Pro stars don’t belong on Olympic court
We’re going to kick their butts in
’92.
No longer will America have to
deal with the embarrassment of Olym
pic silver or even bronze in basket
ball, the sport that was made in the
U.S.A.
Our boys won’t have to sit back
and even think about the possibility
of getting beat by an inferior team or,
God forbid, even the Russians.
Let the gold medal engraving begin:
We’ve got NBA studs playing for us
now.
In 1989, basketball’s international
governing organization made it pos
sible for professional players to par
ticipate in the Olympics. Last week,
it became clear that the U. S. players
intend to do just that.
Detroit Piston coach Chuck Daly
was named coach of the Dream Team
that will participate in the 1992 Olym
pics in Barcelona, Spain. Sports Illus
trated featured its “fabulous five” for
Barcelona on its cover last week:
Philadelphia’s Charles Barkley, the
L.A. Lakers’ Magic Johnson, New
York’s Patrick Ewing, Chicago’s
Michael Jordan and Utah’s Karl
Malone.
tJohn
Adkisson
If they play, we win. But even if
they don’t play, we still have a pretty
good chance.
Basketball is America’s sport, and
our players — pro, college, and even
high school — are better than any
other in the world. It’s that simple. In
past world competitions, our hastily
assembled college all-stars have an
nihilated teams that have been to
gether for years.
In Seoul, South Korea, in 1988,
however, the United States was em
barrassed by a third-place finish, and
a new group of the nation’s best col
legians finished third in the world
championships last summer.
In these desperate times, we have
turned to the athletes of the NBA,
hoping that they can save face for our
nation and not be laughing-stock bronze
medalists next time.
Yes, the NBA players are better
than our collegians, but will Ameri
cans really feel pride when Magic
feeds to Malone to give our country a
142-62 edge over Zaire? What honor
is there in watching Jordan, (who is
said to want to participate in the
Olympics because it will boost his
product endorsement reputation), dunk
over a 5-foot, 10-inch player from
Greece?
For college players, basketball is
not yet stale. It is still a game, not just
a stepping stone to shoe contracts.
Even Boston Celtic legend Larry Bird
has said that he is too old to partici
pate, and that the Olympics belong to
young players.
At age 32, let Magic be an assis
tant. Let Ewing show a young center
how to block shots.
But don’t let them pound on the
little guys.
* * * *
Closer to home, Nebraska sports
information officials have said Lin
coln has been taken out of considera
tion as a host site for NCAA tourna
ment games.
Tom Simons, associate sports in
formation director, said limited hotel
space in Lincoln has hampered the
university’s bid to host the tourna
ment.
“With the regional having eight
teams, a city has to have 10 hotels,
including separate hotels for the offi
cials arid the media,” Simons said.
“With all the requirements that have
to be met, we came up a little short.”
Simons said Lincoln has eight hotels
that currently meet NCAA standards.
He added that the 14,302-seat Bob
Devaney Sports Center needs about a
thousand more seats to hold a four
team NCAA regional final.
The Sports Center hosted first- and
second-round games of the Midwest
Regional in 1980,1984 and 1988. In
1988, eventual national champion
Kansas, with top-round draft choice
Danny Manning, beat Xavier and
Vanderbilt in Lincoln on its way to
the Final Four.
Nebraska coach Danny Nee, who
was an assistant at Notre Dame, said
he watched “one of the best region
als” he had seen when the Irish lost to
Missouri 87-84 in 1980 in an over
time game at the Sports Center. That
regional also included couisvme ami
Kansas State. .. _ . .
Nee said Lincoln is a viable NCAA
host city. .
“I’m disappointed,” Nee said. Inis
is a perfect place to have a regional,
and it’s a shame we’re not getting
one. Lincoln is a great basketball town .”
This year, regional sites include
some not-so-great basketball towns
like Dayton, Ohio, and Salt Lake City.
Other NCAA games will be held in
spacious, oversold domes like the
Silverdomc near Detroit and the
Kingdome in Seattle.
With Nebraska enjoying its best
basketball season in history, shattered
Sports Center attendance marks serve
as proof that Lincoln is a basketball
town and has fans anxious to watch
postseason ball, even if the Com
huskers are playing somewhere else.
The college game belongs in a
college town with a college arena.
That kind of atmosphere can’t be
duplicated in a dome, in a city that
really doesn’t care.
Adkisson is a sophomore news-editorial
major and a Daily Nebraskan sports staff
reporter.
Women’s Gymnastics: Prac
tices are getting harder after Sun
day’s loss against Oklahoma, Coach
Rick Walton said. “We’re working
on eliminating our mistakes,”
Walton said. “We need to have
better endurance and get more
consistent.” Nebraska will com
pete with nationally ranked Ala
bama and Arizona State this week
end as host of the Masters Classic.
Track & Field: Nebraska is in
as good a shape as can be ex
pected heading into this weekend’s
Big Eight indoor championships,
Coach Gary Pepin said. “Right now,
practice volume is down, but in
tensity is high,” Pepin said. “Both
teams should be in the battle for
conference championships.”
