“But those were the Tommie Frazier years. I really think that had I come here to play football, they would’ve turned me into a 250-pound tight end.”

Hoiberg played in Lincoln at the Devaney Sports Center, but Friday was his first time inside Pinnacle Bank Arena, which is beginning its third season of basketball.

“Playing here (today) and seeing Eric Piatkowski’s name up in the rafters — he was one of the hardest guys I ever had to guard — it’s an unbelievable facility,” Hoiberg said. “To see where this basketball program has gone, and when you have facilities likes this … it should be great for the future of Nebraska basketball.”

It’s a future in which Hoiberg has some interest. His grandfather, Jerry Bush, coached the Nebraska basketball team from 1954-63. He died when Hoiberg was only 3.

“Just in talking to people who knew him, he sounded a lot like my coach, Johnny Orr, just the way he could command a room, and a great storyteller, a great sense of humor,” Hoiberg said. “It would’ve been great to see that. His signature win was when he beat Wilt Chamberlain, and they honored that team here last year.”

Reach the writer at 402-473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com. On Twitter @HuskerExtraBR.

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