With Tominaga back on board, Hoiberg not hiding excitement for next season
After Keisei Tominaga officially confirmed to Fred Hoiberg on Wednesday that he was returning to Nebraska, the head coach needed some help putting out a celebratory tweet.
“I asked Keisei how to say ‘LFG’ in Japanese, and he sent me a little (translation),” Hoiberg said. “I don’t know if it was exact or not, Keisei?”
Tominaga: “Not exactly.”
“As close as we could get,” Hoiberg added.
The fifth-year NU coach was hardly the only one excited about the senior guard’s decision. Tominaga’s announcement tweet has now registered more than 2.3 million views and 17,000 likes, further confirming his status as a Husker fan favorite.
Tominaga said he learned a lot from his pre-draft experience, especially his workout with the Indiana Pacers earlier this week.
He said he didn’t come to a final decision to return to Nebraska until right before Wednesday’s early entry withdrawal deadline. Ultimately, the opportunity to continue his basketball development in Lincoln was a primary factor.
But the overwhelming support he’d received from Husker fans was also a critical factor.
“That was one of the reasons why I wanted to come back, was the fan support,” Tominaga said. “Those fans are amazing. I’m just so excited to come back here.”
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Keeping Tominaga was a top priority for Nebraska
Tominaga’s passion and energy on the court certainly contributed to his Nebraska celebrity last season. But his breakout finish to the year turned him into arguably the face of the program.
From Feb. 1 on, Tominaga ranked third in the Big Ten in scoring behind only National Player of the Year Zach Edey of Purdue and Indiana All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis.
He finished second in the conference over that span in two-point field goal percentage. He was one of only six players nationally to shoot 50% from the field, 40% on 3-pointers, and 85% from the free-throw line.
Tominaga’s play was a driving force behind Nebraska posting the league’s best record during that stretch.
That’s why Hoiberg said getting the Moriyama Nagoya Aichi, Japan, native back was critical for the Huskers this offseason.
“One of the biggest needs for us this offseason was to get Keisei back in a Husker uniform,” Hoiberg said. “We could not be more excited about that.”
Huskers are hoping for even more from Tominaga in 2023-24
Because of that late-season success, Tominaga won’t be a secret to anyone next season.
He said he was excited about the challenge of being a priority on opposing scouting reports. Tominaga also hoped that any additional attention teams pay to him would create opportunities for his teammates.
The Huskers added some immediate-impact firepower through the transfer portal this offseason. But Hoiberg has no plans of scaling back Tominaga’s involvement in NU’s offense.
“We still want him to shoot a lot,” Hoiberg said. “With the numbers that he put up – with the degree of difficulty of his shots, to put up the percentages that he did, I think is the most impressive part of Keisei’s finish to the year. When you can shoot over 50 and over 40, you just don’t realize how hard that is…
“As far as the question of what his role is going to be, his role is going to be the same as it was… We want him shooting the ball as much, maybe even more.”
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Around the rim
***There’s been a lot of talk about the gains Tominaga has made with his strength and conditioning this offseason. He told HuskerOnline that he was currently up to around 185 pounds.
That’s a significant increase from the end of last season when he weighed 173.
***Hoiberg raved about the “infectious” energy Tominaga brought to the court. He noted Nebraska’s game at Penn State last season when cameras caught Tominaga giving the bird to Nittany Lion fans.
“You see it – the impact and excitement of our fanbase when he did announce that he’s coming back,” Hoiberg said. “The thing I love about this kid is just the joy that he plays this game with and the fun that he has.
“He flipped off the crowd on the road last year. Love that. He’s just so infectious, and it’s what this game’s all about when you have a guy playing with the joy that he plays with every time he steps on the floor.”
***Tominaga leaves for Japan on Monday to begin preparations for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, where he’ll represent his country with the Japan National Team.
Assuming he makes the team, he will likely miss Nebraska’s foreign trip to Spain. He might not be back in Lincoln until after the start of the fall semester. It all depends on how far Japan advances in the tournament.
***Hoiberg said Nebraska developed a specific training schedule for Tominaga while he’s gone this summer. They hope to balance his focus on basketball with continuing his strength gains.
***Hoiberg said he and his staff had been paying close attention to the NBA Playoffs for new ways to create open looks for Tominaga next season. One of those strategies will be continuing to use him as a screener to put stress on defenses and create shots for his teammates.
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Other roster notes
***Nebraska opens its summer workouts on Monday, and Hoiberg said the team would jump right into installing its offensive and defensive concepts. The accelerated offseason due to the Spain trip is a big reason why.
***Hoiberg said Charlotte transfer Brice Williams was “a huge pickup” because of the versatility he brought to the Huskers on both ends of the floor.
***Freshman Eli Rice measured in at almost 6-foot-8 upon his arrival in Lincoln this week. Hoiberg said the IMG Academy product had “a very bright future” ahead with the Huskers.
***Redshirt freshman guard Ramel Lloyd Jr. is another player Hoiberg said had made “big gains” in the weight room this offseason.
***Hoiberg said forward Juwan Gary was “almost full strength now” coming off his season-ending shoulder injury. Gary will do some on-court work on Monday, but NU’s trainers likely won’t clear him for full contact for another month or so.
***Center Blaise Keita underwent offseason ankle surgery and will do some light on-court work on Monday. He’s still not doing much jumping, but he has been working a lot on spot shooting.
Hoiberg said Keita would be cleared for full activity in about three or four weeks. He’ll likely be limited in the Spain games.
***New Mexico transfer forward Josiah Allick is also on track with recovering from offseason ankle surgery. Hoiberg hopes Allick will be cleared around the same time as Keita and could see some action in Spain.
However, Hoiberg made it clear that he wouldn’t rush any player back too soon for a summer exhibition game.
***Iowa transfer Ahron Ulis has the most experience of any Husker as a high-major point guard. But Hoiberg said pretty much every player on the roster – maybe besides Keita – could bring the ball up and initiate the offense.
At times, Nebraska will also count on Tominaga and Jamarques Lawrence as primary lead guards.
