Fred Hoiberg recaps 2021 class, previews season

With its 2021 early signing period in the books and the start of the season now just over one week away, Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg and assistant coach Matt Abdelmassih met with media on Monday to give the latest on the program.

Here’s a full recap of what Hoiberg and Abdelmassih had to say during his Zoom press conference…

***Hoiberg said he was “relatively confident” that Nebraska’s 2020-21 schedule would begin on Nov. 25, but the first opponent was still TBD. He said he hoped that the non-conference schedule would be released in the next 24-48 hours.

***Hoiberg said they still had six more practices over the next nine days before the first game, which would include a couple more full scrimmages.

***Hoiberg said they hoped to play two games in the Golden Window Classic.

***Hoiberg said, “we’re just worried about ourselves right now,” with the schedule still very much in flux. He said preparations for that first game wouldn’t start until Monday anyway, regardless of who they played.

***Hoiberg said the team held an intra-squad scrimmage at Pinnacle Bank Arena last weekend with Big Ten refs. He said the team experienced a different setting, and it provided a spark after a long offseason.

***Hoiberg said Nebraska added “three really quality players” in its 2021 class recruiting class this week.

On Keisei Tominaga, Hoiberg said he was “as good as any shooter in the country” and was the focal point for every opponent at Ranger (Texas) College. The fact that he still put up those shooting numbers was extremely impressive.

On Wilhelm Breidenbach, Hoiberg said first saw him at last year’s NBA Top 100 Camp and was immediately impressed. Hoiberg called him an “incredible passer,” especially with his left hand. Breidenbach’s combination of skills would be a perfect blend for their system, Hoiberg said.

On Bryce McGowens, Hoiberg said his commitment showed the direction of where the program was heading. He noted that Bryce’s brother, junior guard Trey McGowens, obviously played a big part in the recruitment, especially with Trey telling Bryce about his NU experience both on and off the court.

***Hoiberg said his ultimate goal for Nebraska was “to compete for championships.”

“If I didn’t think we could get there, I wouldn’t have taken this job,” Hoiberg said.

***Hoiberg said Nebraska was prepared for potential disruptions caused by COVID-19 setbacks. “You have to have a plan in case something does happen, and we do have that… We’re just doing the best we can.”

Hoiberg said that the plan started with the Huskers controlling themselves as much as possible by being safe off the court, but he knew even that wouldn’t protect the team altogether.

***Hoiberg said Teddy Allen was “terrific” in the team’s recent scrimmage, scoring 29 points. Hoiberg said Allen was the benefactor of excellent ball movement on offense.

***He said the assist-to-turnover ratio was “excellent” and was roughly 2.5-to-1 for the Red team (Allen’s team).

***Hoiberg said Nebraska was more athletic on defense, especially with the ability to roll out a lineup full of guys 6-7 or taller. The roster versatility was something that would be a real luxury they didn’t have last season.

***While Nebraska did lose Akol Arop to a season-ending knee surgery, Hoiberg said the rest of the roster was “good to go” on the injury front right now.

***In a recruiting cycle with little-to-no visits or in-person recruiting due to COVID-19, Abdelmassih said, “relationships are the ones that are carrying through” when it came to finding other ways to sell a program.

He said strong relationships paid off with all three signees and gave credit to the resources and support they’d gotten within the athletic department and university.

***Abdelmassih said landing two high school recruits in the 2021 class showed that while they’ve always been “aggressive in the transfer market,” they’re going to recruit the best players they can from any level.

***That said, don’t think Nebraska won’t continue to work the transfer market as hard as any team in the country: “We’ll never neglect transfers. That would be like neglecting free agency (in the NBA),” Abdelmassih said.

***Abdelmassih said he needed a translator for the initial recruiting calls with Tominaga and his family, but Tominaga had “really improved drastically” his English over the past year. Abdelmassih called Tominaga one of the hardest workers he’d ever seen.

***Abdelmassih said Breidenbach “was the priority at that position” from the day they first saw him play. “He brings the versatility at that spot that is something we desperately need.”

***On how he viewed adding the talent they did with the 2021 class: “If you give Fred Hoiberg that kind of talent to develop, good luck guarding them.”

***Abdelmassih said with McGowens, the “NBA talk” that came with his recruiting profile was something Nebraska could use on future targets.

***With the new one-time transfer rule, Abdelmassih said it “will probably give my wife one more reason to be pissed off with me in the spring” with how much more he’s going to have to manage the roster.

***Abdelmassih said Allen was a victim of people “judging a book by its cover,” and Allen had been everything Nebraska could have been hoped since he arrived on campus. “We haven’t had one issue with him.”

***On the hallmarks of the 2021 class, Abdelmassih said the first would be the overall skill level. In particular, the shot-making ability that he said was “borderline at an elite level.”

***Abdelmassih said he was a big supporter of the free year of eligibility the NCAA awarded players for this season, and Nebraska had already had conversations with seniors Thorir Thorbjarnarson and Kobe Webster about it. But for now, he said it was “far too premature” to know where that situation stood for the Huskers.