LINCOLN — Christian Standhardinger is on a mission.

“My dream is to play professional basketball and to get rich and to make my mother happy by buying her a house and giving her the key,'' he said with a big smile.

“But,'' he added in a serious tone, “there always has to be a Plan B.''

Which is why the 6-foot-8, 210-pounder from Munich, Germany, is on scholarship at Nebraska instead of playing for pay somewhere overseas.

From the time Husker coach Doc Sadler began recruiting Standhardinger, turning pro was in the mix.

Overseas basketball contacts and other Americans who follow the European game told the NU staff that Standhardinger was a strong candidate to bypass college because of his potential.

The 20-year-old, in his first interview since joining the Huskers last week, said Tuesday the tug to turn pro was strong.

“A young man like me always wants to earn his own money,'' Standhardinger said. “I had a lot of offers there, so that wasn't a problem.

“The problem was I have to think about the future.''

And that meant getting an education while continuing to hone his basketball skills at a high level — something not available had he turned professional in Germany or Spain.

“The teams there want you to just focus on basketball,'' Standhardinger said. “But I always knew that was not good because I could get injured.

“What would I do at 44, for example? I would have nothing. So with a good education, I will study economics management so I have a chance when I am not so good at basketball to move on.''

Coming to America fulfills another goal for Standhardinger, who says he is proudly half-German (father) and half-Filipino (mother).

He can get closer to family because, from his mother's side, he has several aunts, uncles and cousins in Los Angeles.

“It is good that part of my family is here,'' he said, “because I am a person who is very close to family.''

Standhardinger, in a 20-minute interview and photo shoot Tuesday, spoke in strong English, regularly flashing a smile and a sense of humor.

During his 40-minute workout session earlier Tuesday with Sadler, smiles were hard to come by.

Sadler barked at Standhardinger regularly, which Husker fans know is a good sign. Sadler doesn't waste his breath on those he thinks can't play.

Observers commented on Standhardinger's quickness, strong mid-range shooting and explosive baseline moves.

Standhardinger complimented Sadler as an upper-level coach.

“When Coach Sadler says anything, I'm just quiet and listen and say, ‘Yes, sir,'” he said. “As a personality, he is a very nice person. That's a very good combination.''

Standhardinger said he knew nothing about Nebraska at the start of his recruitment. The Huskers saw him while following 6-11 sophomore center Christopher Niemann from the same German club team.

“When Nebraska offered me, my coach said that was the one to take,'' Standhardinger said. “And I talked to Christopher and he said it is very nice here.''

Standhardinger got a taste of Husker hospitality at his first football game Saturday. To his amazement, total strangers offered him food from their tailgate parties.

“The people here are very nice,'' he said. “There is no person who is rude to you.

“And the football game was amazing. All those people dressed in red and cheering for one team. I had never seen anything like that.''

Nebraska fans won't get much of a glimpse of Standhardinger in uniform very early.

The NCAA penalized him 15 games for being part of a club team that had paid players, even though he wasn't among them. He can play in NU's two November exhibition games, then suit up again in January when the Big 12 season starts.

“It will be very hard for me to sit there and see my team fighting and I can't do anything except cheer,'' he said. “You always want to go help your team win a championship.

“That will be very hard — harder than the workout we just had, I think. And it was very hard.''

In Germany last season, Standhardinger was his team's leading scorer. He averaged 22.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists.

“Scoring is a little bit my place,'' he said. “But I know at Nebraska and in the Big 12, that's not enough.

“So I have worked very hard on my defense, and I have worked very hard on my passing and my ball-handling with my left hand. I want to be a complete player.''

Contact the writer:

444-1024, lee.barfknecht@owh.com

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