Ex-Nebraska Cornhuskers star begins Olympic run with victory

While the Nebraska Cornhuskers basketball team is getting ready for the season, one of the players from back in the day is busy trying to make an Olympics run. Granted he won’t be doing it for the United States.

Former Husker Jack McVeigh and Australia men's basketball topped Spain 92-80 Saturday in the first game of their group phase. That gives McVeigh’s team two points in the group standings and pushes them one step closer to advancing to the quarterfinals.

Ex-Nebraska Cornhuskers star starts off Olympics run

Five Boomers (Australia’s nickname) scored in double figures in the Olympics beginning, including McVeigh. The former Nebraska Cornhuskers basketball player had 13 points off the bench. If that wasn’t impressive enough, he added seven rebounds and an assist.

"Just trying to stay cool, next-play mentality, obviously making some bad plays because I was so energized, so ready to go, so excited to play.” McVeigh told FIBA.com following the game.  “I just calmed down as the game goes along as still found ways to help the team with that energy."

During his college days with the Huskers, McVeigh played from 2015 to 2018, and mostly spent his time as a sixth man.

In those three seasons at Nebraska, the forward made 78 appearances, including 15 starts. He posted career averages of 5.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.  McVeigh played in 14 games in 2017-18, totaling 27 points and 15 rebounds in 105 minutes of action, as Nebraska finished with a 22-11 record and tied for fourth in the Big Ten with a 13-5 Big Ten mark.

His best performance was as a sophore where McVeigh found his role as one of the Big Ten's best sixth men, playing in 30 contests and averaging 7.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. He shot 34 percent from 3-point range and was second on the squad with 47 3-pointers. McVeigh had eight double-figure outputs, including 21-point Nebraska Cornhuskers basketball efforts against Louisiana Tech and Purdue.