Top 25 Husker Recruits in the 24/7 Era

[aphilso1]

I was just perusing the team recruiting rankings and salivating over our Top 15 Class (which is even better when considering the two 4-yr transfers that aren't included in said ranking).  I noticed something extremely interesting at the bottom of our team recruiting page -- a list of the highest rated signees for as long as 24/7 Sports has been around.  I find a few of these quite surprising, as I didn't remember the player being highly regarded when we signed him (for example, Yvan at #6).  Others seem extremely underrated based on their recruiting pedigree (such as Teddy at #19).  Without further ado, the Top 25 recruits in the 24/7 era are:

 

1. Bryce McGowens 5*

2. Glynn Watson 4*

3. Wilhelm Breidenbach 4*

4. Tom Allen 4*

(All remaining players were rated a 3*)

5. Ed Morrow 

6. Yvan

7. Roby

8. Alonzo Edwards

9. Standhardinger

10. Samari Curtis

11. Jordy Tshimanga

12. Ubel

13. Adrian Coleman

14. Oleg Kojenets

15. Eduardo

16. Nana Akenton

17. Jeriah Horne

18. Teddy

19. Nick Fuller

20. BJ Walker

21. David Rivers

22. Ray Gallegos

23. Akol Arop

24. Jake Hammond

25. Nate Hawkins

 

https://247sports.com/college/nebraska/Season/2021-Basketball/Commits/

 

[aphilso1]

Some other surprises:

 

-Coleman at #13?!?  I barely remember Adrian.  IIRC, he was only on our roster for a semester and didn't crack the rotation.  And I don't recall anyone being excited when we signed him either.  Hard to believe he outranked some of the other recruits on the list.

-Alonzo Edwards has to be our biggest "bust" in these rankings.  I remember being very excited when we landed him.  And I believe he was on our "shortest roster ever" team that was on the bubble for most of the season.  Hard to believe he didn't earn serious minutes with his length on that team.

-Wilhelm is ranked higher than Morrow or Roby.  Wow.  I may have to raise my expectations slightly.

-Oleg is ranked higher than Eduardo, albeit by just a hair.  Could we have just gotten back-to-back steals on big men?  I am not terribly optimistic based on what I've seen from Oleg, so either the professionals know something I don't (likely) or Oleg is overrated (less likely).  

 

[Nebrasketballer]

10 minutes ago, aphilso1 said:

Some other surprises:

 

-Coleman at #13?!?  I barely remember Adrian.  IIRC, he was only on our roster for a semester and didn't crack the rotation.  And I don't recall anyone being excited when we signed him either.  Hard to believe he outranked some of the other recruits on the list.

-Alonzo Edwards has to be our biggest "bust" in these rankings.  I remember being very excited when we landed him.  And I believe he was on our "shortest roster ever" team that was on the bubble for most of the season.  Hard to believe he didn't earn serious minutes with his length on that team.

-Wilhelm is ranked higher than Morrow or Roby.  Wow.  I may have to raise my expectations slightly.

-Oleg is ranked higher than Eduardo, albeit by just a hair.  Could we have just gotten back-to-back steals on big men?  I am not terribly optimistic based on what I've seen from Oleg, so either the professionals know something I don't (likely) or Oleg is overrated (less likely).  

 

Didn't Alonzo Edwards have knee issues that kept him from consistent playing time? Am I remembering that correctly?

Also, if Keon Edwards wouldn't have reclassified from 2021 to 2020, then he would be #2 on this list.

[aphilso1]

3 minutes ago, Nebrasketballer said:

Didn't Alonzo Edwards have knee issues that kept him from consistent playing time? Am I remembering that correctly?

Also, if Keon Edwards wouldn't have reclassified from 2021 to 2020, then he would be #2 on this list.

 

-I think you're thinking of Chris Balham.  I don't remember why Alonzo didn't play more, but Balham was the one from that time period that could only play a handful of minutes due to knee problems.

-If we include transfers, then Copeland would be above Edwards.  But I get the point you're making since Edwards has four years to play.  He's more similar to a true high school recruit than he is to a traditional transfer.

[Norm Peterson]

33 minutes ago, aphilso1 said:

 

-I think you're thinking of Chris Balham.  I don't remember why Alonzo didn't play more, but Balham was the one from that time period that could only play a handful of minutes due to knee problems.

