The Nebraska basketball team recently lost out on the commitment of what would have been a big in-state get.

Nebraska basketball can't cover own back yard

Huskers head coach Tim Miles has not exactly had himself a banner year. When it comes to improving the Nebraska Basketball Team, one key to doing so is going to be making sure hometown kids play for the Cornhuskers.

Miles missed out on that mark earlier this week when 2018 Papillion-Lavista player Ed Chang announced his commitment. Instead of heading to Nebraska or Creighton, Chang is going to be taking his game to the University of Washington.

“I chose Washington because it was the perfect fit for me as a player and as a person,” Chang told the Omaha World Herald “Socially the city is filled with good people and academically it’s a great school, and from a basketball standpoint I can develop into the player I want to be.”

The fact that Chang believes its Washington instead of Nebraska that will allow him to develop that has to be the most stinging rebuke. Miles was retained as the Huskers coach with the pitch that the future is bright.

It doesn't appear some of Nebraska's top recruits are buying there's much of a future at all. Chang doesn't seem to believe Nebraska basketball is the place to play in order to grow into a player that might make a career of the sport.

Chang is the top-ranked player in the state of Nebraska for the 2018 class. The fact that Creighton couldn't reel him in likely blunts Miles criticism, but it probably shouldn't.

If Miles is going to take his basketball program to the next level, he's going to need to start getting the best players in the state to want to be a Cornhusker.

It appears as if the 6-7 forward has never really had interest in playing in Lincoln.

Nebraska basketball apparently never had a shot

While Nebraska and Creighton both offered relatively early in the process, Chang went with a school that only offered a month ago. That seems to show the in-state schools were never really in the running, except as a backup.

The forward has even made it clear he knows he might not play as a freshman. Talking to the World-Herald he said playing in his first year will depend entirely on how much he can develop his body over the next year.

While the recruiting cycle for the 2018 class isn't done yet, Chang sounds like a kid who knows his destination. The Nebraska basketball team will likely still work hard to change the highschooler's mind.
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