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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 17, 2000)
- MEN’S BASKETBALL -- Fields fights pain from injury By Joshua Camenrind Staff uniter Rodney Fields is no stranger to pain and adjustment As a basketball player and a person, there isn’t much Fields hasn’t seen in his past two seasons with the Cornhuskers. Whether it was sitting out last sea son with a stress fracture in his right teg, being one of five newcomers on this yeari team or enduring pain from his injury’s not healing frilly this season, Fields, a transfer from Tyler (Texas) Junior College, has survived. But Fields admits he struggled on die court at one point “I was kind of rushing things,” Fields said. “I wasn’t letting my game come to me, and (I was) trying to make too much happen.” When it was announced that Fields’ roommate, Cookie Belcher, would not play this season and the starting posi tion was his, Fields saw pressure ahead. “I always look forward to a chal lenge,” Fields said. “But I never try to take on more than I can handle.” “Other people’s expectations might have been a lot higher,” he said. “Not that my expectations are lower, but with die top scorer out, I kind of took on the responsibility and worked my way in.” Fields struggled early on with turnovers and bad decisions - a prob lem continuing to plague the whole team. Through it all, he has had to battle his body as well. The Big 12 Conference season has brought consistent pain to his leg. The pain forced him out of the starting line up at times and cut down on his defen sive skills, his main contribution to die team. ft I always look forward to a challenge. But I never try to take on more than I can handle." Rodney Fields NU guard Fields said he prides himself on being a defensive stopper, but the pain has limited the movement and his abili ty to compete at the level he is used to. “I sit out a little bit in practice and don’t try to aggravate it,” Fields said. “It is a slow process and is taking a while. The doctors told me the soreness is to be expected.” But Nebraska Coach Danny Nee said Fields would be the last one to complain. “I really notice at the beginning of the game or practice there is a tight ness,” Nee said “Sometimes he really ^ loosens up and has a flow, and then there are other days where he is drag ging it around” As of late, the leg has been feeling better, and Fields’ play has shown it. He has average! eight points in his last two games (against Oklahoma and Iowa State), and he has shown he can fill a role his team needs right now. Nebraska has been plagued by spotty perimeter play this season, and Fields has provided a spark from his position. Husker teammate and fellow shoot ing guard Cary Cochran said he can see the difference in Fields’ play from the beginning of the season to now. “I think he thought he was confi dent early in the year, but I don’t think he really was,” said Cochran, who has rotated with Fields and Matt Davison in the starting lineup. “I think he was try ing to make plays that would work at junior college. But now he knows what he can do, and he is a big boost for us.” Said Nee: “I thought when he came in against Iowa State, he gave us a lift in the first half, and he played solid against Oklahoma,” Nee said. “We need some help from the perimeter and, when he hits a couple shots like that, it gives us a lift.” Vlieger comes back from ankle injury VLIEGER from page 16 “I felt like I was not as much a part of the team,” he said. “The injury dis tanced me because I couldn’t hit with them or condition with them.” “It took a while to feel like I was part of the team again.” Three surgical screws and count less hours of rehabilitation later, Vlieger, a senior, has become one of the team’s important leaders, said NU Coach Dave Van Horn. “He’s a silent leader, a kind of coach on the field,” he said. Van Horn said he was worried by Vlieger’s injury because he brings so much to the team. “He’s a real smart, well-rounded player,” Van Horn said. “He worked hard to get back, and I think because of that, he’ll have a good season.” Vlieger was an important part of the Big Red machine that won the Big 12 tournament last year. But his con tribution came at shortstop, where he hit .348 with four homeruns, 41 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. But Vlieger also had 19 errors, second highest on the team. Former third baseman Danny Kimura had 20. So the coaches decided to move Vlieger to third base because his 6 foot-2,195-pound frame is better suit ed for the hot comer. “Brandt makes all of the plays he could get to, but he doesn’t have great range,” Van Horn said. “So he’s a per fect fit for third.” Moving Vlieger to third helped the entire team because the coaches were able to get more speed and defense into the lineup, Van Horn said. Vlieger said he enjoyed the change. “Third is less mental. You don’t have to be in charge of the whole defense,” he said. “It’s also more of a reaction position, so you don’t have to cover a lot of ground.” And right now, that’s good for Vlieger because his ankle is at about 90 percent. He was afraid his lateral movement might have been hindered, but he said he moved well in the open ing games. The real test came when the third baseman heard the aluminum ping in the opening game against Northwestern State (La.) and went after the ball without fear. “I wasn’t