OMAHA, Neb. — After spending the 2022-23 season without a point guard, Nebraska added one Monday. Utah transfer Rollie Worster, the former Missoula Hellgate standout, announced his commitment to NU on Instagram, giving the Huskers a ball handler and distributor as a new roster begins to take shape.
For Worster, there was plenty that appealed to him about Nebraska. Coach Fred Hoiberg and assistant coach Adam Howard were among the first to reach out after he entered the transfer portal. Worster felt NU would give him a chance to develop on the court, become a better athlete and improve as a 3-point shooter. A family connection to the state didn’t hurt, either.
Two generations ago, Worster’s great-grandfather lived in Lincoln. His grandpa, dad and aunts and uncles were born in Nebraska, and Worster grew up a Husker football fan. Now he’ll spend his final college season in Lincoln.
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“The biggest thing for me was just the way they talked about my game and how they could help me become a better player and how I fit in their program,” Worster said. “And then just about the pieces they had returning and kind of what they saw in me and maybe what I could bring to the table for the program really enticed me.”
Nebraska will be Worster’s third school. He spent his freshman year at Utah State, transferring to Utah after it hired Utah State coach and former Nebraska assistant Craig Smith. As a senior last season, he started 16 games before going down with an ankle injury in January. In his limited action, he averaged 9.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game.
Worster is a solid rebounder for a guard his size and flirted with a triple double at times throughout his career, most recently as a junior when he posted 11 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists against Washington. He said Nebraska was attracted to his defensive effort.
His career high is 19 points, which he scored twice, most recently against Washington State in late 2022. Worster has played in one NCAA tournament game. As a freshman at Utah State, he scored six points and grabbed three boards in a loss to Texas Tech.
The Huskers have needed a point guard since August, when Ahron Ulis lost a year of eligibility due to a gambling charge in Iowa. Jamarques Lawrence and Brice Williams both handled the ball throughout the season; Lawrence entered the portal April 1.
Ulis will return next season, and Worster will provide another set of veteran hands to run the offense. He was looking for a system like Nebraska’s, somewhere that would allow him to play freely and in space.
Nebraska still has to fill its shooting void left by Keisei Tominaga and C.J. Wilcher. Worster is a career 29% shooter from beyond the arc on 2.5 attempts per game. The goal, when he arrives in Nebraska, is for his strengths to remain present while he improves his athleticism and shooting.
“Just (working) on my consistency in my 3-point shot is a big thing,” Worster said. “And then obviously fine-tune everything I do well on the floor, but definitely work on those deficiencies or things that I haven’t been able to do in the past and play that different style, and hopefully that will also help my game as well.”