Friday, February 22, 2002
At times he has seemed not of this world with his unusual appearance and extraterrestrial behavior. A true original,
Nordberg aims
to be Mr. IntangibleBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comHis teammates haven't quite figured him out and neither have the coaches, but one thing is certain, Hawaii is glad to have Brian Nordberg aboard the volleyball spaceship.
With a shoestring tied around his head and a haircut that has gone from an unruly mass of curls to a mullet, Nordberg definitely doesn't look like anything you've ever seen. But on the court, he has fit in with the blend of different personalities and given Hawaii added depth and intensity.
"He's got a great work ethic," Warriors coach Mike Wilton said. "He goes hard all the time, and he does what he can to inspire his teammates to do likewise.
"He's done a great job here. Among the three guys we have, we have a nice quiver of middles."
The 6-foot-5 junior transfer from Santa Barbara has started and come off the bench for the Warriors. He'll likely start today at the Stan Sheriff Center when No. 3 Hawaii plays No. 12 Long Beach State at 7 p.m.
Nordberg has put up decent numbers for the Warriors, averaging 1.77 kills per game and 1.13 blocks. But that's not what he's looking to do.
"I want to be a guy where it doesn't matter whether I hit .800 or -.800. Hopefully, I did something intangible that helped the team win," Nordberg said. "One of the things I can do is get people fired up and get people excited. Kind of push people.
"In terms of my personality, you won't see me acting like this anywhere else besides the volleyball court. I'm really not that competitive a person. I'm really low key, really mellow. For some reason, volleyball just does something. And part of it is being a role player and that's one of my attributes, and that's what I can give the team and that's what the team needs in some cases."
Stepping up is something he's done since his sophomore year at Santa Barbara. Originally recruited as an outside hitter, the Milwaukee, Wis., native shifted positions. There was a saturation of outside hitters and UCSB coach Ken Preston wanted to get him on the court.
As just the third player from Wisconsin to receive a volleyball scholarship, Nordberg found immediate success in the middle and earned All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation recognition last year.
"Luckily, I had a lot of success being a first-year middle blocker. It was a good move for me," Nordberg said. "Blocking has come a little slow with me, but in terms of offense, I feel real confidence.
"I'm hooked on middle. I love middle. I love hitting quick sets. It's definitely a position where you're involved all the time, whether you're getting set or not, you're all over the place."
His experience in the league made him attractive to UH coaches after he sought a transfer.
"It's funny. When an athlete transfers the first thing people think it's the athletic situation," Nordberg said. "There must be something wrong with that. It plays a role, but I can honestly say the reasons why I transferred were for more personal reasons. I needed a change opposed to having a problem with any of the athletics at UCSB."
The move hasn't been easy. Most of his classes didn't transfer, so Nordberg is taking five courses this semester and plans summer school so that he can graduate on time.
About the only time he isn't going full tilt is when he's sleeping. And then you can't wake him at all. After the Warriors' first road trip of the season, an exhausted Nordberg was the only player to miss the flight back to Honolulu.
He slept through the boarding call, despite the fact that his teammates had woken up earlier. Nobody realized he was missing until the plane had been airborne for 20 minutes.
"I woke up and the next thing I know, everyone's gone, and I'm just sitting there alone," Nordberg said. "I hit panic mode for two seconds. I got up, grab my backpack, I go running down the gates and didn't even give my ticket to anyone just so worried that I was going to miss the flight. I went running down to the gate and finally realize there was no plane there."
The incident didn't surprise assistant coach Tino Reyes, who remembers Nordberg's "strong" first impression. Two weeks before fall classes started, Nordberg made his recruiting trip to Manoa.
When Reyes picked him up from the airport, Nordberg said hello and tried to open the van door to deposit his bag, but he couldn't and somehow managed to pull the handle off the door.
"I told Brian, 'Don't worry about it, we'll take it out of your scholarship,' " Reyes said.
"Volleyball-wise, he's not a doofus. Off the court, he just goes to a different drummer. He's got his own beat, but he's a pleasant person to be around and I'm glad that he's here."
UH Athletics
