Youthful Huskers Look Toward Bright Future

Behind a successful 2005-06 campaign that included a trip to the semifinals of the Big 12 Conference Championship and its second postseason berth in three years, the Nebraska men's basketball team placed another important block in the program's foundation. With 19 wins on the season ? Nebraska's most under Coach Barry Collier ? the Huskers have recorded winning marks in the regular season over each of the past three campaigns and hope to continue building toward a title next year.

Nebraska, which opened practice last fall with 10 players who had never suited up in a Husker uniform for a game, will again have a youthful look in 2006-07. The Huskers will likley have nine players who are in either their first or second season with the program next year.

The Huskers know how to handle that adjustment period with so many newcomers. Heading into the 2005-06 campaign, they had just one double-figure scorer returning from the previous season. Seniors Jason Dourisseau and Wes Wilkinson along with sophomore Aleks Maric each took advantage of the opportunity and stepped up to post double-figure scoring averages while leading NU to its first upper-division finish in the Big 12 standings since 1999.

Despite the youthful appearance, Nebraska accomplished several high points in the 2005-06 season, including:

? winning 19 games, the 12th-best total in the 110 years of Nebraska basketball
? earning its second postseason berth in three years and 20th overall berth in program history
? earning a No. 6 seed at the tournament, its second-highest seeding since the formation of the league in 1996-97, and its highest placement since earning the No. 6 seed in 1999 (The Huskers' highest seed was No. 4 in 1998)
? reaching the league tournament semifinals for only the second time since the formation of Big 12 Conference in 1996
? winning two games at the league tournament for the first time since running the table in 1994 with a perfect 3-0 record to win their first league title
? snapping a six-game losing streak at the league tourney when it became only the third Husker squad ever to record more than one win at the conference postseason championship
? sweeping two games from nationally ranked Oklahoma, marking the first time in 15 years that NU defeated OU twice in the same season
? picking up two wins over a ranked team (both vs. Oklahoma) while going 2-2 on the year vs. ranked teams (NU now has eight wins over ranked teams under Coach Collier)
? grabbing six wins over teams that qualified for postseason play|
? earning 20 marks in NU individual record book and six marks in NU team record book

Strong Core Returns
Despite losing two of its leaders in seniors Jason Dourisseau and Wes Wilkinson, Nebraska has a strong core of players returning next season to help the Huskers push for the seventh NCAA Tournament berth in program history.

NU returns two of its top four scorers from Big 12 Conference play in center Aleks Maric and guard Jamel White. The pair ranked third and fifth, respectively, in scoring on the year, including White's 287 points, which placed him eighth on the Nebraska freshman scoring list.

On the glass, Maric led the team in rebounding each of the past two seasons, including grabbing 251 rebounds in 2005-06, while White, who had 101 rebounds, will be the only other returnee with at least 100 boards. White will also be the Huskers' top returnee in terms of 3-pointers made, as he was second on the team and tied for second on the NU freshman chart with 44 treys. Marcus Perry (31) and Marcus Walker (26) also return after each posted more than 25 3-pointers on the season.

NU will also have its top three assist leaders back in Charles Richardson Jr., Marcus Walker and White. Richardson earned a share of the team lead in steals with a career-best 34 in 2005-06.

While the Huskers may be young again in 2006-07, the returnees have had a taste of success that they can relate to the newcomers. Richardson will lead the way as he strives for a chance to play in the third postseason tournament of his career next year. He has helped NU average 16.7 wins per season during his career, including 18 wins in 2004 and 19 wins in 2006.

Maric Looks to Move to All-Conference Level
Center Aleks Maric will enter the 2006-07 season as the team's leading returning scorer and rebounder and an unquestioned leader as he will be in his second season as a team captain.

The Sydney, Australia, native has been dominant at times during his Husker career and will look for more consistency at a high level. If he continues his improvement and makes strides like he has over the past 18 months, Maric could be one of the top centers in the rugged Big 12 Conference and fight for all-conference ? and possibly All-America ? recognition as a junior.

