Huskers Add Veteran Guard to Roster

Lincoln – Nebraska Men’s Basketball Coach Fred Hoiberg announced the addition of graduate transfer Haanif Cheatham (prounoucned Hah-NEEF CHEE-tum) to the Nebraska basketball roster for the 2019-20 campaign.

Cheatham, a 6-foot-6, 195-pound guard from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., provides the Huskers with an experienced backcourt scorer, totaling nearly 850 points in his college career playing at Marquette and Florida Gulf Coast. He has made 73 career Division I starts, including 63 in two-plus seasons at Marquette.

“We are excited about adding Haanif to our program,” Nebraska Coach Fred Hoiberg said. “His experience and leadership will help us greatly, as we replace a number of seniors from last year’s team. Haanif is a strong, physical guard who has a skill set that will allow him to fit well in our system.”

Cheatham spent last season at Florida Gulf Coast, averaging 13.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game, as he started all 10 games he appeared in before season-ending surgery. He reached double figures eight times, including a 23-point effort on 10-of-16 shooting against South Dakota State and a 20-point night against Florida Atlantic. He shot 45 percent from the field and 36 percent from 3-point range in his only year at the school.

He spent two-plus seasons at Marquette, earning Big East All-Freshman Team honors in 2015-16 and earned the team’s Best Defensive Player Award in each of his first two full seasons at the school (2015-16, 2016-17). He started all 33 games as a freshman, averaging 11.8 points on 49 percent shooting, 3.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He reached double figures 21 times, including a season-high 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting against Jackson State. In Big East play, he reached double figures 12 times, including three 20-point performances in a four-game stretch. He also averaged 16.5 points per game in the Eagles’ two Big East Tournament contests.

As a sophomore, Cheatham averaged 8.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, while starting 25 of 32 games for Marquette, which went 19-13 and reached the NCAA Tournament. He was third on the team with 71 assists, while cutting his turnovers from 88 to 51. He reached double figures 14 times, including six consecutive games to open the season. He had a season-high 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting vs. IUPUI, while reaching double figure six times in Big East action, including 17 against Seton Hall. He started Marquette’s first five games as a junior, averaging 8.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, before transferring.

Cheatham was a consensus top-100 prospect coming out of Pembroke Pines Charter High School under head coach Dave Roca. As a senior, he helped his team to a regional finals appearance, averaging 24.0 points. 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game before falling to eventual state champion Miami Norland. He garnered first-team all-state honors by the Florida Association of Basketball Coaches. As a junior, he averaged 26.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 3.0 steals per game en route to another regional final appearances. His junior campaign was highlighted by four triple-double efforts, which helped earn Florida Dairy Farmer's Class 6A Player of the Year accolades. He played AAU ball for Nike Team Florida and was invited to compete in the Kevin Durant Skills Academy, Lebron James Skills Academy and Nike Global Challenge.