Fastbreak: Huskers working their way back after layoff

Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg met with local media on Tuesday for the first time since the Huskers’ three-week shutdown due to COVID-19.

Here is a full rundown of what he had to say as NU prepares for its return game at Michigan State on Saturday…

***After a rough first practice back on Sunday, Hoiberg said Tuesday’s session was much better. The Huskers only had seven available players on Sunday, but they were back up to 10 on Tuesday after two players returned from non-COVID illnesses.

Hoiberg said the team “got up and down” the floor on Tuesday and held a full scrimmage. While Tuesday was better, Hoiberg admitted that NU was “still a long ways away from being where we need to be, and rightfully so” after a three-week layoff.

***Sophomore point guard Dalano Banton sprained his ankle during Sunday’s practice, and Hoiberg said Banton was held out on Tuesday. Hoiberg said Banton’s ankle was “still very tender,” and he would be considered day-to-day going forward.

The good news was Banton has “responded well in the past” from injuries, and NU would try to do more with him on Wednesday.

***Hoiberg said two players were still going through the team’s return to play protocol and were not yet cleared to practice fully. However, he expected both of those players would be cleared by the end of the week.

***Hoiberg said NU would hold another full scrimmage on Wednesday and then “back off” the workload on Thursday and Friday.

***Hoiberg said trying to get a team back into game shape like this reminded him of his old NBA teams coming back after the All-Star break.

***When comparing Michigan State’s rough return from its COVID pause earlier this year to what Nebraska might go through, Hoiberg noted that MSU was off for 17 days, while NU paused for 20.

***Hoiberg said that the mental struggle of the three-week pause was the most challenging part of all for the players. Having to be isolated for 10 days with no in-person contact with anyone was not easy for the players, especially those who weren’t experiencing any noticeable symptoms.

“It’s been hard on guys and coaches, but all we can do is worry about the next day and try to get through the best we can,” he said.

***Hoiberg said Nebraska never talked about shutting down the season for good during their layoff.

“No, that was never discussed,” Hoiberg said.

***In addition to Nebraska’s next three games at Michigan State (Feb. 6), at Minnesota (Feb. 8), and vs. Wisconsin (Feb. 11), Hoiberg said the next game at Penn State on Feb. 14 had been confirmed on the schedule.

After that, though, everything was still up in the air.

***Hoiberg said the hope for Nebraska and the Big Ten was still to get all remaining 15 regular-season games played, which could include playing back-to-back games vs. the same opponent, “but nothing has been finalized.”

***Hoiberg said he never felt like he needed to go to the hospital during his bout with COVID, but he did lose about 10 pounds during his recovery.

***When Nebraska does return to action on Saturday, Hoiberg said he mainly wants to see the Huskers continue to “take steps in the right direction and to get back to competing” at the Big Ten level.

However, he said he was also “a realist” and knew there’s going to be a drop-off from where NU was the last time out vs. Indiana on Jan. 10. Hoiberg just wants his team to get better every day, and he said they were already better in Tuesday’s practice than they were on Sunday.