Maric made tremendous gains and finished the 2005-06 season third on the team in scoring at 10.9 points per contest, including a solid, team-high 12.9 points per game in Big 12 Conference play. Maric set the NU sophomore single-game scoring record with 37 points on the road against Iowa State, a total that ranked fifth in Husker single-game history.

While he impressed opposing coaches with this improved scoring prowess, Maric continued to dominate the glass. The 6-11, 265-pounder who set the NU freshman rebounding mark a year earlier posted a team-best 251 rebounds in 2005-06. It ranked 11th on the NU single-season chart and was the second-highest sophomore total in school history, trailing only school career rebound leader Venson Hamilton's 259 boards as a sophomore. Maric bettered Hamilton's freshman mark by eight and will enter his junior season trailing Hamilton ? the only player in NU history to produce 1,000 career rebounds ? by just 10 boards.

Maric ranked third in the conference in rebounding at 8.1 boards per contest. During league-only games, Maric led all Big 12 performers with a solid 9.4 rebounds per contest, becoming only the third Husker to lead the conference in rebounding for Big 12-only games.

Maric also posted 39 blocked shots on the year to rank among the league's top 10, including 23 blocks in conference action. With 55 career blocks, he needs nine more to move into the Nebraska career top 10.

White, Walker Form Outstanding Tandem
After taking turns to jump-start the Husker offense as freshmen, guards Jamel White and Marcus Walker look to provide a consistent 1-2 punch for the Huskers in 2006-07.

After opening his career with a strong three-game weekend when he was named to the John Thompson Basketball Challenge All-Tournament Team, White struggled through much of the non-conference slate before breaking out during Big 12 Conference play. White burst onto the league scene against Missouri in the Huskers' sixth game of the Big 12 slate, when he scored 28 points off the bench. White's effort was the second-highest scoring game by a freshman in school history, trailing only Tyronn Lue's 30-point effort in the 1995-96 season.

A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., White finished as the fourth Husker in double figures with 10.1 points per game in league play. He added a second 20-plus point contest (22 vs. OU in Big 12 tourney) to become only the seventh NU freshman ever with two games of more than 20 points. On the season, White averaged 8.7 points per contest to rank ninth on the NU freshman scoring chart while his 287 points were eighth on the freshman top 10.

White also ranked on the Nebraska freshman top-10 list in three other categories. He tied for second with 44 3-pointers, becoming the second Husker freshman in two years to equal or better the previous rookie record of 44 by Eric Piatkowski in 1991. White ranked ninth in steals (23) and 10th in assists (65), and missed the top-10 chart for rebounds by 12 with 101 boards.

A native of Kansas City, Mo., Walker got off to a strong start to his Husker career, and had an especially hot month of December that culminated with him being named Big 12 Rookie of the Week on Dec. 27. Walker was the third Husker in two seasons to win the weekly league rookie award and the fifth under Coach Barry Collier. Overall, Walker was the eighth Husker to win rookie-of-the-week accolades since the formation of the Big 12 Conference.

Walker earned the honor after posting a career-high 20 points against Alabama A&M, and finished the week hitting 11-of-18 shots from the floor, including 7-of-12 from 3-point range while averaging 16.5 points and 5.5 assists per game.

On the season, Walker, who finished his high school career scoring nearly 2,800 points, was second on the squad with 74 assists (2.4 apg) while gaining 5.6 points per game. His assist total ranked fifth on the NU freshman top 10. Walker also reached the rookie top 10 for 3-pointers, as he ranked fifth on the team with 26 treys, which placed him seventh among NU freshmen all-time.

Tourney Run Ends in Semis
After coming up just short in a pair of games during the final week of the regular season ? NU lost the two contests by a combined three points ? the Huskers locked into an attacking mode in the first two games in the league tourney.

The result was a pair of wins with victories over Missouri, 71-64, and No. 22/19 Oklahoma, 69-63, that propelled Nebraska into the tournament semifinals for the first time since 1999 and only the second time in the Big 12 era. Nebraska then fell in the semis to eventual tournament champion Kansas for the third time this season.

Nebraska's two wins were its most in a conference tournament since winning the Big Eight title with a perfect 3-0 record in 1994. In fact, the two wins equalled Nebraska's total wins in the league championship since the formation of the Big 12 Conference in 1996.

