've transferred or are considering their futures either didn't play significant minutes or are fringe Big Ten talents. Starting guard Kobe Webster, a good outside shooter, decided to use the COVID exemption for an extra senior year.

Meanwhile, the players coming in look like they'll move the program forward. Hoiberg isn't shying away from heaping expectations on freshman wing Bryce McGowens, the #22 overall player in the 2021 class—easily the highest-ranked signee in Huskers history—and younger brother of senior guard Trey McGowens:

"I believe that signing Bryce changes the whole trajectory of our program." Nebraska Coach Fred Hoiberg said. "He is the centerpiece of what I believe is the strongest class that Nebraska basketball has ever signed. Since I've been here, we have talked about building a program that can have sustained success, and adding a player of Bryce's caliber shows that we building something special here. It shows that Nebraska can compete for some of the top players in the country. It also says a lot about the type of person that Bryce is. He wanted to go to a place where he can create a legacy and help Nebraska basketball reach new heights.

He's on the skinny side and his outside shot is reportedly streaky but he has the look of a high-level scorer from day one. Top-100 big man Wilhelm Breidenbach is merely the third-highest ranked signee in program history; at 6'9, 200 pounds, his lack of bulk may matter more than McGowens' because of their respective positions.

DePaul transfer Keon Edwards is, in effect, another top-100 commit. The lanky 6'7 wing was ranked in the 40-80 range depending on the evaluator after he gave up his senior season of high school to reclassify to 2020 and enroll in December. Edwards played only a handful of minutes over five games as a freshman. The Huskers say he'll have four years of eligibility and he had some high-level programs after him as a transfer, including Alabama and Florida State.

Xavier transfer CJ Wilcher is in a similar position. The #113 prospect in the 2020 class rode the pine for most of the season before emerging as a useful rotation player and even a spot starter on the wing in its final month. He, too, will have four years of eligibility. While limited as an athlete, he was touted as one of the better shooters in his class.

Speaking of shooters, top-ten JuCo transfer Keisei Tominaga is touted as "the Japanese Steph Curry" after shooting 48% from downtown for Ranger (TX) College, which is coached by Billy Gillespie(!). His range and quick release are evident on film and he should at the very least be a fun player to track.

[Hit THE JUMP for teams with a bit less change except for... Wisconsin?]

(But don't fret, that's coming later this afternoon.)

In-State Squads Offer Livers

As anticipated, Michigan offered four-star 2017 Kalamazoo Central PF Isaiah Livers on Monday, one day after Michigan State came forth with their own offer. Livers visited Ann Arbor in June and had extremely high praise for the program in the aftermath, per Sam Webb:

"June 22nd was the day of the visit… it was on a Wednesday… it blew me away,” said Livers.  “It was so far ahead of the other colleges I've been to. The University of Michigan was what you’d expect. It blew my mind, my dad was blown away. It just caught our attention, out of all the schools they're just ahead of everybody. They have the technology.  What I like the most is the angle shooting (machine). You would shoot, and you would turn it on, and it would say what your angle was on the jump shot so you could fix it. It was really sweet. That school just blew me away.  They’re academics of course are outstanding. It's just crazy. I'm going into business, so it kind of helps having a top ten school in the country."

Assistant coach Saadi Washington has recruited Livers dating back to his time at Oakland, and Livers said they have a strong relationship. Based on his size and this recent scouting report from Scout's Brian James, Livers sounds like a great fit for the four in Beilein's system:

Livers is a long 6-foot-8 player that has been working hard on his perimeter touch.  He’s hit 37 plus percent from the arc in EYBL and against UBC the long forward sunk a trey in the corner and another at the top of the key.  Livers is becoming a more confident shooter with his feet and his one-dribble pull-up jumper looks strong as well.  Also had a passing lane jump that he pushed the other way moving through traffic and producing a finger roll.

Isaiah looks like a defender that can defend multiple positions.  First off, Isaiah has really good length and he uses that length well.  Players had trouble getting looks over the top of him and his hands up in the passing lanes led to three deflections.  Also, this is a guy that seems to love to make strong box-out hits.  Once a shot goes up Livers turns to locate, makes a stiff forearm contact, and then holds his man well after making the initial hit.  Also does a very good job getting over in help to use that length. 

While Livers had a great Michigan visit, he's far from a lock; he grew up a Michigan State fan and has made several visits to East Lansing. He told Scout last week that he'll visit MSU for a football game in the fall, and he's also looking to visit Michigan, Minnesota, and Cal; he plans to take all of his officials before making a decision.

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]

Wilkes Visits, Adds Offer

Five-star 2017 Indiana wing Kris Wilkes visited Ann Arbor on Sunday. As expected, Michigan put forth an offer, though Wilkes has yet to offer up any quotes about it beyond a quick post-offer tweet. Most of the top Big Ten programs are after Wilkes, as are the likes of Butler, Kansas, UCLA, and Xavier. Kentucky, which hasn't offered him, currently leads his Crystal Ball.

Michigan's best bet in 2017 continues to be three-star in-state wing Jamal Cain. Last week, Scout's Brian Snow posted that Xavier is now "basically out" for Cain after adding 2017 wing Jared Ridder, who's also a 3/4 type; that leaves Michigan as the odds-on favorite.

Four-star OH wing Kyle Young, who also holds a Michigan offer, included the Wolverines in his top ten and told 247 he'll be on campus for M's team camp this month. Young is coming off a visit to Ohio State, which is considered the early favorite for him.

UMHoops's Sean Moran reports Michigan has been getting involved with top-100 2017 IL PG Nojel Eastern:

“After the first EYBL sessions a lot more schools have been involved,” said Eastern. “The head coaches text me more and I get more calls. New schools, Michigan, a lot of them call my mom, but the one that calls me is Michigan.”

Michigan needs a point guard this cycle and Eastern is one of the more intriguing prospects at the position: he's listed at 6'6", 200 pounds. If the coaches can get him on campus, an offer is likely to follow—MSU, OSU, Purdue, and Illinois are already among the schools to offer him.

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]