Newest basketball players settle in at UNL

During a recent Big 12 Conference coaches teleconference, Nebraska coach Doc Sadler joked that his squad this year is “finally going to look like a college basketball team.”

His 2008-2009 Cornhuskers earned the dubious distinction of the nation’s shortest team, but an influx of new, taller talent could help fix that issue.

Sadler has added six newcomers to his roster and will finally have his towering, 6-foot-11 big men, Brian Diaz and Christopher Niemann, available for the frontcourt.

“I liked our team last year, but obviously I understand that we need to get bigger, not just on the inside but also bigger on the perimeter,” Sadler said. “I think we’ve done that.”

Two of his newcomers are already on campus and have begun learning the ropes.

Though Ray Gallegos drove only about 14 hours to move to Lincoln, his journey to NU was quite a bit longer.

Going to class and getting good grades was low on the list of priorities for the Jordan, Utah, native while he was growing up.

“I was living with my mom and just really wasn’t doing well in school,” Gallegos said. “I was young and making dumb decisions.”

Gallegos’ summer league coach, Brad Blanchfield, saw a promising player who needed to focus on his education in order to fulfill his potential and land a Divison-I scholarship.
So Blanchfield took Gallegos into his home and brought more discipline into his life.

Curfew was 10:30 p.m., and he couldn’t leave the house until his homework was done.
Though the accountability was a big change for Gallegos, he adjusted quickly and it began to show in his grades. His grade point average hovered between 1.5 and 2.0 when he entered their home, and in his first quarter of living with the Blanchfields, Gallegos pulled off a 3.8, followed by a 3.5 the next quarter.

“It was good to have that to get back on track,” Gallegos said.

The 6-foot-2 point guard continued to excel on the basketball court and Blanchfield helped get him in front of scouts. Sadler first noticed him during a summer league game in Las Vegas.

In his senior season, Gallegos led West Jordan to a state championship and earned MVP honors for the first-team all-state squad. He averaged 16.7 points per game and set a school record with 66 3-pointers.

The stat that mattered most, though, was his GPA. He got it up to a 2.9 by the end of his senior year, good enough to academically qualify for college ball.

“It’s not the best, but it was enough to get me in,” he said.

Gallegos is now far away from the Blanchfields’ home, which has its benefits.

“I get to text more, because I have minutes now,” he said with a grin.

Though there’s less accountability now that he’s living in the dorms on campus, Gallegos isn’t worried about slipping up and getting into trouble.

“At first I didn’t want to listen to their rules, but the more I was there I realized, ‘I’ve got to be this to get somewhere in my life,’” he said. “It took a lot of maturity. As I got older, I started listening more to the point where they don’t have to tell me anymore and I can do it on my own.”

He still stays in close contact with his coach and the family, and they’ll travel with Gallegos’ mother to watch his games this winter.

“He played a big part in why I’m here,” he said of his coach. “I’m really grateful.”

Sadler said that for all the summer league coaches that earn negative publicity around the nation for shady dealings with schools, Blanchfield is a positive example of an AAU coach’s influence.

“This is a situation where Brad was definitely into it for the right reason and he, along with his wife, has done a tremendous job,” he said.

Gallegos is rooming with fellow freshman Brandon Ubel this summer, and they are off to a good start thus far. When they’re not watching movies or in their one summer class, the two play plenty of pickup ball and can usually be found shooting around at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

The extra summer of preparation and adjustment will help give Gallegos a shot at earning the starting point guard job that opened up when Steve Harley graduated and Cookie Miller transferred to Miami (Ohio).

A four-day-a-week weight lifting regimen will help him bulk up, and coaches want him to go from 165 pounds to 185 by the end of the summer.

“Back at home, I probably wouldn’t be lifting because I’m not a big fan of it. But I need to get stronger and put some weight on me,” Gallegos said.

Sadler said the battle for the starting spot is wide open and Gallegos will have to compete with junior college transfer Lance Jeter, who will arrive for the second session of summer classes, as well as returning Huskers Sek Henry and Brandon Richardson.

“Whoever the guy is, there will be some great competition there, and that’s what you want,” Sadler said.

Ubel, a 6-foot-9 power forward, is the third-tallest post man in the program behind Diaz and Niemann. The Overland Park, Kan., native averaged 17.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game for state champion Blue Valley West and also earned all-state honors. His sister, Kayla, is a junior at UNL and runs track.

“I feel like I can help out,” Ubel said. “They had a pretty small team last year, but we’ve got a lot more guys now that are big guys so it should be a lot better. It should help a lot, especially on the defensive end when guarding the big guys in the Big 12.”

Though he’ll help out down low, Sadler has been pleased with Ubel’s range from outside the paint.

“I think Brandon is a guy that I really look to have a great career here because he can do so many things that I like, Sadler said. “He’s a skilled, competitive player and he can really shoot the basketball.”

Gallegos will continue to room with Ubel during the school year, and he’s happy with how the transition to Lincoln has gone. His long road to college basketball may be over, but a new one is just beginning.

“Things are going really well,” he said. “I’m excited to be here.”

maxolson@dailynebraskan.com