LINCOLN — Omaha South standout Aguek Arop, Nebraska’s longest-standing men’s basketball commitment, decided Tuesday afternoon to reopen his recruitment.
South coach Bruce Chubick Sr. told The World-Herald that NU coach Tim Miles asked Arop, a 6-foot-6 senior wing, to spend a postgraduate year at a prep school and then join the Huskers for the 2018-19 season.
After taking a week to consider, Chubick said, Arop decided not to wait an extra year to begin college.
“He doesn’t need prep school,” Chubick said. “I don’t see where Nebraska had a plan for Aguek. But Tim has to do what he has to do.
“Aguek is going to land on his feet. He’s a hell of a player and a great kid.”
Two years ago this week, as Arop entered his sophomore year at South, he committed to Nebraska. That made him the youngest player ever to say yes to NU for basketball.
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Arop suffered a serious knee injury as a sophomore. But he returned last season to help Omaha South to a 28-1 record and the Class A state championship. He averaged 15.9 points a game.
Chubick said he plainly expressed his displeasure with Miles over the change in plans with Arop. Chubick’s son, Bruce Jr., played in four NCAA tournaments with the Huskers in the 1990s, and another pupil, John Turek, was a Husker scholarship center in the 2000s.
“Aguek is farther along entering his senior year than either Bruce or John were,” Chubick said. “So this doesn’t make much sense to me.
“I’ve always been a Nebraska fan, so this is a little hard for me to take. I’ll still be a fan but probably not at the level I was.”
Any hard feelings, Chubick said, won’t affect any future recruiting dealings he might have with Nebraska.
“That’s not how we do it,” Chubick said. “Aguek is disappointed, but he’s OK. I’ve already had four calls about him from other schools.”
Nebraska now has three scholarships available for 2017-18.
Contact the writer: 402-444-1024, lee.barfknecht@owh.com, twitter.com/leebeeowh
