Sports
Predictability reigns in NBA
There are three things a person
can consistently count' on during
his or her lifetime: taxes, death and
the two best basketball teams play
ing in the NBA finals.
When it comes to the finals of
the National Basketball Associa
tion, the league is FAN-tastic — if
predictability is what fans are look
ing for.
This year’s finals feature the
Chicago Bulls and Portland Trail
Blazers, the two teams with the
best records in the regular season
who arc coincidentally competing
for the league title — what a sur
prise.
Not since the Houston Rockets
upset the world champion Los An
geles Lakers in the 1986 Western
Conference championships has a
true underdog advanced to the fi
nals.
And not since the New York
Knicks won the title in 1973 has
the league champion been much of
a surprise, inoi oniy nave i v years
passed since the Knicks victory,
but also four Olympics, four presi
dents and two shots by the Ne
braska football team at a national
championship have since passed.
No other sport can be forecasted
as well as the NBA.
Major League Baseball had its
worst-to-first series last year be
tween the Minnesota Twins and
Atlanta Braves.
The New York Giants were a
big surprise when they defeated
the San Francisco 49ers and then
the Buffalo Bills in the 1991 Super
Bowl to lake home the National
Football League’s championship.
And the National Hockey
League had its Cinderella matchup
last year, when usual NHL cellar
dwellers Pittsburgh and Minnesota
battled for the Stanley Cup.
Then there’s the N B A, in which
the only thing that might be unex
pected during the playoffs is how
many times sportscaster Marv
Albert can say “Yes”during a regu
lation game.
If anybody outside of Cleve
land, Utah, New York and maybe
Boston thought the Bulls and Blaz
ers wouldn’t be meeting this month
in the finals, they were either na
ive, half-witted or both.
But predictability doesn’t have
to remain on the courts of the NBA,
as there are other areas closer to
home that are presumptive as well.
Let’s start in our own backyard —
Nebraska athletics.
flfe
^BB Singer
• The Nebraska football team
will win nine games as usual, and
consequently get thumped in their
bowl game.
• Nebraska football fans will
talk national championship as the
season begins, and consequently
whine from New Year’s Day to the
first day of spring football practice
about how outdated Tom Osborne ’ s
offense is. Remember, this is the
same offense that had made fans so
happy just months before when the
team blasted Northeastern Utah
State by 50 points in the season
opener.
•The Nebraska basketball team
will once again go above and be
yond expectations during its regu
lar season with some big upsets,
and will then be literally upset
following another early exit from
the NCAA Tournament.
•The Nebraska volleyball tciun
will leave a space empty in its
trophy shelf to place a national
championship plaque, only to have
to place another Runza Challenge
championship trophy in its spot
following an exit in the NCAA
playoffs.
• Bob Devancy will complain
until the day he leaves about why
he has to depart his position as
athletic director, therefore having
to clean out his desk and bar in his
office, only to have members of
the NU Board of Regents realize
what a mistake they made by let
ting him go to take over the always
challenging position of fund-rais
ing consultant to the chancellor.
And there are still more predict
able items that occur in the Big
Eight Conference that can be
counted on year after year.
• Kansas Basketball Coach Roy
Williams will continue to dispel
the myth that he is the human
equivalent of Droopy the Dog.
• Missouri Basketball Coach
Norm Stewart will continue to vali
date the myth that he is the human
equivalent of a nice, honest man.
• The Oklahoma football team
will be investigated and conse
quently placed on proDanon ior
NCAA rules violations. (After all,
the Sooners have been off of pro
bation for a whole year now).
• The Oklahoma State football
team will actually win a game.
This will lead to the cardiac arrest
rate to triple in Stillwater minutes
following the victory.
• Iowa State will again try to
explain how they got that ugly, red
bird as their mascot when their
nickname is The Cyclones.
Although these items are
foretelling .none are as predictable
as the NBA, as the league’s three
letter abbreviation should be bet
ter known as “Nothing But Antici
pation.”
By the way, has anyone noticed
that the series-favorite Bulls are
just about ready to order their cham
pionship rings from Zales?
Singer is a senior news-editorial and
political science major and Is the Summer
Daily Nebraskan’scopy desk editor and a
senior sports reporter.
Tennis team sets sights on title
Recruits and redshirts offer hopes of conference championship
By Lori Stones
Staff Reporter
Two new faces plus two returning
red-shut players equal a promising
upcoming season for the Nebraska
men's tennis team, Nebraska Coach
K McDermott said.
