Juwan Gary, Brice Williams announce returns to Nebraska: 'We're running it back'
After impressive 2023-24 seasons, Juwan Gary and Brice Williams will “run it back” at Nebraska. Thursday night, the duo announced their plans to return to the Cornhuskers next season.
Gary made the news official in a video posted to social media, featuring a phone conversation with Williams in which they discussed their futures. Williams said he was planning to come back, and he tried to get Gary to do so, too. He succeeded.
“Let’s get it, then. Run it back,” Gary said. “Yo, Fred [Hoiberg], we’re running it back.”
After transferring from Charlotte, Williams became Nebraska’s second-leading scorer this season behind Keisei Tominaga, averaging 13.4 points to go with 5.5 rebounds. Gary – who started his career at Alabama – ranked fourth in scoring with 11.6 points while leading the Cornhuskers with 1.1 steals and 0.8 block per game, as well.
Both Gary and Williams had another year of eligibility thanks to the COVID-19 waiver. Now that they’re planning to use it, it’ll boost a Nebraska team gearing up for major turnover.
Tominaga is out of eligibility and likely off to the NBA Draft, meaning the Huskers will lose their leading scorer. They could lose another top player depending on what Rienk Mast decides to do. The former Bradley forward also has an extra year of eligibility remaining. However, he indicated he planned to look at professional opportunities overseas after the season ended.
No matter what happens, though, getting Gary and Williams’ scoring power back is important – especially since fifth-leading scorer C.J. Wilcher is in the transfer portal.
Nebraska went 23-11 overall this past season, including a 12-8 mark in Big Ten play, to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014. However, the Cornhuskers’ trip to the big dance didn’t last long as they fell to Texas A&M in the first round.
Afterward, Hoiberg was asked about sustaining the program after such a special season with big departures looming. He said Nebraska will have to look to add some talent, as well. That’s where the portal comes into play. The Cornhuskers are one of four teams in the running for Omaha transfer Frankie Fidler, he told On3’s Joe Tipton.
“For us now, we hope to have a good core coming back to our team next season, and obviously we need to add,” Hoiberg said. “We need to get more players like we’ve built our roster the last couple of years that our fan base can be proud of every time they step on the floor. And I’m confident we’ll do that.
“It’s there. There’s no reason this team can’t have sustained success. This can’t be another decade before Nebraska gets back in the NCAA Tournament. We need to be there again next year.”