Wednesday, March 7, 1C34
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"Stoppin Hoppen" a third consecu
tive game is Kansas State's objective
tonight as the Wildcats meet 17-10
Nebraska at the Bob Devaney Sports
Center.
Game time is 7:10 p.m. for the fust
round game of the Big Eight Tourna
ment. Dave Hoppcn, Nebraska's All-Big-Eight
center, has been neutralized by
the Wildcats' suffocating zone defense
in Nebraska's two victories against
Kansas State.
Last week, Hoppen was limited to
five shots in a 63-56 victory in Lincoln
and he needed to make seven of 10 free
throws to keep alive a string of 32
games in double figures.
Earlier, Hoppen scored 10 points
before fouling out in a 47-46 victory at
Manhattan.
They've got us guessing," said Neb
raska Coach Moe Iba. "Kansas State
changed their zone and offense from
the first time we played them and I
don't know if they will change a third
time."
Iba said the Wildcats went from a
3-2 zone defense in the first game to a
2-1-2 zone that sometimes resembled a
box-and-one defense.
All resulted in Nebraska having prob
Jems getting the ball to its leading
scorer.
"They dared us to shoot from the
outside," Iba said. Nebraska's guards
and forwards responded with 75 per
cent shooting in the Feb. 28 game, as
all five starters reached double figures.
"We must have the patience we did
last time," Iba said. "We must take our
time against the zone."
Kansas State (Ht.) Pis.
Alfaro (8-6) 12.4 G
Roder (8-3) 8.6 Q
Mitchell (8-6) 11.0 C
Elder (5-8) 13.3 F
Watkins (8-6) 5.7 F
Pts. (Ht.) Nebraska
7.8 (6-2) Williams
8.1 (5-10) Ponco
20.0 (6-11) Hoppen
14.0 (6-4) Cloudy
2.6 (S-S) Smith
RADIO: KFOR (1240) airs the Neb
raska Basketball Network's broadcast
from Omaha's KFAB (1110). Kent Pav
elka and Tom Johnson are the an
nouncers. Hoppen was named All-Big Eight
Monday by the Associated Press and
United Press International Joining I lop
pen on the first team were Wayman
Tisdale of Oklahoma, a unanimous
selection, Iowa State's Barry Stevens,
Colorado's Jay Humphries and. Kan
sas' Carl Henry.
Stan Cloudy was an AP second-team
selection wliile receiving honorable ment
ion by UPI.
Kansas State's Eddie Elder was chos
en to UPI's second team, while Wildcat
guard Tom Alfaro received honorable
mention by AP.
"Alfaro gives Kansas State another
dimension," Iba said. "He's such a good
shooter."
Alfaro b the conference's eighth-leading
scorer, with a 15.3 average in
league games, after being reinserted
into the Wildcat lineup in February.
Elder leads all Kansas State players
with a 13.3 average, while center Ben
Mitchell scores at a 11-point clip.
Iba said the Wildcats v. Cl have add
ed incentive because of th eir two loss
es to Nebraska.
"It will be an exceptionally tough
game for us," Iba said. "I'm glad we play
them at home."
ESU's Alfaro courted by Nebraska
57.
By Bob Asmiissen
Kansas State guard Tom Alfaro could
be wearing the red and w hite of Neb
raska tonight if the Nebraska coaching
staff had not been misinformed last
March.
the Fresno City Junior College product
a scholarship. At the semi-finals of the
National Invitation Tournament in
New. York, Nebraska coaches heard
from Fresno State players that Alfaro
was only 6-4 despite being listed at 6-6.
"We talked to him but we'd never
seen him play," Nebraska Coach Moe
Iba said.
Alfaro said he was interested in
attending Nebraska. Other schools re
cruiting Alfaro out of junior college
included Nevada-Las Vegas and Fres
no State. .
"Moe was talking to me a lot then all
the sudden he stopped," Alfaro said. "I
think they went after another forward
real hard. I wanted to play in the Big'
Eight."
After starting early in the season at
forward, Alfaro saw limited playing
time in the early part of the Big Eight
schedule. Alfaro said he wasnt able to
do the job at forward.
