Nebraska basketball will leave for Italy this week without one of the key additions to its roster.

Former junior college point guard Cameron Mack tweeted on Wednesday that he will not be accompanying the team on its trip to Italy this week because of an illness.

“Due to me being in the hospital for the last couple of days I will not be going Italy, but i will be supporting od i cant wait till school so we can get things rolling,” Mack tweeted on Thursday.

It was a bit of bad news for Mack in what was otherwise a good week for the Texas native. Mack found on Wednesday that he had officially finished online courses granting him his associates degree. Mack had previously been unable to practice with Nebraska until he wrapped up his degree at Salt Lake CC.

Not having the 6-foot-2, 175-pounder along for the trip will be a bit of a blow for the Huskers, who will also be without Yvan Ouedraogo, who has yet to enroll at Nebraska, but will be with the team after playing in the FIBA U-18 World Championships.

The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Mack is expected to be a big part of what Nebraska does on the floor this year. He was among the top-rated junior college prospects in the country and averaged a team-high 19.1 points per game. He topped the Bruins in assists (7.6 apg), steals (2.4 spg) and blocked shots (0.6 bpg) while also grabbing 5.9 rebounds per game from his point guard spot. He ranked fifth nationally in assists per game while finishing 24th nationally in steals. Mack shot 46 percent from the field and boasted a 2.8-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

247Sports ranked Mack as the No. 3 junior college point guard in the 2019 class.

Nebraska will play three games in Italy, while also taking in some site-seeing and the trip will be key for Nebraska seeing what it has on the floor.

“The biggest thing for us as a staff is to see the competitive edge that these guys go out and play with,” Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg said last week. “And again, when things are going well, we're pretty good. We're out there talking and playing with the swagger and competing and have confidence. And then we go for five possessions where tough things happen. And then that's when you see some of the shutdown. And that's where I think we need the most growth at this time.”

Hoiberg said the importance of the trip isn’t just the practices and games, but the bonding time in between and getting to know teammates.

“Build chemistry, see who can play together,” Hoiberg said of what he hopes to get accomplished. “You know, especially when times are tough, and who can play with each other down the stretch.”