LINCOLN, NEBRASKA - NOVEMBER 18: Nebraska Cornhuskers mascot Herbie Husker before their game against the Central Arkansas Bears at Pinnacle Bank Arena November 18, 2014 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Eric Francis/Getty Images)Fred Hoiberg has added a nice piece to his first Nebraska basketball team. Florida Gulf Coast graduate transfer Haanif Cheatham will join the team.
Cheatham, a Fort Lauderdale native, spent the last year at FGCU, after transferring in from Marquette. His last two seasons were cut short.
As a junior, he left Marquette after just five games. He wound up receiving a hardship waiver, and transferred to FGCU to be closer to family.
10 games into his career with those Eagles, his season was cut short once again, this time due to what was described as a “chronic shoulder issue,” which he underwent surgery for.
Haanif Cheatham will try and revitalize his college basketball career with Nebraska basketball.
He made the announcement during his visit to Lincoln:
Excited to announce I will be playing my grad year season and final college basketball season here at Nebraska university. I’m excited to be apart of @huskerhoops and ready to turn up pinnacle bank arena!! God works in mysterious ways and I’m glad to be apart of this journey #GBR pic.twitter.com/FzmMC1m9xO
— Haanif Cheatham (@hcheatham_22) April 20, 2019
He spoke to Rivals about what led to the quick decision:
The 6-foot-5, 195-pound guard announced his commitment to NU via Twitter, choosing the Huskers over the likes of Arkansas, Cincinnati, Arizona, and Virginia Tech.
“Just the coaching staff and the people I’m going to be surrounded by every day; the resources that are here that are going to allow me to become a better player throughout the whole season,” Cheatham said of why he decided to make his commitment on Saturday.
“And then just playing for an amazing coach in Fred Hoiberg, a guy who knows what he’s doing. I’m looking forward to playing for a great fanbase, and I’m just excited about it all.”
Per the report, he has cancelled a scheduled visit to Arkansas for the first weekend in May, and is set on his choice of the Huskers.
Cheatham averaged over 13 points and 4.8 rebounds per game for FGCU in his short tenure with the school.
As a freshman, he got off to a strong start to his career, making the Big East All-Freshman team with 11.8 points per game at Marquette.
