Who is the 'Japanese Steph Curry'? Explaining Nebraska guard Keisei Tominaga's nickname

With March Madness being as large of a tournament as it is, you will come across a ton of different players that you may or may not have been familiar with.

Keisei Tominaga might be one of them.

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But if you have watched any Nebraska Cornhuskers game this season, you would know the Japanese guard is one of the more popular players in college basketball because of his ability to hit wide-ranging shots — much like Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry, to whom Tominaga is often compared.

Here's what you need to know on Tominaga, including why he's called the "Japanese Steph Curry" ahead of Nebraska vs. Texas A&M in the first round of the NCAA Tournament:

Why is Keisei Tominaga called the 'Japanese Steph Curry'?

Tominaga, who grew up around the game of basketball thanks to both of his parents playing professionally in Japan, was a Kobe Bryant fan as a child. There even are photos of him wearing a Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls jersey.

But things switched for Tominaga when Curry took over the NBA landscape around 2015. He found his new idol and switched out his old number for No. 30 on his jersey to honor him. Indeed, when a Big Ten Network documentary asked Tominaga why he wore the jersey, he offered a simple answer:

"Because of Steph Curry."

Like Curry, who was an under-recruited player out of Ohio who went on to play at Davidson, Tominaga had to work his way up and earn his stripes to play Division I basketball.

Tominaga played high school basketball for Sakuragaoka Gakuen High School in Japan, where he averaged 39.8 points per game as a senior. This led him to move to the U.S. to play basketball at the JUCO level at Ranger College.

"I wanted to play in America (ever since) I was young and I think that was the best timing to go to America," Tominaga said when he began his collegiate career at the JUCO level.

Less than two years later, Tominaga transferred and committed to Fred Hoiberg at Nebraska, where he quickly became a fixture in the Cornhuskers' rotation and offense. He's now one of the premier, showcase players in the Big Ten and the nation — much like Curry.

"My former assistant Matt just said, 'You have to see this kid. He is as good of a shooter as I've ever seen,” Hoiberg told Big Ten Network last year on how Nebraska came across Tominaga. “(He) showed us highlights of a game over there (in Japan) where he was raining (3-pointers) from all over. ... I fell in love with him right there."

Like Curry, Tominaga has built a reputation for his easy shooting release, his scoring and his ability to hit deep shots. Last year, Tominaga was one of six Division I players to shoot 50% from the field, 40% from beyond the arc and 85% from the free throw line, all while averaging double figures.

He has carried that into this season — while also adding in Curry's signature good night celebration — by leading Nebraska back to the NCAA Tournament behind some big wins, including then-No. 1 Purdue. He has hit some crazy 3-pointers this season, some of which look like he doesn't track the ball to the net:

Where is Keisei Tominaga from?

• Hometown: Moriyama Nagoya Aichi, Japan

Tominaga hails from Moriyama Nagoya Aichi, Japan, which is roughly four hours southwest of Tokyo. Nagoya has a reported population of 2.3 million people and is Japan's fourth-largest incorporated city. It is located at the head of Ise Bay and Japan's third most populous urban area.

Like Curry, Tominaga comes from a basketball family. His father, Hiroyuki, was a center for the Japan national team and competed in the 1998 FIBA World Championship while his mom, Hitomi, also played professionally in Japan.

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Keisei Tominaga stats at Nebraska

Tominaga has become one of the premier shooters and scorers in the Big Ten in the last two seasons. The "Japanese Steph Curry" is having a career season this year for the Cornhuskers, averaging career highs in both points and rebounds per game (14.9 and 2.3, respectively).

Aside from his time in JUCO and at Nebraska, Tominaga has already taken his game internationally. He was on the Japan 3x3 basketball team in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and helped Japan earn a spot this past summer for this upcoming summer's 2024 Paris Olympic Games with 22 points against Cape Verde.

Here's a full breakdown of Tominaga's stats at Nebraska:

• Career: 1053 total points, 168 total rebounds, 11.3 points per game, 1.8 rebounds per game, 46% shooting from the field and 37.2% shooting from beyond the arc

• 2023-24: 463 total points, 72 total rebounds, 14.9 points per game, 2.3 rebounds per game, 47% shooting from the field and 37.2% shooting from beyond the arc

• 2022-23: 420 total points, 51 total rebounds, 13.1 points per game, 1.6 rebounds per game, 50% shooting from the field and 40.0% shooting from beyond the arc

• 2021-22: 170 total points, 45 total rebounds, 5.7 points per game, 1.5 rebounds per game, 37% shooting from the field and 33.0% shooting from beyond the arc.

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Why Keisei Tominaga is called 'Japanese Steph Curry' for Nebraska basketball