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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 1986)
Tuesday, July 1, 1986 Daily Nebraskan Page 7 Lincoln East graduate switches allegiances i 1 it By Rob White Staff Reporter When Todd Eubanks left Lincoln East High School upon graduation, he was heading toward New Mexico State and a basketball scholarship. Now, three years and a coaching change later, Eubanks has switched allegian ces and is a member of the Aggies' track team. Eubanks was re- ' cruitedoutofhigh school by basket- ? ball coach Wilden . Drew, but after two "below-par" years, - Drew was fired. J "He had a poor recruiting year, and then the following . year he recruited a - lot of athletes, but Eubanks they were characters and really didn't have any discipline," Eubanks said. "But we had the talent to be a very good team." Neil McCarthy replaced Drew and began making changes right-away. Kinser wins By Mike Reilley Staff Reporter EAGLE In a sport where exper ience measures as a precious commod ity, sprint-car driver Mark Kinser has carved a comfortable niche for himself. Kinser, 21, held off a mid-race threat from 42-year-old Bobby Allen to win the One-Third Mile National Championship Saturday night before 5,500 fans at Eagle Raceway. He started on the inside of the front row and led the entire 30-laps. I In doing so, Kinser, of Oolitic, Ind., became the third driver to win the championship since the event started in 1934. His cousin, Steve Kinser, won the inaugural race. Defending cham pion Bobby Davis Jr., of Memphis, Tenn., was knocked out this year when another car severed his gas tank. This is Mark's second full-time sea son with the "World of Outlaws" a group of drivers whose cars reach speeds of more than 100 mph. He fin ished sixth in the group's season point standings last year. His win at Eagle was his second of Reaction to Len Bias' death causes radical turn in feelings Len Bias died 10 days ago, and everyone grieved fans, players, moms, dads, Red Auerbach even "Average Joe six-pack" on the street held a place in his heart for the roundball wizard. Bias died of a heart attack. It was the "cruelest thing ever," according to Larry Bird. Bias died undeservingly, with only a quick plane ride to the Boston Garden separating him from stardom as a professional. Dreams unfulfilled, death unjustified, Len Bias' name passed sadly into basketball history. Steve Thomas But Bias' death didn't stand the test of time. The truth came out a short time later: Bias' death wasn't unpro voked, it wasn't unnecessary, and oddly enough, it suddenly wasn't even sad anymore. Bias' death came not from a heart attack, but from cocaine. I didn't take the pulse of sports fans across the nation, 1 didn't even take a poll from the Lincoln area, but I did listen closely to the general reaction of Bias' death both BC before cocaine and after. With drugs in the picture, some people's reactions seemed to take a 360-degree turn. In the before-cocaine era, the whole thing was such a shame. But the sym pathetic view crumbled as doctors and investigators unveiled the facts: Len Bias had snorted cocaine just five min "He took away a lot of scholarships right from the start," Eubanks said. Eubanks' scholarship wasn't taken, but he had reservations about the amount of playing time he would re ceive. "He brought in a bunch of new play ers, junior college players, that he had made promises to and he put them out there right from the start," Eubanks said. "I debated with myself whether or not I should complete the season or transfer to another school. In my heart I felt I had a basketball future if I was given the chance, but by the time December rolled around, I went and talked to the track coach." "I knew he had run track in high school," Aggie track coach Art Morgan said, "but basketball is a time-consuming sport that takes up most of the school year, so he normally wouldn't get the chance in college. But he wasn't getting much playing time in baske ball, and he wanted to do something, so he talked to his coach, they worked it out, and he was able to make the move." Both Eubanks and Morgan said the racing championship the year and third of his career. Despite his inexperience, Mark thought his youth gave him an edge against the veteran Allen, who began racing sprinters about the time Mark was born. "I love racing on these short tracks," Mark said of Eagle's banked oval. "You have to work a lot harder. Since