page 14
daily nebraskan
Wednesday, february 8, 1978
Injured freshman hopes for future hardship ruling
By Jim Hunt
Although the UNL basketball team is enjoying one of
its finest seasons ever, it has been a disappointing year for
forward Eric Eckleman.
The 6-foot-7 Eckelman, one of the promising freshmen
on the UNL squad, has been forced to sit out the entire
season with planter fashieritis, an injury to his right foot.
The injury' affects the planter fashier muscle which
runs from the heel and stretches up the middle of the foot
to the toes, Eckelman explained.
"It (the foot) is all right as long as I don't try to do too
much on it," Eckelman said. "It's all right as long as I
don't walk too hard or too 16ng on it, like across campus.
As soon as I do a lot of walking or running on it, it gets
inflamed."
Eckelman said he has seen three of four specialists and
has received the opinions of three or four other surgeons.
The doctors now are beginning to think surgery is the
only solution, he said.
"They've put a cast on it for a few weeks, shot me up
and gave me pills," Eckelman said. "They've done every
thing conservatively possible to heal it."
If surgery is required it probably will be performed
over spring break, he said.
"The doctors say there's notstoo much known about
it," Eckelman said. "Mine is a first for around this area.
All the other people who have had it have healed in about
three weeks.
"There's a doctor in Cincinnati that has done this type
of surgery and done it successfully."
Eckelman said he first injured his foot in December
of his senior year in high school and had to play the rest
of the season injured. He injured the foot again last
August and again the second day of running drills at UNL,
Sept. 13, he said. Eckelman said he felt the muscle tear.
UNL Basketball coach Joe Cipriano is trying to get
Eckelman a hardship ruling so he can retain his freshman
eligibility for the 1978-79 season, Eckelman said.
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Eckelman came to UNL after a successful career at
Northside High School in Muncie, Ind. His senior season
he averaged 24 points, IS rebounds, and nine assists a
game while earning all-state and all-regional honors.
Although he has not been able to play, Eckelman said,
he has been to almost every practice.
"I hope I would have seen a lot of playing time, but I
don't know for sure," Eckelman said. It's a different story
watching and being in there running through the offense."
"I think the team is doing real well," Eckelman said.
"They've made a lot of believers this season. They play
smart, don't throw the ball away much and play good
defense. When they put it all together they have a good
effort.
"Potentially we knew we could play this well,"
he said of UNL's 18-3 record. "With Brian Banks, (Curt)
Hedberg and (Terry) Novak, we have a real smart team."
Photo by Tod Kirk
Freshman Eric Eckelman hoped to play varsity
basketball when he came to UNL this fall, hut a
foot injury has forced him to watch the games from
the sidelines all season.
Women will host
dual track meet
UNL's womens track squad, which won its open
ing meet last weekend against Colorado University
6647, hosts a dual meet against Kansas Univer
sity, today at 4:30 in the Sports Complex.
The Huskers, coached by Carol Frost, set eight
school records in the Colorado meet at the Sports
Complex indoor track.
High jumper Patty Gleasort leaped 5 Feet 4 inches
to break the old school mark by two inches. Donna
Fox ran a 5:03.7 mile, breaking the old record by
two seconds as she finished in third place. . 1
Janet Bornemeier set a school record in the 600
yard run with a time of 1:25.6 Julie Seatcn broke
the 440-yard dash school record with a 2:41.7
time.
Cindy Tatum was a double winner for UNL last
weekend. Tatum set school records in the. 60-yard
dash with a 69 second time and in the 300-yard
dash with a 36.6 second time.
Cager conquest could cinch top spot in Big 8 playoffs
By Rob Barney
Coach Joe Cipriano's cagers could
assuredly cinch an upper division spot for
The Big 8 Conference playoffs, with a
victory over Kansas State University
tonight.
A 7:35 tipoff is scheduled at the Sports
Complex.
UNL is 7-2 in Big 8 play and 18-3
overall, tying the 20-5 record of the
1965-66 UNL team. UNL is ranked 18th
by United Press International and 19th
by Associated Press.
KSU is 54 in conference play and 14-7
overall.
Tonight's game is the third match be
tween the two schools this season. Jack
Hartman's club downed UNL 69-60
in the semi-finals of the Holiday Tourna
ment in December.
UNL defeated KSU in the Big 8 regular
season opener 77-63, in Manhattan.
Cipriano's crew has a six -game win
streak while the Wildcats have won three
in a row, including an 86-60 victory at
Colorado last Saturday.
Road victories have been hard for KSU.
They are 5-6 in games away from home.
UNL also is the only team to beat them at
home in 11 decisions.
KSU features one of the best one-two
punches around with 6-foot-l guard Mike
Evans and 6-foot-5 forward Curtis Red
ding. Evans became the Big 8's all-time career
scorer last week with 1,982 points. His
record surpasses the 1,940 points scored
by Cliff Meely of Colorado from 1969
through 1971.
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A Public Service of This Newspftper
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The senior from Goldsboro, N.C. is
averaging 20.1 points a game this year.
Redding is averaging 20.4 points a game.
'They (KSU) are a very fine shooting
team," Cipriano said. "Once they get hot
nobody is going to stop them."
The assignments for stopping Evans and
Redding will go to Brian Banks and Terry
Novak.
UNL, which avenged its only conference
losses last week with victories over
Colorado and Iowa State, has a different
situation this game.
We had revenge on our minds all last
week," Cipriano said. "The shoe is kind of
on the other foot this time.
"The Kansas State game could be the
toughest game we have played all year.
We played very well in the second half
against them in our last game." ,
In its last meeting, UNL scored 22
points the last ten minutes of the game!
game.
Besides Redding at one forward, KSU
starts 6-foot-5 Ronaldo Blackman at the
other forward and 6-foot-7 Steve Sold
ner at center.
'This is a game where Carl should be
able to dcaninate on the boards," Cipriano
said. "If he hits the boards and plays
defense, everything else should fall in
place.
"Hie team has always got up well for
K-State. I hope this will be no exception.
They (KSU) have a great deal of team
speed and of course they have Evans,"
he added.
Reserved seat tickets are sold out for
the game, according to UNL sports infor
mation director Don Bryant, but $1 and
$2 general admission tickets remain.
Starting line-ups
Kansas State (147)
Curtis Redding .6-5 .So. ... J7
Rolando Blackman . . .6-6 . . . .Fr F
Steve Soldner .6-7 ... Jr. . . . .C
Mike Evans. .6-1 ... .Sr. ... G
Scott Langton. .5-1 1 .. .Sr. ... G
Nebraska (18-3)
Terry Novak. 64 . . . JSr. . . . .F
Curt Hedberg .6-8 . . . Jr F
Carl McPipe 6-8 ... Jx C
Brian Banks .6-0 ... Jr. . . . G
Bob Moore .6-3 ... Jr. . . . G
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Photo by TdKir1(
Kansas State University's Mike Evans win bring his hot scoring hand to the Sports
Complex tonight and try to end UNL's six-game winning streak. Evans became the
Big 8's all-time scoring leader last week with 1 ,982 career points.