Four Months – University of Nebraska

Quarantine Life and Humble Beginnings

Being back home with no basketball was interesting, to say the least.

The last summer I was home without a national team assignment was when I was 14 years old. Not to mention all of the gyms were closed, and there was no contact allowed with the quarantine regulations in place. That left me with all of the time in the world for running, home workouts and reconnecting with my roots.

It’s crazy to remember how my whole basketball journey started as nothing but a dream. I was a seven-year-old gym rat that spent every second possible in the team gym across the street. And just a few short years later, I was a Division A Under-20 player that was getting noticed by the University of Nebraska. 

In the strangest of ways, my situation this past summer brought me full circle.

It made me remember the phone call my dad received from the Nebraska coaching staff, asking me to come visit. Just three weeks later, I was on a plane to Nebraska and committed on the spot. 

And a month later, just like that, I said goodbye to my family and friends in Iceland, and headed towards Husker nation. 

It was challenging as a 19-year-old to fly across the ocean and live in another country without family and friends. Thank God for Facetime.

But all of that is long in the past. 

This summer, I focused on doing everything I could to be prepared for when school started back up. 

Luckily, Iceland eventually eased up on the restrictions enough for me to finally get back on the basketball court.

I was fortunate to find other players that played overseas or in the league at home to connect with for five-on-five practice. If only for a moment, it was a good way for all of us to just focus on the game we loved.

But my mind always kept going back to Nebraska. As an upperclassman and one of the leaders on the team, it was really difficult being away from my teammates for so long.

We did have Zoom meetings from time to time, but it was tough with guys coming in from different time zones. You do what you have to do to make things work given the circumstances, but honestly, I just wanted to be back on campus.