Thorir Thorbjarnarson to Pursue Professional Career

Nebraska guard Thorir Thorbjarnarson announced Friday that he has decided to pursue a professional career and will not use his extra season of eligibility at Nebraska. 

Thorbjarnarson, a 6-foot-6 guard from Reykjavik, Iceland, played four seasons for the Huskers, appearing in 93 games, including 43 starts for the Big Red. He totaled 444 career points, 292 rebounds and 119 assists during his time as the Huskers made postseason appearances in 2018 and 2019. 

“Thorir has been a leader in our program and has done everything we’ve asked of him over the last two seasons,” Nebraska Coach Fred Hoiberg said. “He has represented Nebraska the right way, and everyone in our program appreciates the contributions he has made to Husker basketball. We will continue to support him as he starts the next step of his basketball journey.”

Last season, he played in all 27 games, including 12 starts, for the Huskers, averaging 3.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He returned to the starting lineup for the Huskers’ last five games and played some of his best basketball, averaging 6.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. He ended the season with season bests in both points (12) and 3-pointers (four) against Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament. 

He enjoyed his best season in 2019-20, making 24 starts and setting career highs in points (8.8 ppg), rebounds (4.8 rpg), steals (1.1 spg) and 3-pointers (48). He ranked among the conference leaders in steals (10th) and 3-point percentage (.372), while posting 13 double-figure games. Thorbjarnarson set a career high in points with 17 on three occasions and tallied two games with five 3-pointers. 

Off the court, Thorbjarnarson was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten performer and 2020 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. He is currently a candidate for CoSIDA Academic All-America accolades and is on track to graduate next month with a degree in psychology.