You don’t start 15-0 without a coaching staff that’s in sync.
And you don’t start winning each day apparently until you get that quality run in if you’re Husker assistant Nate Loenser. It’s what gets his mind going, Fred Hoiberg said good-naturedly about his long-time assistant.
“And if he doesn’t go on his run he’s very crabby,” said the Husker head coach on ‘Sports Nightly’ this week. “I’ve never been around somebody as wired as he is. And I’m telling you the consistency he brings on a daily basis to get into the guys and then not let them get comfortable. You see the passion in the huddles and you see the passion on the sidelines jumping around on every possession. It really is remarkable what he’s accomplished.”
Loenser definitely deserves credit for his detailed planning, teaching and motivating that has helped the Husker defense function at such a high level during this school record start.
Along with that, Hoiberg points to all the working parts of this staff who seem to be pressing the right buttons to have Nebraska ranked No. 10 in the country heading into a matchup at Indiana on Saturday.
“We do a lot of station work (and) I kind of have broken it down: I have an offensive staff with Coach (Ernie) Zeigler and Coach (Pat) Monaghan,” Hoiberg said during his monthly radio appearance. “And then Nate will have a couple of the other full-time guys on staff – Justin Moore and Padyn Borders and the staff he has got working on that side of the ball.”
In that 72-69 win over Ohio State on Monday, “it was won on the defensive end,” Hoiberg said. Yet there was also a key moment where Zeigler hatched up something that could highlight Braden Frager and let him go to work after the Buckeyes defense has caused Nebraska second-half turbulence.
Say no more to the freshman Frager, who finished with a team-high 15 and scored on two and-1 plays in the late minutes of the game. One such take to the hoop with 32 seconds left put the Huskers up 70-65 and proved the difference by the end.
Frager gained confidence last year while on the scout team, Hoiberg said, and he doesn’t get intimidated by big moments.
“You put the ball in his hand and you tell him to go make a play – he loves that. He loves when you put that type of confidence in him,” Hoiberg said. “The thing I’ve been really proud of Braden is how he’s growing on the other end and how he’s growing in other areas of his game.”
Hoiberg was proud of the whole squad for fighting to that Quad 1 win at Ohio State just three days after an emotional and rugged 58-56 victory against Michigan State. Those games after playing the Spartans in the Big Ten are like those Hoiberg used to have after playing the Jayhawks in the Big 12.
“The game after Kansas was generally a letdown type game, whether you won or lost,” Hoiberg said. “You were beat up, the emotions. Especially if you played them at home and then had to go on the road the next game – and that’s kind of what it was. After a two-day prep after playing Michigan State we knew it was going to be tough.”
The Huskers got a lot of mental reps leading into the Ohio State game with Hoiberg preaching a strong start.
In two words, the objective was, “Duplicate Illinois.”
Sure enough.
The Huskers jumped over the Illini early on the road, thanks to Pryce Sandfort’s hot shooting, and then they did the same thing to Ohio State. The lead grew to 27-13. Even though the Buckeyes would rally to take the lead, having that early cushion allowed NU to be standing in position to grab the W even after OSU made its runs.
“You take the crowd out of it when you have that type of start … We went through a really tough stretch and then found a way to make big plays when it mattered most,” Hoiberg said.
The Huskers won even though Rienk Mast and Pryce Sandfort were cold from the field. Just like they won against Michigan State despite shooting just 7-of-29 (24 percent) in the second half. That game also featured a bizarre stat line of going just 5-of-20 inside the arc against the Spartans.
NU did make 13 three-pointers, but winning with just five two-point makes offered another example of finding a way to win no matter the route the game takes on. And even no matter the percentage the long ball is falling.
“That was the question with this team was when we had an off night shooting were we going to have enough to end up on top,” Hoiberg said. “I think we’ve proven that.”
It’s been proven Hoiberg has a pretty strong operating system around him too.
“It’s a full-staff effort,” he said. “I’m very appreciate of all the work our guys do.”