Coach plans to pick up team’s pace
Basketball style is a product of his Brooklyn childhood, Nee says
By Nteve Nipple
Staff Reporter
Nebraska basketball coach Danny
Nee said he’s here to stay, but the
Comhusker’s offense is still on the
move.
Ncc, who’s beginning his second
season for the Huskers after a six-year
stint at Ohio, said he doesn’t plan on
making his stay in Lincoln a short
term endeavor. Nee said that’s ex
actly what he told this season’s re
cruiting class.
“I didn’t come for a cup of coffee,”
Nee said. “Moving is very traumatic.
I don’t like to move. It’s hard on your
family, it’s hard on people.
“I’ve made promises to recruits
that we signed this year and last year
that I’m going to be their coach, and
I’m planning on honoring that.”
Nee is staying put but he said the
Nebraska offense will continue it’s
fever pace. Last season the Huskers
averaged 75 points a game while
playing a style in direct contrast to
Nee’s predecessor Moe Iba, who was
Known lor nis oau-controi ottense.
Nee grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y.,
and he said the fast-paced offense is a
product of the environment he was
raised in.
“I think we’re all a direct reflec
tion of our environment,” Nee said. “I
think the tempo, the style I like relates
well to my background. Playing with
Kareem Abdul- Jabbar, playing col
lege ball with A1 McGuire, I think all
this formulated my style.”
Nee said the Huskers’ will turn
their running game up a notch this
season.
“As much as possible,” Nee said.
“As much as players can endure.”
Nebraska finished Nee’s first
coaching season with a 21-12 record,
including a third-place finish in the
National Invitation Tournament. It
was Nebraska’s 14th-consecutive
winning season and its fifth straight
post-season tournament appearance.
Despite the success, Nee said the
chances of the Husker men’s basket
ball program reaching the level of the
i. -■ - . " =
Danny Nee puts his players through drills during practice.
football program arc slim.
Nebraska’s football team has finished
in the nations top 10 for 17 years in a
row. Nee said Lincoln’s geographic
location is a hindrance.
“Realistically, I don’t think we can
be in the elitist group,” he said. “For
one, because of the natural resources
of recruiting that we have, we have to
count on going out so far to get our
players. We’d have to have banner
years (recruiting) - I mean the top
recruiting year after year after year.”
Nee said his four years as assistant
coach under Digger Phelps at Notre
Dame showed him it was difficult to
attract top recruits annually. He said
after two good recruiting years, pros
pects start looking for colleges where
they can contribute immediately.
But Nee said reaching the level of
traditional basketball powers like
North Carolina, Kentucky and Indi
ana is his “ultimate goal.”
“Being honest and realistic, that’s
very, very tough,” he said. “But I
think we can be very, very good. We
can be a top 20 team. We can be a B ig
Eight contender and win a Big Eight
championship.
“We’re gonna make a hell of a
run.”
Nee said his ability to relate to
players from larger cities, like St.
Louis, Chicago and New York, will
help the Huskers attract big name
players. This season Nee recruited 6
foot-7 foward Richard Smith from
Chicago and 6-2 guard Eric Johnson
(a transfer from Baylor) from New
York.
“I feel comfortable with and un
derstand city kids,” Nee said.
“Chicago’s important to us, we’re
going to recruit Chicago. We’re just
going to try to get the best players we
can.
“If they’re from Ohio, Indiana,
Georgia, Texas. Wherever the foot
ball team is, we’re trying to get into
those spots.”
■ ■ ~ ..I, i
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Offense!
our
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Serving the State and Nation for over 40 years.
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Team catches public eye
MEDIA from page 1
Renaud said he expects a broad
audience to listen to KLMS’ cov
erage of the basketball games
because a few players are from
Lincoln and more people are inter
ested in women’s sports now than,
say, 10 years ago.
Coach Beck agrees. The atti
tude toward women’s athletics is
different today, she said. While
some women were looked down
upon for being aggressive and
participating in athletics about 10
to 15 years ago, they are accepted
by today’s society. The common
person doesn’t mind seeing
women sweat, she said.
The attitude toward women’s
athletics was not bad in the 1970s,
she said, but women were often
encouraged to participate in four
or five sports in high school, which
didn’t allow them to become as
specialized as today’s women ath
letes.
Now women sec the financial
benefits of specializing in one
sport, Beck said, such as getting a
scholarship.
Beck said that in the past,
women’s athletics took a back seat
to men’s in the press. So, she said,
she has gone out to the press and
asked for more coverage. She said
the team has to set a good example
for women athletes in high school
so that they might stay in the state
to play.
“I think we’ll have a winning
team,” she said. “I don’t think you
can sell any product if it’s not
successful.”
Promoting the sport is a must if
there is to be good support, she
said.
‘‘We want more kids to catch
fire,” Beck said.
Already the promotion has
helped, she said. This summer, the
number of junior and senior high
school students attending the
women’s basketball camps in
Nebraska tripled, she said.
Barbara Hibner, assistant ath
letic director at UNL, said she
thinks the promotion will pay off.
Eventually, she said, more women
will be aware of the opportunities
to get involved in women’s athlet
ics.
Beck said that basketball in
Nebraska is still lagging behind
other slates, like Iowa.
Reaching out to high school
coaches, the media and the general
public is important, she said.
“I want to be accessible. I want
my name to be recognized,” she
said.
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