Nebraska needs more Shields.

Lucky for us, we've had the pleasure of two. One played football in the 1990's, the other just finished playing basketball.

Yes, Shavon Shields, the constant on the hard court, is gone.

The one player that we relied upon to see on the court year in and year out for four season has now graduated and is moving on to his next adventure in life.

When he first came to campus he was a promising recruit who had a dad that was a star on the football team. If you’ve been living under a rock or were just born in the last 10 years, the man I am talking about is former offensive lineman and All American Will Shields. Will is a man who was not only a great Husker but also Kansas City Chief who never missed a game in his 14 years playing and made 12 straight pro bowls.

Take note of this.

There’s one word that pops up in my head when I think of Shavon, reliable. The Huskers could always rely on Shavon.

This is most likely something he developed growing up in the Shield’s home in Olathe, KS. I’m guessing they are fairly close. Will was at a lot of the basketball games over the years. I always seemed to see him at most of the games I attended.

Shavon’s time at Nebraska will not go unnoticed and if you want to see all of his accomplishments go to the Huskers website. There’s more information there than you can shake a stick at. He was more than productive in his years in Lincoln. I will however throw a few stats out:

- #5 on the career points lists with 1,630. Tied there with Aleks Maric

- #6 with 1,236 field goals attempted

- #4 with 565 free throws attempted

- #8 with 562 field goals made

- #4 on free throws made with 429

- #2 with games started at 112

The last one really brings home what Shavon brought to Nebraska. That 112 games started is second only to Cooke Belcher’s 131. In total he played 121 games. That makes only 9 games he didn't start.

Think of that. Shavon started 93% of the games he played in. Who does that who is not a one and done player?

He probably would have had more if he didn’t get a concussion against Rutgers back in February.

Again, 93% is someone who is reliable. He stayed out of trouble and kept healthy for the most part. Some of that is luck, some of it is knowing what needs to be done to accomplish your goals. He worked hard to make sure that his game was up to speed on all fronts. Healthy body, healthy mind if you will.

He also succeeded off the basketball court while at Nebraska. The guy was a Biological Sciences major. Do you know what it takes to get that? A lot of science and math classes. Organic Chemistry is in there too. I’ve never taken it but have had enough friends take it to know that’s it’s not exactly a walk in the park. These aren’t classes your normal athlete takes.

I’m not sure what he ended his scholastic career with but he held a 3.72 GPA through the fall of 2015. I can’t imagine there was much drop off this last semester. Three times he made first team academic all-district, 2015 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award, and Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll….well, let just say almost every semester if not all.

He was an overachiever with a strong work ethic. The above proves that. Again, I’m sure a lot of this came from his upbringing. At least a little of the ethic his dad had during his years in the NFL wore off on him.

It’s what every athletic department want’s in their student athletes. You come to school, you study hard, you practice and play hard, and you represent the institution well in public.

It will be interesting to see where Shavon’s path will take him. He is currently in Las Vegas training at Impact Basketball. There he is being evaluated by NBA teams for the upcoming draft on June 23rd.

Will he play in the NBA? He will most likely not hear his name called on draft night but many believe he will be picked up as a free agent. Maybe he will follow the path of other former Huskers and take his skills overseas. He’s already played for the Danish U20 team.

Yes, he played for Denmark.

His mother, Senia Shields, is originally from Denmark and met Will while studying at Nebraska. So there's the connection.

I wonder if he's gone to the Danish Capitol of Nebraska, Dannebrog, and hung out with Roger Welsh? That man is a state treasure.

I digress...

He’s got the work ethic and skills to take his game to the next level and it’s now time to find a team that will best suited for his size and style of play. Power forwards in the NBA are bigger and small forwards are usually quicker. A team will have to have a place for him if they want to take a chance.

No matter what happens, he will do just fine.

Hopefully in a couple decades we see another Shield come through the system. Just like their father and grandfather before them.

Because Nebraska needs more Shields.