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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 4, 1992)
‘Frog Legs’ leaps to longer marks By John Gardner Staff Reporter Nebraska jumper Robert Thomas, Jr. was once called the “Go-lucky kid” by his high school coach. His mother called him “frog legs.” He was called the go-lucky kid because he always has a smile on his face, Thomas said. Now he has a reason to smile. Last Saturday, in a triangular meet with Arkansas and Kansas State, Thomas set a provisional national qualifying jump in the long jump with a 25 feet, 1 3/4 inch mark. Thomas said he wasn’t even aware he qualified until the end of the day. “At the team meeting, coach (Gary) Pepin asked for anyone who qualified to raise their hand,” he said. “I didn’t raise mine at first and then coach told me to raise it. “It was the greatest feeling in the world. I could feel my smile grow »ng. Also that day, Thomas went 50-05 1/2 in the triple jump to place third. His previous best in the event indoors was 48-8. “It was one of the best days of my life,” Thomas said. The reason for all the smiles is because Thomas is only a freshman. Thomas grew up in a small neigh borhood in New Orleans that was called “Bunch Village,” which meant a small bunched-up community, he said. The murder rate was high in New Orleans, so his parents never let him slay out after 10 p.m., he said. “I really have to thank my folks for that,” Thomas said. “1 didn’t let the high murder rate get to me too much, though, because there are problems wherever you go.” Thomas went to East Jefferson High School, a small school in urban New Orleans. While there, he left his mark. As a sophomore, Thomas com peted in his first state meet at the Louisiana State track. The triple jump pit was 44 feet away from the take-off line, so he said he was a little scared. That day he went 45-6. “I’d never gone that far before,” Thomas said. Around the middle of his junior season, he wasn’t so sure he wanted to be in track, he said. But at the regional meet, Thomas placed first and later on that year, he jumped 49-9. He took first in both the long and triple jump at the state meet that season. Also, he and three other teammates scored enough points to win the state team championship. In the 20 meets he competed in as a senior, he broke records in 17 of them, often in more than one event. Thomas holds the Louisiana state record in the triple jump with a mark of 51 -6. He was voted the Athlcte-of the-Ycar in the slate and was an All American in 1991. Thomas also re ceived a plaque for the FNG Amateur Athlete of the Year in the United States. “I think it’s a golf organization because my plaque has a golf ball on it,” Thomas said. Along with the triple jump, Tho mas also holds school records in the long jump (24-11) and the high jump (6-8). The 6-foot-1 Thomas also played football and his 38 1/2 inch vertical jump enables him to dunk a basket ball quite easily, he said. His leaping ability got him his “frog legs” nickname from his mother, he said. “I didn’t think your vertical jump meant anything,” Thomas said. “When I came here, it was the first time I ever had it measured.” Besides the vertical jump surprise, he has had to cope with many other changes since coming to college in Lincoln, he said. One change is the climatic differ ence. “The coolest it ever gets in New Orleans is about 65 degrees,” Tho mas said. “It never snows, so when I first saw snow in Nebraska, I went outside my dorm room and ran around in it It was so cool.” Nebraska coaches have told him that it may rain in some of the outdoor meets. Thomas said he never had to jump in rain, sleet or snow. One thing that strikes him funny is other people’s ideas about living in Louisiana. “People seem to think everyone has baby alligators and swamps right in their back yards,” Thomas said. “The nearest bayou to my house is at least 30 miles away.” Thomas said he is the first in his family to go to college, so he didn’t receive a pep talk from anyone else. But, he has learned to just tough it out. “You have to leave the childish stuff at home,” he said. “The way I see it, if you don’t learn to discipline yourself, you’re going to fall.” The coaches and his teammates have helped out a lot, Thomas said. “Coach Pepin has really showed me the ropes so far,” he said. “Also, he has never told me what I have to do on the track. He leaves it up to me. “And everyone is so close on our team. It’s nice to meet all different kinds of people, from all over the world,” he said. “In New Orleans I may have gotten to meet a few people from the suburbs or something.” Now Thomas looks forward to the upcoming big meets, mainly the Frank Sevigne Huskcr Invitational this Sat urday. “This is going to be the biggest meet of my life so far,” Thomas said. “I’m really excited about it.” One reason for his excitement is because Louisiana State, which didn’t offer Thomas a full-ride scholarship, will compete. “I know they have a 54-foot triple jumper, so I really want to compete against him,” Thomas said. “The guys will all know I’m from New Orleans, so it will be a lot of fun.” Later down the road, Thomas said, he would like toqualify for the Olym pic Trials. “TheTrialsarcjust down the street from my house, so that would be cool,” he said. Underclassmen could be class of’92 draft NEW YORK (AP) — Hcisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard and 34 other college underclassmen with first-round potential were certified Monday for the April 26 NFL draft. This marks the third year in which sophomores and juniors are eligible. Thenumbcrof players coming out is the about the same as in the first two years, but the quality is much higher, the New York Giants general man ager said. “I would think you have 13 or 14 who arc potential first-round picks,” George Young said. “But how good is the draft? Ask me in three or four years.” Two years ago, a total of 38 play ers declared. Eight of which were taken in the first round, and three more in the second, but just 18 were' chosen overall. Last season, 33 underclassmen came out, but just two went in the first round: Eric Swann missed