Sophomore guard Thorir Thorbjarnarson will take a break from summer workouts in Lincoln this week in order to compete for his native Iceland in the FIBA U-20 European Championships.
The tournament begins with pool play on July 14 and runs through July 22. Iceland will play in Pool D along with Serbia, Sweden and Italy with bracket play set to begin on July 18. Thorbjarnarson is set to depart for Iceland this week to begin training for the tournament.
Schedule for FIBA U-20 European Championships
- Serbia (July 14, 11 a.m. CT)
- Sweden (July 15, 6:30 a.m. CT)
- Italy (July 16, 8:45 a.m. CT)
- Round of 16 (July 18)
- Quarterfinals (July 19)
- Semifinals (July 21)
- Finals (July 22)
Thorbjarnarson, a 6-foot-5 wing from Reykjavik, Iceland, participated in nine games as a freshman for the Huskers last season, totaling eight points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal.
Thorbjarnarson has worked his way up the ranks of the Icelandic National Team program. In 2017, he earned a spot on the Senior National Team. Last year as a 19-year-old, Thorbjarnarson averaged 7.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals in the U-20 European Championships in Greece. In 2016, he competed in the U-18 European Championships and was an offensive force, putting up 19.6 points per game (third most in the tournament) including four games of 30-plus with a 39-point explosion.
Thorbjarnarson joins the ranks of Huskers who have played internationally under Coach Tim Miles that includes Tai Webster (New Zealand), Leslie Smith (British Virgin Islands), Shavon Shields (Denmark) and Jack McVeigh (Australia).
Speaking of McVeigh, the 6-foot-7 forward who gave up his final year of eligibility at Nebraska to pursue professional opportunities this offseason will be returning to the United States with his NBL team, the Adelaide 36ers, to play a preseason game against the Utah Jazz, according to Fox Sports Australia’s Olgun Uluc.
Finally, former Husker standout Shavon Shields will be participating in the NBA Las Vegas Summer League with the New Orleans Pelicans. Shields had a successful season with Trento in Italy last year.
Source: New Orleans Pelicans agreed to bring in Italian playoffs sensation guard Shavon Shields for Summer League. He'll opt-out from Trento for $10,000 to score a more lucrative deal in the Euroleague.
— David Pick (@IAmDPick) June 17, 2018
The Summer League is set to begin on Monday.
**UPDATE**
Here are a couple more updates on former Huskers via Twitter.
Sources tell me the LA Clippers worked out a bunch of overseas free-agents: Quincy Miller, Chris Babb, Victor Rudd, Josh Adams, Shavon Shields and PG Dylan Ennis, who re-signed in Spain.
— David Pick (@IAmDPick) June 28, 2018
One of the best young guards in Europe last season, Tai Webster (@Tjawtherula), will play in NBA Summer League with @MiamiHEAT! #TeamWass
— Sead Galijasevic (@SeadGalijasevic) June 27, 2018
Jacob Padilla has been writing for Hail Varsity since 2015. He covers football, volleyball men’s basketball and prep sports. He also co-hosts the Nebraska Preps Postgame and Nebraska Shootaround podcasts for the Hurrdat Media and Hail Varsity podcast networks. His love of basketball can best be described as an obsession and if you need to find him, he’s probably in a gym somewhere watching, coaching or playing hoops.