-If we include transfers, then Copeland would be above Edwards.  But I get the point you're making since Edwards has four years to play.  He's more similar to a true high school recruit than he is to a traditional transfer.

 

Speaking of 4-year players, what if we add CJ to the list?

[aphilso1]

3 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

Speaking of 4-year players, what if we add CJ to the list?

 

CJ was a 0.9541 rating on 24/7, which would place him below Wilhelm and above Tom Allen.  Including transfers opens up a major can of worms though.  I don't feel like looking up the ranking of all of our highly rated transfers.

Edited April 21, 2021 by aphilso1

[Nebrasketballer]

35 minutes ago, aphilso1 said:

 

-I think you're thinking of Chris Balham.  I don't remember why Alonzo didn't play more, but Balham was the one from that time period that could only play a handful of minutes due to knee problems.

-If we include transfers, then Copeland would be above Edwards.  But I get the point you're making since Edwards has four years to play.  He's more similar to a true high school recruit than he is to a traditional transfer.

Yeah, maybe I'm thinking Balham.

 

Yeah, I just see Keon Edwards as being different from other transfers, since he was originally in the 2021 class, but just reclassified to 2020, because of COVID issues, and then Nebraska is now getting him in their 2021 class and he will be a freshmen. I see him as slightly different than Wilcher, who also has 4 years of eligibility, but was always a 2020 prospect and Nebraska is getting him in their 2021 class.

[Norm Peterson]

1 minute ago, aphilso1 said:

 

CJ was a 0.9541 rating on 24/7, which would place him below Wilhelm and above Tom Allen.  Including transfers opens up a major can of worms though.  I don't feel like looking up the ranking of all of our highly rated transfers.

 

I feel it's pretty safe to assume that CJ and Keon are the only 4-year-eligible transfers in program history.

[Navin R. Johnson]

Ray Gallegos and David Rivers turned out to be pretty solid players for being ranked so low on the list.

[millerhusker]

7 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

I feel it's pretty safe to assume that CJ and Keon are the only 4-year-eligible transfers in program history.

Dalano has the option of playing 4 years here, although we didn’t know that when he transferred. 

[Norm Peterson]

Just now, millerhusker said:

Dalano has the option of playing 4 years here, although we didn’t know that when he transferred. 

Then, what the heck, let's include him too. 

[49r]

Don't really know where to put this but I guess this thread is as good as any...ESPN released their final Top-100 for the 2021 class today:

http://www.espn.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/playerrankings

 

They have Bryce at #24 (4*) and Wilhelm at #75 (4*)

 

According to ESPN we have moved up to the 13th best class in the country (our ranking doesn't factor in Wilcher and Edwards, naturally). Link requires ESPN+

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/insider/story/_/id/31256464/2021-men-college-basketball-recruiting-class-rankings-chet-holmgren-boosts-gonzaga-no-2

 

 

13. Nebraska Cornhuskers

Previous ranking: 16 

This may be the best recruiting class in Nebraska history. The focal point is Bryce McGowens, a versatile 6-6 guard who had initially committed to Florida State but is now joining the Huskers. Older brother Trey McGowens transferred in from Pittsburgh the year prior. Fred Hoiberg has another ESPN 100 product in the class as well in Wilhelm Breidenbach, a skilled frontcourt player who hopes to follow the same trajectory on which Hoiberg guided Georges Niang at Iowa State. Together, they become the first ESPN 100 tandem to commit to Nebraska since 2015. Hoiberg rounded out the group with center Oleg Kojenetsand shooting guard Keisei Tominaga.

[49r]

(oh and I thought I'd add this part...for fun)

 

Dropped out: Louisville (11), UNLV (14), Creighton (15), Memphis (19), USC(20), Purdue (24), North Carolina (25)

[HuskerFever]

1 minute ago, 49r said:

This may be the best recruiting class in Nebraska history.

 

Just now, 49r said:

(oh and I thought I'd add this part...for fun)

 

Dropped out: North Carolina (25)

 

No excuses. UNC vs. Nebraska in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Book it already.

[49r]

Just now, HuskerFever said:

 

 

No excuses. UNC vs. Nebraska in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Book it already.

 

 

You know that will never, ever happen.  Even if we won the national title we'll never get Carolina or Duke in the ACC Challenge.  We'll be lucky if we can move in to the Notre Dame/Pitt/'Cuse tier ever.