I'm so much younger and stronger, I had an advantage." Mark also used some of Allen's strategy. Allen, of Hanover, Pa., is noted for his ability to ride the inside cushion of the track and did so in his preliminary feature win on Friday night. Mark started 12th in that race and finished fourth. But on Saturday, it was Mark who rode on the cushion. He and his pit crew noticed a groove forming in that part of the track prior to the feature race. "Everybody was running low and they were blowing all of the dusty stuff up high," Mark said. "We set the car up to run down there. We didn't do it because of Bobby. We just knew that utes before he died. The new view surrounding Bias' death was chilly, even cold. In a matter of a few days, Bias had changed from a help less heart-attack victim to just another overpaid, mindless drug user trying to live in the fast lane. The argument ran like this: "Len made a big mistake. He got what he deserved. Let that be a lesson to others who want to experiment with drugs." Lousy argument. Granted, Bias did not do a wise thing when he snorted cocaine early that morning, but if every professional ath lete received the same death sentence Bias was dealt, our weekends might be dull. No players, no games, no exag geration. So while Bias pulled a life-ending blunder that morning, it's fair to say he didn't do anything most professional athletes have done more than once. Bias didn't have to take the deadly dose of cocaine. But imagine some thing for just a moment. You're the top pro prospect in the nation. You're con stantly in the spotlight. The world is at your fingertips. It's hard to imagine, but give it a shot. Now do we fault a pressure-ridden superstar for experimenting just one time? Most people live and learn. Bias didn't get his chance to learn. I'm not advocating Bias' action or drug use in any way to the contrary. But my grief for Len Bias has not changed, and it won't. Bias was not a bum, but he got a bum deal. layoff from his high school career until this past spring slowed his progress, but Eubanks said he hoped his 800 meters time of 1:54 will be lowered to around the 1:50 mark by next year. Eubanks was first brought to the attention of the New Mexico State pro gram by Glenn Potter, the former coach of Brigham Young and now a color commentator for many televised col lege basketball games. Potter is a neigh bor of Eubanks, and Potter's son, Sam, was a teammate of his at East. "He knew the coaches and told them about me, and also Derek Sailors (an East graduate) had a pretty good career down there and they were pleased with him," Eubanks said." Then the coach came and saw me play and figured I was worth recruiting." Eubanks' recruiting trip to Las Cru ces sold him on the Aggies. "I really liked it down there, and at the time it was a really up-and-coming program. They had a big crowd, and I liked their style of play, the crowd sup port, and the student support. They really love their basketball down there, it was a drastic change from what I was was the place to run." Mark learned racing's "guessing game" from his father, Karl, who's the chief mechanic for Steve's car. In the eight-year history of the "World of Out laws," Steve has won the points title six times and has posted 155 feature wins. While Mark was studying the finer points of racing, his high-school teachers were wondering where he was. He often skipped classes to go on the road with his father and cousin. "When I got to be a senior, I said to hell with school and went racing," Mark said. "I graduated, but I only went to class when I had to." During the winter, Mark would work in a saw mill to earn money for his racing excursions in the spring. Along with a trophy and champagne, Mark received an $8,000 check for Saturday's win. He said he will sink most of the money back into his $40,000 race car. "This is more money than I would make at the saw mill," Mark said, "and working there wasn't nearly as much fun as this." Bias was not alone. Take a look around. Willis Wilson swipes three bases, Darrell Porter is named MVP of the series, and Bernard King scores 40 points in Madison Square Garden. All three faced serious drug or alcohol problems, and we didn't stop cheering for them. They probably sign auto graphs every day. So before we shut the book on one of basketball's greats forever, let's go back about nine days. Remember that? Bias was dead. It was cruel, unde served, a real shame. Let's remember it that