2024-25 Nebraska men's basketball: Position-by-position breakdowns

The Nebraska men look to build off an NCAA Tournament appearance with a few leaders from last season's team flanked by a crowd of newcomers.

Here's a position-by-position preview of the Huskers, who begin play Monday, Nov.

4.

Post players Latest word For the second year in a row, Nebraska has a restocked front line, this one taller and more athletic but less seasoned than in 2023-24.

Josiah Allick is out of eligibility, and Rienk Mast will miss the upcoming campaign after undergoing knee surgery over the offseason.

Replacing them are transfers Braxton Meah, Berke Buyuktuncel and Andrew Morgan.

A Washington transfer, Meah is a rebounder and rim protector who can score off of putbacks and lobs in the pick-and-roll.

He doesnt have much of a jump shot, but his sheer size and athleticism give Nebraska a weapon it didnt have last year.

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He joined NU after three solid seasons at North Dakota State.

Buyuktuncel flashed potential as a freshman with UCLA, but his best moments have come on the international stage with the Turkey national team.

He potentially gives Nebraska more options and lineup combinations as someone with the size to play center but enough skill and nimbleness for forward.

Who can help Southeast Community College transfer Justin Bolis will likely be outside the rotation at the beginning of the season, but he could be pressed into service by an injury or foul trouble, similar to Matar Diop last year.

A Lincoln High graduate, Bolis is raw but athletic and has a solid offensive game.

Hoiberg has said the walk-on will get playing time at some point in his NU career.

Rotation Meah and Buyuktuncel appear to have the inside track to start, but Morgan will get plenty of playing time as well.

One of those three will likely be the center for any meaningful minutes, but the playing time distribution at power forward is more flexible.

Morgan and Buyuktuncel can both play there, but Nebraska has the size and versatility to play a smaller lineup with Brice Williams, Gavin Griffiths or Braden Frager at the four.

Bolis will be available for spot minutes.

Wings Latest word When Brice Williams and Juwan Gary jointly announced their return for their sixth years of college, Nebraska had a foundation amid the natural turnover of a team that builds heavily through the transfer portal.

The Huskers retained a pair of distinct skill sets and a bridge between seasons.

Williams is a versatile offensive weapon, a natural wing who played point guard in 2022-23.

He shot 38.8% from 3-point range last year while serving as one of the catalysts of the offense.

Gary plays with a hot-running motor and the ability to guard four positions.

His jump shot has made strides in two seasons at NU, but he does enough on both ends hounding opponents defensively, blocking shots, crashing the offensive glass to impact a game without scoring.

Who can help Gavin Griffiths was a major transfer addition in the spring, a 6-foot-7 guard with a silky smooth jump shot who began his career at Rutgers.

He fits into Nebraskas NBA-style 3-point-heavy offense and can provide instant offense like C.J.

Wilcher and Keisei Tominaga a year ago.

Griffiths didnt consistently deliver on his potential as a freshman former four-star prospect, but the ability was always there, appearing in bursts like a 16-point season finale against Maryland.

At Nebraska, hell have advantages that werent present at Rutgers.

Lincoln Southwest graduate Braden Frager faces a steep learning curve as a 17-year-old beginning his college basketball career, but hes impressed in preseason practices.

Frager has enough size to avoid being overwhelmed in early action and can heat up from beyond the arc.

Rotation Williams will start at either shooting guard or small forward, depending on the lineup Fred Hoiberg wants to send out at the beginning of the year.

Gary is in a similar boat; he could play small forward or power forward, where hes undersized but makes up for it with his tenacity and aggressiveness.

Griffiths will get playing time whether hes in the starting lineup or coming off the bench.

Frager is on the fringe of the rotation within a deep group.

Both are long and versatile enough to slot into a variety of lineups, big and small.

Guards Latest word The major storyline in Nebraskas backcourt is the two point guards.

Nebraska didnt have a traditional distributor a season ago, leaning on Brice Williams and Jamarques Lawrence to play point guard.

Rienk Mast led the team in assists.

Rollie Worster and Ahron Ulis are in the mix now, a pair of ball handlers that will prevent Nebraska from having to cobble together lineups like a season ago.

The Huskers shooting guard spot is less defined.

Brice Williams will be in the starting lineup at either the 2 or 3 but will still run the offense some.

Gavin Griffiths has a similar size and skill set, able to play shooting guard, small forward and maybe even some small-ball power forward.

More on both of them in the wings preview.

Who can help Connor Essegian brings a perimeter ability Nebraska needed to replace after Keisei Tominaga and C.J.

Wilcher departed.

Hell have a role of some sort.

Sam Hoiberg is established and well-suited for his job as a defensive stopper and spark off the bench.

Nick Janowski is a wild card.

Its hard for a freshman to crack the regular rotation on such a veteran-laden team, but Janowski has the shooting ability to contribute offensively, the intensity and grit to fit in on defense and the confidence to enter his first college season undaunted by the Big Ten.

Rotation Worster and Ulis will compete for the starting point guard job, but both will get minutes.

Worster has been more productive throughout his career, but Ulis has an extra year in the program and Big Ten experience from his three seasons with Iowa.

Essegian will get minutes, whether its in the starting lineup or off the bench.

Hoiberg will see the floor as well, now one of the veterans of the backcourt.

Many of the starting lineup questions revolve around how Fred Hoiberg uses the players who can slot into multiple positions, in this case Williams and Griffiths.

An injury to a veteran could clear the path for Janowski to take on a larger, more defined role..

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