Fastbreak: Here's a full recap of Fred Hoiberg's radio show

Nebraska head men’s basketball coach Fred Hoiberg made his first public comments since the Huskers’ season came to an end at the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis during his radio show on the Husker Sports Network.

Here is a rundown of some of the highlights from his interview…

***Hoiberg briefly reflected on the “surreal” end to his first season at Nebraska, specifically having to leave his team’s first-round loss to Indiana before the game ended while dealing with what was later announced as influenza A.

He didn’t want to get into too many specifics about that night but was adamant that there was no way he would have coached that game had he known the full extent of the coronavirus pandemic at the time.

"Had I known then what I know now, I definitely would not have gone out there and coached that game," Hoiberg said. "Because I did have some of the symptoms they do talk about now."

***Overall, Hoiberg said his first season in Lincoln was tough in many ways, but he also felt that his program took a lot of positive steps in the right direction despite winning just seven games.

"It was a difficult year,” Hoiberg said. “Obviously nobody was expecting going into the season winning seven basketball games, two in league, but it was an important year for laying the foundation. There were some very difficult decisions we had to make as a staff as far as trying to do the right things – things that we will tolerate, things that we won’t.”

***Hoiberg said some of the things “that give me a lot of hope for next season” were the three sit-out transfers from last season in Dalano Banton, Shamiel Stevenson, and Derrick Walker. Hoiberg said all three showed many flashes of potential and developed some good chemistry playing together on the scout team.

“I’m very excited about what could potentially happen here over the next couple weeks with some of the signings that we could potentially have that I think will give us more size, more physicality, and a group of guys that are going to come in and compete for obviously very valuable playing time,” Hoiberg said.

“So yeah, as difficult as last season was, I definitely think there’s brighter days ahead.”

***Hoiberg addressed Thursday’s news that point guard Cam Mack was not only testing the waters for the NBA Draft but had also entered his name into the NCAA Transfer Portal, putting an official end to his Nebraska career.

"We wish Cam nothing but the best,” Hoiberg said. “He had a terrific year for us. He's a good kid and hope for the best for him."

***As for the players that are coming back next season, Hoiberg said the staff is doing what it can to stay connected with the team and making sure the players stay on top of their academics, diets, and workouts while away from the program during the current shutdown.

“The biggest thing that we’ve talked to them about is doing everything they can to stay safe and follow the guidelines,” Hoiberg said.

***Hoiberg said he and the rest of Nebraska’s coaching staffs have been in regular contact with NU athletic director Bill Moos, chancellor Ronnie Green, and other university officials as they try to navigate through the unchartered waters of the coronavirus.

“The communication has been excellent,” Hoiberg said. “We actually had a Zoom; I guess it’s called. I didn’t even know what Zoom was as of two weeks ago. But we had a Zoom call (on Wednesday) with all the coaches, and they’re just keeping us as updated as possible as far as academics and compliance, some of the different things we’re going to have to deal with as an athletic department.

"But yeah, the lines of communication have been excellent, and Bill’s doing a great job leading us through this time.”