Rienk Mast Just Gave Husker Fans Real Hope About His NBA Future

Rienk Mast's impressive NBA Summer League debut with the Indiana Pacers highlights his potential impact as a former Nebraska standout.

Former Nebraska big man Rienk Mast wasted no time making his presence felt in NBA Summer League.

Just weeks after landing an Exhibit 10 deal with the Indiana Pacers, the Netherlands native turned in a strong professional debut Friday, helping Indiana knock off the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-93. Mast put up a double-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds and three assists.

The 6-foot-10, 250-pound forward/center led the Pacers in scoring and did it efficiently, shooting 6-for-12 from the floor in 32 minutes. He added the boards, the playmaking and only gave it away once.

The one blemish was a minus-9 plus/minus, but Indiana still walked away with the win and moved to 1-0 on the summer. The Pacers’ next game comes Saturday afternoon against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Mast’s college production explains why he got this shot. Across 154 games, he piled up 1,894 points, 1,094 rebounds and 351 assists. He arrived in Lincoln through the transfer portal from Bradley before the 2023-24 season, after putting up 1,001 points and 657 rebounds in three years with the Braves.

Once at Nebraska, Mast quickly became a centerpiece of the offense during the Huskers’ run to the NCAA Tournament in 2023-24. He started 32 games that season and averaged 12.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, leading the team in rebounds and assists while ranking third in scoring. Nebraska won 23 games that year, and Mast earned third-team All-Big Ten honors from the league’s coaches.

His next chapter was interrupted by injury. Mast suffered a season-ending injury in May of 2024 and sat out the 2024-25 season before coming back for his final year.

In 2025-26, Nebraska set the program record with 28 wins, and Mast averaged 13.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. He also delivered the third triple-double in program history against FIU and finished his Husker career with Honorable-Mention All-Big Ten recognition.

Mast is one of four former Nebrasketball players in the 2026 NBA Summer League. Sam Hoiberg is with the Phoenix Suns, Josiah Allick is with the Charolette Hornets, and Brice Williams is with the Detroit Pistons.

Hoiberg, who also signed with an NBA team after the 2026 NBA Draft as an undrafted free agent, was recognized on both the Big Ten All-Defensive and Honorable Mention teams after the 2025-26 regular season. In his final season in Lincoln, the Pius X graduate set Nebraska’s single-season assist-to-turnover ratio mark at 3.75-1. He didn’t take a shot in Friday’s Summer League debut, but he grabbed four rebounds and recorded a steal in Phoenix’s 81-79 win over the Portland Trail Blazers’ squad.

Williams helped Nebraska win the inaugural College Basketball Crown and capped his senior season in 2024-25 by earning First-Team All-Big Ten honors from both the coaches and media. He spent last season with the Pistons’ G-League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise.

Allick’s only season in Lincoln came in 2023-24 after previous stops at New Mexico and Missouri-Kansas City. The Lincoln product appeared in 33 games and made 27 starts while helping Nebraska reach its first NCAA Tournament since 2014. Since 2025, he has played for the Hornets’ G-League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm.

In Other News...

Nebraska Fans Will Love Where These Four Recent Huskers Landed

The NBA Summer League in Las Vegas will offer Nebraska fans a familiar kind of summer rooting interest, with four former Huskers set to get another stage to show how their games translate. Rienk Mast, Sam Hoiberg, Josiah Allick and Brice Williams all earned their way into the event, giving the program a notable presence in a showcase that has become a key first look for young pros and roster hopefuls.

Mast and Hoiberg are set to make their professional debuts, while Allick is also stepping into his first Summer League run. Williams, meanwhile, is back in the mix after spending last season with the Motor City Cruise, and his return adds another layer to a group that gives Nebraska plenty to track once the games begin in July and the bracket starts narrowing toward the championship. [Read more 🡒]

Why Nebraska Fans Might Finally Buy Matt Rhule's Breakthrough

Nebraska has spent enough seasons waiting for the pieces to line up that skepticism comes naturally, but this one at least looks more coherent on paper. Matt Rhule finally has a quarterback room that should let the offense function with more confidence, and the staff believes the line can be sturdier after another offseason of reshuffling and reinforcement. Add in a defense that is changing its look under Rob Aurich, and there is a real sense that the Cornhuskers are trying to build something more stable than the stop-start teams fans have watched through injuries and coaching turnover.

Anthony Colandrea gives the offense a different kind of threat, one that can stress defenses in ways Nebraska has not consistently had, while Geep Wades group has the chance to turn the front into a more dependable unit. The defenses move should also help the personnel fit the scheme better, which matters in a league where every hidden weakness gets exposed quickly. The schedule is still going to make any progress hard-earned, but this feels like one of those seasons where Nebraska can at least make the argument that the foundation is finally better than the results have shown. [Read more 🡒]

Nebraska Fans Know Exactly What Eichorst Brings To Wisconsin

Shawn Eichorsts move to Wisconsin is already stirring old memories in Lincoln, where his name still carries plenty of baggage from his Nebraska tenure. Cornhuskers fans remember him as the athletic director who was willing to make a hard football decision even when the record did not make it look urgent, and that history is now part of how his new role is being viewed across the Big Ten.

Luke Fickells situation only adds to the intrigue. Wisconsin has not gotten the kind of traction it expected under him, and the recent slide has put the spotlight on whether Eichorst will be patient if the Badgers do not turn things around soon. For Nebraska fans, the storyline is familiar enough to feel predictable, which is exactly why they are watching this hire so closely. [Read more 🡒]