Juwan Gary got snubbed despite best Nebraska basketball all-conference haul in decades

Rienk Mast also earned a third-team All-Big Ten selection after averaging 12.7 points per game, 7.8 rebounds, and three assists. Mast and Tominaga were each former transfers to Nebraska basketball and a reminder that Fred Hoiberg’s evaluation skills are off the charts.

That’s the same Fred Hoiberg who was named Big Ten Coach of the Year (co-coach). Hoiberg did that after leading Nebraska to a third-place finish after being predicted 12th in the preseason. He also did it with one second-team All-Big Ten player.

While I have a hard time seeing how Mast didn’t get second-team, the biggest snub belongs to Juwan Gary, who was left off the Big Ten All-Defensive team.

Gary helped Nebraska have the No. 26 adjusted defense according to the Kenpom rankings. The Huskers were also third in points-per-possession allowed in the Big Ten and they were more than two points better with Gary on the floor.

Gary is an elite on-ball defender on the wing and averaged 1.1 steals per game this season along with 0.8 blocks. Andy Katz included him on his ballot and Gary seemed like a no-brainer.

Nothing is ever a surprise when it comes to the Big Ten, but the ramifications should be a motivated Juwan Gary, which is a good thing for Nebraska basketball as the postseason starts Friday for he Huskers.