Huskers Add Top Grad Transfer in Kobe Webster

Lincoln –One of the nation's top graduate transfers has joined Nebraska men's basketball for the 2020-21 season, as Kobe Webster has signed with the Husker program.

Webster, a 6-foot, 170-pound guard from Indianapolis, Ind., spent the last three seasons at Western Illinois University, scoring over 1,400 points and dishing out nearly 300 assists in 85 career starts. He led WIU in scoring and assists in each of his three seasons at the school, earning second-team All-Summit League accolades in 2019 and 2020.  Webster will have one season of eligibility remaining after graduating from Western Illinois in three years.

"We are excited to add Kobe Webster to our program," Nebraska Coach Fred Hoiberg said. "He brings elite leadership skills and showed that he can run a team as a three-year starter at Western Illinois. He fits very well in our system because of his perimeter shooting and his ability to play both guard positions. He's also an excellent student who graduated in three years."
Webster started all 26 games as a junior, averaging 17.1 points, 3.6 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game. He ranked among the Summit League leaders in scoring (sixth), assists (fifth) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.72-to-1, fourth) en route to garnering second-team all-conference recognition. Webster totaled a team-high 21 double-figure efforts, including six 20-point efforts. His junior campaign was highlighted by a school-record 40-point performance against Omaha, when he went 15-of-24 from the field, including five 3-pointers. In the classroom, he was selected to the 2019-20 Summit League All-Academic Team.

He emerged as one of the top guards in the Summit League as a sophomore, averaging a team-high 17.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. A second-team all-conference pick, he was fifth in the conference in scoring, assist-to-turnover ratio (1.94-to-1) and 3-pointers per game (2.5) while shooting 41 percent from 3-point range. He had 10 20-point games, including a season-high 26 points at Northern Illinois, while he recorded a double-double at Creighton with 24 points and 10 rebounds. He also shined in the classroom, as he was a first-team CoSIDA Academic All-District V pick and was named to the 2018-19 Summit League All-Academic Team.

Webster started all 28 games as a freshman, leading the Leathernecks in scoring at 15.9 points per game while adding 3.5 assists per game to rank third in the Summit League. He shot 43 percent from the field, including 37 percent from 3-point range and shot 78 percent from the foul line. Webster, who was named to the Summit League All-Newcomer Team and collected honorable-mention all-conference honors, reached double figures in 22 contests, including eight 20-point performances. He scored a season-high 27 points and dished out a career-high eight assists against IUPUI.

Webster previously starred at Park Tutor School in Indianapolis, helping the school to a pair of state titles in 2014 and 2015 and started his last three seasons at the school. He was a third-team all-state selection as a senior, as he averaged 16 points, four rebounds and four assists. He was invited to the Indiana's Top 60 showcase following a junior campaign when he averaged 14.5 points and 3.7 assists per game. He played his AAU ball with the Indiana Elite, winning a national championship in 2015.