Nikki Bober Season 2009-10

Bober's Honors 

• First-Team Academic All-Big 12 (2010)
• Nebraska Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (2008-09, 2009-10)
• Five-Time Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll
  (Fall, 2006, 2008, 2009; Spring 2007, 2009)
• No. 31 Center Prospect in the Nation (All-Star Girls Report)
• No. 126 Player in the Nation (All-Star Girls Report)
• Two-Time First-Team Class C-2 All-State (2004, 2006)
• First-Team Class C-2 All-Tournament Team (2004)
• Two-Time First-Team All-Conference (2004, 2006)
• Academic All-State

Senior (2009-10)

After a solid start to her senior season, Nebraska native Nikki Bober had another year cut short by a season-ending knee injury. Bober tore the ACL in her right knee on Nov. 17, and underwent surgery on Dec. 21, 2009. It was Bober's fifth knee surgery since signing her National Letter of Intent with the Huskers. She also tore her left ACL early in her senior season of basketball at Elmwood-Murdock High School.

Bober's injury came just days after opening the season with eight points, four rebounds and two blocked shots in a season-opening win over Davidson on Nov. 13. Bober appeared in two games for the Huskers before injuring the same knee that knocked her out of Big 12 play during her junior season. She underwent surgery on her right ACL on Jan. 2, 2009, after injuring the knee in practice on Dec. 30, 2008.

When healthy, the 6-4 center from Murdock, Neb. (pop. 266) was a reliable contributor for the Huskers. She played in 56 career games with one start as a junior against Southern Utah.

Bober earned first-team academic All-Big 12 honors as a senior, and was a leader on campus as a member of the Nebraska Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

"Nikki loves Nebraska basketball and she loves being part of this team," Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said. "She's battled through five surgeries since we signed her, and she's still been a good teammate and come to work every day to get better."

Junior (2008-09)
Bober suffered a season-ending knee injury in late-December after appearing in each of NU's first 12 games.

Bober's injury dealt a major blow to Nebraska's inside game, which had already been hit by the season-ending ankle injury to two-time All-Big 12 forward Kelsey Griffin.

The timing of Bober's injury was especially damaging to Nebraska. Her Dec. 30 injury in practice came after she played one of the best games of her career to help the Huskers to a win over No. 24 Arizona State in Lincoln on Dec. 28.

The Sun Devils went on to advance to the NCAA Elite Eight. Bober had a career-high four blocked shots against ASU, while playing a career-high 25 minutes. She also grabbed five rebounds and scored two points in the Husker win. The timing of Bober's injury also took her out of the possibility of gaining a medical redshirt.

Bober, who underwent ACL surgery on her right knee on Jan. 2, made her first career start in Nebraska's win over Southern Utah on Nov. 22. She scored eight points, pulled down a career-best seven rebounds and blocked two shots in 20 minutes against the Thunderbirds. She added a solid effort with eight points, four rebounds, two assists and a block in 15 minutes of action against Long Beach State on Dec. 12.

Bober, served as Nebraska's representative on the 2008-09 Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. She also earned two spots on the Big 12 Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll in the fall and spring semesters, including a perfect 4.0 GPA during the spring.

Sophomore (2007-08)
Bober saw action in all 33 games for the Huskers as a sophomore, averaging 1.7 points and 1.7 rebounds per game in 7.3 minutes per contest.

Her biggest contributions came with a season-high nine points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting in a win at Long Beach State on Dec. 15. Bober’s effort against the 49ers included the first three-pointer of her career. She added three rebounds, two assists and a block to help NU compensate for the absence of first-team All-Big 12 forward Kelsey Griffin from the NU lineup because of injury.

Bober added eight points and five rebounds in a win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Jan. 2. She produced the best Big 12 performance of her career with six points and four rebounds in NU’s 55-45 win over Iowa State on March 5.

She supplied a huge defensive presence inside in NU’s win over No. 15 Texas on Jan. 9, grabbing a season-high six defensive rebounds while adding a block and a pair of steals in just nine minutes. She pitched in two points against UT. She scored six points and had one board in six minutes in NU’s win over Kansas on Jan. 12.