way. Len Bias deserved that much, and so much more. CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING CALL 472-2588 $2.75 minimum charge per day on commercial ads. Ten words included. $2 OO minimum charge per day on individual student and student organization ads. GOVERNMENT JOBS: S16.040 - S59.230yr. Now hiring. Call 805-687-6000 Ext. R-9636 for current federal list. GOVERNMENT HOMES from S1 (U-Repair). Also delin quent tax property. Call 805-687-6000 Ext. H-9636 for current repo list. INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: A step by step leads to greencard. FREE details. Mail seif-addressed, stamped envelope: Immigration Information Center P.O. Box 2561. Stillwater, OK 74074 Yamaha PF-10 Electric Piano. 10 instrument voices. S800, negotiable. Call 472-0245 mornings before 11:00. CAFE FOR LEASE on Interstate 25, Glendo, Wyoming. Truck stop operation. Open 24 hours. Doing a good business. Possibilities unlimited 307-735-4252, Howard, Ed or Goldie. used to at Nebraska games. It was very intriguing." Eubanks' older brother, Kurt, played second base for the Nebraska baseball team, but the Cornhuskers never ser iously recruited Todd. "I would've probably taken them into serious consideration," Eubanks said, "but I only had a few phone calls from (assistant coach) Tom Baack and they sent me their mailers, but they never recruited me full-scale. Other schools Eubanks considered accepting basketball scholarship from included Kansas State, Colorado State, UNO and South Dakota State. "Kansas State was kind of a funny situation," Eubanks said. "They were calling me the summer before my senior year, and when fall came they went to my high school to visit, but I couldn't get out of class so they just talked to my coach. All of a sudden they just stopped recruiting me. I had been pretty interested." Eubanks wasn't seriously recruited for track since he signed his letter-of- I Vail r- ilillMiii Lincoln's John Dawson competes in the third-annual Stroh's Run for Liberty on Saturday, Omaha's Tim Dooling was the winner of the men's division, while Nebraska's ElaryAK tured the women's title. RETAIL BUSINESS opportunity for sale in Northeast Nebraska community. 12 year history well established. Don't miss this opportunity. Call 402-648-3366 after 4 p.m. or 402-648-7853. FOR SALE: 1974 International truck with 318 Detroit engine, 13 speed, low mileage, also ties, stakes, bows for Aerokit, half price. Call after 6 p.m., 402-936-1402. MANUFACTURERS OVERSTOCK. 4 steel buildings. 1-40 a n n t r -in r n Ann 1 1 : - : J X 4U, 1-49 X IV, l-OU X IUU. IVIUIU DUIUUSe L) I din dllU Inlti nuroi m -inf qtnranpac lna;3Zf jJuJiyfitieJ ., ALTOtPUL $108 million to the present $155 mil lion during the two years Wenke spent as Foundation president. Wenke, 57, graduated from UNL's College of Law in 1952. He practiced law in Newport Beach, Calif., for 32 years before returning to Nebraska to join the Foundation June 1, 1984. Wenke was in charge of the Founda tion's entire operation, including ad- ins ho, brc P dr intent with New Mexico State before his senior year of track, in which he won the state championship in the 400 meters. An interesting sidelight to Eubanks' basketball career is his association with guard Steve Colter, a former first round draft choice of the Portland Trailblazers who was a teammate of Eubanks at New Mexico State. "He's the best I've ever played against and I've played against UNLV, some All-Star teams after high school, and most of the really good players on the West Coast," Eubanks said. "He's so quick and wiry, he can do it all. He's one of those guys that what ever he's doing, he is outstanding at it. The best thing about him is that he'a natural leader. He's a popular guy, a really good Christian, and just a good guy to be around." Eubanks is majoring in electrical engineering and, although he plans to find work after graduation, he hopes he can find a good track club where he can continue to train and compete. ' LmuJi $toryuaiy Neoraskan 19th & Garfield Large 2-bedroom with central air, close to shopping and bus. Summer rates start at $275. No pets. 483-4698. 145 N. 22nd. 3-bedroom near UNL. $300 plus electric. 475-0802. June 24. Eleven members of the Foun dation's Board of Trustees comprise the Executive Committee. Thomas Ash, UNL director of publi cations, was also fired at the June 24 meeting. The two firings are not related, both Wenke and Hirsch said. Ash declined to comment. r