‘The Mayor’ and his son turned around Nebraska’s basketball program. Now they have one box ...

Sam Hoiberg sat at the far end of the Nebraska bench and watched one dismal loss beget the next. Between December 1, 2021, and February 5, 2022, the Cornhuskers lost 15 of 16, only claiming victory against lowly Kennesaw State. The Huskers took a brief pause from their doldrums to summon up a home win against Minnesota only to revert back to losing, dropping four more in a row. Sam at the time was a redshirting walk-on, which on the basketball-player hierarchy is maybe a half-step up from team manager. The very definition of helpless, he sat and watched the very bad product unspooling in front of him night after night, feeling the pain of the poor saps who had to pay to watch. “I didn’t...