Welcome to another edition of the Hoops HQ Fast Break, where we ask our tandem of experts a series of questions for the week ahead. Andy Katz and Seth Davis are locked and loaded with their hot takes, pro picks and trusty Worry-o-Meter. Today’s Fast Break features an interview with owner of the longest win streak in the nation, Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg. Lace ’em up and let’s roll.
Q: How have you been able to maintain Nebraska’s winning streak on the road?
Fred Hoiberg: This team is prepared really well. That’s been the most impressive thing to me about this group. And the week that I think really this team believed that we had a chance to do something special this year was when we played our rival. We played Creighton in a really good game and ended up with a 20-point win. We had two days to prepare for a conference opener — the first home opener we’ve had in seven years, by the way. And we did an unbelievable job — maybe played our best, most complete game of the season against Wisconsin with short prep time.
And then we had another short prep, two days to prepare for our first road game in-league to go on the road at Illinois.Obviously it was a great finish for us, Jamarcus hitting a huge shot. But to me, the start we got off to was the reason that we won that game, building the double digit lead early.
And I think that speaks to the maturity, how they’ve been able to get past big emotional wins like that. When you beat a big rival like Creighton, and to be able to bounce back and prepare the way we did. The other one was Michigan State — we beat Michigan State. And I kind of compare playing Michigan State to playing Kansas when I was in the Big 12. Whether you win or lose, you have a hangover the next game because of the physicality of the game. And same thing with Michigan State. You find a way to win a rock fight.
And then we get two days to prepare to go on the road at Ohio State. And again, got off to a great start. So, you know, our guys have done a great job and I tell them enjoy the process. You know, really be proud of yourselves for everything we got going. But as soon as we get comfortable and complacent, this thing’s over.
Q: Are there any updates on Braden Frager’s injury
Andy Katz: Four minutes in, he turns that ankle, then he comes out with a boot on. You’re up at Minnesota, and then Michigan next week. Since I last saw you, what’s the update on Frager?
Hoiberg: Yeah, we’ll know a lot more tomorrow. A lot of times, that’s how it goes. He’s got an ankle sprain, but the good thing is it’s not a high one. So it’s a low ankle sprain. It did swell up on him, but we’re going to know a lot more in the morning. We’ll get a precautionary X-ray. Our trainer’s confident that it won’t show anything, but we’ll know a lot more after to see how he responds after a night of sleep.
Q: How has Nebraska developed such a strong defensive identity?
Seth Davis: Fred, you’ve always been known as a really great offensive coach. You’re a great offensive player — and that includes your time with the Chicago Bulls. Right now on KenPom, Nebraska is 12th in the country in defensive efficiency. This is by far the best defensive team you’ve coached in college. It might be a better defensive team than some of your Bulls teams. How much of that is your evolution as a coach, and how much of that is just the team that you’re coaching and the personnel that you have.
Hoiberg: My assistant coach, Nate Loenser, deserves a lot of credit for what we’ve done on the defensive end of the floor. And I’ve really kind of modeled my staff more. I’ve got a son, Jack, who played for coaches out of Michigan State that’s with the San Antonio Spurs. And they kind of changed the way they did things this year, bringing in some new guys. They split the room. So I’m almost more like a football staffer. I’ve got a defensive room and an offensive room.
Nate does an unbelievable job of putting a game plan together. And I’ll put an offensive plan together with Ernie Ziegler and with Pat Monaghan. And then Nate and I will get together and we’ll put the final touches on the game plan and what it’s gonna be. But he’s done a phenomenal job has so much passion and energy. You see him over there on the sidelines calling out what plays are being run. And it takes a lot off my plate as well.
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Q: How is your son, Sam, a part of this success story?
Andy: Fred, we’re all three dads here. You’ve got an incredible family. Danny Sprinkle said to us on Wednesday that (Sam) is not just a glue guy. He thinks that Sam should be First Team All-Big Ten. That’s how important he is. And I think that opinion is shared. As a dad and as a coach, how did this happen?
Fred: Well, it’s his mom. His mom gets all the credit. He’s just such a scrappy player. And it’s been good to see him get going and get some confidence on the offensive end. He always made hustle plays for us. He’s always the guy that’s gonna come out of a scrum with the ball. He’s leading our team in defensive rebounding currently at 5-foot-11.
Greg McDermott said some really nice things. Coach Izzo said he was one of his favorite players in the league. Greg Garth said some good things. It’s been good to see Sam get it because he does a lot of things that don’t show up in the box for him. He’s been doing that for three years really since he was put into the rotation when we lost Juwan Gary and Emmanuel Bandoumel in season-ending injuries a couple years ago. So I’m really proud of him.
It’s gonna be very emotional on senior night for our whole family. It’s nice to have his twin brother Charlie in our program now. He’s been a big reason that Sam’s playing with more confidence this year.
Seth: Well, the three of us are dads. We’re also husbands, so we’re not stupid. We’ve been married this long, we give all credit to the wives.
Q: What challenges lie ahead for Nebraska?
Seth:The running joke is that no matter what the situation is, it’s a problem. That’s how coaches think. So you’re undefeated. You’re having a dream season. What is this team’s biggest problem right now? And how are you gonna try to solve it?
Hoiberg: I still think we can be more physical. You saw some of that in the game tonight against Washington. We just have to continue to battle. We’re not the most athletic team. We’re not the fastest team. I do think we’re very well connected and that’s one of the reasons I think we’ve had success on both ends of the court. Those guys have been very disciplined on the defensive end. They follow a game plan and offensively they share the ball. We’ve got one of the best assists-to-turnover ratios in the country and they play with incredible unselfishness. So to me, the physicality is where we need to continue to grow. The Oregon game is probably the best. That’s a top 25 offensive rebounding team. We didn’t give them one in the first half and did a great job out-rebounding them tonight. You know, we got beat up a little bit, so we’ll have a good film session tomorrow. We’ll learn. It’s always better to learn from a win and need to continue to get better. Like I said, as soon as you get comfortable and complacent, you know, we’re going to be in trouble.
