Braden Frager Continues Building Belief and Trust with Fred Hoiberg, Nebrasketball

Braden Frager learned a lot from doing something different during his redshirt season at Nebraska - sitting and watching rather than playing on the floor.

"I got to travel. I got to experience everything first hand," Frager said on the Huskers Radio Network's Sports Nightly program Monday night. "Seeing everything we did right last year, seeing everything we did wrong - what we can change, what we can do better for the next year. You can see it on TV, but its a whole different level when you're there everyday."

Frager's season without playing time has proved dividends for Nebraska basketball through the Lincoln Southwest grad's first season of action in Lincoln, as the 6-foot-7 forward has reached double-figures six times while averaging 11.8 points and 3.7 rebounds per contest for the 22-3 Huskers (11-3 Big Ten). The redshirt freshman was a key force in Nebraska's 20-0 start to the season, and joined Jessica Coody of the Huskers Radio Network Monday to recount his recruitment and development in his first years with the Big Red.

Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Braden Frager (5) looks to pass against the Northwestern Wildcats. — Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Braden Frager (5) looks to pass against Northwestern Wildcats guard Angelo Ciaravino (44) and guard Jayden Reid (4) during the first half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Originally a three-star prospect for Alex Bahe's Lincoln Southwest SilverHawks, Frager was among the top-200 recruits in the country for the 2024 recruitment Class after reclassifying to join the Husker program a year early. The Lincoln native picked Nebraska over Creighton and Iowa State, noting on Sports Nightly that he was a Husker hoops fan during his childhood.

"Football, basketball, everything. I was at a lot of the games," Frager said. "I liked Tai Webster, Glynn Watson, Shavon Shields. Those are probably my top-three watching growing up."

Frager's unique journey to Nebraska basketball began in his high school career, as the forward was not on most national radars following his sophomore season at Lincoln Southwest. Frager added on Sports Nightly that he did not hear much from "coaches, colleges, anything like that" until the summer heading into his junior season. Following the summer heading into his junior year, and some standout summer tournament appearancess, the future Husker noted he felt the confidence shift for his potential aspirations.

Nebraska basketball forward Braden Frager (5) shoots against Grand Valley State. | Nebraska Athletics

"That's when I kind of realized, like, yeah, I think I want to take this. I think I'm talented enough to play at the Division I level," Frager said.

The forward understood early that his game had to continue to evolve to become a top prospect at the national level. Frager added that he worked on "developing his outside game" during that summer, moving into his junior year. As Frager continued to develop, his recruitment took off overnight. In the course of a single day, his in-town college offered him his first power-conference offer, with in-state rival Creighton offering later that same evening.

"I was just waiting, kind of seeing things through. It just came down to a couple options," Frager said.

Ultimately, Frager decided not only to join his hometown team but also to join the program earlier than he had first expected. The Lincoln Southwest grad would move up his Husker timeline to reclassify to the Class of 2024, being eligible to join the program later that year rather than wait for the following season.

Braden Frager celebrates a three pointer during the 2024 Red-White men's basketball scrimmage during his redshirt season. | Amarillo Mullen

"We were on a Zoom meeting with my family and they just gave it as an option. I sat on it for a while, then I came to the decision that I wanted to do that," Frager said. "I just wanted to get here early. It didn't hurt anything. I know I could develop here. I would have all these amazing facilities to help me to get to where I wanted to be."

Even before officially joining the program, the future Husker star believed in the development that coach Fred Hoiberg would have for him - as long as the freshman was willing to put in the work with the coaching staff.

"I just really liked the coaches... I just love playing for [coach Hoiberg]. I just love watching his offense," Frager said. "My everyday consistent effort - that was probably the biggest thing. Obviously, developing my shot, because I know Coach Hoiberg likes his shooters. Just that everyday grind of being willing to come out every day and put that work in."

Nebraska forward Braden Frager is fouled on this shot against Creighton. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Despite having to swallow his pride without playing time his freshman season and accepting a redshirt season, Frager mentioned that he immediately "had his mind set on next season." The Huskers had a good start to the season, beginning the year 12-2 and 2-1 in conference play, including wins over Creighton, Indiana, and No. 15 UCLA, while adding a Diamond Head Classic championship over the holiday. The wheels fell off after the win over the Bruins, as the Huskers would lose six in a row before rebounding with four straight wins, then finishing the season 17-14 before claiming the inaugural Crown Tournament Championship.

The extended season gave Frager more time to work on his personal game, and also allowed him more practice repetitions to hone his defensive craft against two of Nebraska's best scoring threats from the 2024-25 season.

"It helped having to guard Brice [Williams] and Juwan [Gary]. Bigger, older, talented guys. It definitely helped. It also just helped my confidence. I was able to just go out there and just play freely. There wasn't a whole lot on my shoulders," Frager.

Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Braden Frager (5) smiles after shooting a three point shot against the Illinois Fighting Illini during the first half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Frager's minutes continued to increase in critical contests for Nebraska this season after playing in 18 or more minutes in the opening three games on the non-conference slate. Frager began to grow his game more and more as the season progressed, eventually leading to a four-game Big Ten barrage in mid-January. Frager would follow a 30-minute, nine-point performance (going 3-5 from three) against then-No. 9 Michigan State with 15, 11, 23, and 20 point spurts at Ohio State, at Indiana, against Oregon, and at Northwestern.

"I just feel like [coach Hoiberg has] trusted me a lot more as the season has gone on. I put myself in that situation to where he can trust me. That's just the biggest thing is having that coach can believe in you. When he believes in you, it's just a lot easier to believe in yourself."

"I think it makes it a lot easier when everybody likes each other. Everybody wants everybody to do good. Especially since we've got a deep rotation of guys - everybody can have their night. Everybody can score 20 [points]," Frager said.

Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Braden Frager (5) goes to the basket against Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Darren Buchanan Jr. (5) during the first half at Jersey Mike's Arena. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Frager's injury against Washington may have slowed down the redshirt freshman's pace on the season, but since returning on Feb. 1, Frager has logged 31, 22, 33, and 23 minutes in the Huskers' last four games. However, the Lincoln native may be called upon for a bigger role in the Huskers' final regular season stretch as the Huskers face three key road conference tilts beginning Tuesday night at Iowa.

Frager and the Huskers battle the Hawkeyes at 8 p.m. CST from Iowa City with the contest televised on the Big Ten Network. The game will also be broadcast on the Huskers Radio Network with pregame coverage beginning at 7 p.m. CST on the network's affiliate stations.

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.