Fred Hoiberg didn’t need to spend much time considering who to bring with him to Big Ten Media Days.
Brice Williams and Juwan Gary played significant roles in leading Nebraska to the NCAA Tournament in 2024, and they both chose to return to Lincoln to use their bonus season of eligibility, the first big win during an eventful offseason.
“Retention is one of the most important things right now in our business,” Hoiberg said. “That’s where we were very fortunate to get Brice and Juwan back. They made the decision to come back and hearing them talk up there on the podium, they wanted to come back and help this program get where it’s never been before. We were very fortunate that they wanted to do that, to come back, because they were two very key components of the success that we had a year ago.
“That being said, it ended on a sour note; we did not win that game in March. So they want to come back and be celebrated 20, 30 years down the line when I’ll probably be gone but hopefully come back and have a great celebration.”
Williams spent four seasons at Charlotte — including a redshirt year in 2021-22 — before transferring to Nebraska, where he was second on the team in scoring. This year will be his sixth of college basketball.
“If you had asked a 17-year-old Brice if I was going to be in college for six years, I would have looked at you like you were crazy,” Williams said. “But I look at every day now as a blessing. It truly puts things into perspective that this is going to be my lasty year of college, let alone college basketball. I’m never going to get these moments back, I’m never going to get to play in front of these fans again or relive these moments, so every day is just a blessing.”
Gary echoed the “blessed” sentiment. While he’s trying to avoid thinking about what comes next, the realization that this is his last season hits him every day.
“I go into every day, every practice with the mindset like ‘OK, I’ve got to get 1% better, let me get my team 1% better,’” Gary said. “Because I know that once I leave here, I want to leave a stamp. I want to leave a mark that ‘OK, I’m glad Juwan Gary came here, I’m glad that Brice Williams came here.’ This Nebraska team is built to where in the next two or three years, nobody’s going to question if Nebraska basketball is a real thing. They know exactly what’s going to happen when Nebraska basketball comes on TV or steps on the court.”
Allick and Mast established themselves as vocal leaders on the team a year ago, leaving a void moving forward. Williams said that responsibility falls on Gary and himself. They know they need to be more vocal, especially during the tough times. On such a veteran team, however, they won’t be alone.
“It’s such an important dynamic for this team because of what we lost,” Hoiberg said. “Josiah Allick was one of the best leaders that we’ve had. Rienk Mast, he’ll be around, he’ll be helpful, but it’s hard to lead when you’re not out there on the court, especially when times get tough. When you have a guy like Keisei who did so much for us — Keisei was constantly talking, his motor was always on — so you lose guys like that, now you’ve got to replace it. I think as you continue to talk about the importance of it to your veterans and guys that have been there, that falls on Brice, Juwan and Sam [Hoiberg] and Ahron Ulis — who was with us last year, obviously, but wasn’t on the court — and Cale Jacobsen, who’s been a part of this thing now and was really close to being a rotational guy for us a year ago.
“You’ve got a lot of players that have been there, and now it’s their responsibility to talk to the new players coming into your program about your standards, everything that you need to do to be a consistent basketball team. I’m proud of Juwan, I’m proud of Brice for embracing that role.”
Williams may come across as quiet publicly, but he said that isn’t the case if you get to know him. He’s comfortable stepping into the role Nebraska needs him to play.
“I have no problem saying what needs to be said or emerging as a leader,” Williams said. “I always say what needs to be said anyway, I just don’t like showing it publicly … It’s just a matter of where do I fit in and what do I bring? What does Juwan bring? What do the other leaders bring? Because it’s all a team effort.”
On the court, Williams made the transition from Conference USA to the Big Ten smoothly, averaging 13.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting 44.4% from the field, 38.8% from 3 and 84.4% from the free-throw line. His goal this year is to be first-team All-Big Ten.
“The thing that we’ve really talked to Brice about is being an all-around player,” Hoiberg said. “He took a big step, I think, in his development. Because of Ahron not being on the floor, he got to play with the ball in his hands and that really helped him with his development and his growth. This year, he’ll play both. He’ll still have the ball in his hands because we were pretty darn good when we had that. But to be a consistent defender — we put him on the point guard last year and our defensive numbers took off. Having that constant energy on both sides of the floor, and again, that’s built in practice. That’s the thing that I’ve talked with Brice a lot about, and I’m really proud of him because he’s taken a big step in that with his leadership, setting the tone for our team, and I think he’s primed for a really, really good year.”
Williams’ reps at point guard last season — by necessity for the Huskers — helped him to expand his offensive game, and the 6-foot-7, 214-pound wing is looking to do the same on the defensive end in 2024-25 as he buys into Hoiberg’s message about being a complete player.
“It just means being locked in,” Williams said. “We’ve had multiple talks about it. I have all the tools to be a good defender and I’ve shown flashes of being a good defender, but I know I get lazy sometimes. I’ll stand up or I’ll not lock in on my matchup or the scouting report. That happens to everybody, but Coach has stressed to me more about the little things. It’s all the details. It’s not about ability with me, it’s about details and how locked in I am.”
As for Gary, defense and rebounding have been his calling card throughout his college career, but he took a step forward offensively last season. The 6-foot-6, 226-pound wing averaged a career-high 11.5 points and 6.1 rebounds while playing both the three and four and taking on the toughest defensive assignment every night. He’s coming for a Big Ten All-Defense spot this season, and believed he deserved the honor last season too.
“It definitely kills me, but you’ll never know,” Gary said. “I’ll never show it. My game’s going to speak for itself. You’re going to see my energy is going to be totally different from last year’s season. I’m going to be all over the floor. The word ‘dog’ is going to be emphasized every game for sure. Of course it fuels me, but at the end of the day you can’t dwell yourself on how everybody else thinks about you.”
Gary and Williams returned to Nebraska hoping to lead the Huskers to a place the program has never been. They’re looking to make the most of their extra season in Lincoln, and Hoiberg is thrilled to have them leading his team.