It was only the third time since the league formed a postseason tourney to crown the league champion in 1977 that Nebraska won more than one game, joining the 1991 and 1994 teams. Overall it was wins No. 13 and 14 all-time for Nebraska in league tourney play.

Nebraska Earns 20th Postseason Bid
Nebraska's strong run to the semifinals at the Big 12 Championship in Dallas helped solidify a bid in the postseason as the Huskers were selected to compete in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). It was the second time in three years the Huskers reached the postseason NIT and marked their 14th all-time berth in the tourney, which the Huskers won in 1996. Nebraska has also had six NCAA Tournament appearances.

The Huskers headed east to take on a tough Hofstra squad, which had a 24-6 record including the most wins by any team not in the NCAA Tournament field. The Pride, who defeated Final Four participant and Colonial Athletic Association foe George Mason twice in the final two weeks before postseason play, earned a 73-62 victory to knock the Huskers out of the first round of the NIT. Hofstra then advanced to the quarterfinals before losing to another CAA foe, Old Dominion.

Huskers Earn Honors
A trio of Huskers earned honors as the coaches' and writers' all-conference teams and the AP specialty teams were announced in early March.

Wes Wilkinson and Aleks Maric led the way as they were each named honorable mention All-Big 12 by a vote of the league's coaches, while Maric also earned honorable-mention accolades on the AP team. It was the first career honor for each.

Wilkinson was selected to the Big 12 All-Underrated team by the sportswriters that cover the league, while Maric was named to the All-Improved squad. Jamel White was also honored by the sportswriters, as he was named to the All-Freshman team and was selected to the All-Reserve squad as well. He is the second Husker in two years to earn all-frosh honors.

Racking Up Wins
Nebraska won 19 games in 2005-06, its most under Coach Barry Collier and the program's most since winning 20 in 1999. The 19 wins tie for 12th in the Husker record book, as only 11 squads in the 110-year history of the program have won 20 or more games.

With 17 wins during the regular season, it was the Huskers' third straight campaign with a winning regular-season record. The seven wins in Big 12 Conference play were the most since 1999, while the sixth-place finish (and No. 6 seed in the league tourney) was NU's first upper-division finish since 1999 as well.

Maric Just Misses Breaking Into Husker Record Book
Center Aleks Maric just missed entering an elite category by the narrowest of margins in 2005-06. The Sydney, Australia, native picked up a team-best 251 rebounds on the season, but finished one rebound short of breaking into the NU single-season top 10.

With one more board, Maric would have become only the second sophomore in school history to enter the top-10 chart. Venson Hamilton is still the lone sophomore as he set the class record at 269 rebounds in 1997, a total that ranks sixth on the single-season chart. Hamilton went on to become the first and only Husker to collect 1,000 career boards.

With 12 rebounds in the NIT contest against Hofstra, Maric passed Carl McPipe for second place on the Nebraska sophomore top-10 list. McPipe had 241 boards as a Husker sophomore in 1977. Maric was only the fifth Husker sophomore ever to post at least 200 rebounds, joining Hamilton, McPipe, Bob Siegel (227 in 1975) and Dave Hoppen (207 in 1984).

Board Breakers
Nebraska ranked fourth in the Big 12 Conference in rebounding with 38.7 boards per game in 2005-06 and NU's total of 1,277 rebounds ranked eighth in school history.

Much of Nebraska's success on the glass came from a trio of board specialists. Center Aleks Maric (6-11, 265 pounds) led the way with 251 rebounds on the season while guard Jason Dourisseau (6-6, 200 pounds) was right behind with 240 boards. Forward Wes Wilkinson (6-10, 225 pounds) finished with 199 rebounds, one short of an historic mark. With one more board by Wilkinson, Nebraska would have had its first-ever trio of players with at least 200 rebounds in the same season.