[HuskerFever]

5 minutes ago, 49r said:

 

You know that will never, ever happen.  Even if we won the national title we'll never get Carolina or Duke in the ACC Challenge.  We'll be lucky if we can move in to the Notre Dame/Pitt/'Cuse tier ever.

 

For sure. Probably back-to-back years with Wake Forest again.

[Norm Peterson]

46 minutes ago, HuskerFever said:

 

For sure. Probably back-to-back years with Wake Forest again.

 

OK, well then, let's take care of business next time instead of letting some midget 3-point shooter come in off the bench and drill our ass with a bunch of corner threes.

[HuscurAdam]

1 hour ago, Navin R. Johnson said:

Ray Gallegos and David Rivers turned out to be pretty solid players for being ranked so low on the list.

 

They were both really good athletic players that don't get enough credit for making those early Miles teams as good as they were.  Rivers especially is overlooked/underrated. 

[hugh42]

3 hours ago, aphilso1 said:

Some other surprises:

 

-Coleman at #13?!?  I barely remember Adrian.  IIRC, he was only on our roster for a semester and didn't crack the rotation.  And I don't recall anyone being excited when we signed him either.  Hard to believe he outranked some of the other recruits on the list.

-Alonzo Edwards has to be our biggest "bust" in these rankings.  I remember being very excited when we landed him.  And I believe he was on our "shortest roster ever" team that was on the bubble for most of the season.  Hard to believe he didn't earn serious minutes with his length on that team.

-Wilhelm is ranked higher than Morrow or Roby.  Wow.  I may have to raise my expectations slightly.

-Oleg is ranked higher than Eduardo, albeit by just a hair.  Could we have just gotten back-to-back steals on big men?  I am not terribly optimistic based on what I've seen from Oleg, so either the professionals know something I don't (likely) or Oleg is overrated (less likely).  

 

 

I attended a practice when Adrian Coleman was still with the Huskers and Doc was on him the entire practice. It was pretty obvious that he wasn't going to take to Doc's style of coaching and I wasn't surprised at the time when he transferred at the semester. He did go on to have a good career at Butane Cookman though...I mean Bethune...damn it Navin!

[49r]

3 hours ago, aphilso1 said:

I was just perusing the team recruiting rankings and salivating over our Top 15 Class (which is even better when considering the two 4-yr transfers that aren't included in said ranking).  I noticed something extremely interesting at the bottom of our team recruiting page -- a list of the highest rated signees for as long as 24/7 Sports has been around.  I find a few of these quite surprising, as I didn't remember the player being highly regarded when we signed him (for example, Yvan at #6).  Others seem extremely underrated based on their recruiting pedigree (such as Teddy at #19).  Without further ado, the Top 25 recruits in the 24/7 era are:

 

1. Bryce McGowens 5*

2. Glynn Watson 4*

3. Wilhelm Breidenbach 4*

4. Tom Allen 4*

(All remaining players were rated a 3*)

5. Ed Morrow 

6. Yvan

7. Roby

8. Alonzo Edwards

9. Standhardinger

10. Samari Curtis

11. Jordy Tshimanga

12. Ubel

13. Adrian Coleman

14. Oleg Kojenets

15. Eduardo

16. Nana Akenton

17. Jeriah Horne

18. Teddy

19. Nick Fuller

20. BJ Walker

21. David Rivers

22. Ray Gallegos

23. Akol Arop

24. Jake Hammond

25. Nate Hawkins

 

https://247sports.com/college/nebraska/Season/2021-Basketball/Commits/

 

 

 

Sorry I kind of hijacked the thread a few posts ago.  I'll try and help get it back on track.  Let's see how this breaks down by coach.  (I think I got this right, correct me if I'm wrong)  

 

Players on the 21-22 roster are in bold:

 

Fred Hoiberg (3 classes) - (8 players - 2.67 per year)

• Bryce McGowens (1)
• Wilhelm Breidenbach (3)
• Yvan Oedraogo (6)
• Samari Curtis (10)
• Oleg Kojenets (14)
• Eduardo Andre (15)
• Teddy Allen (18)
• Akol Arop (23)

Tim Miles (7 classes) - (10 - 1.43)

