NU guard Strowbridge to transfer
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BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star
Citing family issues, sophomore guard Jay-R Strowbridge said Thursday he’s leaving the Nebraska men’s basketball team and transferring to a school closer to home.
A native of Ardmore, Ala., Strowbridge said one of his cousins was murdered on Christmas night in Huntsville, Ala., when Strowbridge was home.
“After that, I came here to practice and for games and tried to continue going on, and that’s been taking a toll on me,” he said. “That’s been pretty much it.”
Strowbridge said he was happy at Nebraska.
“It had its ups and downs,” he said. “I love the University of Nebraska. I love the academics, the fans here, everything about the University of Nebraska.”
Strowbridge’s departure leaves Nebraska with one open scholarship for 2008-09. The first day of the spring signing period is Wednesday, and Nebraska coach Doc Sadler is searching for a post player to help replace departed senior Aleks Maric.
Nebraska, though, hasn’t had any recruits make official visits, and has no official visits planned for the immediate future.
Strowbridge is the second player this season to announce he’s transferring. Shang Ping, who played one season with Nebraska, said last week he’s leaving the program.
Eight players have left the program in Sadler’s two seasons. Sadler said there is “a slim chance” the latest departure could affect Nebraska’s Academic Performance Ratings index, depending on Strowbridge’s academic standing at the end of the semester.
“He’ll do something,” Sadler said. “He won’t hurt us.”
Strowbridge, recruited by former coach Barry Collier, averaged 4.8 points and 1.6 assists this season and ranked third on the team with 25 three-pointers. He played in 32 games and made four starts.
Nebraska welcomes another guard into the mix next season — highly touted junior college transfer Roburt Sallie. Strowbridge, though, said potential loss of minutes for him next season didn’t factor into his decision to leave.
“No, sir,” he said. “I wasn’t really concerned about next year. I was more focused about what I had to do this year and be the best teammate I could be. There wasn’t any concern about next year.”
Said Sadler in a released statement:
“We appreciate the hard work and commitment Jay-R has shown over the past two years in our program. Due to his wishes and concerns about being closer to home, I respect his decision to transfer. We wish the best for him in everything he does.”
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
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