The former Wisconsin Badger traveled to South Carolina and Maryland over the weekend before arriving in Indiana on Wednesday. That same day, he received a visit from the Huskers, who will now be his program of choice.
Essegian, an Indiana native, was nominated to the all-Big Ten freshman team two seasons ago after averaging 11.7 points in more than 27 minutes per game for Greg Gard’s club. That season, he made 35% of his shots from beyond the arc. For a freshman, he set a school record with 69 3-pointers, of which he began 19 of 35 games that year.
He was further down Wisconsin’s rotation this past season, playing a little more than seven minutes per game and averaging 3.2 points in those limited minutes in 2023-24. Essegian suffered a back injury early in the season that impacted him for several weeks. Wisconsin coach Greg Gard seemed to want more of him defensively too.
“I’ve just been more gritty than I was,” Essegian told Badger247 at the end of last January. “That defensive side is big. Offense comes naturally, but if I’m making plays on the defensive end, even if I’m just getting a couple of rebounds, that makes me go.”
But Nebraska will look to bring out the best of a player who jumped onto the Big Ten scene his first year after tearing it up in the high school ranks. Essegian finished high school as the No. 10 all-time career scoring leader in Indiana state history with 2,526 points.
While he wasn’t prominent in the rotation for the Badgers this past year, the 6-4 guard was 4-of-7 from deep in Wisconsin’s 88-72 win over Nebraska in Madison. During his freshman year he scored 13 against Nebraska in an overtime loss at PBA. He also went off for 24 and 23 in games against Michigan that year, and 19 against Maryland.
He had 16 games against league foes in double digits that freshman season and scored 17 against Kansas in just his fifth college game.
Even with numbers not as favorable last season, Essegian’s game has a lot of traits with make him a desirable addition, as a scouting report by Trevor Andershock of Peegs.com within the 247Sports network highlights.
“Essegian was an on-the-move shooter in high school, and it continued to be a strength with Wisconsin,” Andershock wrote. “He was constantly moving in the half-court setting and receiving screens. The Badgers also occasionally ran him handoffs. Essegian thrives by relocating and sprinting into three-point attempts. He does not dribble into threes, but Essegian rarely stood still before the catch. Few collegiate players shoot as well as Essegian while moving before the catch.”
Certainly the Huskers could like that as they move on this season with a roster no longer having Keisei Tominaga or C.J. Wilcher on it.
Andershock went on to write, “Essegian shot 35.9 percent on 5.5 three-point tries a game in his freshman year. That places him as one of the better Big Ten rookies. As a sophomore, he had a decline in his shooting percentage and saw less playing time. This previous season, Essegian made 66 shots and shot 30.3 percent.”
In Fred Hoiberg’s system, he will try to increase that figure and undoubtedly his minutes. Additionally, he shoots free throws at an impressive 88.7 percent clip.
Essegian joins Rutgers’ Gavin Griffiths as the second Big Ten commitment and Nebraska’s fourth overall in this transfer portal cycle. Both North Dakota State’s Andrew Morgan and Utah’s Rollie Worster have gotten on board, while Nebraska has already officially announced their commitments.