• Glynn Watson (2)
• Thomas Allen (4)
• Ed Morrow, Jr (5)
• Isaiah Roby (7)
• Jordy Tshimanga (11)
• Nana Akenten (16)
• Jeriah Horne (17)
• Nick Fuller (19)
• Jake Hammond (24)
• Nate Hawkins (25)

Doc Sadler (6 classes) - (6 - 1)

• Christian Standhardinger (9)
• Brandon Ubel (12)
• Alonzo Edwards (8)
• Adrian Coleman (13)
• David Rivers (21)
• Rey Gallegos (22)

Barry Collier (6 classes) - (1 - 0.13)

• BJ Walker (20)

 

 

 

In summary, we have 4 of the 25 highest-ranked HS recruits in the last 25 years or so on the current roster.   Miles, Sadler and Collier would have all been happy with one or two such players on any given team.  We will have 4, and they're not like 20-25 guys either.  Each one of them is in the top 15.  Not sure what it means, but it's probably better than it's ever been, talent wise, around here since the Nee days.

Edited April 21, 2021 by 49r

[Norm Peterson]

16 minutes ago, 49r said:

 

 

Sorry I kind of hijacked the thread a few posts ago.  I'll try and help get it back on track.  Let's see how this breaks down by coach.  (I think I got this right, correct me if I'm wrong)  

 

Players on the 21-22 roster are in bold:

 

Fred Hoiberg (3 classes) - (7 players - 2.33 per year)

• Bryce McGowens (1)
• Wilhelm Breidenbach (3)
• Yvan Oedraogo (6)
• Oleg Kojenets (14)
• Eduardo Andre (15)
• Teddy Allen (18)
• Akol Arop (23)

Tim Miles (7 classes) - (11 - 1.57)

• Glynn Watson (2)
• Thomas Allen (4)
• Ed Morrow, Jr (5)
• Isaiah Roby (7)
• Samari Curtis (10)
• Jordy Tshimanga (11)
• Nana Akenten (16)
• Jeriah Horne (17)
• Nick Fuller (19)
• Jake Hammond (24)
• Nate Hawkins (25)

Doc Sadler (6 classes) - (6 - 1)

• Christian Standhardinger (9)
• Brandon Ubel (12)
• Alonzo Edwards (8)
• Adrian Coleman (13)
• David Rivers (21)
• Rey Gallegos (22)

Barry Collier (6 classes) - (1 - 0.13)

• BJ Walker (20)

 

 

 

In summary, we have 4 of the 25 highest-ranked recruits in the last 25 years or so on the current roster.   Miles, Sadler and Collier would have all been happy with one or two such players on any given team.  We will have 4, and they're not like 20-25 guys either.  Each one of them is in the top 15.  Not sure what it means, but it's probably better than it's ever been, talent wise, around here since the Nee days.

 

Samari Curtis I think committed to Hoiberg. I think he was a late add when we lost the lefty PG who went to Cinci after Miles was fired, Mika Adams-Wood or whatever.

 

Also, I think you should add transfers in there and see where it breaks out. Because I'm pretty sure that we have the top 2, and 3 of the top 4, joining us for this coming season.

 

Edited: Forgot about Copeland also having been a 5-star. So, when you factor in Copeland and AWIII, that'd be 2 of the top 5. 

Edited April 21, 2021 by Norm Peterson

[49r]

2 hours ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

Speaking of 4-year players, what if we add CJ to the list?

 

Keon Edwards would be #3 on the list if he came in as a HS recruit, between Glynn and Breidenbach

CJ Edwards would be #5 on the list (between hypothetical #4 Breidenbach and hypothetical #6 Thom Allen)

 

Jake Hammond and Nate Hawkins would drop out of the top 25.

[Norm Peterson]

Just now, 49r said:

Jake Hammond and Nate Hawkins would drop out of the top 25.

 

As they should.

[49r]

4 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

Forgot about Copeland also having been a 5-star. So, when you factor in Copeland and AWIII, that'd be 2 of the top 5. 

 

I kind of agree with @aphilso1 that it gets way to complex if you had to sit and consider transfers.  Best to keep them out of the discussion.  But you can see where Keon and CJ would hypothetically sit if we would have gotten them as traditional HS recruits.

[49r]

8 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

Samari Curtis I think committed to Hoiberg. I think he was a late add when we lost the lefty PG who went to Cinci after Miles was fired.

 

You are correct.  My post has been edited to reflect that.