It's been an eventful couple of days in Husker Hoops. There are some important news items to note, however:
- Center/PF recruit Vander Joaquim, the first big addition to the incoming recruiting class is apparently headed to College of Eastern Utah, a Junior College program, due to eligibility concerns. Joaquim, a 6-10 native of Angola, is planning to redshirt the remaining of this season, play next year, and get his associate's degree next spring, arriving at NU in 2010, with 3 remaining years of eligibility.
- The coaching staff apparently already has a person in mind for the open scholarship from Joaquim's departure: Anthony Harris, a 6-7 PF from Northeastern Junior College in Colorado.
- Former NU Head Coach Danny Nee, who led five of NU's all-time 6 NCAA Tournament teams, and former Husker guard and 9-year NBA Veteran Erick Strickland were inducted into the Nebraska Basketball Hall of Fame last night. They will also be introduced at halftime of tonight's game with Kansas State.
- For a good read, check out Steve Sipple's column on HuskerExtra today. Steve contrasts Danny Nee's formula for success with Doc's struggles to bring in quality recruits and get them eligible. You often forget how talented some of the Husker teams of the early & mid-90s were -- the 96 NIT champion team had 4 NBA players on it (Strickland, Tyronn Lue, Venson Hamilton, and Mikki Moore), the kind of numbers that make Final Four teams these days.
- If you missed it earlier this week, the new arena in Lincoln (which would potentially serve as a new home for the Huskers) is on hold, although Tom Osborne has identified a basketball practice facility as a priority.