By james art 
LINCOLN — Fred Hoiberg spent the preseason tinkering.
Nebraska’s sixth coach has more depth, more flexibility and more options on his roster than he did a year ago, so the last few months have been about testing combinations.
The Huskers have nine newcomers. Some bring a skill set — like that of a traditional ball handler or rim-protecting center — that NU didn’t have a year ago.
Transfer forward Berke Buyuktunsel has played both forward and center in recent weeks. The plan is for wing Brice Williams to still occasionally play point guard.
There are a lot of moving pieces and a permanent rotation is still a long way from being established.
“It’s a good situation when you have that many guys, I think, that can impact the game and the win,” Hoiberg said. “And now it’s about finding out who those guys are, and I don’t think it’s going to be in the first — whatever, three, four, five games. It may take some time to figure out who will give us the best chance to win.”
Nebraska has the track to figure it all out. He opens the season with games against Texas Rio Grande Valley, Bethune Cookman and Fairleigh Dickinson. KenPom ranks all three outside the top 300 teams in the country, but the light schedule is a double-edged sword for the Huskers.
It gives a team that first came together four months ago some cushion to develop and establish the right order. The Huskers can afford to play their way through increased adversity against teams with less talent.
The risk is that a loss to any of them would be a black eye on Nebraska’s tournament resume that will carry through Big Ten play and into March. On a macro scale, there is no room for error.
The still-developing nature of the Huskers was on display in their showing against Grand Valley State. Nine players, not including the injured Andrew Morgan and Sam Hoiberg, saw the floor before garbage time. NU had an eight-man rotation for most of last season.
On Sunday, Nebraska was shut down offensively, turning the ball over 14 times while the Lakers pressured the ball hard.
“I think we let them take us out of our stuff, especially in the first half,” point guard Rollie Worster said. “Part of it is just the first game of the year and kind of getting to know the lineups, but I think for us it just makes the game easy. If they take something away, just a next action instead of fighting it so much.
The process of building chemistry continues.
On Thursday, the team watched a montage of film showing opportunities for players to cut to the basket when big men like Buyuktunsel carry the ball around the perimeter. If players’ comfort grows, there is potential on the other side.
NU has adaptability and a stable of players who can step up on any given night. Against GVSU, Gavin Griffiths broke the ice with four 3-pointers. The Rutgers transfer was quiet a week earlier, as Connor Essegian found his 20-point range in a scrimmage between the teams.
There will be plays suited to Buyuktuncel’s skills and fluidity down low, and plays that call for Braxton Meah’s strength. This will take time, patience and more trial and error.
“As I talked to the guys, it’s not going to be the same guy every night,” Hoiberg said. “I think it’s a team that’s very capable of having a guy, and we’ll probably end up with different lineups eventually until we figure out what our best group is to close out games and play in crunch time.”
Nebraska vs. Texas Rio Grande Valley
where: Pinnacle Bank Arena
Nebraska Appetizers
G — Rollie Worster 6-5 Sr. 9.9
G — Connor Essegian 6-4 Jr. 3.2
G — Bryce Williams 6-7 Jr. 13.4
F — Juwan Gary 6-6 Jr. 11.6
C — Braxton Meah 7-1 Sr. 5.3
Texas Rio Grande Valley Appetizers
G — KT Raimey 6-3 5y. 6.8
G — JJ Howard 6-5 So. 10.0
G — Hassan Abdul Hakeem 6-8 Sr. 13.2
F — Kwo Agwa 6-6 Sr. 8.8
F — Isaiah Barganier 6-7 Jr. 2.6