Cornhusker men plan trip to Australia
By Mark Derowitsch
Senior Reporter
A summer trip to Australia vaulted
the Purdue Boilermakers to a No. 1
ranking and the semifinals of the
Midwest Region this season.
Now, Nebraska
Scales said he
hopes the Com
huskers’ trip to
Australia produces
the same results as
Purdue’s trip over
seas. Nebraska will
leave for Australia
on May 12 and will
play nine games, Scales
two against the Australian National
Team.
“The Australian trip is going to
help us a lot,” Scales said. “Purdue
coach Gene Ready said their trip to
Australia helped them become a
family. I think it will also help us get
more used to each other, too.
Scales, a 6-foot-2 freshman from
Maywood, 111., said the Huskers will
improve because of their trip.
“We’re going to do real well,”
Scales said. “I’m looking for 20 wins
next season.”
Nebraska coach Danny Nee said
he hopes the Huskers develop into a
close-knit team during their trip to
Australia.
“We want to develop some good
chemistry between the kids and the
coaches,” Nee said. “Our goal is to
improve by 25 percent while we’re
there.”
Nee said the practice before the
exhibition games in Australia will
help the Huskers prepare for next
season.
“We want to stress the fundamen
tals and do some experimenting in the
nine games,” Nee said. “This will
give the young players some help
with their confidence.”
Scales said he was disappointed
with this season. The Huskers fin
ished the year with a 13-18 record,
their first losing season since 1972
73. It was also the first season that
Nebraska failed to qualify for
postseason action since 1981-82.
But Scales said this season is a
good steppingstone for the future.
“I don’t like to lose,” Scales said.
“I hate to lose at anything. I thought at
least we would make it to the NIT and
have an outside chance at the NCAA
Tournament. But in our losses, we
found out we have the ability to
compete with just about anyone.”
Scales said Nebraska lacked a
quality center this season. Rich King,
a 7-foot-2 freshman from Omaha who
averaged 4.7 points and 2.7 rebounds,
sophomore Richard van Poelgeest
and junior Pete Manning shared du
ties at the starting center position this
year.
“From what I saw in the past, I
expected the program to be much
better,” Scales said. “But we had our
problems. We did the best we could
since we didn’t have a dominant big
man all the time. But King’s just a
freshman and he’ll get better. He did
the best he could this year.”
Nee said van Poelgeest, who aver
aged 4.1 points per game, wijl con
tinue to improve.
“I think he improved all season,”
Nee said. “But he understands what
he has to do to improve even more.”
Scales said the emergence of ei
ther King or van Poelgeest will allow
Manning to abandon the center posi
tion and move back to forward.
Manning, a 6-8 transfer from Semi
nole (Okla.) Junior College, averaged
9.5 points and five rebounds per game
this season.
“He’s a real good forward in that
he can hit the boards and he can shoot
the 10-foot jumper real well,” Scales
said. “If King or van Poelgeest can
play center, that will give Manning
more freedom to roam.”
Nee agreed.
“I think (Manning) had a good first
year in the Big Eight,” Nee said. “But
he’s a forward, not a center.”
Nee said freshman Beau Reid, who
averaged 8.5 points per game this
season despite being plagued by back
spasms late in the season, and Richard
Smith or Jed Bargen, who averaged
1.5 and 1 point per game, could join
Manning at the remaining forward
position. He said Kelly Lively, a 6-11
freshman who redshirted this season,
will play either forward or center next
year.
Nebraska also returns guards Eric
Johnson and Rodney Curtis next sea
son. Johnson, a junior from Brooklyn,
N.Y., averaged 8.7 points per game,
while Scales poured in 5.5 points a
game. Curtis played in 12 games
this year after injuring his neck in an
automobile accident in July.
“With me, Eric Johnson and Rod
ney Curtis back, we can really tum it
on,” Scales said. “We tried to play an
up-tempo game this year, but we
didn’t do it all the time. Now we have
the horses that can do it all season.”
Nee said he hopes Johnson devel
ops into one of the best guards in the
Big Eight.
“Johnson could be a real good
player for us if he keeps improving
like he has been,” Nee said. “After a
year layoff, he came back strong, and
he should have a good senior year.
Also, Scales and Curtis had good
years, and they’re going to get better
with time.”
Scales said playing in the Big
Eight this year will help the Huskers
improve for the future.
“Playing against Danny Manning,
Ricky Grace and Mitch Richmond
and other great players will really
give us a boost next year,” Scales said.
“I think we’ll be right up there next
year and for the years to come.”
Nee said the Big Eight’s depth will
aid Nebraska. He said the fact that
five conference teams made the
NCAA Tournament and Kansas and
Oklahoma met in the national cham
pionship game shows how difficult
the Big Eight was this season.
“The success of the Big Eight in
the NCAA Tournament shows how
difficult and challenging it was for
Nebraska this year,” Nec said.
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I Kim Cohen • University of Wisconsin* Class of 1990 J
Illini underdog
for NCAA title
By Richard Cooper
Staff Reporter
A No. 1 ranking will be put aside
when Illinois competes in the NCAA
Men’s Gymnastics Championships
Thursday through Saturday at the Bob
Devaney Sports Center.
Illinois coach Yoshi Hayasaki,
whose squad has been ranked No. 1
throughout the season, said the 11-0
Fighting Illini will be: the underdog in
the three-day meet because they are
less experienced than Nebraska and
UCLA. The team consists of two
seniors, four juniors, two sophomores
and two freshmen.
He said Nebraska, ranked second
with a 284.18 scoring average, and
UCLA, ranked ninth with a 281.11
average, are the teams to beat.
“We arc capable of performing in
all six events because of our depth,”
Hayasaki said. “But Nebraska and
UCLA are also capable of doing that.
The team that doesn’t make a mistake
is going to win.”
Hayasaki said that because Ne
braska, UCLA and Illinois have bro
ken the 286-point barrier this season,
they will be in the team finals. The top
three teams for Thursday’s 10-team
competition will advance to Friday’s
finals.
Hayasaki said I ilinois is peaking at
the right lime. The Illini tallied a
season-high score of 286.7 at the Big
Ten Championships March 26 as
freshman Dominique Maniquiche
and junior David Zcddics recorded
9.4 and 9.3 scores in the all-around.
Hayasaki said being the No. 1 team
entering the meet doesn’t mean any
thing. He said the Illini must be con
sistent in all six events to win.
Hayasaki said freshman Emilio
Mario will be Illinois’ key performer
because Nebraska and UCLA have
five solid all-arounders. He said
Mario, the mini’s No. 5 all-arounder
with a 56,5 average, has been incon
sistent all year.
Hayasaki said Illinois is confident
but not ovrsrly confident that it can
win its ninth NCAA gymnastics
championship this season. The Illini
won their last national title in 1958.
Hayasaki said Illinois' success this
season stems from last year’s frustra
tions. He said the Illini barely missed
getting one of six at-large berths last
year after All-America Charles Lakes
was declared academically ineligible
and Zeddies suffered a season-ending
injury to his left knee two weeks
before the Big Ten Championships.