Damon Wilkinson’s move to Nebraska has already started to reshape his game.
The South Dakota State transfer spent the offseason working on the part of his skill set that had never really been part of his profile before: the outside shot. After putting up 13.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game for the Jackrabbits last season, the 6-foot-11, 245-pound center from De Smet, South Dakota, has made expanding his range a major focus heading into the 2026-27 season.
“It was definitely a big transition for me,” Wilkinson said. “Just being able to expand my game and shoot the outside shot.
We’ve been working on that a lot lately. I’ve been fixating on it, and I’m pretty confident in my shot.”
That work matters because Wilkinson never attempted a three-pointer across 59 games over his last three seasons at South Dakota State. Even so, he understood that adding that dimension would be part of the adjustment to Nebraska, where Fred Hoiberg wants frontcourt players who can help stretch the floor. Wilkinson may not be asked to take on Rienk Mast’s exact role from deep, but there will be times when he’s the one providing that spacing.
The physical side of the Big Ten doesn’t sound like a problem for him, either. Wilkinson said the bump in contact is something he welcomes, not something he’s bracing for.
“I like physicality,” he said. “I’m a physical player, and I think that’s what helped me succeed in the Summit League. It’s a lot more physical here, but I like it a lot.”
Nebraska has seen this kind of transition work before. Oscar Cluff made the same jump from South Dakota State to Purdue last year and averaged 10.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 0.9 blocked shots per game. Wilkinson will be trying to follow that same path as he moves into a bigger league and a bigger role.
He won’t be doing it alone. Nebraska added six transfers and two freshmen since last season, and Wilkinson sees the frontcourt as one of the group’s strengths. He pointed to Boden Kapke and Leo Curtis as players who bring different looks but similar value.
“Boden [Kapke] and Leo [Curtis], they’re both really good players,” said Wilkinson. “We’re all versatile and have a different style of play, which brings a lot of different options to the table offensively. We’re all really good rebounders and defenders, so that’s really good for our team.”
Kapke comes to Lincoln after a season at Boston College, where he averaged 10.6 points and 5.7 rebounds in 31 appearances, including 17 starts. Curtis, meanwhile, is back for his sophomore season after adding roughly 25 pounds since arriving on campus a year ago. Together with Wilkinson, they give Hoiberg’s team more depth entering 2026-27.
For Wilkinson, the chance to do this at Nebraska still feels a little surreal. He grew up in De Smet, a town of about a thousand people, and he knows how rare it is to reach this level from there.
“It’s really cool,” he said. “Because I come from a town of a thousand people and you don’t see many people, let alone go to the D1 level, but the college level at all. It’s cool to show my community what I can do and just prove that I’m going to do the best that I can do every day.”
Wilkinson has already proven he can produce at every stop along the way. Now he gets his biggest test yet, with Fred Hoiberg and Nate Loenser helping guide the next stage of his development.
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Matt Rhule Just Got A Telling Big Ten Reality Check
Matt Rhules standing in the Big Ten took a noticeable hit in USA TODAY Sports latest coach rankings, where the Nebraska head coach dropped to No. 9 after sitting at No. 5 a year ago. The slide comes after a season that still had plenty for Nebraska to hang its hat on, including a 6-2 start and a second straight bowl appearance, but the finish left a different impression as the Huskers again spent too much time trying to patch holes up front.
USA TODAYs evaluation points straight at the trenches, where Nebraskas line play on both sides of the ball remains the clearest test of whether Rhule can push the program higher. The offense and defense both had stretches that undercut the bigger picture, even with Emmett Johnson producing a standout rushing season, and the late-season issues gave the ranking a harsher edge. Nebraska now turns the page toward Sept. 5, when it opens 2026 at Memorial Stadium against Ohio on FS1. [Read more 🡒]