Fred Hoiberg remembers the redshirt discussions he had with three of his players on this season's roster in wing Braden Frager, guard Nick Janowski and forward Justin Bolis.
The head coach knew that landing on the decision to redshirt all three of them for the 2024-25 campaign wasn't going to be easy on the young players, especially Frager and Janowski, the scholarship players of the trio.
"I talked about how fast this would go when the decision was made, which was hard on them," Hoiberg said last week. "I think especially with Nick and Braden, they both expected to come in here and play."
Frager, a local product out of Lincoln Southwest, reclassified from the 2025 to 2024 class so he could begin his college career early. Listed at 6-foot-7 and 220 pounds on the online roster, Frager appeared bigger than 220 during pregame warmups during the season.
As a high school junior, Frager averaged 18.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while shooting 50% from the field and 29% from 3-point range (36-of-125). As a sophomore, Frager averaged 11.4 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 43% from 3 (30-of-72).
Janowski, who hails from Pewaukee, Wisc., was one of the top prospects and shooters in the Midwest in the 2024 class. The 6-4, 208-pounder was a winner at Pewaukee, where he won three state championships and led the Pirates to a runner-up finish as a senior in 2023-24.
As a high school senior Janowski averaged 30.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game while shooting 37% from 3 on 231 attempts and 84% at the free-throw line. As a junior, he recorded 23.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.9 assists each outing.