Freshman (2006-07)
Bober enjoyed a successful collegiate debut against Florida Atlantic in the second game of the Veterans Day Classic in Tempe, Ariz., on Nov. 12. She scored a career-high 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field, while adding a perfect 2-for-2 effort at the free throw line. She also pulled down a pair of rebounds in a season-high 14 minutes of action.

For the season, Bober appeared in nine games and averaged 2.7 points and 0.8 rebounds. She played a total of 43 minutes and produced two blocks and three steals, while shooting 57.1 percent (8-14) from both the field and the free throw line.

Bober appeared in five non-conference games for the Huskers, producing four points, one rebound, her first career blocked shot and a career-high two steals in just 10 minutes of action against Texas-Pan American on Nov. 28.

She added five points, three rebounds and a block in just six minutes of playing time in a win over Michigan on Dec. 9. She scored three points and added a steal in six more minutes against Nicholls State on Dec. 21. She also saw four minutes of playing time in Nebraska's 94-74 victory over eventual NCAA Sweet 16 qualifier North Carolina State on Dec. 28.

Bober saw her first Big 12 Conference action in the first half of NU's road win at Missouri on Jan. 20, before playing in home wins over Kansas (Jan. 27), Iowa State (Jan. 31) and Colorado (Feb. 27). She scored two points by hitting a pair of free throws against Colorado to notch the first Big 12 points of her career.

Along with her contributions on the court, Bober earned a spot on the Big 12 Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll during the fall semester.

High School
Bober was a two-time first-team Class C-2 (fourth-largest) all-state selection at Elmwood-Murdock High School for Coach Justin Moline. As a senior, she averaged 17.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Bober's successful senior season followed on the heels of an injury-shortened junior campaign.

Bober appeared in just six games for the Knights in 2004-05, leading them to a 6-0 start before suffering a season-ending knee injury in practice in late-December. In her first six games, Bober averaged 22.2 points, 13.5 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game.

Her top efforts as a junior included a 28-point performance against Yutan and a 25-rebound effort against Falls City Sacred Heart.

As a sophomore, Bober earned first-team Class C-2 all-state accolades after averaging 17.5 points, 10.9 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game in 2003-04. She helped the Knights advance to the state tournament in both 2003 and 2004. She also earned a spot on the Class C-2 All-Tournament team in 2004.

Bober was also a member of the adidas Bison/Judds Cornhusker Shooting Stars club team coached by Dan Lesoing.

A talented all-around athlete, Bober was a star for the Elmwood-Murdock volleyball program, earning four letters. She also claimed three letters in track and field.

Bober was an outstanding performer in the classroom, carrying a 4.0 GPA while capturing Academic All-State honors.

Personal
The daughter of Patrick and Susan Bober, Nikki was born Feb. 8, 1988, in Lincoln. She has one brother, Brent, 23, and a sister, Megan, 19. Megan is the starting setter on the Creighton volleyball team.

Nikki is a management major at Nebraska and earned first-team academic All-Big 12 honors in 2010. She is also a five-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll.

An active member of the campus and community, Bober is the Nebraska women's basketball team's representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Bober chose Nebraska over Creighton, Iowa and Drake. 

Bober's Career Statistics

 

Year

G-GS

FG-FGA

Pct.

3P-3PA

Pct.

FT-FTA

Pct.

TRB-Avg.

PF-D

A

TO

Blk

ST

Pts-Avg.

2006-07 9-0 8-14 .571 0-0 .000 8-14 .571 7-0.8 4-0 0 5 2 3 24-2.7 2007-08 33-0 20-56 .357 1-4 .250 16-29 .552 57-1.7 30-0 18 18 8 4 57-1.7 2008-09 12-1 8-21 .381 0-0 .000 7-14 .500 34-2.8 25-1 8 11 8 1 23-1.9 2009-10 2-0 1-3 .333 0-1 .000 6-8 .750 4-2.0 9-1 0 1 2 0 8-4.0

Career

56-1

37-94

.394

1-5

.200

37-65

.569

102-1.8

68-2

26

35

20

8

112-2.0