V '
Huskers reach Bin 8 heiohts
despite early league predictions
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Before the -tart of this year's Big ,8
basketball season, conference coaches were
asked to predict the final league standings. UNL
was picked seventh in that poll. Then, after the
Big 8 tournament in December, a poll was
taken of league sports writers. The Huskers
were again picked seventh.
Now, at the end of the season, one can look";';
at the final standings'. Lo and behold, the v
Huskers are in the lofty reaches of the upper1 f '
division. They edged into fourth place with a
7-7 record and defeated nationally ranked
Kansas State University (KSU) along the way.
What are the reasons for the unpredicted rise
to prominence?
dennis onnen
press box review
"They really molded together as a team in
January, February and March," Husker Coach
Joe Cipriano said. He also mentioned the
effective Husker defense, which he called the
best in the conference. During a 3 -game stretch
at the end of the year, Kansas University (KU),
and Colorado University were held to their
lowest season point totals by the Huskers.
For the second year in a row, the Huskers
were led in scoring by sophomore Jerry Fort,
who averaged 18 points a game. He set several
records along the way, including sophomore
marks for field goals, field goals attempted,
points and best average. In the midst of a
33-point outburst against Missouri University,
he set a Husker record by sinking 15 Jj&ld floals.
The only other Husker to break a record was '
Rickey Harris, who grabbed 116 rebounds to"
overtake Fort's freshman mark of 10G.
Fort's season total of 463 points was the
fifth highest in Husker history, and it moved
him into 10th place on the career scoring lilt
Although Fort was the only player to
average in double figures, Cipriano was quick to
point out the contributions of other players,
Replacing senior starters Brendy Lee and Tom
Novak next year is one of his main concerns. '
"We're going to have to replace the two
seniors and develop more offensive punch," he
said.
v Sophomore Ricky Marsh and junior Kent
Reckewey will be among those battling for
Novak's guard spot. Freshmen Harris and Bob
Stegel are prime contenders for the forward
position vacated by Lee. Besides Fort,
frontliners Larry Cox and Steve Erwin are
returning starters. However, their spots aren't
fissured.
"There's plenty of competition," Cipriano
said. "Nobody has a spot."
One of the promising aspects for increased
offensive output is the fact that the six top
scorers are returning next year.
Individual department leaders were fairly
well distributed among the Huskers this year.
Lee gathered 197 rebounds to lead in that
category for the second straight season.- Cox
and Erwin had outstanding 57.9 field goal and
83.6 free throw percentages respectively, but
neither had enough attempts to qualify for
records. Marsh led in assists with 77.
The Huskers ended with a winning record at
14-12, but that mark was padded by early
season victories over such nonentities as the
University of Minnesota Duluth, MacMurray
College and Northern Iowa University. Their
record was hurt when they had to face both KU
and KSU, the top two finishers in the Big 8
tournament league race.
Before the season began, there wera rumors
of a Husker starting Sineup consisting of three
freshmen and two sophomores, it turned out
aimost like that in the first game when a junior,
two sophomores and two freshmen took the
floor.
However, the freshmen's inexperience
showed in the early part of the season, and by
the beginning of the Big 8 race, veterans Lee
and Novak had earned starting spots to help
stabilize the Huskers.
One of the signs of a young team is its
relative inability to win on the road, and that
was certainly a distinguishing characteristic of
this year's squad. The Huskers were stellar at
home with an 11-2 mark, but on the road they
could manage only a 3-10 record.
However, flashes of maturity were exhibited,
such as the late season win over KSU in
Manhattan, breaking the Wildcats' 21 -game
home winning streak.
- Increased maturity will be instrumental to
the Huskers' success next year, according to
Cipriano. He is hopeful experience gained this
year and early next year will have helped in
thit regard by the time ths Dig 8 grind rolls
around.
Judging from the late season surge and 13
returners, Husker prospects should be tho
brightest in years.
dm As
tf 'jh-ins for intramural
'wrestling will be at the
FielfJhouse between 4 p.m. and
5 p.m. today. Competition
begins Monday.
The National Rifle Assoc.
Collegiate Smalibore Rifle
Sectional Match will be hosted
by the UNL Rifle Club March
1 5-1 7 at the Military and Naval
Science Blcig, ,
The UNL Soccet Club will
travel to Concordia College
Saturday for 'a 2'p.m. match.
The Omaha Huskers meet UNL
Sunday 8t 2 p.m. in a contest
at Memorial Stadium.
Last weekend Matt Kush
and Mark Stromberg, varsity
oarsmen on the UNL Rowing
Team, traveled to the
University of Wisconsin to
participate in the U.S. National
Rowing Team Program. Both
oarsmen are working towards
for a position on the national
rowing team, which will
represent the United States at
the World Championships in
Lucerne, Switzerland, this
August.
Ml. Ifi
Forward Rickey Harris, here shooting over Kansas
State University's Larry Williams in a Jan. 22 game,
set a season record for rebounds by a freshman.
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Jerry Fort, here putting in two points against the
University of Oklahoma, set a season scoring mark
for sophomores.
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By ri'.iin.i.K I: ir i r s
page 12
daily nebraskan
friday, march 15, 1974
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