"My rebounding as a forward was
terrible," Alfaro said. "I wasn't heavy
enough to be a forward. I wasn't con
tributing as much as I should have
been."
Alfaro did not play in the Wildcats'
first game with Nebraska at Manhat
tan because of the flu. The Wildcats'
next game at Missouri was the turning
point in Alfaro's season.
"I started and played guard the
entire game," Alfaro said. "Coach Hart-
man told me he'd switch me to guard
gradually but then things changed. I
wanted to make the switch because I
had been a guard in junior college."
Alfaro has been one of the top 10
scorers In league play since becoming a
starter. His 15.3 points per game aver
age ranked eighth in conference play.
His season scoring average ended at
12.4.
When Alfaro joined the starting lineup
at guard, the Wildcats were 1-5 in Big
Eight play. They finished at 5-9, a
record Alfaro feels is misleading as to
the quality of the Wildcats' play.
"WeVe had a lot of one- and two
point games that we lost at the end,"
Alfaro said. "We played Oklahoma two
of the best games they played all year,
but we couldn't get over the hump and
win one of those games."
Dream is over,
By evin Wcrneke
While Joe Scherger was growing up, he had the
same dream that many boys have: to play profes
sional baseball.
Although arm problems have prevented him from
playing in the major leagues, because he did play in
the minor leagues for three years. Scherger said he is
satisfied with what he accomplished.
"Pro ball is pro ball," he said. "I was paid for play
ing. It doesn't bother me that I didn't make it to the
but Scherger
majors because I gave 110 percent. I was never told
that I wasn't good enough."
Now Scherger is helping Nebraska players reach
for that same dream, as a coach where he played
college ball The Billings, Mont., native is a part-time
coach in charge of outfielders.
Scherger said he always planned on being a base
ball player because he "always knew" he would be
one. ,
After graduating from Billings Sr. High School,
Scherger was drafted by the Minnesota Twins, but
chose to play at Arizona Western Junior U)ue
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current Nebraska Coach John Sanders.
But when Sanders took an assistant job at Nebraska,
Scherger followed. What followed was four years of
steady play by Scherger.
His career as a Husker included being named all
conference two years, setting 19 school records, bat
ting over .300 three years and being drafted by two
more major league teams.
Also included in those years were two of his three
most memorable moments while playing baseball.
The first came in his initial collegiate plate appear
ance in 1977 when he hit a grand slam home run
against St. Cloud State University of Minnesota.
The second came in 1980 when he helped pre
serve former Husker pitcher Cliff Faust's perfect
game against Kansas with a diving catch to end the
game. ' .
"I set 1 9 records and that was fine, but there were
a lot of people that helped me," Scherger said. "I was
elated that I could do something for Cliff."
Scherger was drafted by the New York Mets fol-
lowing his junior year at Nebraska, but decided to
put professional baseball on hold for another year
because the Mets were stacked with "big money"
outfielders and his chances of making it through the
minors to the parent club were minimal.
The San Diego Padres made him a iow-round
draft choice following his senior year, so Scherger
set off for Grays Harbor, Wash., to play in the
Northwest League in the Padres farm club system
with aspirations of seeing his dream come true.
After his first year in the minors, which included a
team-leading .339 batting average, the dream seemed
closer to becoming a reality as he was promoted to
the Reno Padre3 in the Class A League.
More success followed in his second season as he
hit .319 and experienced his other most memorable
moment.
Scherger said his 100th hit of the season, a grand
slam homer, ranks with his best moments because
of the circumstances that surrounded it.
"They walked the guy in front of me to get to me,
but I stuck it back in their faces," he said.
Following the 1932 season in Reno, Scherger was
promoted to AA and started the 1933 season in
Araarillo, Texas, playing for the Gold Sox.
. But before the beginning of the season, Scherger's
luck seemed to change and he developed arm
problems.
Reno General Manager Harry Piatt said he remem
bered Scherger, but wasnt surprised to hear that he
was no longer playing baseball
Ccr&std ca Yz 13
