Diaz commits to play for Nebraska
August 23, 2008 by Bret Nellor, under 2008 Recruiting Class, Recruiting.
The Omaha World-Herald and the Lincoln Journal Star are both reporting that the Huskers have received an oral commitment from Jorge Diaz, a 6-11, 220 lb. center. Diaz spent this summer playing for the Puerto Rico junior national team and was considering Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa State and Loyola Marymount.
He has not yet been admitted to Nebraska but has received clearance from the NCAA academic clearinghouse. Which is great news since that seems to be the biggest hurdle for these international players. Diaz will likely receive the scholarship that was going to go to senior walk-on Paul Velander.
Diaz should add some much needed depth in the Husker’s frontline as they look to replace the void left by Aleks Maric. This also takes some pressure off the Christopher Niemann situation, who is still waiting to gain eligibility and clearance from the NCAA academic clearinghouse.
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Which D1 basketball team is best in Nebraska?
August 21, 2008 by Bret Nellor, under News.
CollegeHoops.net has begun their “State of ‘08″ collection of articles to rank the top basketball programs state by state. Their method of ranking:
This won’t be a ranking based on next year’s projected success, but will be a general program ranking based on recent success (the last five years) along with subjective factors of my choosing.
With the first article of the series they begin with all the states that have 2 D1 programs, such as Delaware, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, West Virginia, and of course Nebraska. So who do they rank first in Nebraska?
Creighton. In fact they consider this a no-brainer.
Not much of a surprise though when you look at the last 5 years for the Bluejays and the Huskers. Creighton holds the advantage over the Huskers in head to head match-ups and has enjoyed a couple trips to the NCAA tourney while NU has had a few trips to the NIT. That being said, it’s still disappointing.
I’m optimistic that we’re about to see a reversal of fortunes for the Huskers in this I-80 rivalry. Doc Sadler so far has a 1-1 record when going against Dana Altman in this series. And for my money, the Huskers now have a better system in place when facing Creighton’s style of play. As it is every year, their upcoming game this season will be watched pretty closely by most Nebraskans.
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Video of Brandon Ubel available on Rivals
August 21, 2008 by Bret Nellor, under 2009 Recruiting Class, Recruiting, Video.
Discovered a highlight video was posted on recent Husker commit Brandon Ubel’s Rivals profile page. For some reason I was able to view it earlier today, but now it’s locked down and only available for viewing by Rivals subscribers. Or you can sign up for a free account that lasts 7 days.
From what I saw, Ubel looks like he has a good shooting touch for a big guy from outside the arc. There were a couple moments where he displayed ability to put the ball on the floor and take it at the hoop as well as some post moves, but it looks like his bread and butter is his ability to score from the outside.
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Will Christopher Niemann be eligible for this season?
August 17, 2008 by Bret Nellor, under 2008 Recruiting Class, Recruiting.
The Omaha World-Herald reported that Christopher Niemann, the Husker’s 6-11 German recruit, is set to arrive in Lincoln at the end of this week. Nebraska certainly understands the importance his eligibility could have on the 2008 season as they are trying to do all they can to help his cause.
Two of Niemann’s German club teammates were ruled ineligible last season due to the fact that there were professionals on the team as well. For now Niemann has been ruled ineligible by the NCAA although he did not accept pay while playing for the club team.
The school’s efforts include sending a request to the NCAA to overturn Niemann’s eligibility ruling. There will be a teleconference to rule on that request likely this week. If Nebraska is successful in overturning the NCAA’s previous ruling, Niemann must also gain approval from the NCAA Clearinghouse for academic eligibility.
This will not be a walk in the park and much rides on getting the NCAA to overturn their initial ruling on Niemann. Hopefully we’ll get a favorable outcome on his status.
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Ubel becomes Nebraska’s second commitment for 2009
August 13, 2008 by Bret Nellor, under 2009 Recruiting Class, Recruiting.
Brandon Ubel has accepted the Husker’s scholarship offer and joins Vander Joaquim, as the 2nd commit for thier 2009 class. At 6-9, 220, he expects to float between the 3 and 4 positions for NU.
According to Ubel, “I can step out and shoot the 3, I can take people off the dribble and post up.” Of course I’m sure the first thing Coach Sadler will do is make sure he understands that his ability to play defense will determine his playing time. It also appears that he is a solid student with a 4.1 GPA and intends to study broadcast journalism in Lincoln.
Ubel chose Nebraska over Marquette, Stanford, Drake, Illinois State and Utah State. The fact that his sister runs track at UNL was a factor in his decision. Turns out he accepted the scholarship offer when he took his visit to the school last week. Doesn’t hurt to play the family card huh?
With commitments from Ubel and Joaquim, a top 100 prospect according to ESPN, the Huskers have one scholarship left which has been offered to Jarrell Crayton from Bellevue, NE.
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Teeng Akol signs with Oklahoma State
August 11, 2008 by Bret Nellor, under 2008 Recruiting Class, Recruiting.
Teeng is a ‘Poke.
Looks like the Huskers will have to turn their attention to Jorge Diaz or another unknown recruit if they plan to add a big man to their 2008 roster. Word from the Lincoln Journal Star’s Life in the Red blog is that Teeng Akol officially accepted OSU’s scholarship offer today and cancelled his visit to Lincoln.
This is somewhat disappointing news, but there is still plenty of time to find a player who can add some depth to the Husker’s frontline.
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Coach Sadler looking at Kansas City area talent for 2009 class
August 11, 2008 by Bret Nellor, under 2009 Recruiting Class, Recruiting.
Doc Sadler took an opportunity to view some Kansas City area talent at an AAU tournament in Shawnee, KS. With news last week of a scholarship offer for Brandon Ubel, it seems that the Kansas City area is an area of focus for the Huskers as they are putting together their 2009 recruiting class.
Ivo Baltic is another player that Coach Sadler scouted while at the tourney. Baltic is a 6-8, 205 pound player out of Park Hill South HS in Riverside, MO. He’s said to have good intensity, with a decent mid-range game and passing skills according to his Scout.com profile.
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Huskers looking at another big man for 2008 class
August 11, 2008 by Bret Nellor, under 2008 Recruiting Class, Recruiting.
As the Christopher Niemann eligibility and Teeng Akol recruiting saga continues, Doc Sadler apparently is not putting all his eggs in one basket while waiting to hear from the NCAA clearinghouse about Niemann’s status and to see if Akol will come to Lincoln for a visit.
Coach Sadler was spotted in Las Vegas scouting Jorge Diaz, a 6-11, 220 pound center. Diaz is from Caguas, Puerto Rico and plays for Team Puerto Rico. Other schools reportedly interested in landing the big man for the 2008 season are Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa State and Loyola Marymount.
There are some questions about Diaz’s eligibility as he awaits his SAT scores in the next couple weeks. Once he has those results he plans to start taking some visits.
It seems pretty obvious that Coach Sadler is keeping all options open as he considers signing an additional front court player for 2008. This is a good move that could pay dividends as the Huskers currently have no player taller than 6-9 on the roster. I expect that Doc has a plan in place should there be no additions to the roster, but I’m sure he’d feel more comfortable with some more size and depth inside as we enter this season. Well maybe he wouldn’t, but I know I would!
