Year three of the Fred Hoiberg Era will be without someone from the first two, and the reason isn’t graduation.
According to multiple reports, Yvan Ouedraogo, the France native who joined the Huskers as a 17-year-old, is entering the transfer portal.
Ouedraogo played in all 32 games as a freshman, including 30 starts. He averaged 5.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game. That first campaign set or tied three freshman records, including double-doubles (three), rebounds in a season (203), and rebounds in a game (19).
But his impact fell in year two.
Despite averaging more than 20 minutes a game over the first 11 games, Ouedraogo saw more than 14 minutes just once the rest of the season. He was one of several players to test positive for COVID-19, leading to a program pause and games being postponed.
Part of his depletion in minutes was the emergence of other bigs.
Transfer Derrick Walker made his debut just before the pause, and was integral in battling Big Ten centers. Freshman Eduardo Andre, perhaps the highest upside big Nebraska has had in several seasons, saw his minutes steadily increase as towards the end of the season.
If given immediate eligibility, Ouedraogo would have three seasons at his new home. He is the second player to leave the program from this past season’s team, and eighth to suit up for Hoiberg and leave with eligibility remaining.
Feature Image Courtesy Nebraska Athletics Communications Office