College basketball star Keisei Tominaga says there should be more room for emotion in sports.
“I think it should be more celebrated,” Tominaga, a 23-year-old University of Nebraska guard originally from Japan, said after he went viral for openly crying after his Cornhuskers lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Nebraska, a No. 8 seed, was knocked out Friday by 9th-seeded Texas A&M, 98-83.
For Tominaga, a 6’2” senior whose penchant for three-pointers has earned him the nickname “Japanese Steph Curry,” it was the final game of his college career.
Tominaga, who said he’s developed a strong friendship with his teammates, explained that he was overwhelmed with feelings when he realized the significance of the game.
“I was sad to be losing the game, but also it was the last time I’d be wearing the Cornhuskers uniform,” Tominaga said, who finished with 21 points. “It’s the last time I’d be playing for the Huskers. The last time I’d be playing for Coach [Fred] Hoiberg. That was the thing that was going through my head.”
Though most people praised Tominaga for his emotional moment, he’s also been trolled and received racist comments.
“I’m just happy to be something people talk about,” Tominaga, who’s known for his boisterous attitude on the court, said.
Tominaga, who grew up in Japan and is still a member of the country’s national basketball team, began his playing career in the U.S. in 2019 at Ranger College in Texas. He joined the Cornhuskers two years later. With a large following in Japan, particularly after his appearance at the 2020 Summer Olympics in 3×3 basketball, Tominaga has long dealt with internet chatter and scrutiny.
“Wherever I go, I’m just going to pretty much play my basketball and then show the fans really, I can play up to that level,” he said.
Tominaga, whose father also played for the Japanese national team, said that his significance on an NCAA court isn’t lost on him. With few Asian basketball players leading their teams in March Madness, Tominaga says he tries to make his fans of Asian descent proud.
“Asian people, even the ones who live in America, who come to watch my games — those kinds of things make me want to work as hard as I can so I can be a role model,” he said.
While his college career may be over, Tominaga says he’s looking to break into the NBA. But for now, he says, he’s finally getting some time to rest.
Early in the second half of a game against the Michigan State Spartans last season, Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Keisei Tominaga brought the home crowd in Lincoln, Nebraska, to its feet.
As the Cornhuskers pushed the ball up the floor after a Spartans miss, Jamarques Lawrence found Tominaga in transition. He caught the ball in stride, dribbled once, and pulled up a few steps beyond the 3-point line. Tominaga pump-faked a helpless defender into the air and launched his shot. He turned his back with the ball still in flight and was not looking as it swished through the net. The small act of bravado electrified the fans.
It was, if nothing else, Curry-esque.
When people call you the “Japanese Steph Curry,” you better know how to put on a show. That is a not problem for Tominaga, the exuberant guard from Nagoya who might help shoot Nebraska into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in nine years and himself into the NBA.
He certainly has Curry’s post-make swagger down with how he celebrates after baskets.
“I’m always having fun,” Tominaga told The Japan Times. “I think that’s why the emotions come up. I never think, ‘Oh, what am I going to do today, what celebration am I going to do today?’ In the game, it comes naturally. I think I’m just having fun playing basketball.”
Tominaga had plenty of fun in Nebraska’s regular-season finale on Sunday, scoring 30 points in an 85-70 win over Michigan that clinched a tie for third place in the Big Ten conference and the No. 3 seed in this week’s conference tournament. Tominaga was 12 of 17 from the floor, hit five 3-pointers and grabbed six rebounds.
Tominaga plays as if he has modeled his game after Stephen Curry, the brilliant Golden State Warriors guard who turned the 3-point shot into an art form. He wears No. 30 like Curry and has a quick release similar to the NBA great. He also plays with a complete lack of fear and a permanent green light to shoot from almost anywhere, draining 3-pointer after 3-pointer.
“I didn’t notice it that much,” he said. “I was just playing basketball. But when I watched film and highlights of myself it seemed like I’m trying to copy his playing style. I don’t really think about it in games. But I think the more I watch highlights of Steph Curry, the more I play like him.”
Tominaga is chasing a boyhood dream of reaching the NBA.
The 23-year-old put himself on the basketball map in Japan as a high schooler with a penchant for deep 3s — sparking the comparisons to Curry. He took his game abroad in 2019 and is now a fan favorite on the Nebraska campus.
“I improved a lot here,” he said. “On the court, off the court, everything. It’s been very good to be here.”
His star is rapidly growing in Japan, where fans come up for photos whenever he is in public. If he reaches the next level, he could become one of Japan’s next major sports stars, alongside current NBA players Rui Hachimura and Yuta Watanabe.
“We’ve had a lot of media,” Shamus McKnight, the school’s senior associate communications director, said. “In fact, last weekend, we had five Japanese outlets here for Senior Day (Tominaga’s final home game).”
Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, McKnight said, is traveling with the team for the remainder of its season. TV Asahi is prepping a documentary. There are also reporters from magazines and newspapers chronicling Tominaga’s final steps in college.
“We have a pretty good home contingent of media,” McKnight said. “But obviously when Keisei is going, there are a lot here. It’s probably busier for him than anyone else on our team.”
Tominaga is Nebraska’s leading scorer this season with 14 points per game and is shooting 35.9% from 3-point range.
He scored 19 points in a win over No. 1 Purdue on Jan. 10. He had 20 in a win over Indiana late last month with Nebraska fighting to stay in the NCAA picture and 18 in a victory over Rutgers on March 4. His season high is 31, which came in an overtime loss against Illinois on Feb. 5.
He went over 1,000 career points during Sunday’s win over Michigan, making him the 31st player in school history to reach that mark.
Tominaga’s star will shine even brighter if he can help the Cornhuskers reach the NCAA Tournament later this month for the first time since 2014. On Saturday, famed ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s most recent bracket prediction had the Cornhuskers (22-9) as the No. 9 seed in the West.
“That was one of my dreams when I was younger, to play in the NCAA Tournament,” Tominaga said. “We just got to keep playing hard until we’re 100% sure we are going to be in the tournament. We’re in a good position at this time of the year, we just gotta finish strong.”
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