Charting the Huskers
There was steady movement on the Husker single-season and class charts late in the season, as well as moves on the Nebraska team lists. Among the most notable movers and shakers were:

? Wes Wilkinson's team-best 62 3-pointers tied for ninth in NU single-season history while also ranking fourth on the senior class list.
? In a unique combination, Wilkinson also posted 61 blocked shots to rank third in the conference and move into 10th on the NU single-season list. The total was also fourth on the senior class list.
? Nebraska blocked 130 shots on the season, a total that ranked 10th in the single-season record book.
? The Huskers hit 221 3-pointers on the season, a total that ranked second in school history. It was only the third time since the inception of the 3-point line a Husker squad has had more than 200 treys. The record of 267 3-pointers was set in 2002.

Scorching the Net
Center Aleks Maric etched his name into the Nebraska record book with a dominating performance at Iowa State. The Sydney, Australia, native scored a career-high 37 points with 16 rebounds and four blocked shots.

Maric's point total was the fifth-highest in school single-game history and tied for the third-most by a Big 12 player during the regular season. It was the most points by a Husker since Eric Piatkowski set the school record with 42 points in the 1994 Big Eight Tournament against Oklahoma and the first 30-point performance by a Husker since Tyronn Lue had 31 against Colorado in 1998.

The total was also the most points ever scored by a Husker in a regular-season true road contest and set the NU sophomore single-game record, which previously was 33 points shared by Fred Hare in 1964 and Jerry Fort in 1974.

Maric scored 18 points in the first half and grabbed eight rebounds. He came back with 19 points and eight more rebounds in 16 minutes in the second period. Maric finished the game hitting 13-of-15 attempts from the field and 11-of-15 from the charity stripe. In his previous three games, Maric combined to hit 16-of-42 field-goal attempts and 7-of-11 from the line.

And the Assist Goes To ...
While Nebraska loses two of its top scorers to graduation this spring, the 2006-07 Huskers will still have their top three assist men back looking to set the table for another successful season.

Charles Richardson Jr., who will be the only four-year senior on the squad next season, returns after leading NU with 100 assists this year, the highest total by a Husker since Jake Muhleisen posted 105 in 2001-02. Richardson, who ranked 10th in the conference with 3.33 assists per game, committed just 52 turnovers to rank fourth in the league with a 1.92:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Maywood, Ill., native owns 220 career assists and by duplicating his junior campaign he could fight for a spot on the NU career top-10 list. Eric Piatkowski currently sits in 10th place with 322 assists from 1991 to 1994.

Along with Richardson, Nebraska also returns a pair of youngsters who combined for more than 130 assists in their rookie campaign. Marcus Walker (74 assists) and Jamel White (65) give Nebraska three floor generals, while the two younger players can also provide much-needed offensive firepower.

Double Trouble
Center Aleks Maric provided double trouble for opponents nearly all year long as he finished the season with a team-best 10 double-doubles, a total that ranked third in the Big 12 Conference. His seven double-doubles in Big 12 play were a league high.

Maric averaged team highs with 12.9 points and 9.4 rebounds per game against Big 12 foes. The rebounding total led all Big 12 players in conference-only games as he was the third Husker to lead the league in rebounding in conference-only games since the formation of the Big 12 in 1997. Venson Hamilton was the first to do it with 9.6 boards per game in league play in 1998, while Kimani Ffriend did it with 10.2 boards in 2000 and 9.6 rebounds in 2001.

With three consecutive double-doubles against Oklahoma State, Baylor and Kansas, Maric had the most by a Husker since Andrew Drevo had four straight double-doubles in 2002-03. Venson Hamilton, the Huskers' all-time leading rebounder, also had four straight double-doubles in 1998-99 to tie Drevo for the most by a Husker since at least 1975-76.

Maric's impressive totals also included five straight double-figure rebounding efforts (vs. Oklahoma State, Baylor, Kansas, Texas and Iowa State), the most by a Husker in at least 30 years.

Maric's total equals the most double-doubles by a sophomore at Nebraska in the past 30 years. Venson Hamilton also had 10 double-doubles as a sophomore in 1998 and Carl McPipe added 10 double-doubles during his sophomore campaign in 1977.

Dishing It
After solid freshman seasons, Marcus Walker and Jamel White will be looking for even better sophomore campaigns in 2006-07.

