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Back on the market, Huskers all in on 2023 4-star SG Parker Friedrichsen

With numerous family ties to the state and the program, there were many reasons to think 2023 Bixby (Okla.) guard Parker Friedrichsen would eventually end up at Nebraska when all was said and done.

But that plan changed in mid-March when the four-star top-100 prospect saw his recruitment take off and then announced his commitment to Oklahoma State. Two months later, though, the connection between Friedrichsen and the Huskers is alive and well once again.

Just minutes after announcing his de-commitment from OSU on Wednesday afternoon, he was on the phone with NU assistant coach Nate Loenser. During that call, new assistant Adam Howard jumped on to introduce himself.

A few minutes later, Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg joined in on a three-way FaceTime call.

Needless to say, the Huskers made it abundantly clear that Friedrichsen was again a top priority in their 2023 recruiting plans.

It was only a matter of minutes before Nebraska put the full-court press on 2023 four-star Bixby (Okla.) guard Parker Friedrichsen, with his father, after reopening his recruitment.
It was only a matter of minutes before Nebraska put the full-court press on 2023 four-star Bixby (Okla.) guard Parker Friedrichsen, with his father, after reopening his recruitment. (Robin Washut)
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“I put that out, and then I was on a FaceTime with Nate probably two minutes after that,” Friedrichsen said. “I talked to him for probably 10-15 minutes, and then he hooked me up with the new coach there, Adam, just to meet him. Then, as I’m on the phone with Coach Howard, Coach Hoiberg was calling, so we talked on a three-way call for about 10 minutes. So yeah, they were the first school to reach out.”

During those extended conversations, Hoiberg and his staff made it a point to stress the many changes that had gone on within NU’s program since the last time Friedrichsen was on campus on an official visit back in November.

With a new assistant coach, several new roster additions, and some different approaches schematically set for this coming season, Nebraska stressed how things would be different in the future.

“Coach (Hoiberg) just kind of explained the changes and the transfers they got and the pieces they’re putting together and how it’s going to be different,” Friedrichsen said. “He talked about how they were going to play well together. They’re getting Wilhelm (Breidenbach) back, and he just said the culture was changing. With the people they’ve brought in, it’s going to be better for Coach’s system.”

The 6-foot-4 guard averaged a whopping 27.8 points per game last season as a junior at Bixby. He also added 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 3.3 steals. That included two 40-point efforts and 11 games with 30 or more points.

Currently rated as the nation’s No. 76 overall player in the 2023 class, Friedrichsen had 24 confirmed offers before verbally committing to Oklahoma State.

In the first 24 hours after putting himself back on the market, he had already heard from Iowa, Virginia Tech, Creighton, Cincinnati, Oklahoma, Tulsa, LSU, Stanford, Xavier, and others.

Friedrichsen said he planned to take all five of his official visits in the upcoming recruiting cycle before deciding, and maybe even a sixth with the one remaining allotted official he still has in his junior year cycle.

He wasn’t sure where he would visit yet, but he confirmed that another official to Lincoln would definitely be on the schedule. He also said a return to Oklahoma State was no longer an option.

“Nebraska will be one of them,” he said, “but I don’t know the other four.”

Friedrichsen wants to wait until right around the November signing period to announce his commitment, but there is no question that the Huskers immediately jumped back into the equation this week.

A native of St. Louis who grew up in Tulsa, Okla., Friedrichsen's home away from home has always Lincoln, Neb. With multiple family ties in the state, he and his parents come back to town 6-8 times a year, and he's been to numerous Husker football games growing up.

But with countless top programs around the country vying for his services, Friedrichsen said his connection to NU went beyond his family’s strong Husker fandom.

“Everything else aside, just the fact that I talked to three of their coaches in the first 15 minutes after putting that out there, that made me feel like a priority,” Friedrichsen said. “That’s always a good feeling. Fred is a great coach. So we’ll see.”

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