Nel^raskan
Wednesday, November 7,1990
Huskers
block an
upset bid
From Staff Reports
AMES, Iowa — The Nebraska
volleyball team’s blocking removed
any chance of an upset Tuesday night
as the second-ranked Comhuskcrs
defeated Iowa Slate, 15-3,15-11,15
12.
Nebraska (23-2, 8-0 in the Big
Eight) recorded 23 blocks in the game,
led by Cris Hall with seven. Hall also
had 12 kills to lead the Huskers, Hall’s
ninth-straight game with 10 or more
kills.
Nebraska assistant coach John Cook
said the Cyclones (20-9,8-3) put up a
stiff fight.
‘Iowa Stale played hard, about as
hard as they can,” Cook said.
The Cyclones were serving hard,
keeping the ball in play and mixing
See HUSKERSon 10
Al Schaben/Daily Nebraskan
Nebraska football players Mike Croel (left), Curtis Cotton and Kenny Walker pose with their detailed artwork. Croel’s painting is
entitled “Secret.” Cotton’s sculpture is entitled “Power,” and Walker’s drawing is untitled.
NCAA
Volleyball
Top 20
1 ucla rn
2 Nebraska 2
3 Stanford 6
4 Pacific 3
5 Texas 4
6 Hawaii 5
7 UC-Santa
Barbara 7
8 Perm St. 8
9 San Jose St. 9
10 Wisconsin 9
11 New Mexico 11
12 Long Beach
State 14
13 Texas Tech 12
14BYU 14
15 Ohio State 13
16Pepperdine 16
17 Louisiana St. 17
18 Pittsburgh 18
19 Florida
20 Gonzaga
l Previous j
Art majors double as football players
By Cory Golden
Staff Reporter
They’re bigger, stronger and faster
than the average artist. On fall Satur
days they turn opposing football play
ers into bright splotches on the green
canvas of Memorial Stadium.
Artists Curtis Cotton, Mike Crocl
and Kenny Walker moonlight on the
Nebraska Comhuskcrs’ defense.
They moonlight rather successfully,
too. Crocl starts at left outside line
backer, Walker starts at right defen
sive tackle and Cotton is the second
string strong safely.
They arc big, bad Blackshirts.
They are art majors, though, de
spite people scratching their heads at
the idea of huge weekend brutes deli
cately dabbing a paint brush on a
canvas, sketching a line or carefully
molding clay shapes.
Walker's interpreter Mimi Mann,
who helps conduct his interviews,
sites herself as an example of a skep
tic.
“I was fascinated when 1 first saw
him draw as a sophomore,” she said.
“Watching those great big hands doing
such tiny little artwork. He gave me
this drawing in India ink of a twig.
“It was amazing ihc opposites, those
great big hands doing such line work.”
Often plagued by sore hands from
the turf, Walker has found drawing
difficult at times.
Crocl shrugged his shoulders when
asked about the stereotype that foot
ball players arc too rugged lobe artis
tic.
“I don’t know why that is,” he
said. “Somebody should give me some
feedback. From what I’ve heard, people
don’t expect us to be art majors. It’s
just some sort of weird rule set by
society, I guess.”
Mann said small children often
giggle when Walker tells them he is
an art major at college and not just a
football player. They must imagine
him silling around finger painting,
she said.
Adults, loo, react strangely.
“... and believe it or not, he’s an
art major,” ESPN announcer Ron
Franklin reported to his television
audience after Croel thumped a ball
handler to the turf during Nebraska’s
victory over Baylor.
“It’s hard for me to see a contra
diction because I’m in that category,”
Crocl said. “I think everybody's an
artist at what they do in a sense,
i
Looking ai il from another person's
view, I still don’t know why it should
be so strange because, you know, it’s
the ’90s and everything’s messed up
anyway.”
Colton said other stereotypes might
be the reason for the wide-eyed, baffled
looks he gels.
“A lot of people probably think
I'm in art because it’s easy,” he said.
“Once I show them my work, they
usually understand.”
All three started in art before ever
becoming starters, or even members,
on the Nebraska football team.
Young Crocl sal beside his mother
in Sudbury, Mass., and “played in the
paints” while his mother painted, he
said. He has drawn and painted ever
since.
Cotton, who is from Omaha, also
has been artistically inclined as long
as he can remember.
“Thai’s been since 1 was a little
shorty, way hack,” he said. “I’ve always
liked art. I used to draw out of comic
books and stuff like that.”
Walker started drawing in his Crane,
Texas, h igh school, he said, and chose
il as a major over architecture when
he came to college. Meanwhile, Cot
ton, who only doodled for himself,
avoided an classes until deciding that’s
what he wanted to do last fall.
Crocl said he picked art because
— and this may surprise Nebraska
coaches who saw him make second
team All-Big Eight in 19H9 — it is all
he is really good at.
