Huskers Reflect On Influence Of Kobe

Fred Hoiberg grew up idolizing Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and, later on, Michael Jordan.
 
The Nebraska basketball coach knew the profound effect those players had on him as a younger player. So he understood how Kobe Bryant, a "larger than life figure" in the basketball world, Hoiberg said, influenced today's players, Huskers included.
 
That's why on Sunday, when news broke that Bryant, the retired Los Angeles Lakers superstar, was among nine people who died in a helicopter crash in California, Hoiberg felt the importance to meet as a team and discuss the unthinkable tragedy.
 
During an "extremely emotional" gathering, Hoiberg said, players and coaches talked about Bryant's greatness, his passion for the game, his work ethic and the effect he had on them as individuals.
 
Senior guard Haanif Cheatham remembers growing up and yelling "Kobe!" each time he threw a wad of paper in the trash can, a tradition countless others from that era know well, and will carry with them.
 
"It's something nobody else in the game of sports can bring," Cheatham said Monday. "It's eye-opening for everybody. It's shocking and devastating and something that's probably not going to feel right today, next week or a couple of months."
 
Cheatham was finishing lifting weights when he saw the news of Bryant's death. He immediately called his mother and other family members and told them he loved them.
 
"You just never know," Cheatham said. "Just for someone like that, who you think can't go away like that, and for it to happen, it makes you put life in a different perspective. It makes you enjoy every moment that you got."
 
While his players worshiped the man they simply called "Kobe" mostly from their television sets or through social media, Hoiberg knew him up close. A 10-year NBA veteran player, Hoiberg played against Bryant, most memorably as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2004 Western Conference Finals.
 
"To compete against him, you could tell right away, he was a rookie coming in to the second biggest market, in L.A., and from the get-go you knew he had it," Hoiberg said. "The way he competed was the thing that stood out the most. You hear all the stories behind the scenes, his work ethic, being at the gym at 2 in the morning, taking a nap and getting back up the next morning and doing it all over again.
 
"There's a reason he'll go down as one of the all-time great players. A lot of it had to do with his work ethic and his passion and his killer mentality. He just had that, 'late in the game, give me the ball, I'm going to win the game for us.' "
 
Hoiberg shared his personal story of Bryant's work ethic from when he coached the Chicago Bulls. Three hours before a game between the Bulls and Lakers, when most players would let a short team review of the game plan suffice for that day's preparation after having played the previous night, Hoiberg witnessed Bryant "in a full lather" during a workout with a ball boy.
 
"Here's a guy that's probably got 20 games left in his career and he's out there in an empty gym, all by himself working on his craft," Hoiberg said. "You just don't see that very much anymore with today's player. For him to be out there and to kind of share a moment in an empty gym with him is something that I'll never forget."

Shifting Focus to Michigan
 
The mood at the outset was sullen, Hoiberg said, but eventually players picked up the pace and had a sharp practice for Tuesday's 5 p.m. (MT game against Michigan at Pinnacle Bank Arena. (Listen live on KSID 1340 AM, 95.7 FM)
 
Nebraska (7-13, 2-7 Big Ten Conference) has a five-game losing streak after Saturday's last-second 75-72 loss at No. 24 Rutgers, yet Hoiberg has reason to be encouraged. The average margin of defeat in the five losses is seven points, a reason to believe Hoiberg when he says his team is close to a breakthrough.
 
"Well, I'll say this, our guys have, even though we're going through a losing streak right now, they continue to come in to prepare the right way," Hoiberg said. "They're very attentive in the film sessions. They're taking the criticism constructively, and they're applying that to the court when we go out and play."
 
Last week, Nebraska outscored a tough, physical Wisconsin team by 20 points in the paint, but succumbed to the Badgers' 18 made 3-pointers. The Huskers again held their own against an even more physical Rutgers team, equaling the Scarlet Knights' 30 points in the paint after being outscored there 52-24 in a 16-point loss in Lincoln earlier in the season.
 
"So, we're getting there," Hoiberg said. "And that's, again, this league's a monster, man. Every time you step on the floor, it's going to be a battle and a war, and you have to bring your hard hat."
 
Including when the opponent is on a four-game losing streak and missing its star point guard.
 
Michigan began its first season under coach Juwan Howard with a 7-0 record but has since lost 8 of 12 games. The Wolverines are also coming off a last-second loss, at home to Illinois, that dropped their Big Ten record to 2-6.
 
Isaiah Livers, the team's second-leading scorer during the undefeated start, had missed six straight games because of injury before returning against Illinois, but he left that game with another injury, leaving his status questionable. In a more recent development, though, Howard announced Monday that point guard Zavier Simpson, the Big Ten's assists leader, who also averages 13 points, is suspended and won't play.
 
Simpson is a key cog in the Wolverines' offense. He ranks fifth in the country in assist rate (44.1 percent) and was playing a team-high 37.1 minutes in Big Ten games. He's 64-21 as Michigan's starting point guard with a Final Four and Sweet 16 appearance, and his 588 assists are second in program history.
 
Nebraska, meanwhile, boasts its own assists king, as sophomore point guard Cam Mack has 133 assists and needs three more to crack Nebraska's single-season top 10 list. Mack's 6.7 assists per game ranks 13^th nationally. He also leads the Huskers in scoring at 13.3 points per game, and his 32 made 3-pointers rank second on the team, that after he made a season-high four against Rutgers.
 
Michigan has won 10 of 11 games against Nebraska since the Huskers joined the Big Ten in 2011-12. The Huskers' lone victory came in Lincoln in 2017-18, a 75-52 margin.
 
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- Brian Rosenthal