:Dermott said although last
season's record was 8-IS, the addi
tion of these players could put Ne
braska in a position to contend for the
B ig Eight tide, which the Comhuskers
have never won.
This fall, Jan Frode Anderson of
Hamar, Norway will be joining the
team. Anderson is a two-time Na
tional Doubles champion in Norway.
In the spring, another impact
player, Anthony Cunningham of Perth,
Australia will come to Nebraska.
Cunningham is currently ranked 15th
in Perth.
“This was one of my best recruit
ing years,” McDermott said. “I put
these players into the ranks with some
of the best players I’ve ever had, such
as Matthias Mueller, Robert Sjoholm
and Steve Jung.”
In addition to the two new players,
redshirts Matthias Mueller and An
thony Kotarac will be returning to the
lineup. .
Mueller is a two-time Big Eight
Champion. He won the No. 3 singles
title in 1989 and the No. 1 doubles
championship in 1990.
“I feel like we can compete with
the two best teams (University of
Colorado and Drake) returning this
fall,” McDermott said.
McDermott said he was confident
of the team, despite the loss of Joseph
Rahme, who decided to forego his
senior year at Nebraska to turn profes
sional.
Assistant Coach Ken Feuer said
the fall season will be a good indicator
of what the lineup will be.
Instead of having one team leader
this year, McDermott said, he decided
to have the seniors on the team —
Mueller and Karl Falkland—serve as
co-leaders.
Implementing co-leaders will al
low for better team unity, McDermott
said.
Recruits to star
By Jeff Singer
Senior Editor
If Nebraska basketball fans are
eager for the Comhuskers to start
posting wins in the NCAA Tourna
ment, they shouldn’t have to wait
much longer.
Although the Huskers have never
won a game in the NCAA tourney,
this year they have four recruits signed
and another player pending, who
should all have an immediate impact
on ending Nebraska’s drought in the
postseason. The Huskers are 0-3 in
the tourney following last March’s
first-round defeat to Connecticut.
The recruiting class includes three
early signees from last fall. The high
school standouts who signed with
Nebraska early on have all received
accolades for their performances in
their senior seasons.
Andre Woolridgc is a 6-2 guard
from Omaha’s Benson High School,
who led the Bunnies to a state cham
pionship by scoring 50 points in the
class A final last March at the Bob
Devaney Sports Center.
Another Nebraska prep star who
signed on to be a Husker this season is
6-3 guard Erick Strickland of Bel levue
West. Strickland was recently named
Nebraska’s high school Athlete of the
Year, and his talents carry over to the
baseball diamond, as he was drafted
by Major League Baseball’s Florida
Marlins in last week’s amateur draft.
Rounding out the Huskers’ guard
threesome is 6-5 Jaron Boone of Salt
Lake City. Boone, who was heavily
recruited by numerous schools before
choosing Nebraska, was recently
named Utah’s basketball Player-of
the-Year.
With the lossof 6-8 forward/center
Dapreis Owens to graduation, the
Huskers needed some help on the
front line and got it when they signed
6-8, 270-pound Amos Gregory of
Aquinas (Tenn.) Junior College..
Finally, 6-9 Chicago prep standout
Ben Coupet will apparently sign with
the Huskers, but Coupet is waiting to
commit until he finds out if he is a
casualty of Proposition 48. If a player
does not receive a 2.0 grade point
average as well as a 700 on his Scho
lastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores, he
will be forced to sit out a year accord
ing to NCAA regulations.
Nebraska Assistant Coach Gary
Bargen said Coupet will still be will
ing to sign with the Huskers even if he
doesn’tmeettheProposition48 guide
lines.
The Huskers’ last Proposition 48
player was Jamar Johnson, who as a
sophomore last season, played his
first minutes for Nebraska and was
consequently the only Husker to be
named to the Associated Press’ All
Big Eight team (Johnson was on AP’s
second team).
“We’re very, very satisfied,”
Bargen said. “These are some quality
players and quality people.”
This class has already had an im
pact cmi the preseason hype. Recruit
ing analyst Bob Gibbons has listed
Nebraska’s class in his top ten list, and
The Sporting News named Nebraska
Coach Danny Nee as one of five
coaches who can’t wait for next sea
son to start.
Bargen said it would be premature
to call this Nebraska’s bestclass ever.
• “You can evaluate it in two or four
years after being able to see whose
helped raise the program,” Bargen
said. “I wouldn’ l want to say this is the
best; you just have to wait.”
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