the season with knee injuries and Todd Mari novich came on late in the season. This year, more underclassmen may be taken in the first round than in the last two years combined. The first five picks could be under classmen, which is better than in 1990 when five of the first seven were juniors. The group is led by Howard, an all-purpose reccivcr/kick returner from Michigan. He has been more highly regarded than Rqghib “Rocket” Is mail was last year before signing with Toronto of the CFL. Howard, who also is talking to the Canadian League, probably won’t be the first overall pick; defensive line man Steve Emtman of Washington is liable to get that designation. Emtman, a 280-pound lineman, is considered a strong run-stopper who needs work on his pass rush. The Indianapolis Colts, who have the draft’s first two picks, arc report edly considering Emtman and another underclassmen, offensive tackle David Whitfield of Stanford. Other potential first-rounders on die NFL’s list include the following: wide receiver Carl Pickens of Ten nessee, defensive backsTcrrcll Buck ley of Florida Slate and Darryl Wil liams of Miami, defensive ends Keith Hamilton of Pitt, Alonzo Spellman of Ohio State and Shane Dronett of Texas, tight end Reggie Dwight of Troy Stale, and running back Amp Lee of Florida State. Coleman ~ Continued from Page 7 and always gives the sport every thing he’s got. Each event is his biggest challenge, he said. Coleman’s next test is the Frank Sevigne Huskcr Invitational, which will be held Saturday. “My throwing is a reflection of myself,” Coleman said. “The way I throw is basically the way I go about life. There’s pitfalls, and you have trials and tribulations in life, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to keep you down. “I may get out there and I may throw bad,” Coleman said, “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stay down forever. I’ll always be back.” -- --. . Tennis team’s experience grows with tourney losses From Staff Reports __ What the Nebraska women’s ten nis team lost in matches over the weekend, they gained in experience. The Comhuskers competed in the Sixth Annual Gopher Doubles Invita tional in Minneapolis Saturday, and despite losing eight of their nine matches, the tournament was still a success, according to Nebraska Coach Scott Jacobson. “This tournament was a good learn ing experience,” Jacobson said. “The more matches you play against belter competition, the better you become.” The competition that the Huskcrs faced in the tourney included Big-10 powers Minnesota, Iowa and Mis souri Valley Conference foe Drake. The lone victory for Nebraska came at No. 1 doubles, where Rachel Collins and Ann Flannery teamed to defeat their Iowa counterparts 6-4,4-3, in a match that was shortened because of a Hawkcye injury. Jacobson said he was proud of his players’ effort over the weekend. “The girls never quit out there,” Jacobson said. “My philosophy is that winning isn’t the most important thing, it’s the will to win, and they (the Huskers) just never gave up.” The Huskers’ next match will be on Saturday, Feb. 15, when Nebraska hosts intrastate-rival Creighton at 2 p.m. NATIONAL GARAGES] INC. West of 1033 "O" ST. Memorial Suita 120 Stadium 474-2274 PARKING SERVICES 9:30 PM Watch Local Ladles Compete for Cash Prizes! /Vo Cover 1823 'O’ St. Home of Lincoln's Finest Dancers 1 --i-i'i I'i-i-i-i i'l liii- - - • nil I ■ I ■■■■» " - School (First Rank place votes) Record Pts. Pvs. 1 Duke (65) 17-0 1,625 1 2 Oklahoma St. 20-0 1,556 3 3 Kansas 16-1 1.464 5 4 UCLA 15-1 1,410 2 5 Arkansas 17-3 1,363 7 6 Indiana 15-3 1,212 4 7 Arizona 15-3 1,196 9 8 Ohio St 14-3 1,164 10 9 North Carolina 15-3 1,052 11 10 Connecticut 16-2 1,017 6 11 Michigan St 14-3 930 13 12 Mlsaourl 14-3 872 8 13 Syracuse 15-3 802 12 14 Tulane 16-1 732 16 16 Michigan 12-5 565 1 5 16 Southern Cal. 14-3 512 25 17 UNLV 18-2 474 21 18 Alabama 17-4 461 22 19 Kentucky 15-5 448 14 20 N.C. Charlotte 15-3 442 17 21 Oklahoma 14-4 407 18 22 LSU 13-4 379 — 23 Florida St. 14-5 306 23 24 Georgia Tech. 15-6 236 20 25 Texas-EIPaso 16-3 81 19 AP Hytrek Continued from Page 7 but the Buckeyes will have 10 face the Big Eight champion at some point in the Midwest regional. Connecticut. Once again the Hus kies will have to face Duke sometime in the East Regional. Connecticut and Duke have faced each other the past two years and both times Duke has come away victori ous. This year’s result will be the same, t , 4 , Who will make it to the Final Four then? First of all is Duke. The Blue Devils have answered every challenge so far this season and they own one of the two perfect records left in Division I basketball. The defending national champi ons arc deep and all of the regulars have tournament experience, which is a big plus for any team. Duke coach Mike Kr/.y/.cwski always seems to have his team wcll prcpaircd to face anyone the Blue Devils play. Remember the UNLV game in the semifinals last year? Oklahoma State. The only team besides Duke with a perfect record. The Cowboys have been impressive, winning the lough road games and winning easily at home. Byron Hous ton and Co. won’t face a serious C hal lrm nn until ihn Pin'll Pnnr Kansas. Every lime I see ihc Jay hawks play. I’m more impressed. It’s likely that Kansas and Okla homa Stale will meet in the finals of the Big Eight Tournament, with the winner gelling the No. 1 seed in the Midwest regional. Whoever loses that game will likely be moved to another regional, proba bly the Southeast, and will be a No. 2 seed. I foresee Arkansas as the No. 1 seed there and the Razorbacks arc no match for either Kansas or Oklahoma Slate. Arizona. UCLA will probably be the lop seed in the West regional but Arizona seems to play its best in March. Also, the West regional finals arc played in Albuquerque, N.M., close enough to give Arizona a home-court advantage. And the national champion? I’d rather not divulge that infor mation just yet. I’ll just say that it’s been a long time since one team has won back-to-back national champi onships. But next year that won’t be true. Hytrek is ■ senior news-editorial major and the Daily Nebraskan sports editor.