Before official preseason practice began this week for Nebraska men’s basketball, the Huskers took time to set expectations for themselves heading into the 2025 season.
Senior guard Connor Essegian’s is to take on a leadership role.
“This is now my second year here, and just to be able to be a returning guy, and know our system, know what we got, what we’re about, being a big part of that is something that I feel I can take us to the next level,” Essegian said.
Coach Fred Hoiberg, along with the rest of the staff, held individual meetings with each player to talk about their goals.
“He talked about how he really wants to step up his leadership this year, and I’m proud of him,” Hoiberg said. “I think he’s done a really good job of that going into his fourth year in college. When you have louder, more vocal players out there with bigger personalities, sometimes you take a back seat to that, but he knows this year, even with Reink [Mast] coming back and even with Sam [Hoiberg] going into his fifth year now, Cale [Jacobsen] is a great leader for this team, other guys as well, but we’re going to need Connor to help us lead through tough times.
“How you ascend into that over the course of your career and over the course of your life, what he’s doing is going to help him once he starts with his professional basketball career.”
Hoiberg specifically highlighted Essegian’s relationship with redshirt freshman Braden Frager. The Lincoln Southwest product graduated a year early to join the program and spent last season redshirting and learning from veterans like Essegian.
“I love Connor,” Frager said. “He’s a great guy; I love him so much. It was actually funny, the first time I stepped on campus we were doing physicals or whatever and he was the first guy I talked to. He was like, ‘You want to come over?’, and I went over to his house and we kind of just connected. It’s a great relationship I’ve had with him.”
During his junior campaign, the 6-foot-4, 190-pound sharpshooter played in all 35 games, averaging 10.7 points per competition while shooting 37.7% from deep. His 78 3-pointers are the most a Husker has made since 2018-19 and is tied for sixth place on the Huskers’ single season program list.
Essegian said his experience at both Nebraska and Wisconsin has helped him grow this offseason.
“Just having the confidence, knowing I’ve been in this league for so long, that I know what it takes to win, to succeed, and just kind of bringing guys along with me, and kind of leading that example is a big part,” Essegian said. “If I can set an example for the other guys, my act should follow too.”
Before diving fully into preparing for the season, Essegian worked as a photographer during the Husker football game against Houston Christian on Sept. 13. He said he enjoyed the experience.
“I would love to do that one day, get into it a little bit more,” Essegian said. “So for Sam and the athletic department to let me get on the field and shoot some photos, that was pretty sweet.”
This year’s roster is a deep one, and Essegian said he’s seen a lot of growth so far.
“There’s definitely a drive this year, where guys are competing every single day, and it’s showing,” Essegian said. “Guys are getting a lot better, quick.”
The Huskers ended last season with a College Basketball Crown championship, but they have bigger goals for the 2025-26 season.
“We haven’t won an NCAA Tournament game here, and that’s something that we want to be able to do for this university, for this program, to set that in the right direction,” Essegian said. “Winning the Crown definitely gave us a boost of confidence, to be able to take that and turn it into something bigger. So we’re going to do everything we can to make sure we can get that done this year.”
The Huskers will have four weeks to prepare before facing BYU in an exhibition at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Oct. 18.
