Thursday, March 20, 1986
Daily Nebraskan
Page 9
life much diff
y u b
so Poland, says former Mustier
By Jeff Apel
Senior Reporter
Curtis Moore's first impressions of
Poland were so bad that he almost
came back to the United States the
minute he stepped off the plane.
Moore, a former Nebraska forward,
had just arrived in Krakow, Poland,
when he began to notice the Polish
military armed with machine guns
parading around the airport.
That startled him so much that he
almost went home to New York.
"I knew Poland was a communist
country, but I never expected to see
anything like that," Moore said. "I felt
trapped because I didn't know I woul i
be behind a wall." .
Moore said that as a member of the
Hupuik-Krakow Polish basketball team,
he was seen as an all-star because of
his playing.
The Polish people, he said, used to
chant "Curtis Moore, Krakow" when
they saw him on the street because of
his 25 point-per-game average on the
court.
"I was viewed as kind of the Harlem
Globetrotter of Poland," Moore said.
"Polish people had never seen anybody
just dribble up the court and shoot the
ball, so when I started doing it without
passing at all they really liked it."
Moore said that the biggest barrier
he had to overcome playing Polish bas
ketball was his need to find a way to
communicate.
The first two months he was there,
Moore said, he spoke with very few
people because he didn't have a
A g u ide to f i rid i ng a
Nebraska's athletic hierarchy is
facing some difficult questions these days.
The most difficult of these questions is
who to hire as the new men's basket ball
coach.
The answer to that question, in part,
depends on the seriousness of the
commitment they are willing to make
in continuing the progress of the Neb
raska basketball program.
Are they willing to spend the money
to hire a top-notch coach or are they
going to settle for someone of lesser
quality to save money?
Bob
Asmussen
No one knows for sure, but one thing
is certain: the new coach will not make
more money than Nebraska football
coach Tom Osborne. That puts the
limit at about the $80,000 a year range
for the new basketball coach. Certainly
not enough to attract a Bobby Knight or
Denny Crum and probably not enough
to attract a John Chaney or a Dick
Versace.
Without spending gobs of money,
what does the Nebraska basketball job
have to offer? Several things.
First, of all, you have a beautiful
arena to play in, the Bob Devaney
Sports Center.
Secondly, Nebraska has a winning
tradition in its overall sports program,
something that the basketball program
should be a part of.
And finally, the Nebraska job gives a
coach a chance to build something big.
Nebraska is ripe for a winning basket
ball program and the new coach might
be able to take that enthusiasm and
turn it in his favor.
I've made a list of coaches that
might be able to put Nebraska in the
NCAA tournament every year. These are
people the administration should con
sider when making their decision. Some
of the people are almost unattainable,
but some of the others Nebraska would
have a good chance at landing. Happy
shopping.
Tom Baack, Nebraska assis
tant coach Baack has the definite
translator.
Even after he was given a translator,
Moore said that he still ran into com
munication problems on the court.
"The coach would call a timeout and
he'd be yelling instructions in Polish,
so I couldn't understand a word he
said," Moore said. "I guess I was doing
all right, though, because he never
even tried to say anything to me during
the timeouts."
Moore said that he was forced to end
his Polish basketball career when he
realized that he wasn't making enough
money to support himself during the
offseason.
By Polish standards, Moore said, his
salary of 50,000 zlotys per month was
wealthy. .
But when he checked the exchange
rate he said that he was getting paid
about $80 a month in American dollars.
"It's unfortunate that I had to leave,"
Moore said. "The basketball season
wasn't even over yet, but I just couldn't
afford to stay there because I wanted to
come home to the United States during
the off-season.
Moore said that Polish basketball is
not comparable to the American style
of basketball.
