Sam Hoiberg is making the most of his opportunity for Nebraska, and dad couldn't be prouder
Whether he was aware of it or not, Fred Hoiberg decided to make an example of his son during one of Nebraska’s practices earlier this season.
After redshirt freshman guard Sam Hoiberg committed a bad turnover, his father made him run as punishment. As Sam was sprinting up and down the court, sixth-year senior Derrick Walker approached his coach with an observation.
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“’That was funny, Coach, that you made Sam do that,’” Fred Hoiberg recalled Walker telling him.
It’s likely difficult for Fred, an Iowa State basketball legend and 10-year NBA veteran, not to hold a higher bar for his sons on the court. Unlike his eldest, Jack, and other twin son, Charlie, Sam is the first Hoiberg boy to play on his father’s team.
As much as Fred tries to treat Sam like every other Husker, he admits that sometimes his expectations are a little higher at times for one of his twins.
“I guess it’s just human nature to be a little bit harder on your kid,” Fred said. “But I try to treat everybody the same regardless of who it is. Sam’s no different in that.”
Sam Hoiberg shines in true Husker debut
Fred and Sam’s coach-player relationship reached a new high point on Wednesday night vs. Northwestern. With injuries piling up on Nebraska’s roster, Sam was vaulted to the Huskers’ No. 3 point guard role.
He responded with, by far, the most productive outing of his young career, playing nearly 18 minutes off the bench and scoring six points. He also led NU with six rebounds and had two of the team’s two offensive boards.
Most impressive of all was his final plus/minus of +11, which led all Huskers by a wide margin. In fact, the next closest player was redshirt freshman Denim Dawson, who, at +1, was the only other positive +/- on the team.
Given Nebraska’s limited available roster, Sam will continue to play meaningful minutes for the remainder of the season. As much as Fred may push him, he also couldn’t be prouder of how Sam has capitalized on his opportunity.
“I’m proud of him for the way he went out there,” Fred said. “Any time you get your first significant minutes, there’s generally a lot of nerves. I remember my first minutes in a playoff series vs. the Bulls; I threw the ball right to Scottie Pippen.
“The thing about Sam is he works. He’s always in here getting extra shots. He’s a confident kid. They get that from their mother. He just went out there and played hard and did a lot of really good things for us, including rebounding… I just thought he made a really good impact on the game.”
