Monday, November 19, 1G34
Page 14
Basketball 1984-B5
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Analysis by tu Pospisil
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Can it be that the Big Eight conference
will send more teams to post-season bas
ketball tournaments than it will to foot
ball bowl games this season?
Listen to Missouri coach Norm Ste
wart, who predicts "six teams have a
chance to be in postseason play. That's
how good the league is."
Compare that with football, where only
three conference teams will be invited to
bowls.
The times, they are a-changing in the
Big Eight.
No longer is the talk in November only
about bowl games and the shootout in
Lincoln (or Norman), but includes argu
ments about shot clocks, three-point shots
and freshman phenoms.
The Big Eight will use a 45-second clock
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li
5)
in league play after conference coaches
voted 5-3 in favor of it at their spring
meeting. A three-point Held goal waa re
jected when Oldahoma coach Billy Tubb3
changed his vote for a 4-4 deadlock.
Some coaches said later they vctcd for
the 45-second clock with the understand
ing that the three-point ptey would be
used.
"Zone defenses make for dull games,"
said none other than Kansas State coach
Jack Hartman, who used such a defense
to defeat Nebraska 41-39 in the first
round of the conference tournament last
season.
Nebraska coach Moe Iba said, "Maybe
well do what everybody else is going to
do: stay back in the lane and just hold up
our hands, knowing well get the ball back
in 45 seconds."
"The players don't want it. The people
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draft to try to lead Oklahoma to its third
straight NCAA tournament and a possi
ble berth in the Final Four. Hell be
teamed with Tim McAlbtcr, the confer
ence's newcomer of the year a season ago,
and forwards David Johnson and Darryl
Kennedy. Anthony Bowie, a Juco Ail
American, could be an immediate replace
ment for departed Calvin Fierce.
Harass Two Omaha players that
snubbed Nebraska in favor of Kansas will
start for the Jayhawks. Ron Kei!o3 cf
Omaha Northwest, sank the game-winning
shot against Oldahoma in the confer
ence final Ccdric Hunter of Omaha South
has overcome academic woes and will
team with Mark (the Surgeon) Turgeon
at guard. Manning and 7-1 center Greg
Dreiling are nearly as tall as the campus
Mount Oread.
CcritinscJ en Fe3 17
This month, 270 Division I bas- Ewing is nearly as infamous as 5, Ds&e Bill Jackman may
kctball teams begin their quest his Southfork cousin, J.R., but the question later in the season why
for an NCAA tournament berth. T-shirt has got to go. With the he left an Atlantic Coast Confer
Almost one-fourth, or 64 teams NCAA finals at the University of ence championship ring at Duke
will make it. Another 32 teams, Kentucky, Hoya coach Tom for a "nicely-done" handshake at
including Nebraska, will have to Thompson will sequester his team Nebraska. Coach Mike Krzyzewski
settle for the National Invitation in Paducah. No one in the press has five starters back.
Tournament, a.k.a. Have Ball, Will
Travel
dont want to watch it. I don't want to
coach it," said Missouri's Stewart.
Oklahoma and Kansas played in the
NCAA tournament last ceason, and are in
everybody's Top Twenty. Nebraska and
Iowa State pbyed in the NIT.
All four of those teams could again
hive their seasons cxtcnd2d past the
conference's post-season tournament in
early March, as could Missouri and
Colorado.
Here's a look at the conference teams,
listed in the order of their predicted
finish:
O&a&oiaa "If you've got it, flaunt it
and taunt it" is the Sooners' motto after
last season, when several players became
involved in shouting and gesturing con
tests with fans at the end cf games. Hi
dale passed entering the MBA's hardship
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Thus rherf arp flfi teams fisht-
I ing for No. 1 (or No. G5 in the case
) of the NIT). Only one team will
i combine skill, momentum, luck
and bribery of officials to earn eluded Ray Meyer for 42 years.
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would bother looking for George
town in Paducah.
2, Illinois The Fighting Illini
were fighting mad after getting
"homered" in a loss to Kentucky
in the Mideast Regional final
They'll try to erase those unplea
sant memories on the same Rupp
Arena floor come next March.
3, DePaial The Blue Demons
could cap Chicago's finest sports
season with an NCAA title that
gets to second-guess.
4, Indiana Winning in the
6, OMaSioma Wayman, Bill
and the Boys should roll through
the Big Eight without any sweat,
save for two games with Kansas.
Tubbs' goal this season is to have
his players point to the score
board with the index finger.
7, Southern Methodist
Koncak of the Wild, center Jon
Koncak, is bigger and better after
his Olympic experience. He out
played Akeem and Patrick Ewing
in games last year, and could be
the surprise player in the nation.
8, WasMsgtun In Seattle,
a cool million dollars.
