'Been a Long Road': New Special Highlights Rienks Mast's Recovery, Return for Nebrasketball

A new Nebraska Men's Basketball Original Production titled "The Road Back" highlights the recovery of Mast and what he's gone through since the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Initial Injury

In the week leading up to the Kansas State game on Dec. 17, 2023, Mast didn't practice. With pain in his knee, he met with doctors.

"We figured out that a piece of cartilage broke loose," Mast said.

Pain meds got him through the contest against the Wildcats, but surgery was necessary to remove the loose cartilage.

But that surgery only fixed the short-term issue. Director of Men's Basketball Strength and Conditioning Kurt Joseph compared Mast's knee to driving to drive on a broken road with loose concrete strewn about.

"We erred on the side of giving what Rienk needed in order to perform," said Andrew McCabe, Nebraska Men's Basketball Athletic Trainer. "His main goals were to prolong his career but also play with the least amount of issues in his knee at the time."

That meant a bigger procedure, which would come after the season. Mast missed just two games after Kansas State. He scored 20+ points in three out of four games, including 34 against Ohio State.

Mast led Nebraska to an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time in a decade, but his journey was only beginning.

The Long Road Gets Longer

The originally planned procedure was going to have Mast rehabbing for 4-6 months, which would have had him back for most of the 2024-2025 season. But after doctors looked at the knee closer, a new plan became necessary.

"They were like, 'The surgery that we originally planned on won't do enough'," Mast said. He could have done that and played last year, but in a season or two, another procedure would have been needed.

The "more major surgery" was the decision, knocking him out for the entire season. Joseph had concerns about Mast's understanding of the length of the rehab.

"Whenever an athlete gets hurt, they don't necessarily understand how long of a process it is," Joseph said. "The nature of his injury, it can take close to a year or a little bit more, depending on your resources. Thank God we have all the resources we need here."

The Resilience of Rienk

McCabe called Rienk's procedure the most complicated one he's worked with in his career. That meant following the protocols correctly in every aspect of the recovery.

"Without him being diligent on his end, it would have been much more challenging," McCabe said.

Joseph echoed that message.

"You never know what type of athlete you're gonna get when they get hurt," Joseph said. "Some guys are extremely motivated. Some guys are motivated at first and then they lose confidence in themselves or they lose sense of self-worth after awhile.

"But Rienk is such a mentally tough person that it was extremely easy to keep him motivated."

Mast had been through a similar rehab a few years ago. Prior to his freshman year at Bradley, his first college stop, he tore his ACL and had to miss a year of basketball.

"It definitely helped that I had experience with it and I knew there were gonna be some very, very tough mental days," Mast said. "If you look at the grand scheme of things, yeah, it sucks. But small victories (are) very important in that process."

Synergy of Message

"Everybody has to have the same messaged to Rienk," Nebraska basketball head coach Fred Hoiberg said. "I've been really impressed with how everybody's been in synergy when we've gone through the process."

As Joseph said, having the resources is important. Nebraska has those. McCabe listed athletic training, physical therapy, strength and conditioning, nutrition, and the performance lab.

"When you have those things in place, the wheel runs really well," McCabe said.

Mast could hardly walk for the first few months after the surgery. But he had the resources and a consistent message from the staff working with him through his rehabilitation. He also had another driver for wanting to recover and be great.

"It's not his work ethic, it's not his jump shot, it's not his rebounding ability," Joseph said. "It's how much he cares about his teammates. That was a huge psychological, intrinsic, motivational factor for him."

Hoiberg said the 2024-25 team missed what Mast could do physically in games. But that absence became magnified by the hole left without his leadership and voice on the floor.

"He really just wanted to play with his team," Joseph said. "He wanted to be out there and support them. Every single question, every single action that he took was inspired by how he can help this team."

Mast's long road is almost over. The season begins on Nov. 3 against West Georgia, with a pair of home scrimmages before that.

"Being with my guys and playing basketball is what I look forward to," Mast said. "To put on the jersey again, that will feel great. With all the support that I've gotten here, I wanna repay that, give them another great season.

"It feels right over here, and I wanna play for all those people."

As of July 10, Mast has been 100% cleared for all basketball activities.

You can watch the full special on Mast below.