Thorir Thorbjarnarson grins like a guy who knows something you don't.
And maybe he does. Or he did. For two years the Nebraska guard toiled, far away from home and then through a summer of upheaval in the program around him.Â
All the while Thorbjarnarson knew he could play college basketball at the highest level, even if some who watched the Huskers didn't feel the same.
Now, everyone else is figuring out what Thor knew.
"It's been extremely … pleasant," Thorbjarnarson said with that smile after a recent practice, a workout that came after the best four-game stretch of his college career. "It's fun to be out there and getting to run as much as I've been getting these past couple games. It's been an amazing time. I just love playing basketball, so it's good to be out there."
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While Thorbjarnarson has become a cult hero of sorts this season with the Nebraska fan base — first by announcing he was staying in Lincoln this spring with a GIF from the movie "Wolf of Wall Street" — he's also turned himself into a solid contributor on a power conference roster.
He was perhaps the only person within the state's borders who saw that second part coming.
Thorbjarnarson began his Nebraska career as a curiosity, signing with the Huskers in August 2017 after an outstanding youth career in Iceland, where basketball can be an afterthought. When he joined NU he became the only Icelandic player in the country on a Power Five conference roster.
That first year was as much about adjusting as anything. Thorbjarnarson became known more for being a part of Nebraska's Bench Mob — the group of players who earned more notoriety for their antics on the sideline than for anything they did on the court — than as a player who would become a contributor.
His second season started much the same: deep on the bench, despite a lack of depth, until injuries and attrition led to an expanded role and a peek into what 2019-20 had in store despite averages of just two points and 2.1 rebounds per game.
Thorbjarnarson had what may well stand as his iconic Husker moment in that season when, at the end of Nebraska's miracle rally against Iowa, he blocked Jordan Bohannon's three-pointer just before the horn to preserve NU's 93-91 win.
"I feel like I’ve always known what I’ve been capable of on the offensive side. And the way I played basketball back home before I got out here, I was a scorer," Thorbjarnarson said. "It kind of shifted when I got out here – maybe less minutes and adjusting to the game – but also I’ve always just been ready to accept whatever role is needed of me on the court.
"And I feel now, when we’re a little short-manned, I’ve got to take a little more responsibility on the offensive side, and the shot’s been going in, so I think, it’s not surprise, because I know what I’m capable of. But I’m happy to see the results."
The results have manifested in the last month. He scored a career-high 11 points Dec. 4 against Georgia Tech. Then he scored 12 against Creighton. Then he scored 17 in 42 minutes in Nebraska's overtime loss at Indiana and pitched in 13 more in the win over Purdue.
And Thorbjarnarson did it efficiently — 18-of-32 from the field, and 10-for-18 from three-point range in those four games. The red-hot tear shot Thorbjarnarson to the top of the Big Ten in three-point shooting percentage.Â
On the whole, the 6-foot-6 junior is shooting 49 percent from the field and just shy of 46 percent from three-point range. He's the only player on Nebraska's roster shooting better than 38 percent from three-point range. Among the Huskers' regular rotation players, only Haanif Cheatham is making a higher percentage of total shots. No Husker shoots better from the free-throw line than Thorbjarnarson's 77 percent.
"He's got a great understanding of the game. I could sense that, even when we did our little 2-on-2, 3-on-3 workouts in the spring," Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said earlier this year. "And that's what this offense is all about: it's reading and reacting. And guys like Thor will get baskets because of his ability to cut."
Averaging 6.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, Thorbjarnarson has started Nebraska's past three games, moving into that role after Jervay Green's suspension before the Indiana contest. If he keeps producing, he might just stay there.
"It means a lot. It’s just showing that I’m able to do this; I’m capable; I’ve put in a lot of hard work for this. I’ve been playing basketball since I was 7, and my goal coming to the States was, it’s been a dream since I was 15," Thorbjarnarson said. "Now I’m finally producing on a Power Five conference team, so that’s really something that I’m really proud of."