“Art 1 would do every day if l
could,” he said. “I picked art as a
major right off, I never really even
look anything else in to considera
tion.”
Unable to hear since a lever at age
2, Walker said he was naturally
compelled by art. He said he is en
ticed by all kinds of art, from metal
work, to the oil paintings of ranch
scenes he saw in Texas, to splatter
painting.
“A deaf person approaches things
more visually,” he said. “1 have a
language of sign that’s visual and you
see pictures, too. I can find ideas with
my eyes. It’s kind of a complex thing,
but I know I’m a visual person.”
Crocl said he wouldn't want to
ch(x>se between art and the Huskers;
but, for the long haul, he would cluxise
art because his playing days eventu
ally will end. Walker said his cduca
See ARTISTS on 10
Poll slates NU
basketball 6th,
names top players
From Staff Reports
The Nebraska women’s basketball
team, which tied for seventh last sea
son, is picked to finish sixth in the Big
Eight prcscason poll that w as released
Monday.
The poll also predicted who the
top conference players would be this
season.
Comhuskcr freshman Meggan
Ycdscna was named co-new comer of
the year along with Kansas State’s
Lynn Hol/man.
Nebraska sophomore Karen Jcn
ningsand senior Ann Halsnc received
voles on the All-Big Eight team but
failed to make the top five. Jennings
got three votes and Halsnc one. Those
making the top five were players
receiving five or six voles.
In the prcscason team standings,
Colorado is picked to win, while Kansas
State and Oklahoma State are tied for
second. Missouri, last year's league
champ, is picked fourth and Kansas
lilth. Iowa State and Oklahoma were
picked seventh and eighth, respec
tively.
IN U detensive line
scarred by injuries
By Chris Mopfensperger
Senior Reporter
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne has
laced criticism from the media and
public since Saturday’s 27-12 loss to
Colorado, when '
the Buffaloes were
able to rack up 166
rushing yards and
four fourth-quar
ter touchdowns.
Most of those
yards came right ——
up the gut where Osborne
Colorado’s front five outweighed the
Comhuskers’ front three by an aver
age of 23 pounds.
“They started hammering us in the
middle,” Osborne said at Tuesday’s
weekly media conference, “which I
thougnt was a little unlikely.
"Of course in that kind of weather
if you could do what they did, w hich
was run straight ahead, you weren’t
handicapped much.”
The si/e required to stop the rush
is difficult to combine with the speed
needed to rush the passer, Osborne
said. That has been compounded by
the diversity of offenses in the Big
Eight, making it almost impossible to
shape the perfect lineman.
“If you’vc got 280-pound guys that
arc the best, then they play,” Osborne
said. “You just take what you’ve got
and play with them.
“Preferably you’d like 300-poun
ders that can run like (defensive tackle)
Kenny Walker.”
Going into this weekend’s game at
Kansas, the defensive line is one of
several areas on the field that will be
scarred by injuries.
“We have a pretty significant list
of people, right now at least, that arc
somewhat hampered,” Osborne said.
Walker, who is second on the team
in tackles and one of 14 finalists for
the Outland Trophy, injured a knee at
Monday’s practice.
The Outland Trophy is presented
annually to the nation stop collegiate
lineman. . . .
Osborne said he is not sure about
the status of I-back Lcodis Flowers
See OSBORNE on 10
Big Eight coaching tenures
Oklahoma track coach J.D. Martin is the dean of
Eight coaches entering his 27th season, heading a
list of five coaches of 20-plus years of experience at
their respective schools. Missouri head basketball
coach Norm Stewart enters his 24th season as the
sixth winningest active coach in the NCAA with 552
wins. Below are the totals entering the 1990-91
academic year:
J. D. Marlin ^
Norm Stewart
Dale Anderson
Francis Allen
Larry Romjue
Stan Abel
James Wadley
Tom Osborne
Mike Holder
Gene McArtor
Marian Washington
Joann Rutherlord
Gary Kempf
Ann Pitts
Terry Pettit
Gary Ward
Richard Poe
Bill Bergan
John Sanders
Cal Bentz
Miles Pabst
Oklahoma
Missouri
Iowa State
Nebraska
Nebraska
Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Nebraska
Oklahoma St.
Missouri
Kansas
Missouri
Kansas
Oklahoma St.
Nebraska
Oklahoma St.
Missouri
Iowa State
Nebraska
Nebraska
Oklahoma
(M&W) track
(M) basketball
(M) golf
(M) gymnastics
(M) golf
wrestling
(M) tennis
football
(M) golf
baseball
(W) basketball
(W) basketball
(W) swimming
(W) golf
volleyball
baseball
(M) golf
(M) track/CC
baseball
(M) swimming
volleyball
KUflUl
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24th
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21st
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18th
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14th |
14th £
14th S
14th |
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13th o