The Pick Six Podcast - Husker sports news and analysis · Omaha World-Herald

Kent Pavelka joins the show

·25 min·1 clip

Kent Pavelka says he is “a hybrid” between objective reporter and Nebraska homer.

1. The Pick 6 Pod episode is the first installment of the Husker Legends series, with Kent Pavelka as the featured guest. 2. Ben Doody hosts the conversation, and Pavelka matters because he is described as the voice of Nebraska basketball. 3. The episode asks what 50 years of calling Husker basketball sounds like when Nebraska is having a 26-win season. 4. Pavelka says he got into broadcasting after graduating from UNL in 1971 and working at KHUB in Fremont. 5. He explains that a connection at KFAB led him to a job as a disc jockey and all-purpose person, with sports arriving in his first year. 6. Pavelka says he was not a top 40 DJ, but worked at an adult station that played older music and news. 7. He calls the 2026 Nebraska basketball team the best team he has ever seen at Nebraska. 8. He adds that the team may not be the most talented, but says it is the best orchestrated on offense and defense. 9. Pavelka remembers a 1965 Nebraska team as a possible second-best group from his perspective. 10. He describes a text from Jerry Fort during the Iowa game as a perfect connection between Nebraska’s past and present. 11. Pavelka says he also saw Tyronn Lue in Los Angeles during the USC-UCLA road trip and noted Lue’s admiration for Fred Hoiberg. 12. He says Hoiberg “really loves where Fred has brought the team and the program.” 13. Pavelka says Hoiberg’s rise from job pressure to a contract through 2032 reflects how hard it is to demand a fast turnaround. 14. He compares that patience to Bill McCartney at Colorado and Bill Snyder at Kansas State. 15. Pavelka argues that return-to-the-past talk about the Big 12 ignores the difference between the Big Eight, the Big 12, and the Big Ten. 16. He says road trips to places like Cincinnati are not the same as the drivable Big Eight trips to Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Colorado. 17. Pavelka says his broadcasts combine live reporting, emotion, and homerism, and he calls himself part of the program. 18. He says the key obligation is painting a mental picture for listeners who cannot see the game. 19. The tone stays conversational and nostalgic, with Doody pressing for concrete answers and Pavelka answering in long, reflective runs. 20. Listeners who follow Nebraska basketball history, Fred Hoiberg, and Kent Pavelka’s calls will get the most from it.

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