Berke Buyuktuncel played a crucial role for Nebraska during the 2025-26 college basketball season. He got a tattoo to commemorate the Cornhuskers’ historic run less than 48 hours before he announced his decision to enter the transfer portal.
The timing could not be more interesting.
Buyuktuncel is not going to finish his college basketball career in Lincoln but you cannot say he was not grateful for his time at Nebraska! It will be with him for the rest of his life. Literally.
Who is Berke Buyuktuncel?
As a native of Bursa, Turkey, Buyuktuncel began his career on the youth team for Tofas S.K. of the Turkish Basketbol Super Ligi. He was later promoted to the senior team in 2020-2021 and played three years of professional basketball.
The 6-foot-9, 215-pound forward also played for the Turkish national team. His impressive performance helped lead the Turks to a runner-up finish at the U18 European Championships.
Buyuktuncel was eventually granted his release from Tofas S.K. to sign with UCLA in 2023. Although he was eventually cleared by the NCAA to play for the Bruins after the first three games of the regular season, his freshman season of college basketball was hampered by injuries and averaged only 16.3 minutes per game.
And then it was off to the transfer portal.
Berke Buyuktuncel committed to play at Nebraska in 2024-25. The Cornhuskers had just made their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2015 and there was a lot of buzz about their potential.
The Turkish forward averaged 6.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 22.6 minutes per game as a sophomore. Nebraska barely missed out on March Madness but went on to win The Crown.
This past season was even better! Buyuktuncel’s numbers saw a slight increase as a junior and he shot an impressive 46.8% from the field.
More importantly, the Cornhuskers made the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history.
A new tattoo for the transfer portal…
Berke Buyuktuncel chose to commemorate Nebraska’s historic season with some permanent ink. The Turkish big man got a small tattoo on his left forearm at INKED X Grey Street in Lincoln. There isn’t much to it— just 28-7. It is the final record of the Cornhuskers during the 2025-26 college basketball season.
Buyktuncel posted his new tattoo on his Instagram story on Tuesday afternoon. He announced his decision to enter the transfer portal (for a second time) less than 24 hours later.
Potential landing spots for the soon-to-be-former Nebraska forward might include Cincinnati, Virignia, Washington, Kentucky and/or Louisville. We’ll see. There is no telling where he will end up.
Regardless of where Berke Buyuktuncel finishes out his college basketball career, he (and his new fanbase) will always be reminded of the time the Cornhuskers went 28-7. It’s on his arm forever!