Fred Hoiberg ‘very optimistic’ about this Husker basketball team

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Nebraska basketball coach Fred Hoiberg and senior guard Sam Griesel, a Lincoln East grad, spoke to media Monday about the current state of the team.

Griesel, a North Dakota State transfer, is recovering from a surgery repairing the labrum in his hip, but Hoiberg said he is “way ahead of schedule and has no pain right now.”

He is expected to be back mid-July, but being sidelined isn’t stopping him from making an impact already.

“The one thing that impressed me about Sam Griesel when he came on his visit, all he talked about was winning,” Hoiberg said. “He didn’t talk about, you know, ‘What’s my role? How many shots am I going to get? How many minutes am I going to play?’ I just want to win. And I wanted to help take Nebraska basketball where it’s never been before. It’s refreshing to hear that. But to have somebody that’s had a passion for this program from a young age makes a huge difference. And that’s, that’s what I’ve seen out of Sam, and I know it’s gonna stay true for the entire season.”

Griesel is spending time watching film and doing what he can to help build a positive culture within the team.

“I’ve been personally really impressed with, is just the amount of knowledge that coach Hoiberg has, and the whole coaching staff,” Griesel said.  “Just watching the other guys and the terminology that they use is way different than what I’m used to. But it’s so, it’s so professional, and the team has really ran professionally. And it’s been really it’s been a joy to just get in everyday and learn so much.”

He said he has a unique perspective coming from being a Husker fan to now a player.

“I never saw myself as a Nebraska basketball player, and now the fact that I know what that means to the kids in this community, hopefully I can spread that across our team and we can be playing for something bigger than ourselves,” Griesel said.

The team workouts right now consist of a few days of individual skill work with a little bit of work as an offensive or defensive unit. The Huskers also are doing a team workout once a week, followed by 20 minutes of playing. They end the week with a film session, and then the players play pickup on their own.

“I’m very optimistic about this group doing the little things that it takes to win those close games, to execute down the stretch to where we can be on the other end of those close ones this year,” Hoiberg said.

“I’ve been really impressed with, with the new guys … they really exceeded my expectations as far as what they’ve done for the chemistry of this group,” Hoiberg said. “And, you know, it’s not only in this gym, but these guys are hanging out together, they’ve been together as a team off the court every week, they’re doing a couple team activities together. It’s really been a lot of fun to see how this group has come together in a short amount of time.”