With Nebraska basketball looking toward a successful season ahead, there appears to be some great news for the team. Power forward Isaiah Roby is expected to return next season, despite the speculation he might make the leap for the professional league. That could be huge for a Nebraska Cornhuskers team looking towards a potential NCAA tournament run this season.

Miles: Roby will return for senior season

Nebraska basketball's head coach Tim Miles recently made comments on his Husker sports show regarding Roby. Miles is optimistic that Roby will be back for his senior season.

In addition, he believes that Roby is likely to be "an All-Big Ten level player" when he returns. That's high praise for his star power forward and could also be the necessary confidence boost needed for the Nebraska junior this season.

The team is coming off a nice two-point win over the Clemson Tigers on Monday night (November 26), giving them some momentum ahead of conference play. Isaiah Roby started in that game, but only played 22 minutes due to foul trouble, which is one of the things Coach Miles wants to address.

He'd finish with seven points on 3-of-6 shooting and also had three rebounds, an assist, and a steal. He also led the team with four fouls, limiting his availability.

A week prior to that game, Roby showed his potential against a lesser opponent in Missouri State. He played 29 minutes in that contest and ended up with 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and three blocks.

Coach Miles and the rest of the Huskers basketball team are hoping for numbers of those types and above in future outings.

Roby's All-Big Ten, pro potential

While the season is still young, Isaiah Roby is averaging 8.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game. The 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward is slightly below his averages from last season, but there's plenty of time for him to blossom as the latest campaign unfolds.

Roby shot over 40 percent from downtown last basketball season and is currently at just 30 percent. Just as his other stats can improve, so can the three-point rate as his season moves forward. Improving his overall performance and stats is probably a big reason why Roby would return for a senior season. His stock will be low if his averages continue around these numbers, as there are a number of other prospects that would get rated above him in the draft class.

During his show, Coach Miles said the keys to helping Roby make more of an impact are keeping him on the court longer without him getting into foul trouble. Miles said they also need more plays to give him good looks because Roby doesn't really create shots of his own.

He mentioned they'll have Isaiah Roby on the court for a good 30 minutes and realize he's only had two shot attempts. That is something they'd like to change to take advantage of opportunities for him to score. Roby and the Nebraska basketball squad are back on the court on Tuesday (December 2) when they take on Illinois. Game time is set for 5 PM with the Big Ten Network providing live coverage.
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