Get to know Nebraska hoops transfer Emmanuel Bandoumel

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The Nebraska men’s basketball program has a new-look team ahead of this upcoming season with the addition of eight newcomers.

Among those new guys is Southern Methodist grad transfer guard Emmanuel Bandoumel.

He’s one of the few seniors on the team, along with transfer Sam Griesel and Derrick Walker.

Bandoumel described his skill set as pretty versatile: He is willing and able to play both sides of the ball and is listed as a guard on the Huskers’ roster.

“I play offense and defense, I love playing defense … I love to coordinate everything on defense, making sure that everybody has a good spot,” Bandoumel said. “And offensively, I think I’m kind of like a do it all, a little bit player. I shoot the ball pretty well, can pass the ball really well. Got a good feel for the game. I just bring whatever is needed for the team to the table.”

Bandoumel, along with Griesel and Walker, is a clear leader for this Husker team, and coach Fred Hoiberg recently described him as an “energy giver” who rarely has a bad day.

“I do have bad days; I’m not perfect,” Bandoumel  said. “But the way I look at is like it’s gonna be five seconds or like a minute of it, I don’t want to ruin the rest of my day. I think I do a good job of having quick turnarounds.”

Courtesy Husker Athletics

Bandoumel said that although he and the other older players are the ones setting the tone, the younger players are impressing him, too.

“They are actually not freshmen; they are actually like mature players,” he said.  “They want to work out; they want to work hard. So it’s like something that isn’t like given to everybody, and they pretty much have this already. So it’s like, yes, we set the standards for them, but at the same time, they are really good basketball players and really mature people.”

From a defensive standpoint, Bandoumel says it’s simple and comes down to effort and discipline, something he is ready to help instill in his teammates.

“We got smart players, we got athletic players, tall players, long players. So it’s just about, like, putting all that together and stay disciplined,” he said. “Every day you’re bringing it, you’re 110% … if we want to be on the same page and do something this year, that’s what we’ll have to do, and I’ll make sure we do that.”