Page 10
Daily Nebraskan
Monday, March 17, 1986
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By Kent Endacott
Senior Reporter
CHARLOTTE, N.C. Nebraska coach
Moe Iba took one last sip from his can
of Classic Coke, and started to leave his
press conference following the Husker's
67-59 loss to Western Kentucky Friday
in the first round of the NCAA tourna
ment. At that point, Terry Veager of KMTV
of Omaha asked Iba the one question
that the rest of the media had avoided
"Coach, what about your future?"
Iba set down his Coke and replied in
a smooth, practiced tone, "I have
resigned at the University of Nebraska
to pursue another head coaching job. I
have no further comment."
Asked if he would have resigned
even if Nebraska would have won, Iba
said, "If we would have won, I would
have waited to resign until we got
beat."
Moments earlier, Iba had walked off
the court and handed an envelope con
taining his letter of resignation to Don
Bryant, assistant athletic director and
sports information director.
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"I was not expecting it at that time,"
Bryant said. "I didn't know anything
about it until he handed me his resig
nation as he walked off the court."
Iba's resignation ends season-long
rumors concerning Iba's departure from
Lincoln. Last week, University of Texas-San-Antonio
Athletic Director Jim
Skaines said Iba is one of the top can
didates for the vacant coaching posi
tion at the school.
"I can't see how five other appli
cants we've got could be more qualified
than Moe," Skaines said.
One possible candidate for the Ne
braska basketball coaching position
Ohio University coach Danny Nee
has already been contacted by Nebraska
Athletic Director Bob Devaney, Ohio
University officials confirmed Wednes
day. University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chan
cellor Martin Massengale said the
search for a new coach has already
begun. He said Devaney will identify a
number of possible candidates and
select an undetermined number to
come for an on-campus interview. Dev
aney could not be reached for comment.
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Regent Donald Fricke said he thinks
it may be difficult for Nebraska to
attract a "big-name coach." He said
that a "name coach" would command a
salary in excess of the $83,600, which
Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne
Is paid. Under a three-year contract
ending June 30, Iba receives $57,680
per-year.
"It might be a possibility to go after
a first-name coach like a Bobby Knight
(of Indiana), but we would have to pay
above what Osborne is earning," Fricke
said. "But, we don't want anybody who
would run a dishonest program. I
wouldn't want to be in Kentucky's
shoes, where they won games, but
they've done it dishonestly during the
past fifteen years.
"I thought he (Iba) did a good job,
and brought the program around. And
he did it honestly."
Fricke said, however, that the new
Nebraska basketball coach will proba
bly not be a "big name." He said a
coach at a smaller school who has had
good success and is looking to move up
is likely to be the type of coach chosen.
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Iba announced his resignation to his
players in the locker room following
the loss to Western Kentucky. In an
interview after the press conference,
Nebraska guard Brian Carr said he
didn't want Iba's resignation to over
shadow the success the team has had
this season. Nebraska officially fin
ished 20-10, and received the school's
first NCAA tournament bid.
"The people at the university (of
Nebraska) thought there should be a
change," Carr said. "He's the kind guy
that's going to do things his own way.
You gotta give him credit for sticking
with what he believes. He took a lot of
ridicule from the fans.
"He is so proud of us, and that's what
really hurts. We tried so hard to win
tonight and for him to resign is really
hard to take."
Kentucky basketball coach Eddie
Sutton, who played for Iba's father,
Henry, at Oklahoma State, said he
doubts Nebraska will be able to find a
coach as good as Iba,
"I'm very saddened by the fact that
one of the outstanding coaches in the
roundball sport is resigning," Sutton
By Bob Asmussen
Sports Editor
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Something
else happened Friday night in the
Charlotte Coliseum besides the resig
nation of Nebraska basketball coach'
Moe Iba Nebraska played and lost in
its first-ever trip to the NCAA tourna:
ment, a 67-59 loss to Western Ken
tucky. Western Kentucky, which lost Sun
day to Kentucky in a second-round
game, took an 18-point lead with 10:34
left in the game. Nebraska then went
on a 13-2 run to cut the Hilltopper's
lead to seven points, 55-48, with 5:35
left in the game.
Nebraska's Anthony Bailous cut the
Western Kentucky lead to five points
on a lay up, making the score 57-52,
with 2:07 left.
Three times after the lead was cut to
five, Nebraska got possession and
couldn't score. The Huskers did cut the
lead to four points twice in the final
1:33 of the game, but couldn't get any
closer.
Western Kentucky's James McNary
hit three consecutive one-and-one free
throws in the final 31 seconds to seal
the Hilltopper victory.
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said. "I don't think the people of
Nebraska realize that Moe is consi
dered one of the top 20 coaches in the
country by other college coaches.
"It will be very hard for the Univer
sity of Nebraska to find another coach
as qualified and who can coach the
game as well as Moe."
Sutton said he supported Iba for the
basketball coaching job at Oklahoma
State. That job has recently been filled
by Kentucky assistant coach Leonard
Hamilton.
He said Iba told him early this sea
son that he was under fire, and consid
ering resigning.
Nebraska guard Harvey Marshall said
he expected Iba's resignation.
"Coach Iba is a great coach," Mar
shall said, "With all the flack he took,
he didn't deserve it. The Nebraska fans
are spoiled from the football team.
"The program is heading in the right
direction, and with the right coach, it
could really do something."
In his six years at Nebraska, Iba
compiled a 106-71 record the winn
ingest record of Nebraska coaches in
61 years.
Western Kentucky coach Clem Has
kins said his team seemed to relax
once it got the 18-point lead.
"We just lost momentum," Haskins
said, "and forgot about being agres
sive." Western Kentucky jumped to a 7-0
lead before Nebraska's Bernard Day got
the Huskers on the scoreboard with a
lay-up at 16:55. Nebraska cut the lead
to 7-6 on a slam dunk by Day off of a lob
pass.
Nebraska twice took leads in the
first half, 14-13 and 16-15. But, both
times, Western Kentucky came back to
hit a go-ahead basket.
Western Kentucky's Ray Swogger
came off the bench in the first half to
score 12 points with six of seven shoot
ing. Swogger scored the Hilltopper's
last four points of the half, including a
basket at the first-half buzzer. Western
Kentucky led 33-26 at intermission.
Nebraska, which finished its season
20-10, was led by Day's 18 points. Har
vey Marshall scored 1 1 points and Brian
Carr, Bailous and Chris logan added 10
each.
Western Kentucky, 23-8 after the
loss to Kentucky, was led by Swogger's
16 points. Gordon scored 12 points,
Clarence Martin had 11 and Kannard
Johnson added 10.
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