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Nebraska

Kojenets makes the most of first big opportunity at Colorado

Robin Washut profile picby: Robin Washut10/31/22RobinWashut
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(Photo: Nebraska Athletics)

Nebraska has a potential issue on its hands with the indefinite absence of starting center and sixth-year senior Derrick Walker.

Walker missed Sunday’s exhibition game at Colorado due to what head coach Fred Hoiberg would only call “healthcare reasons.” That left junior college transfer, Blaise Keita, taking Walker’s place in the starting lineup.

However, Oleg Kojenets, arguably the least expected member of the Huskers’ frontcourt, capitalized most on the situation.

The 7-foot-2 redshirt freshman played 15 minutes off the bench. He finished with six points on 3-of-4 shooting, three rebounds, and a blocked shot in his first true collegiate test.

Kojenets saw four more minutes than Keita and ended up with a team-high plus/minus of 12. He was the only Nebraska player to post above a 1.

“I thought he was really good,” Hoiberg said. “I was really happy with Oleg. He’s shown a lot of promise, and he’s gotten better since he’s been in Lincoln. He’s putting in a ton of time, and it’s good to see it pay off when he gets his first real minutes out there. 

“Yeah, he was definitely a bright spot for us tonight.”

Kojenets’ performance was no surprise to Huskers

Kojenets’ performance was especially impressive because it came against a Colorado frontcourt loaded with height, length, and talent. 

The Lithuanian played primarily against 7-1 center Lawson Lovering, 6-9 forward Tristan da Silva, and 6-11 center Joe Hurlburt.

There may have been some surprise over Kojenets’ performance for most Nebraska fans that had never seen him play outside of pre-game warmups. But it didn’t shock his coaches and teammates, like senior point guard Sam Griesel, in the least.

“I wasn’t surprised,” Griesel said. “He works his butt off, that’s for sure. It’s nice to see him kind of come into his own today. Hopefully, we can see more of that down the stretch.”

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