Nebraska Basketball Freshman Leo Curtis Excels in FIBA U20 Opening Matchup

The incoming freshman talent from Iceland shined Saturday in his opening contest of the tournament.

Fridrik Leo Curtis signed with the Huskers in May. | @leocur1s on Instagram

Nebraska basketball continues to showcase talent overseas.

Leo Curtis, a 7-foot-1, 220-pound forward from Iceland, is competing in the FIBA U20 EuroBasket tournament throughout the weekend. He is representing Iceland for the third straight summer, having previously played in the 2024 U20 EuroBasket and the 2023 U18 EuroBasket events. The 2025 tournament is taking place in Greece.

Saturday morning, Curtis showed out for Iceland, scoring 17 points with nine rebounds, five assists, and three steals while going 7-12 from the field and shooting 3-6 from three. Although Iceland lost 90-76, the first contest of the weekend was an immediate jump from Curtis's 2024 EuroBasket performance, when he averaged 5.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

🇮🇸 Leo Curtis today for Iceland in the loss to Serbia in the FIBA U20 Eurobasket

17 points
9 boards
5 assists
3 steals
7-12 FG
3-6 3P

The 7’2 Nebraska commit is a player to watch in this event, as a versatile big man with some really fun tools on both ends

Real unicorn pic.twitter.com/DUEyXHpzR5

— nbadraftpoint (@nbadraftpoint) July 12, 2025

Curtis had a standout 2023 tournament as part of the U18 competition, averaging 8.6 points and 7.0 rebounds two years ago.

The forward from Reykjavik, Iceland, spent his senior season at Cambrigde Arts, Technology and Science (CATS) Academy in Massachusetts. Curtis earned national prep All-America honorable-mention honors, averaging 12.3 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 2.7 blocks per game in his lone season in the United States.

“Leo’s combination of size and skill set is an ideal fit for our system” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said after Curtis' signing with the Huskers in May. “He is a natural stretch forward who can initiate offense and put pressure on the rim.  At 7-foot-1, he can impact both ends of the floor. He played for one of the best prep teams in the country this past season, and that will help him in his adjustment to the college game. He is a natural athlete who played soccer before turning his attention to basketball. He is just scratching the surface of his potential, and I believe his best days are ahead of him.”

Nebraska guard Thorir Thorbjarnarson, also from Iceland, celebrates a three-point basket in February 2021. | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

Curtis is the second player from Iceland to play for Nebraska, as Thorir Thorbjarnarson was a two-year starter for the Huskers between 2019 and 2021. Curtis was also teammates with Matej Kavas, a who played for Nebraska during the 2019-20 season. Curtis picked Nebraska over Arizona State, Indiana and West Virginia. He was rated as the No. 84 player in the class of 2025 by On3, placing him as the No. 11 center in the country.

Curtis and his Iceland teammates will aim to compete throughout the competition through July 20 as pool play continues for the first half of the tournament. Iceland remains with contests France and Slovenia in Pool D play, with the top two teams in each pool advancing to the Round of 16 starting on July 16 and the championship game on July 20. Contests can be viewed on the FIBA YouTube channel.

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