Poland, he said, plays a lot slower
style of basketball and doesn't have the
professional level of talent found in the
National Basketball Associatioa
"I was named the Polish basketball
Player of the Year and that was after I
was cut by the (Portland) Trailblaz
ers," Moore said. "There is different
leagues you can play in, but the one
support of the players. He has said he
will not apply for the job. Baack has
been a good recruiter for Nebraska. The
feelings of his players show that he is
liked and respected. The main problem
with hiring Baack is that he is consi
dered part of the Iba regime, a regime
that ended under fire.
Bob Wenzel, Jacksonville
Wenzel is probably at the top of Neb
raska's list right now. A negative for
Wenzel is his overall record with the
Dolphins, 69-75. Wenzel had a brain
aneurism last season, but has had a
remarkable recovery. Jacksonville plays
an up-tempo game that Nebraska fans
would enjoy.
John Chaney, Temple Cha
ney would be a great pick if Nebraska
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It's not
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as spectators.
With an average
that I was in wasn't at all comparable
to the NBA."
Moore said that he was one of three
Americans playing in the Polish baske
tall leagues.
"Polish people are jealous of Ameri
cans. They think they are rich," Moore
said. "There is so few Americans play
ing basketball over there, though, that
anytime one is there they really like
them."
Moore said that, generally, he found
Polish people to be cold and unfriendly.
He attributes that to the fact that Pol
ish people are constantly under the
threat of the Communist government.
He also said the fact that he was black
didn't help to open communication
barriers any.
"Polish people don't see too many
black people so when they saw me, they
used to stop and just turn around to
stare," Moore said. "I was somewhat of
an oddity to them."
Moore said that he has no immediate
plans to return to Poland, because of
the low Polish pay scale.
He's hoping to continue his career in
either Spain or Austria, and perhaps
one day get another shot at the NBA.
If his dream of playing professional
basketball in the United States is not
fulfilled, Moore said he will always be
thankful for the basketball opportuni
ties he has had.
"Basketball has gotten me where I
am today," he said. "It has shown me
that I can't take anything for granted,
including such things like drinking
water you can't even do that in
Poland."
basket bal I coach
could get him. He's a good bench
coach, has good contacts in the bigger
metropolitan areas on the East Coast
and is very personable. The main ques
tion other than money for Chaney is
whether or not Nebraska would be wil
ling to hire a black basketball coach.
Kevin Mackey, Cleveland State
One thing can be said about Mackey,
he sure ain't boring. He insulted Bobby
Knight after beating him in the NCAA
tournament. Mackey and the Vikings
are two wins away from the Final Four.
What fun he'll be there. A problem with
Mackey is the question of how many of
his current players would be eligible
under the new academic guidelines
that will soon take effect. Mackey's
teams play playground style basket
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VI
Curtis Moore dunks the ball during last season's picture day
at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Moore has just returned to
the United States after playing professional basketball in
Poland.
ball, meaning they shoot running one
handers and don't have Steve Alford
form on every shot.
Charlie Spoonhour, Southwest"
Missouri State Spoon has SMSU
one game away from the NIT Final Four.
His team is fun to watch and they win.
Spoonhour is a former Nebraska assis
tant coach and has good contacts in
the junior colleges. If he's ready to
make a move, Nebraska might be as
good, a place as any. His name hasn't
been rumored, which is a good sign
that he's probably one of the leading
candidates.
Jim Boyle, St. Joseph's Boyle
got St. Joe's to the second round of the
NCAA tournament before losing to
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David CreamerDaily Nebraskan
for U N L
land State. Boyle had the benefit of
Maurice Martin on his team this year.
Can Boyle be as successful without
Martin? Sure, why not?
Lafayette Stribling, Mississip
pi Valley State Did anyone catch
Duke's opening round NCAA near
nightmare against MVS? If you did, you
might have noticed this guy wearing
about the nicest looking three-piece
suit in the world. Talk about a good
dresser. But, Calvin Klein was never
noted for his coaching. Stribling got
the Delta Devils through their confer
ence tournament and scared the living
heck out of Duke before losing by
seven.
Asmussen is a senior journalism major
and Daily Nebraskan sports editor.
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