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Nebraska basketball landed the commitment of Eli Rice on Wednesday and here's a breakdown of why this is a big recruiting win for the Huskers, as well as why his future is bright, despite his ranking.
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Hey, Husker fans. Welcome back to the Husker Big Red YouTube channel, and we've got more
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good news for Nebraska as the Huskers land the commitment of 2023 shooting guard Eli
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Rice, a talented scorer headed to the IMG Academy this fall. Rice is listed at 6'7"
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and he's one of the fastest rising recruits in the 2023 class. 24-7 sports just made him
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a three-star, but his ranking will improve, and that's a guarantee. The newest Husker
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started to make a name for himself over the suburban. Not only did he earn a number of
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D1 scholarship offers, including from Nebraska last month, as well as Georgetown and Patrick
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Ewing, but he's now going to IMG Academy, which will only help his long-term development
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after he switched from the 2022 class to 2023 to give his game and his body more time to
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mature. After watching some of his film, Rice is an ideal fit for what Fred Hoiberg
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wants to do. Fred has always valued shooters, and the 6'7 wing can really shoot. That's
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the first thing that sticks out at you when you watch his film. He's a lefty, but he's
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fearless, and he's really smooth. What you also start to see is him gaining more confidence
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as a playmaker. As the clips go on, you see Rice bringing the ball up more as a point-forward
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type while also playing in the high posts where he can get the ball to score or create
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He's also a strong finisher, shoots well at the free-throw line, and what he lacks
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in athleticism, he makes up for in skill. IMG will help him develop strength and get
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him more college ready. Those are all positives for the Huskers. Rice is also long and athletic
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enough to be solid defensively, and he could probably get away with guarding 3's or 4's
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at the college level in the Big 10. Rice could even play as a small stretch 4, something
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you see a lot in the league. Hoiberg values shooting, which Rice provides, as well as
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the potential for a secondary playmaker. What's clear is that Rice's best basketball is
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ahead of him, which is another good reason to feel good about this commitment. The Huskers
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are now 59th in the team rankings in 2023. Beyond that, Rice feels like a multi-year
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player who could start for 2 or 3 years given the right time to develop. He's not a transfer
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or a one-and-done. That's exactly the kind of player Hoiberg needs for Nebraska to build
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a program that can realistically compete year in and year out in the Big 10. The Huskers
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need to use the portal, but you also have to win with scouting and development
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Thanks for watching. If you enjoyed this video, please like it and subscribe to the Husker
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Big Red YouTube channel. As always, Go Big Red
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