The Huskers added another shooter to the mix, one they’re well familiar with having previously scouted against. After visiting Lincoln on Thursday, Connor Essegian announced his commitment to Nebraska on Sunday afternoon.

The former Wisconsin Badger had visited Maryland and South Carolina last weekend before checking out Indiana on Wednesday. The Huskers got a visit that following day and are now the program he’ll represent.

A native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Essegian averaged 11.7 points in more than 27 minutes per game for Greg Gard’s team two seasons ago when he was named to the all-Big Ten freshman team. He shot 35 percent from behind the arc that season. His 69 3-pointers were a school record for a freshman, while he started 19 of 35 games that year.

He was further down Wisconsin’s rotation this past season, playing a little more than seven minutes per game and averaging 3.2 points in those limited minutes in 2023-24. Essegian suffered a back injury early in the season that impacted him for several weeks. Wisconsin coach Greg Gard seemed to want more of him defensively too.

“I’ve just been more gritty than I was,” Essegian told Badger247 at the end of last January. “That defensive side is big. Offense comes naturally, but if I’m making plays on the defensive end, even if I’m just getting a couple of rebounds, that makes me go.”

But Nebraska will look to bring out the best of a player who jumped onto the Big Ten scene his first year after tearing it up in the high school ranks. Essegian finished high school as the No. 10 all-time career scoring leader in Indiana state history with 2,526 points.

While he wasn’t prominent in the rotation for the Badgers this past year, the 6-4 guard was 4-of-7 from deep in Wisconsin’s 88-72 win over Nebraska in Madison. During his freshman year he scored 13 against Nebraska in an overtime loss at PBA. He also went off for 24 and 23 in games against Michigan that year, and 19 against Maryland.

He had 16 games against league foes in double digits that freshman season and scored 17 against Kansas in just his fifth college game.

Even with numbers not as favorable last season, Essegian’s game has a lot of traits with make him a desirable addition, as a scouting report by Trevor Andershock of Peegs.com within the 247Sports network highlights.

“Essegian was an on-the-move shooter in high school, and it continued to be a strength with Wisconsin,” Andershock wrote. “He was constantly moving in the half-court setting and receiving screens. The Badgers also occasionally ran him handoffs. Essegian thrives by relocating and sprinting into three-point attempts. He does not dribble into threes, but Essegian rarely stood still before the catch. Few collegiate players shoot as well as Essegian while moving before the catch.”

Certainly the Huskers could like that as they move on this season with a roster no longer having Keisei Tominaga or C.J. Wilcher on it.

Further wrote Andershock, “As a freshman, Essegian shot 35.9 percent on 5.5 three-point attempts per game. That puts him in the upper tier as a Big Ten rookie. His shooting numbers dropped as a sophomore, with his playing time limited. Essegian shot 30.3 percent on 66 attempts this past season.”

He’ll look to bolster that number, and surely his minutes, in Fred Hoiberg’s system. He’s an 88.7 percent free-throw shooter too as an important bonus.

Essegian is the fourth commitment Nebraska has in this transfer portal cycle and second from the Big Ten, joining Rutgers’ Gavin Griffiths regarding the latter. Andrew Morgan (North Dakota State) and Rollie Worster (Utah) have also jumped on board, with their commitments already made official by Nebraska.