Sam Griesel Joins Husker Basketball Program

Two-Time All-Summit League Performer Returns to Lincoln

Nebraska Men’s Basketball Head Coach Fred Hoiberg announced the addition of two-time All-Summit League performer Sam Griesel (pronounced GREE-sull) to the Husker program.

Griesel is a 6-foot-6, 220-pound guard from Lincoln who had spent the previous four seasons at North Dakota State University, helping the school to a pair of Summit League Tournament titles (2018-19 and 2019-20), including an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2019. He returns to his hometown after playing his high school ball at Lincoln East and will have one season of eligibility remaining. Griesel played in 99 games in four seasons at North Dakota State, including 87 starts, and totaled nearly 1,000 points along with 558 rebounds and 225 assists.

“Sam brings a lot of experience, leadership and versatility to our program,” Hoiberg said. “He’s a physical guard who can all over the floor for us with his combination of size, skill and basketball IQ. He’s played point guard at North Dakota State the past two years and gives us a bigger guard who can match up well in the Big Ten.  Sam is a four-year starter who has played in the NCAA Tournament and understands what it takes to win at a high level. He’s also excited to come back home and represent Nebraska, and we are pleased to add him to the Husker program.”

In 2021-22, Griesel was a first-team All-Summit League selection after leading North Dakota State to a 23-10 record and a runner-up finish in both the regular season and conference tournament. He averaged 14.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, while shooting 48 percent from the field, including 38 percent from 3-point range. He ranked among the conference leaders in scoring (13th), rebounding (fifth), assists (fifth), assist-to-turnover rate (1.7-to-1, third) and minutes played (33.4, fourth).  He totaled 20-or-more points 10 times, including six of the final eight games of the season. He had 24 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the Bison’s loss to South Dakota State in the Summit League Tournament title game.

He earned second-team all-conference honors as a junior, taking over the point guard role and averaging 11.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. He had 16 double-figure games, highlighted by a season-high 26 points against South Dakota, and five games with at least 10 rebounds. He totaled nine points and 12 rebounds in a loss to Nebraska in Lincoln during the 2020-21 season. He played in 22 games as a sophomore, including 13 starts, and averaged 6.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game despite missing significant time with a knee injury. Griesel earned a spot on the Summit League All-Tournament team as he averaged 9.0 points and 7.7 rebounds in helping the Bison win the Summit League crown.  As a freshman, he started 22 games for a team that won 19 games before falling to Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

He earned Super-State honors from the Lincoln Journal Star at Lincoln East High School, averaging 17.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game as Lincoln East won a school-record 24 games and reached the Class A (largest class) state tournament in 2018.