Thursday, September 11, 1986
Daily Nebraskan
Page 15
Sports
1' - -
Dutch player VanPoelgeest
looks forward to four years
of playing, living in Nebraska
By Bob Asmussen
Night News Editor
Editor's note: This is the
first in a series of stories
featuring foreign students
who are currently athletes at
Nebraska.
In the term "student-athlete,"
the "student" part seems to be left
off a lot these days. Drug scandals,
recruiting violations and misuse of
complimentary tickets have domi
nated the sports pages recently.
Nebraska basketball player Rich
ard VanPoelgeest, from The Hague,
the Netherlands, is trying to put the
student back in the term student
athlete. "I want to finish my degree in
business," VanPoelgeest said. "The
education part is more important
than basketball."
Not that basketball isn't impor
tant to VanPoelgeest. He is 6-9 12
and weighs 222 pounds. Last sea
son, playing for a club team in Ams
terdam, VanPoelgeest averaged 34
minutes a game and scored 15.8
points per contest. He also pulled
down about nine rebounds per game.
VanPoelgeest said an zgent in
the Netherlands gave his name to
coaches in the United States. He
said he didn't care which area of the
country he went to.
"This (Nebraska) would be a
place where there wouldn't be many
distractions from my work." Van
Poelgeest said.
VanPoelgeest said he considered
three criteria when deciding where
to go to school. First, he considered
the facilities and the place itself.
Second, he considered the coaches,
and third, he looked at his chance
to play at the school. He said 12
schools contacted him, and he visit
ed four schools: Nebraska, Pacific,
Utah State and Hawaii. Other schools
that expressed interest included
Pittsburgh and Marist.
VanPoelgeest said he likes Ne
ISAC Olympics to begin Saturday,
will promote 'intercultural harmony '
The International Student Athletic
Committee will sponsor the third annual
ISAC Olympics from Sept. 13 to 21. The
competition will feature 50 events in 14
sports.
According to ISAC Chairman Syed
Feizal Syed Mohammad, over 500 par
ticipants are expected, almost double
last year's attendance of 260.
"Sports promote intercultural har
mony" is the slogan for the event.
The competition includes arm wres-
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braska coach Danny Nee.
"He's a real nice guy in normal
life, very nice to be with," VanPoel
geest said. "He's very business
focused when he's dealing with the
team. He separates the two very
well. When you're off the court, you
have to be able to talk normally to
your coach."
VanPoelgeest said he doesn't want
to have to sit on the bench in his
first season.
"I didn't come over here to sit on
the bench," VanPoelgeest said. 'They
need me over here because they
needed a power forward."
"1 think 1 will do fine. I want to
try and have four good years in col
lege basketball."
VanPoelgeest said he likes Lin
coln and has been able to adjust to
life in a new country.
"The people are very nice, very
polite," VanPoelgeest said. "The
whole atmosphere is good."
He said one thing that surprised
him was the size of cars and width of
city streets.
"The most impressive to me was
that the streets were so wide," Van
Poelgeest said. "In Holland we have
very narrow streets and small cars."
"Lincoln is also very clean. The
Hague is not so clean."
One major adjustment VanPoel
geest said he has had to make is not
being with his girlfriend of three
years, who stayed in the Nether
lands. "She already knew I was intend
ing to go to America," VanPoelgeest
said. "I can phone her once in a
while and write her lots of letters."
VanPoelgeest said he is going to
concentrate on his schoolwork and
basketball to keep his mind off
thinking about home.
"The only lifestyle change I've
made is that I'm concentrating a
little more on sports," VanPoelgeest
said. "My attitude has changed
toward my sport and my schoolwork.
In Holland, I never studied. Here I
will have to study."
tling, badminton, basketball, billiards,
bowline, chess, racquetball, soccer,
softball, table tennis, tennis, track and
field, tug-of-war and volleyball.
The opening ceremonies for the ISAC
Olympics will take place at 1 1 a.m. at
the Nebraska Union, one of the 11 on
campus event venues.
Syed Feizal Syed Mohammad may be
contacted for more details at 475-1668.
Rod Merta, ISAC Advisor, also can be
reached at 472-3264.
474-6592
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R
eceiver follows father's footstep;
By Tim Hartmann
Staff Reporter
When freshman wide receiver Mor
gan Gregory signed a letter of intent
with Nebraska, it completed a full cir
cle for him.
Gregory, son of former Oornhusker
Ben Gregory, was born in Lincoln in
July, 1968. His family moved to Buffalo,
N.Y., where his father played profes
sional football for the Buffalo Bills, and
then to Demer. Colo. iW. ia a scho
larship, Gregory i:as ret u.ned to Lincoln.
This is Gregory's first real living
experience in Lincoln, however, as he
has lived in Denver since he was 4.
While in Denver, Gregory attended
Manual High School, where his father
is an assistant coach. He earned first
team all-state honors as a wide receiver
and a defensive back.
As a receiver, the 6-0, 180-pound
Gregory caught 29 passes for 950 yards
and 13 touchdowns in his senior year.
He also starred in the Colorado high
school all-star game, where he caught
six passes for 115 yards and a touch
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Gregory was recruited by such schools
as Kansas, Colorado. Iowa and Wyom
ing, but he chose Nebraska, even though
the Huskers are known as a running
team.
"Nebraska passes more than people
think," he said. "It was too good of a
program to pass down."
Coining out of high school Gregory
also had scholarship offers from New
Mexico and Colorado State, but those
were for basketball. At Manual, Gregory
averaged 17.3 points per game and gar
nered Denver Public League all-conference
honors in basketball.
Maying basketball at Nebraska is
soau-thing Gregory v ould consider if it
didn't interfere with football.
"There's not really that much time
(away from football)," he said. "If it
could be worked out I wouldn't mind
it."
Right now Gregory is concentrating
on football, and he's off to a good start.
In the first freshmen game, against
Ellsworth Junior College, he caught
four passes. The next freshman game is
Sept. 19 against Pittsburg State of
Kansas.
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Since he also can play defense, Gre
gory will have to decide whether he
wants to play defensive back or wide
receiver.
"I like them both," he said.
When Gregory's father played for
Nebrask in l!)(."(7, he played on both
.sides of the ball as a halfback and a
cornerback. Bon Gregory rushed for
1,0(12 yards during his three-year career.
If Gregory does remain at wide
receiver, his varsity coach will be Gene
Huey, who happens to be his father's
cousin. Gregory' said he is excited
about the opportunity to learn from
Huey.
"I know he's a good coach and he's
put out a lot of good players," Gregory
said.
Gregory said he has had an easy time
adjusting to the Nebraska program,
partly because his father told him what
to expect.
"He knows the program pretty well,"
he said. "It's everything I expected it
would be. I think that the team is going
to be good, both the freshman and the
varsity."
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