Seth: That target on your back is only going to get bigger. It’s not only fun watching you guys win, it’s fun watching you guys play. You’re so connected. You know, the individual parts are great, but the whole is greater than the sum. And it’s a great story for college basketball.
Q: What’s next in Charles Bediako’s court case?
Seth: Now, we are gonna be talking once again about something that happened off the court, inside of a court, and that is a courtroom in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. County Judge James Roberts issued a temporary restraining order against the NCAA in favor of Charles Bediako, who is a former center at Alabama. He left Alabama to put his name in the NBA Draft, went undrafted. He signed three different NBA contracts, including a two-way contract with the San Antonio Spurs, played in the G League with three different teams and has never played in an NBA game. This triggers a couple of clauses in the NCAA rule book that leaves him ineligible for competition. They ruled him ineligible, his lawyers took the NCAA to court and the judge instituted a temporary restraining order for 10 days.
He will have a preliminary injunction hearing on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Bediako is on campus at Tuscaloosa and hasn’t yet practiced with the team. He is eligible to play in their game on Saturday against Tennessee. Early indications and reports are that Nate Oats intends to play him. We’ll see if that actually happens.
Andy: I totally disagree with this decision, and the overall way of trying to use a local court to get your way. I don’t understand it from the Alabama team’s perspective. If you’re Nate Oats, you’re being kind of hypocritical here. He’s been quoted saying that this takes opportunities away from high school players. He was a former high school coach. It’s in his bones. You’re messing with your rotation. You’ve got a rotation. You’ve got a team that when they’re on and healthy, they could compete for the National Championship. And now, you want to bring in a guy sort of halfway through the SEC season and throw them in there? By the way, he may only be eligible for a game or two. We don’t know if it’s going to stick.
I don’t like it at all. And I don’t agree at all with the comparison to James Nnaji. He did not sign an NBA contract. He did not play in college basketball. Yes, he’s within the five years of his high school, but there is a difference with his case and Bediako’s.
Seth: So it’s a very dicey situation because people are complaining about the rules — so make the rules clear? But it raises the even more basic question, which is: can the NCAA legally enforce its rules? Because to your point, all it takes is one judge and one court to put on a TRO or an injunction. They can just kick the can down the road and say, while this is being adjudicated, this athlete’s allowed to play.
So this hearing that’s coming up next week is huge because if there is no injunction and that could be a sign that the courts are allowing the NCAA to enforce their eligibility rules. This is not like the NBA where you can just bring in a player on February 20th who fits a certain criteria and you can add them to the team. These are still institutions of higher education and somebody has to be enrolled in school.
Andy: We’re both fathers. And to me, young adults, have to make a decision. When you make that decision, there are consequences. His decision in this particular case was to leave college basketball after a couple of seasons, enter his name in the NBA Draft, and then become a professional. He made a decision. Great. Stick with it.
Seth: Well, I’m actually gonna disagree with you on that, Andy, to the point where I never begrudge somebody from exercising their legal rights. He wants to play, he wants to be able to make money. Even when Nate Oats made that comment about punishing the high school kids, if you have the opportunity to make your team better, you’re gonna do that. So I don’t necessarily begrudge people from chasing the opportunities that they want to chase.
So many people love to blame the NCAA. It’s not about the NCAA right now, except its relation and efforts with Congress. People talk about making athletes employees and creating a union and a CBA. That stuff is just not realistic. It’s just not going to happen. The hurdles are so high, the logistics are impossible. The NCAA needs to redouble its focus, get with Congress, as difficult as that is, and get some type of baseline of what the NCAA is allowed to do.
Andy: I think if you go into the draft undrafted, you shouldn’t be able to come back to school. We’re talking years since he played. He made a decision. I say grow up, move on with your life. Period.
Seth: Well, there’s more money coming his way. When people have a choice between growing up and making money, usually the money is going to win. But your point is well taken.
Q: Which injuries are posing the most challenges right now?
Seth: We talked with Fred Hoiberg about Braden Frager. A couple other significant injuries. Kyle Boswell, a guard from Illinois, broke his hand. They think he’s going to be out for maybe a month. Braden Huff at Gonzaga injured his knee. They’re hoping to get him back. Cam Williams at Kentucky broke his foot. Jayden Quaintance is nursing a bad knee there and Darryn Peterson has now rolled his ankle. Which one of those jumps out at you?
Andy: Well, to me, it’s Braden Huff. Michigan’s one-two punch up front with Huff and Graham Ike might have been the best frontcourt in the country. Ike has been banged up too. So you take Huff off and that puts a lot of pressure on Ike. They’re in the WCC, which isn’t as strong as it’s been, but St. Mary’s and Santa Clara are certainly capable of beating Gonzaga.
Seth: Yeah, I agree with you there. And you make a good point about Graham Ike. He’s banged up as well. You know, for Illinois to lose Kylan Boswell, remember, Andrej Stojakovic missed seven weeks of the summertime, before he came back. The international guys had visa issues. So I really felt like that Christmas break where they finally had some time just to practice, they got a lot better. They have a lot of talent on that team. Keaton Wagler is one of the greatest freshmen in college basketball.
But don’t get it twisted. Kylan Boswell is the head of the snake and they’re going to the Mackey Arena on Saturday to play the Purdue team that just lost in heartbreaking fashion at UCLA. So it’s really unfortunate because I do think that Illinois has a super high ceiling. To have your point guard out for a month and have to reintegrate him when he comes back is going to be a big time challenge for Illinois.
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