Huskers welcome Walker’s addition to lineup

Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg and junior forward Derrick Walker met with media on Monday afternoon to discuss the Huskers’ upcoming road game at Purdue on Tuesday night.

Here is a full recap of what they had to say…

***Nebraska will add a big piece to its rotation on Tuesday night when junior forward Derrick Walker joins the mix after being suspended for the first 11 games of the season.

Hoiberg said the addition Walker would hopefully “demand a lot of attention” from opposing defenses regarding guarding him in the paint, especially on pick-and-roll actions, because of his ability to finish at the rim.

Hoiberg hopes that Walker’s presence will help NU’s interior offense and open up more shots on the perimeter with defenses having to close in on Walker.

***Hoiberg said Nebraska would have to be patient with Walker as he worked his way back into game shape. Walker hasn’t played in a live college basketball game since the 2018-19 season, so he’ll be “playing a lot of catch up” with his game conditioning.

Hoiberg said it was hard to predict how many minutes Walker would be able to provide at Purdue, and they would have to “monitor him closely” during the game. How many minutes Walker plays will likely come down to how he feels as the game goes along, Hoiberg said.

***Hoiberg said he watches film individually with Trey McGowens after every game, and one of the things they talked about after the Ohio State loss was the junior guard needing to be more aggressive offensively.

Hoiberg pointed out to McGowens how good he’s been when he’s “in attack mode.” McGowens took “a huge step in the right direction” with that against Michigan State, and now the key would be for McGowens to be smarter with how he attacked the rim.

Hoiberg wants him to be aggressive, but he can’t go one-on-three in transition like he did a couple of times vs. MSU.

***Hoiberg said a lot of what has changed close games into losses this season have been failures in “little things” that have made significant impacts. Hoiberg pointed to better defensive rotations, getting back faster in transition, and better effort in defensive rebounding as areas that needed the most work.

***Hoiberg said Purdue got the ball into All-Big Ten forward Trevion Williams 15 times on the left block against Rutgers, and he expects the Boilermakers to do the same thing to Nebraska. He said containing Williams in the paint would be critical.

***Hoiberg said Purdue ran more action than anyone else in the league. “They run 800 sets,” he said, and have a lot of good shooters, especially Sasha Stefanovic, who’s shooting 50.7 percent from 3-point range.

Hoiberg said NU couldn’t let Purdue set up easy catch-and-shoots because of how well they executed their half-court offense and how many shooters they have on the floor at all times.

***Walker said he learned a lot about himself since transferring to Nebraska in 2019. He said sitting out had been hard, but he’s used the time off to get in the gym as much as possible to improve himself while also trying to make his team better.

***Walker said he hoped he could bring more energy and confidence to the Huskers going forward while also trying to “help us come together a little more.” He said he wants his teammates to hold their heads up and keep fighting despite a poor start.

***Walker said right now expected to get a little tired in his first couple of Big Ten games, but he was excited about the challenge.

***Along with NU’s coaching staff, Walker said his family, teammates, and even Nebraska fans had all given him great support during his time sitting out, especially during his suspension to open the year.

***Walker knows he’ll be getting thrown into the fire right away against Williams and Purdue’s frontcourt, but said he’s ready.

“I’ve just got to be ready for the challenge…” Walker said. “It’s nothing you can be scared of. I just want to go out and play my hardest and try to help my team win.”