Nebraska basketball coach Tim Miles added size for the Husker frontcourt on Tuesday, as Walter Pitchford V has transferred to the University of Nebraska and will join the Husker basketball program.
 
Pitchford, a 6-foot-10, 221-pound forward from Grand Rapids, Mich., will have three years of eligibility remaining beginning with the 2013-14 season, the Huskers’ first year in Pinnacle Bank Arena.
 
He is the fourth player to join the Husker program since Tim Miles was named head coach on March 24, and the second Division I transfer, joining Terran Petteway, who spent last year at Texas Tech before joining the Nebraska program in May.  Pitchford is also the first NU scholarship recruit in basketball from Michigan since Chester Surles, who played with the Huskers during the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons.
 
“We are thrilled to add Walter to our program, as he has a tremendous upside,” Miles said. “I like his attitude. He is about getting better and helping our program win. Walter is a young man who has next level athleticism, and we look forward to helping him develop that and helping him become the player he wants to be.”
 
Pitchford spent the 2011-12 season at the University of Florida, where he appeared in 13 games, helping the Gators finish 26-11 and reach the NCAA Elite Eight.

A three-star prospect by both Rivals.com and Scout.com, he originally signed a National Letter-of-Intent with DePaul  prior to his senior year, but attended postgraduate school at East Lansing (Mich.) Summit Christian Academy, averaging 17.4 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.5 blocks per game in 2010-11. He also looked at Indiana, Iowa and Arizona State before joining the Gator program. He also attended New Creations Christian School and Oak Hill Academy and played on the AAU circuit for the Michigan Mustangs and Team Detroit.