Northwestern fans are holding their breath as they wait for stars Chase Audige and Boo Buie to decide whether or not to return to Evanston for one last season or stay in the NBA Draft.
But Wildcat head coach Chris Collins isn't sitting idly by while the two guards make up their minds. He's busy making his roster better, whether they return or not.
Collins and his staff already landed two key transfers earlier this week, when graduate big man Blake Preston from Liberty and freshman guard Justin Mullins from Denver committed after official visits. Now they are after what could be the biggest prize of all: Princeton sharpshooter Ryan Langborg.
Langborg, a 6-foot-4 guard, will take an official visit to NU this weekend, according to multiple sources. He was one of the darlings of the 2023 NCAA Tournament, leading Princeton on a Cinderella run to the Sweet 16. He had 22 points and six rebounds in a win over Mizzou, and scored 26 in a loss to Creighton, when he hit 4-of-7 three-pointers.
Langborg averaged 12.7 points and 3.1 rebounds per game during the season but upped his scoring to 18.5 points per game in the tournament, when the 15th-seeded Ivy League champions knocked off Arizona, a No. 2 seed, and Mizzou, a No. 7 seed, before falling to Creighton in the regional semifinals.
Known for his outside shooting, Langborg shot just 33% from beyond the arc last season, but he converted 40% of his shots from long distance in 2021-22 as a sophomore. That's the kind of long-range production Northwestern sorely needs after finishing 12th in the Big Ten and 285th in the nation with 32% three-point shooting last season.
MORE: Northwestern lands Denver transfer Justin Mullins l Grad transfer forward Blake Preston commits to Northwestern l Boo Buie to enter NBA Draft l Audige follows Buie's footsteps and declares for NBA Draft
Langborg, who is originally from LaJolla, Calif., is set to graduate from Princeton this semester and has one year of eligibility remaining.
Collins is two-for-two in the transfer portal so far in this cycle as he tries to build a team that can continue Northwestern's historic success this past season. The Wildcats won 12 Big Ten games and beat four ranked teams, including the No. 1 team in the nation, for the first time in school history. They made the NCAA Tournament for the second time ever and made the second round as a No. 7 seed in the West region.
Preston is a defensive-minded role player who averaged 6.7 points and 5.1 rebounds in 17.3 minutes per game last season for Liberty. He should slide right into the role vacated by Tydus Verhoeven, who is out of eligibility.
Mullins, a 6-foot-6 wing, looks like an ideal replacement for Julian Roper II, who entered the transfer portal at the end of the season and is headed to Notre Dame. Mullins averaged 9.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game as a true freshman at Denver and has three years of eligibility left.
Langborg would bring crucial scoring and ballhandling to Northwestern's backcourt regardless of who stays or goes from last year's roster.
If Buie, a first-team All-Big Ten selection, and Audige, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, both elect to return, the Wildcats could make a legitimate run at the Big Ten title that has eluded the program for 90 years.