Who then will be the nation's
best? I don't know. Big Ten will be harder for Bobby they can't see the forest for the
I will still give it the ol' college Knight than winning in the Olym- trees, 6-9 Detlef Schrempf (the
try, and Popsicle's Top Twenty is pics. Knight took along the family only NCAA player to have both
headed by... pet, guard Steve Alford, to Los names end in F) and 7-0 center
Georgetown (you were expect- Angeles to teach free-throw shoot- Christian Welp.
ing Creighton maybe?). Patrick ing. Continued on Page 19
flCKUl
.g Top 20 tough task
Analysis by Ward Tripkttlll
Daily Nebrcskca Sports Editor
It's tough for anyone without a
car and a gas expense account to
know enough about national
women's basketball to predict
anything.
Without television exposure, it's
pretty hard to determine why
Texas is better than Louisiana
Tech and so forth. This poll is
based almost strictly on press
releases and women's basketball
publications.
1. TEXAS The Longhorns
have lost only five games in the
last two years, one cf those to
Nebraska. Jody Conradt's team
spent most of last year at the top
of the polls before losing badly to
Louisiana Tech in the Midwest
Regional finals. By that time, the
Texas lineup had been so depleted
with knee injuries that only nine
players suited up for the finale.
This year, All-American candi
date Annette Smith will miss
another season with her knee
injury and another starter, Sherry!
Haugium, decided to become a
student coach rather tha risk
another injury.
So, Texas will send only another
All-American type, sophomore
Andrea Lloyd and Olympic altern
ate Kamie Ethridge to iead this
year's team. In addition to those
two, the Longhorns will have Gay
Hemphill, a transfer from Way
land Baptist, in uniform along
with last year's holdovers, Cara
Priddy (6-2), Audrey Smith and
Fran Harris, who was the team's
leading scorer at 18.6 points per
game.
2. GEORGIA The Bulldogs
have one of the two Olympic stars
left on the collegiate level in uni
form this season, and Teresa Ed
wards isn't even the player the
Southern papers pky up the most
Janet Harris, 6-3, has been the
biggest star for the balanced
Georgia team, and probably will
be again this season. The Bulldogs
lost center Wanda Holloway to
graduation, but 6-3 Katrina Mc
Clain and 6-7 Barbara Bootz can
probably make up the slack.
3. SOUTHEEN CAL - Cheryl
Miller's familiar face showed up
in most post-Olympic naterial
Now, if only Miller's fame can
carry into the women's collegiate
season, that could be one way to
drum up extra attention. The
other way is to make sure it's
Miller's team that ends up on the
CBS-televised finaL Miller should
be enough to guarantee the Tro
jans will be close.
4. CAL STATE-LONG BEACH
With only one senior, the 40ers
looked very impressive against
eventual champion USC in the
West Regional finals last year. Of
course, Long Beach has been near
the top of the women's collegiate
ranks for the last five seasons.
5. NOETIREASTLOUISIAfJA
Perhaps this isnt even the best
team in Louisiana. But the Indians
will have the advantage of being
the least renowned of the powers
in the state and thus can sneak
up on some people. The Indians,
who will be in the same tourna
ment with the Huskers in Minne
sota, have the rather large Lisa
Ingram at center and the sharp
shooting Eun Jung Lee at guard.
Lee was a member of the Korean
national team at the Olympics.
6. LOUISIANA TECH Per
haps this will be the best team in
Louisiana. But Louisiana Teach
did lose Olympians Kim Mulkey
and Janice Lawrence, as well as
Debra Rodman. Only Pam Gantt,
a former record setter at Joliet
East in Illinois remains from the
headliners from last season's final
four squad. But like Dean Smith's
North Carolina, the Lady Tech
sters just pull high school All
America's off the bench and teach
them how to win.
7. OLE 11123 The Lady Rebels
showed up in the top five of every
poll released. But this is the one
team I haven't seen play any
where, so ascertaining just how
good 6-3 Eugenia Conner and 6-2
Jennifer Gillom are isnt easy.
8. LOUISIANA STATE The
team that put Missouri out of the
playoffs last season lost its star, a
guard, but replaced her with Gert
Scott, who finished just behind
Perry in the high school all-world
voting.
. 9. IIISSOUEI The one nat
ional contender that will play in
Lincoln this year, the Tigers' best
weapon is senior Joni Davis, who
averaged over 20 points per game
last season. All three graduation
losses were of&et by a recruiting
class that included a 6-4 junior
college transfer.
10. OLD DOMINION Another
team ranked in the top five, but
even with former Kansas star
Tracy Gaxton and Patrick Ewingfs
high school classmate Medina
Dixon, the Lady Monarchs will
still have to get by Georgia to
reach the final four in Austin.
11. Vanderbilt; 12. Ohio State;
13. Western Kentucky. 14. Ten
nessee; 15. San Diego State; 16.
Penn State; 17. Iowa; 18. North
Carolina State; 19. Maryland; 20.
Nebraska.
Call it luck, call it faith, call it
karma ... I believe that everything
happens for a reason. Kansas
State's (apparent) decline should
open the door for one of the Big
Eight teams to not only challenge
in the conference, but gain some
national attention. With an early
season upset over Tennessee or
Northeast Louisiana, Nebraska
could be that team. Why the heck
not, huh?
