GATA

This. Is. Awesome.

Smith might have Behanan's measurables, but at least in the videos I've seen, he doesn't have Behanan's want-to. I hope Miles and Co. can beat that kind of attitude into Smith over the summer and fall because Nebraska will need the rebounding help.

Ehh, can't blame him. This is his last shot at making the NCAA Tournament. Why go to Nebraska when good programs are after you? Enjoy your final season playing for a proven winning team.

Illinois has a really nice recruiting class coming in, and he'd be perfect next to Egwu. Hopefully he stays away from Champaign.

Or should we hold out for better in 2014?

I'd be perfectly happy with Vooch or Parker leaving to bring this guy in.

Agreed. This is the type of senior transfer that can elevate us next year. It will unbelievably difficult to get him here. GATA.

John Groce said high-caliber senior transfers are hotly recruited as if they were top-50 guys coming out of high school. These guys are very coveted. Would be a great get.

+1. Nebraska can use a 6'8", 215 lb, Forward I have a friend who is a hard-core Illinois fan and he said there's a ton of interest in him from the Illini side as well. Also, they've been linked to a PF from Texas Tech who was the reigning sixth man of the year in the Big 12.

Sign me up for Davis!

Actually they have. Just like they did last year when they decided to keep Tubby. But hey...I don't know shit. So Miles chose Nebraska over Minnesota?

The FGCU coach took the USC job, so scratch another name off the Gophers' prospective list...

Lee B. has a solid article about Leslee that might shed some light on him... http://bigredtoday.c...s-juco-prospect

Lee B. has a solid article about Leslee that might shed some light on him... http://bigredtoday.com/article/20130401/HUSKERS/704019903/1002#nu-sees-size-athleticism-in-kansas-juco-prospect

Pulled from the AP story... The school has granted Purvis a release to transfer to any school outside the Atlantic Coast Conference except Missouri and Cincinnati, which the program plans to add to its nonconference schedule. The ACC ban includes eventual new arrivals Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Louisville.

Do we have any kind of link to him?

I watched a half of each of his games against Hutchinson and Independence. The positives: He's big and he's strong and he can move a little bit. He definitely plays within himself. The negatives: Smith seems to blend in far too much during games. He's big and strong, but doesn't really throw his weight around. I also was left wanting him to be more active on the offensive glass. He's hardly an exciting prospect, but I definitely think there are some good things to build off of. I'm guessing the No. 1 thing Miles wants to instill in Smith is that GATA attitude. He's big and tough and will have to play that way in the B1G. It's not junior college anymore, so no more coasting.

Welcome, Leslee, I hope you're ready to give us 20 solid minutes a night next year. St. Louis is a quality program. For him to choose us over them is pretty promising. While Smith says his knee is fine during games, I wonder if maybe we're getting a sleeper who can play a little better than he's shown over the past couple of years.

Hawkins is supposed to be a pretty good shooter, too. But I would caution against relying on Juco numbers too heavily. There are a lot of atrocious defensive teams out there. He probably won't get nearly as many clean looks in the B1G.

The way some have talked about him as a shooter and an athlete, I wonder why more schools aren't after him. Plus, he's a great student to boot. There must be something missing...

OK, so we struck out on Atewe, and it's questionable whether we're really missing out on anything. So let's move on to what's next. We know we have 2013 offers out to Sai and Smith. Do you want Smith or Sai or do you want both? I'm taking both. I like Sai as an athletic sophomore-to-be who can grow with this group of Huskers. Let's take a look at the group of freshmen and sophomores we'll could roll out next season: C: Pitchford and Vucetic (if he stays): Pitchford provides good size and can stretch the court, but he needs refinement down in the paint. As for SV, I'm still hoding out hope that he can develop into a solid big man. It might not happen next season, but I think he can be a good player by his junior year. PF: Fuller (3/4 tweener) and Sai: Ideally, Fuller isn't a PF, but he should be able to play some minutes there. He's another guy who can stretch the floor, but can also handle the ball and pass a little bit. As for Sai, he's a great athlete who can shoot a little bit. That's about all I know about him. SF: Shields and Petteway: Shields will be a rock-solid B1G player for four years. I think we all see that. Petteway is a bit of a wildcard. Some one board hear great things from practice, while others haven't. At the very least, he seems like an athletic slasher who can handle the ball and GATA on defense. He'll bring an edge with him on the court. SG: Hawkins: The guy is a shooter. Unlike Gallegos, it appears he isn't a one-dimensional player. He has some point guard skills, though I think he's more of a shooting guard. He might be the most underrated of our 2013 newcomers. PG: Webster and Parker: Obviously we're all excited about Webster's upside. I think he'll need some time to adapt to the U.S. and to a higher level of competition night in and night out and he might need a season with Gallegos to straighten out his long-distance shooting. As for Parker, I don't have a ton of optimism there. However, he has experience in the system and can be a pesky defensive players. Maybe all he needs is an offseason to get healthy and to work on his jumper. Regardless, that's an awfully nice group to build around for the next THREE years. Obviously the front court needs work, and really needs someone to absorb some minutes while Sai and Fuller fill out and Pitchford learns post moves and while Vucetic (if he stays) gets stronger. That brings us to Leslee Smith. If nothing else, he brings some brawn to our team, and that's something we sorely need, especially in the rough-and-tough Big Ten. While he won't be a difference maker for us, he will be someone who should be able to provide decent minutes while only taking a scholarship for two seasons as we look for higher-upside players. So, yeah, we missed out on Atewe, but I couldn't be more optimistic about our future. I'm excited to see this team grow up over the next three seasons.

No matter what, in all likelihood Atewe would have been our sixth-best newcomer for 2013, behind Webster, Fuller, Pitchford, Petteway and Biggs. Heck, Hawkins, with his shooting ability, is probably a bigger impact guy that Atewe. As long as we get a warm body to play in the front, I think we can be OK. Sai or Smith will be plenty fine for what we need. Get one of those two (hopefully both) and let's hunt for bear in 2014.

I didn't see him as a must-get or anything, but he had good length and good athleticism at a big position of need. He was far from a perfect prospect, but had some raw tools to work with. Missing out on Atewe is a little disappointing, but if we can round out the class with Sai and Leslee, then Miles nailed his first real recruiting class.

It'll be interesting to see how his career goes down there. I guess it's on to Leslee Smith and the JC from Utah...

I just don't see it.