Here is a quick recap of what Nebraska basketball head coach Fred Hoiberg had to say at his preseason press conference on Monday afternoon…
***Hoiberg said the best part of the Italy trip was the bonding and quality time to grow as a team. He said the Huskers had made “tremendous” strides in their overall team chemistry and was starting to see guys show their personalities and be comfortable with each other.
***As for on the court, Hoiberg said they were still in the “beginning stages” of installing his system, but now that the team was allowed 20-hours a week of practices and meetings they could make a lot more progress in getting up to speed.
***The Huskers practiced today and will have off-day meetings on Tuesday. Then they will begin full fall practices on Wednesday. Hoiberg’s teams will practice in the mornings, where NU practiced in the afternoons under Tim Miles.
***Hoiberg said freshman Yvan Ouedraogo “has been pissing people off” with his screens during workouts. He said the 6-foot-9, 265-pound native of France was already a “Big Ten body” but was still trying to adjust to the speed of the American game.
Hoiberg said what’s crazy is that Ouedraogo hadn’t ever really lifted weights before, so he was still growing into his frame as a 17-year old. Right now it is was just about getting him caught up on the speed of the Big Ten level and mastering the basics of the game.
***Hoiberg said Cam Mack was “getting better every day” since returning to action after missing the Italy trip with an illness. Hoiberg said Mack’s illness – which required him to spend a few days in the hospital – set him back in terms of just being in playing shape.
Mack has made a lot of progress in his conditioning over the past month and is ready to go for the start of fall practices.
***Hoiberg said the guy who had impressed him the most in terms of vocal leadership was Haanif Cheatham. A fifth-year senior and transfer from Florida Gulf Coast via Marquette had as much experience as any player on the roster, but Hoiberg said Cheatham had really stepped up during offseason workouts.
***Finding more leaders like Cheatham remains a critical task for Hoiberg. He said they had a lot of guys who were good leaders when things were going well, but once adversity hit that leadership “drops.” Hoiberg said the Huskers couldn’t be “frontrunners” and had to be able to step up when times are tough.
***Hoiberg noted that Cheatham and Derrick Walker (Tennessee transfer who is sitting out this season) were the only Huskers on the roster who had played in an NCAA Tournament game before.
***Hoiberg said Friday’s Opening Night with Husker Hoops event “couldn’t have turned out any better” for his program with it being on the eve of the football team’s showdown with Ohio State and ESPN’s College Game Day being in town.
Hoiberg recalled when he was part of Game Day at Iowa State back in 2015 and remembered how important that was to the entire ISU athletic department, university, and city of Ames.
It’s obviously a great event for the fans, but also a huge opportunity to showcase Nebraska to the recruits that will be on campus this weekend and others watching at home.
***Hoiberg said Nebraska would hold a full practice on Friday morning, so the 20-minute scrimmage portion of Opening Night would be more about putting on a show for the fans than a real evaluation tool for the staff.
***Hoiberg declined to comment when asked if NU had submitted a waiver for Shamiel Stevenson to be immediately eligible this season.
***Given the lack of size on the roster, Hoiberg said they'd put a big emphasis this offseason on rebounding and post defense. He said assistant Doc Sadler had really worked on limiting opponent paint touches and getting guards more active on the glass.
***Overall, Hoiberg said having a completely new roster brought a lot of excitement but also a lot of frustration. He said there would definitely be a learning curve the Huskers would have to get through this season, but the only way they could get past it was by improving one game at a time.
***Hoiberg said freshman walk-on Charlie Easley “has been great for us” so far. Hoiberg said “Charlie’s a winner” who has stepped up in whatever role they’ve asked of him, and he was one of three quality walk-ons NU has along with Jace Piatkowski and Bret Porter.
***Hoiberg said he didn’t know yet if he would be involved in the Game Day show on Saturday.