Women’s Swimming & Div
ing: “We’re just resting up for the
Big Eights,” Coach Ray Huppert
said. The conference champion
ships will be held Feb. 28 through
March 2 in Lawrence, Kan.
— Jeff Singer
Order your college ring NOW
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Okoye
Continued from Page 7
ning style and success since then have
earned him national recognition as
the “Nigerian Nightmare.”
“I don’t mind the nickname,” Okoye
said, “It seems like people call me
that every minute of every day. But
my friends don’t call me the ‘Night
mare.
Okoye said he and the Chiefs are
ready for 1991, and their loss to the
Miami Dolphins in the first round of
the AFC playoffs has been forgotten.
“The goais are the same as always.
To go to the Super Bowl and win it,”
he said. “And we have the people to
do it.”
—--—--1
Rec Scoreboard
Results from Monday's games.
Men's basketball
Independent A
Burnt Toast 81, Acacia Ail Stars 65;
No Way 96, Moving Crew 78; Buzzard
57, Heavy C and the Boyz 54
Independent B
BDM & Co 54, Magnifioent MRKY
52; The Law 87, Bulls 61; The The 59,
Gators 44; Law V 53, Hoosiers 47; Reel
Men 59, Bomb Squad 31; Blue Wave 80,
Gravity Kings 52; Misfits by forfeit over
Renobs; The Nads 57. Panhandle Cru
saders 56; Cather 7-lnd. 92, Mann’s Men
46, NROTCI 72, Damage inc. 55; Short
'n Sloppy 82, Step Brothers 49; NA4 74,
Country Boys 43; Bar Stools 78. Possum
Love 45; Brown House by forfeit over
■ FCA Reserves; Looped Mortars 80,
Cramdens 52; Smack s Attack, EC BHS
Team double forfeit; Cowboys 86, Status
Quo 63; BP Express 64, Sreksuh 43.
Independent C
Primetime by forfeit over The Good
Morticians; Skiv's Sooners 68, The
Bums 45; The Bailers 64, Court Gnomes
54.
Residence B
Schramm 2 52, Burr 3 West 38;
Selieck 8100 67. Cougars 46; Harper 3,
49, Spurs 37.
Lightweight
Falstafl by forfeit over Beta Theta Pi.
Soccer
Residence/Independent
FCA by forfeit over International
Stars I; International Stars II 12,
Schramm 8 0.
Residence BC
Steamrollers 5, Fury 1; Vicious Hell
Hounds 2, Scorpions 1; Oatmeal 2, EX
PTG 1.
Women
Alpha Delta Pi 2, Phi Mu 0.
I HHHHHHIHHBMHHBMHHHBni
NU volley ball team
signs new players
From Staff Reports
The Nebraska volleyball team has
signed Christy Johnson of Omaha,
Kim Tonniges of Lincoln, Peggy
Meyers of Moorhead, Minn., and
Rachel Errthum of Dubuque, Iowa to
letters-ol-intent.
Johnson and Tonniges were Ne
braska all-state selections last year
for Millard North and Lincoln East
high schools, respectively.
The Cornhuskers, Final Four par
ticipants last year, lost seniors Val
Novak, Becky Bolli and Linda
Barsness, as well as underclassmen
Sara Hesch and Valerie Vermculen.
Beck
Continued from Page 7
after dropping two straight games,
including a 77-75 loss to Iowa State
in Lincoln.
“We made a mistake by not play
ing hard at home,” Beck said.
It is a mistake the Huskers cannot
afford to make against Missouri.
Nebraska is in a three-way tie with
Colorado and Kansas State for sec
ond place in the league.
Beck said the Tigers, who are 3-9
on the road this season, are always
ready for the Huskers.
Missouri is led by junior Ericka
Fields with 17.1 points per game, but
Beck said the Huskers always are
bothered by senior Lisa Sandbothe.
Sandbothe, who led the team in
scoring and rebounding last year, has
not been playing as well this year,
Beck said.
“Sandbothe always seems to play
well against us,” she said. “She may
be in a slump against other teams, but
I ’ ve never seen her in a slump against
us."
Beck said the Huskers also would
be on guard against Lisa Fordham, A
freshman guard, Fordham is a 1990
graduate of Lincoln Southeast.
Drake
Continued from Page 7
tonight, Neumann said, is to do well
enough to enter the Big Eight and
NCAA championships upbeat.
It won’t be easy, Neumann said,
since Drake is 19-3. Drake’s top per
formers, he said, are 118-pounder Scott
Ganyo, 142-pounder Brett Helinkamp
and Brett Sharpe, ranked 11th in the
country at heavyweight.
Helmkamp beat Nebraska All
American Jason Kelber last season.
“I know they’ll be tough — they
always are,” Neumann said.
Nebraska's probable starters:
118 — Jason Buxton (5-3)
126 — Jason Kelber (26-2)
134 — Dave Droegemueller (16-6)
142 — Kelvin Kreitman (0-0)
150 — Layne Billings (7-5)
158 —Todd Enaer (19-12-1)
167 — Tommy Robbins (10-11-4)
177 — Scott Chenoweth (10-3-1)
190 — Chris Nelson (15-3)
Hwt. — Sonny Manley (16 8-1)
