Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg and sophomore point guard Dalano Banton met with media on Monday to preview their upcoming home game vs. South Dakota and look ahead to the month-long challenge that awaits.
Here is a full recap of what the Huskers had to say during their Zoom press conference...
Head coach Fred Hoiberg
***Hoiberg said Nebraska's fast starts this season had been something the team had stressed since Day 1 because of needing to be "self-starters" to create their own energy playing with no fans.
***Hoiberg said they do some drills to get guys talking, and if the communication and energy aren't where it needs to be in practice, they make the players run.
***Hoiberg said Banton is always a guy getting his teammates fired up and has really stepped up as a leader. His play hasn't been a surprise, but "what he's done has been phenomenal" in terms of stepping in as a voice of the team.
***Hoiberg said Banton has "an infectious personality" that brought everyone around him up. "He doesn't have a bad day. If we have things around here that aren't going right, he's going to get us out of it."
***Hoiberg said Banton and Derrick Walker were the best vocal leaders on the team last season.
***Hoiberg said he'd been pleased with how everyone has been able to make an impact this season, even down to walk-ons like Jace Piatkowski and Bret Porter. "It's a lot of fun when everyone is playing well."
***Hoiberg said the biggest thing NU needed to improve going forward was rebounding, especially making "first contact" when the ball is in the air. "We need to rebound better if we're going to have a chance."
***Hoiberg said some of Yvan Ouedraogo's issues with finishing at the rim are due to confidence, and he just needed to see some shots fall to fix that. Hoiberg said Yvan was "rushing it" and shooting off-balance and "through bodies."
"I do think he'll improve as the season goes on."
***Hoiberg said defending without fouling was "a mentality" that the team needed to get better at, especially from how they played vs. North Dakota State.
Guard Dalano Banton
***Banton said his approach to being a good leader and a teammate was to provide things he felt the team lacked last year. He said he was one of several good talkers on the team, and he tries to bring communication and energy every day.
***Banton last season was "a learning experience," and he feels like he's a much better player from where he was when he first arrived in Lincoln. He said he'd gotten so much help at Nebraska in improving his game.
***Banton said the Huskers' "confidence runs wild," and they "feel like we can win every time out." That said, they know nothing will be given to them, and they have to be locked in every game.
***Banton said Hoiberg had been a huge help for him in improving his perimeter shooting. The biggest things Hoiberg has focused on with him were squaring up his feet, keeping his head straight, keeping his elbow in, and shooting the same way on every attempt.
Banton said Hoiberg was always available to work with him, and if he texted Hoiberg to come and help him shoot, the coach would sometimes even drive from home to get in the gym with him.
***Banton said he went through a 6-inch growth spurt when he was in 10th or 11th grade and grew from 5-11 to 6-5. He's now 6-9, and "hopefully, I'm not done growing."
