Arizona St. grad transfer Alonzo Verge Jr. commits to Nebraska basketball
Nebraska's backcourt rotation lost a significant piece last week when point guard Dalano Banton announced he would remain in the 2021 NBA Draft pool.
But the Huskers wasted little time landing a new addition as Arizona State graduate transfer combo guard Alonzo Verge Jr. committed to head coach Fred Hoiberg on Thursday.
The 6-foot-2, 170-pound senior from Chicago officially visited NU on Monday, and HuskerOnline.com confirmed his commitment three days later.
Verge has one season of college eligibility remaining. Nebraska now has one scholarship available for the 2021-22 season.
Verge played in 51 games with 30 starts during his two seasons at Arizona State, averaging 14.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists while playing 28.1 minutes per game for his career.
The Chicago native was a key piece off the bench for the Sun Devils as a junior in 2019-20, averaging 14.6 ppg and dropping a career-high 43 points against St. Marys. He was named the 2020 Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year for his efforts.
A four-star junior college prospect in the 2019 class coming out of Moberly (Mo.) Area Community College, Verge moved into the starting lineup last season and was ASU's third-leading scorer at 14.0 ppg while starting 21 of 23 games.
He also averaged 3.8 assists and shot 33.3 percent from 3-point range, improving his 29-percent clip from behind the arc as a junior. Verge was 39.1 percent from the field and 80.9 percent from the free-throw line in '20-21.
Before Arizona State, Verge was two-time NJCAA Division I All-American at Moberly, leading the nation in scoring as a sophomore at 30.9 ppg.
The former 2017 Chicago Sun-Times Player of the Year immediately became one of the top targets when he entered the transfer portal on May 21.
Verge twice tested the NBA Draft waters the past two offseasons. He opted to return to Arizona State after going through the pre-draft process in 2020 and then went through again this summer.
He even held a workout with the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, the final day before the deadline for an early entry player to withdraw from the draft and maintain their collegiate eligibility.
Nebraska's primary point guard options for 2021-22 now include Verge, Trey McGowens, Kobe Webster, Bryce McGowens, and Quaran McPherson.