You can add Brandon Ubel to the list of Nebraska basketball freshmen unlikely to redshirt this season.
The 6-foot-10 forward from Overland Park, Kan., drew high praise Thursday at Big 12 Media Day from coach Doc Sadler.
“If we were to toss it up tonight, he'd probably start for us,'' Sadler said. “We don't toss it up tonight. But he's going to be a very, very, very good player for us the next four years.''
Ubel will play inside, but practice sessions have shown he is more than just a big body.
“Brandon is a very skilled player,'' Sadler said. “He can really shoot the basketball.''
Ubel's AAU coach was former NBA all-star forward Scott Wedman, known for his shooting prowess.
• Other Husker notes: Junior forward Quincy Hankins-Cole has missed about a week of practice with a sore hip. ... Senior wing Sek Henry, who had offseason surgery on both knees, has missed some work this week due to soreness. ... Point guard Lance Jeter has earned praise for his toughness and leadership.
Tests for ISU
With a strong roster of returnees, Iowa State has jazzed up its nonconference schedule.
ISU will play Duke in Chicago on Jan. 6, and is part of a Chicago tournament with Saint Louis, Notre Dame and Northwestern. The Cyclones also face Pac-10 preseason runner-up California on the road and have home games with Houston, Bradley and Iowa.
Did building a better RPI for tournament time play in to the scheduling?
“Either that or I was losing my mind,” Cyclone coach Greg McDermott said.
D-up at Tech
Texas Tech coach Pat Knight promises that a roster with better players means his team will play better defense.
“People were on my (case) last year about giving up so many points, like I didn't work on defense,'' he said. “We worked on defense two hours a day. We just didn't have the personnel to guard anybody.
“I really believe to compete at this level you've got to be nine or 10 deep. We're there now.''
Bits and pieces
• Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon stayed home with the flu. ... Texas center Dexter Pittman weighed 281 after a recent practice, down more than 100 pounds since he arrived four years ago. ... Oklahoma freshman center Keith “Tiny'' Gallon is 6-foot-9, weighs 290 pounds and has a 7-foot-4 wing span. ... Nebraska won't be the league's youngest team. Oklahoma State has only one senior and an average age of 19.
— Lee Barfknecht
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
