Hoiberg has the knowledge that Essegian is still absorbing, so he made it his mission to help his new teammate get up to speed on the side of the court where Essegian has struggled in the past bring to.

Essegian is a shooter. He has made 3-pointers at a rate of 34.5% for his career, breaking the Wisconsin freshman record of 69 during the 2022-23 season. Fred Hoiberg and Nebraska recruited him from the transfer portal to replace perimeter scoring players Keisei Tominaga and CJ Wilcher.

But with his ability to make shots a given, Essegian’s prospects this season largely depend on his defense. It limited his playing time at Wisconsin and will go a long way toward determining his ceiling and floor at Nebraska, where it faces Grand Valley State in an exhibition game on Sunday. He doesn’t play defense with the same ease or fluidity as he shoots, but he has shown a willingness to compete since arriving in Lincoln.

“Connor, I can say this about him, he tries hard defensively,” said Fred Hoiberg. “He blocks every possession. He tries to go out there and use his body. It has really good verticality, and the people in Wisconsin are as good at it as anyone in the country.”

Essegian played in 35 games as a freshman before his playing time dropped from 27 to seven minutes per game as a sophomore. With the additions of AJ Storr and John Blackwell, the Badgers backcourt was stronger and tougher defensively. Essegian found himself out of the rotation despite his shooting prowess.

Now he’s starting over at Nebraska, whose offense features someone who isn’t afraid to fly from deep. The defense represents a series of new adjustments in an unfamiliar system. The Huskers’ guards force opposing ballplayers to the baseline. When the ball hits the post, NU brings in a second defender. It requires everyone present to be connected.

“Everyone is kind of like a chain together,” Essegian said. “It kind of gets us playing together, which is good because you kind of learn the ins and outs of the team and each individual player and the defense we have here is really good.”

Essegian will find himself in a favorable situation; According to KenPom, Nebraska ranked fourth in the Big Ten in defensive efficiency a season ago and allowed more than 70 points once in the final seven games of the regular season.

Around him, depending on the formation and rotation, there will be a full-back in Braxton Meah, a strong, ball-strong full-back in Brice Williams and an athletic, versatile striker in Juwan Gary. Tominaga, hardly an impact defender, got by with a similar setup.

It’s a new beginning for Essegian. As a freshman, he experienced the high of becoming a scorer and the low of being benched for most of a season. As a junior, he enters the next part of his college career more experienced and aware than the younger version of himself who began his journey at Wisconsin.

“I just kind of know how college basketball works,” Essegian said. “The back and forth, the grind, the everyday life, waking up, going to bed. It sounds crazy, but just the little things about it and the little things in college basketball are so big and now being able to know the details inside and out of how the lifestyle works and how the games work and the exercises work, it gives you a little advantage.”

When/Where: Pinnacle Bank Arena, 1 p.m

TV: Big Ten Plus | Radio: 590/1400

G – Rollie Worster 6-5 Sr. 9.9

G – Brice Williams 6-7 Jr. 13.4

F – Juwan Gary 6-6 Jr. 11.6

F – Berke Buyuktuncel 6-10 Sun. 4.5

C – Braxton Meah 7-1 Sr. 5.3

G – Mason Docks 6-0 Jr. 10.0

G – Trevor Smith Jr. 6-2 Jr. 6.5

F- Jalen Charity 6-7 Jr. 5.1

F – Ethan Alderink 6-7 Jr. 11.5

F- William Dunn 6-9 Sr. 11.2