totally confident in my lateral movement,” he said. “I’m still in the process of trusting (the ankle), but once the adrenaline started flow ing, I didn’t think about it.” Boxer in ‘The Hurricane’ sues filmmakers PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A for mer middleweight boxing champion is suing the makers of “The Hurricane,” saying the movie inaccu rately portrayed him as being “relent lessly pummeled” by Rubin “Hurricane” Carter in a 1964 title fight. Joey Giardello, whose real name is Carmine O. Tilelli, filed the federal defamation lawsuit in Philadelphia against Universal Pictures, Beacon Communications and Azoff Films. “The Hurricane,” released by Universal last month, is based on the life story of Carter. He served 19 years in prison after being convicted in 1967 of three murders; the convic tion was later overturned. The lawsuit said the movie describes the fight as having clearly been won by Carter but that the judges were influenced by the racial ly charged atmosphere. Giardello won by unanimous decision. “Virtually every boxing expert then and now will tell you I won the fight,” Giardello said Wednesday. Referee Robert Polis, who scored the fight 72-66 in favor of Giardello, said: “They portrayed Joey Giardello as an incompetent fighter. 1 thought it was ludicrous.” W Sport Clubs At Home this Weekend NU Women's Rugby will hold their Pre Season Scrimmage Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in Cook Pavilion at the Campus Rec. Center. NU Women's Soccer takes on Nebraska Wesleyan University this Sunday at 2:00 p.m. The game will be played in Cook Pavilion. On the Road Traveling this weekend to Dallas, TX, the NU Baseball Club will take on Southern Methodist University Saturday and Sunday. Good luck to Chris Talley, Charlie Bills & Mike Karlin, who will be competing in the National Collegiate Handball Tournament in Columbia, MO Feb. 17 - 20th. Kesuits 2000 Open Indoor Rowing Championships Held February 12, 2000 in Lawrence, Kansas Coxwain Men 1000 m Ryan Klatt 1* Novice Lightweight Men 2000 m Mike Baker 2"d Varsity Lightweight Men 2000 m Troy Smith 4* Varsity Open Men 2000 m Erik Sather 4dl Men’s Relay 2000 m 4* (T. Burke, F. Dolezal, L. Phillips, E. Sather) Rifle - The NU Red team placed 1st in the NRA Collegiate Sectionals Air Rifle competition. In Smallbore team the Nu Red placed 2nd and NU White 4th. Events were held at the M&N Rifle Range this past weekend. Climbing - At the Vertical Endeavors competition this weekend. Naomi Kohles placed 1st in the Women’s Novice division and Angie Wilhemi placed 5th in the Women’s Intermediate division. Office of Campus Recreation 472-3467 Snyder a ‘great leader’ SNYDER from page 16 Neumann said, Snyder’s sole aim should be a national title. “When a guy places in the top f ur in die conference,*’Neumann said, “the only thing he has left really is to win a national championship.” Snyder also has the support of his teammates to do what he has to for a win at the national stage. “It’s great,” Brad Vering, NU’s other team captain, said. “It’s good to see somebody on the team put that much dedication into something (he’s) doing.” That dedication makes him as dan gerous on the mat and in the classroom - almost as dangerous as his flashy smile and wild hair is to girls’ hearts. “He’s flamboyant. He likes to hot dog a little bit, but,” Neumann said, pausing, “he’s fiercely proud of his family. He’s proud of his 3.5 GPA. He’s confident in what he wants to accom plish in school and athletics. He’s a great leader.” Snyder should be confident. His winning percentage, .969, would be third in school history if the season ended today. His 17-0 dual record already {Hits him in the top 10 for dual records in a season, and he’s on track for one of the best career-winning per centages in history. But still, if he feels lost, that’s fine withVering. “If he needs this time right now to figure out where he is in the circle of life, or whatever, that’s good,” Vering said. Huskers edged by Raiders HUSKERS from page 16 height disadvantage and poor field goal shooting percentage - used a chunk of its 13 offensive rebounds and 12 second-chance points to haunt NU. That formula put Tech up 57-52 with just more than five minutes left on a Melinda Schmucker-Pharies shot, but the Huskers hung tough. Senior Charlie Rogers, who led NU with 14 points, responded with a jumper. One minute later, NU center Casey Leonhardt hit a layup off of a Brooke Schwartz pass to tie. But after that, NU failed to score on its next five posses sions - including Leonhardt’s wide open layup miss with about 1:30 left. “You won’t win many games mak ing plays like that late in the game,” Sanderford said. Meanwhile, Tech got baskets from Katrisa O’Neal and Pianette Peirson and two free throws from Aleah Johnson (game-high 18 points) to go up 63-57. The Huskers fouled to -.utch up, and with Tech ahead 64-62 with 10 seconds left, Johnson hit the two free throws that iced the game and Tech’s 11th consecutive in a 20-win season. It left Sanderford saying his “what ifs” again in a season of “what-ifs.” “The story of the game is we turned the ball over 22 times,” Sanderford said. “We learned a lot tonight. We totally controlled the tempo of the game against a good bas ketball team. We just didn’t get any breaks.” Parking Problems? Need a Place to Park? 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