Walker led the way at the point as he was second on the team with 74 assists, a total that ranked fifth in Nebraska freshman history. He added 5.6 points and 1.1 rebounds per game while starting 12-of-33 contests. The first of his 12 starts made him just the third true freshman at Nebraska to start the season opener in the Big 12 era.

White posted impressive numbers with 65 assists while adding 8.7 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. His scoring total was ninth in NU freshman annals.

Wilkinson's Block Party
Forward Wes Wilkinson grabbed 61 of Nebraska's 130 blocked shots on the season, including a career-best six blocks against Creighton. His total helped the squad rank 10th in the NU team record book.

Wilkinson ended his career ranked seventh on the NU blocks chart. He finished fifth on the Nebraska senior class list and became the seventh player in NU history to record 100 career rejections when he picked up three blocks against Colorado in Lincoln.

Wilkinson picked up enough blocks to move onto the NU single-season top-10 chart in 10th place.

On the Mark
A pair of Husker freshmen played a large role in Nebraska's offensive success for the second straight season in 2005-06.

Marcus Walker's 26 3-pointers ranked fifth on the team and tied for eighth in the NU freshman record book with Beau Reid. Walker was the fourth freshman to play under Coach Barry Collier to gain a spot on the Husker freshman top 10 3-pointer list.

Jamel White became the fifth freshman under Collier to make the list when he recorded his 20th trey of the year against Kansas. White finished his impressive late-season run in a tie for second in NU freshman history with 44 3-pointers, which ranked second on the team. He was only the third freshman in school history to record at least 40 3-pointers, alongside Joe McCray (80) and Eric Piatkowski (44).

NU Signs Two in Early Period
Toni Soda and Ryan Anderson, a pair of top-100 rated players, signed National Letters-of-Intent to attend Nebraska and play for the Cornhuskers beginning in the 2006-07 season, Coach Barry Collier announced on the first day of the early national signing period in November 2005.

A native of Split, Croatia, the 7-0, 230-pound Soda played at The Patterson School in Lenoir, N.C., under Coach Chris Chaney, who led Laurinburg Institute to the prep school national title with a 40-0 record in 2005. Soda was one of six Patterson School players to sign Division I letters of intent.

Soda was initially ranked No. 15 nationally among post-graduate (prep school) players by recruiting analyst Dave Telep of scout.com. Soda ranked No. 35 nationally according to HoopScoop and was the No. 100 prospect in the nation by the East Coast recruiting service Game Plan Sports.

Soda, who was the first commitment to the Huskers’ 2006 recruiting class, came to the United States after earning a spot at the Basketball Without Borders camp in Treviso, Italy. The camp is an invite-only instructional camp sponsored by the NBA and FIBA and featured 50 players ages 19 and under selected from 20 countries across the continent. The 17-year-old Soda previously helped his team to the Croatian cadet championship in 2003. He also was selected to play on the Croatian Under 18 National Team in the last year.

A native of Seattle, Wash., Anderson was ranked among the top 20 seniors in the West by one recruiting service, Hoop Review, and is No. 107 among all seniors by HoopScoop and No. 82 nationally by Game Plan Sports.

The 6-4, 175-pound Anderson showed incredible range while averaging 16.2 points per game for coach Mike Bethea at Rainier Beach High School as a junior when the Vikings went 21-8 and placed fourth at the state tournament. Rainier Beach won the state title in Anderson’s freshman season and was ranked No. 1 in the nation, and the team finished second in the state in his sophomore season. He was named all-conference and all-city as a junior, and was selected to the all-state tournament first team after averaging 13.8 points per game in the tourney.

Anderson averaged 12 points and three assists as his Friends of Hoop AAU squad ran to the semifinals of the 2005 Nike Peach Jam. He helped Friends of Hoop to the Main Event title in Las Vegas before reaching the title game at the Las Vegas Prep Showcase, where he also won the 3-point title, defeating Kevin Durant of Rockville, Md.

With Anderson and Soda’s signing, the Huskers ranked among the top 50 recruiting classes in the nation for the fourth time in the past five years by HoopScoop. The 2002 recruiting class that included Jason Dourisseau and Wes Wilkinson earned a final ranking of No. 16 nationally, while the Huskers’ six current newcomers in 2005-06 were ranked No. 33 entering last year.