The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, April 01, 1981, Page page 10, Image 10
page 10 daily nebraskan Wednesday, april 1, 1981 Coach: Road trip losses caused by inconsistency "J" - - t: : SM ... Photo by Mitch Hrdlicka Nebraska's Mike Harlander gets ready to release a pitch during action at Buck Beltzer Field earlier this season. The Huskers will host Creighton for a double-header beginning at 1 :30 today. By Jeff Goodwin After a road trip that saw the Husker baseball team win four and lose nine, Nebraska returns home this week to start its Big Eight season against Oklahoma. The Huskers also play Creighton in a double-header today at Buck Beltzer Field. The first game starts at 1:30 p.m. Nebraska Coach John Sanders said he was disappoint ed with the Huskers' play in the Hawaii Tournament. "We just weren't very consistent. We played well in the early innings and did badly in the late innings." Sanders also said Nebraska's pitching was shaky in spots. "We didn't get the ball over the plate, and as a result, we ended up putting pressure on our defense." Sanders said he was satisfied with the offensive pro duction of the Huskers. "We've been making some things happen offensively. We scored enough runs to win most of those games," he said. In order to contend for the Big Eight title, Sanders said, the Huskers would have to develop more consist ency from the pitching staff. "We've also got to shore up our defense and come aip with the big play. We didn't do that last week," he said. The Huskers' pitching will be tested on Saturday when they meet the Oklahoma Sooners. The Sooners have scored 16 runs or more in eight games this season. They are ranked fourth in the country by The College Base ball News. "I expect them (Oklahoma) and Oklahoma State to be right up there with the contenders," Sanders said. "I don't think this (the losses) will have an effect on the rest of our games. All the problems we're having now can be taken care of with some wins," he said. Football recruit wants to add to Husker tradition By Bob Asmussen At the conclusion of his senior year at Omaha West side, Dan Wingard had a difficult decision to make. The combination quarterback-receiver-kicker was faced with the decision of accepting a football scholarship from eith er Nebraska or Oklahoma. Nebraska won. "It came down to the fact that I'm from Nebraska," Wingard said. "I've gone to the games ever since I can remember. I'm a Nebraska fan and the chance to play for them was something I just couldn't pass up." Both schools recruited Wingard primarily as a kicker, but Nebraska's promise to let him to try out for split end weighed heavily on lus decision. "I don't think Oklahoma knew I was a wide receiver," Wingard said. "Coach Osborne said he saw me as a Tim Smith type. I don't want to be limited to being just a kicker." Wingard's versatility had a large impact on his being re cruited so heavily, according to Omaha Westside Coach Dan Young. "With a player like Dan you have someone who can play three or four different positions," Young said. "He's an exceptional athlete." Pleasing decision Young said he was pleased with Wingard's decision to attend Nebraska. "I wanted Dan to go to Nebraska so I could see him play, but I realized the decision was totally his," Young said. "I know this sounds selfish, but his choice made me very happy." Wingard said he was surprised by the early interest shown of him. "At first I was sort of shocked," he said. "It never oc curred to me that I would be recruited by such great programs like the ones they have at Nebraska and Okla homa." Wingard was asked if he is nervous and apprehensive about going to Nebraska. "Sure I'm apprehensive," he said. "I hear so much about how great the players are, and I can't believe I'm going to be one of the them. Sometimes I say to myself, my me?'" Wingard was a quarterback in his sophomore year at Westside, then became an All-Metro Conference wide re ceiver his junior year. Young asked Wingard to switch back to quarterback his senior year. The decision was a ditticult one to make, he said. "At first I didn't want to do it," Wingard said. "I had gotten letters from colleges that wanted me as a wide re ceiver so I didn't think it was in my best interest. Looking back now, though, I'm glad I made the switch. It's made me a better player and has helped me to try and become more of a team leader." Following footsteps Wingard will be following in the footsteps of another former Westside player, Craig Johnson. Johnson's career at Nebraska has affected Wingard's feeling about entering college. "I know Craig Johnson's brother real well and he told me Craig was disappointed in his career at Nebraska," Wingard said. "He never put down Nebraska or anything, he just always told me to go to Oklahoma." Selecting Nebraska was not a cut-and-dried decision for Wingard. "I visited Oklahoma and was very impressed," Wingard said. "The facilities were great and the people were real nice. The whole thing boiled down to the fact that they wanted me as a kicker period. If they had shown any will ingness to let me try another position I might have signed with them. "I'm glad I chose Nebraska. It's a great program and I'm glad I'm going to be a part of it," he added. The poor press this recruiting class had gotten hasn't bothered Wingard. "You don't need blue-chippers to have a great recruit ing year," Wingard said. "People have to remember that Nebraska never has a bad recruiting year. We're going to work very hard and really contribute to the Nebraska tradition." Knight's irresponsible behavior is uncharacteristic of greatness One month ago it looked like the only way Indiana would get to Philadelphia would be by getting a job waiting tables at Bookbinders. The Iowa Hawkcycs were in first place and coasting, while Indiana was struggling to finish second. Then a funny thing happened. The Iowa basketball team started to play like the Iowa football team. And Bobby Knight started to breathe fire into the Hoosiers. Goodbye Hawks. Hello Hoosiers. Then, with the help of upsets, the Hoosiers roared through their regional and on to Philadelphia. Once there, they dominated what many people considered the strongest Final Four in years. And how did they manage this with a team that lost nine games this year, including one to Pan American? Simple. They had Bobby Knight and no one else did. It would be absurd to say that Bobby Knight isn't a good coach. Anyone who has a record of 334-118 lias to be doing something right. But there's another side to Bobby Knight. There's the Bobby Knight who was charged with hitting a cop during the Pan American Games two years ago in Puerto Rico. And the Bobby Knight who accosted a referee in a game against Purdue earlier this year. And the Bobby Knight who shoved an LSU fan against a wall last Sunday. Unfortunately, a lot of people tend to forget these things after a coach wins a national championship. The English poet John Dryden once said, "Even victors are by victory undone." Dryden died in 1700, so he never knew Bobby Knight, hut he could have been talking about Bobby when he said it. Nothing seems to satisfy him. After the win against LSU, possibly the greatest of his career. Knight got in to his latest dispute. An LSU fan congratulated him on his win. but Bobby had to have the last word. He made some comment about the Hoosiers not being Tiger bait after all. The fan called Knight a name he didn't care for and the fan ended up being shoved against a wall. Of course, calling Bobby Knight anything other than "Sir" is like introducing a marshmallow salesman to Billy Martin. But that's not the point. The basketball coach of Indiana University, or any other university for that matter, should have more intelligence than to reduce himself to the level of a barroom brawler. In his posi tion he represents more than just his own interests. Somehow one just can't imagine John Wooden or Gene Bartow doing something like that. They realized that, as Winston Churchill once said. "The price of greatness is responsibility." That is something that Bobby knight hasn't learned yet. And it's something that he can't learn on the basketball court. Perhaps Bobby could profit from the words of another great basketball coach. A! McGuire. who once said, Wmning is overcmph.,sled. The only tlmc it ,s really important is in major surgery and war "