Sports
! JL- ■
Woolridge stresses books before buckets
By Jeff Singer
Senior Reporter
When it comes to being a student
athlete, Andre Woolridgc prefers to
be known more for the former than the
latter.
Woolridgc, one of three freshmen
recruits on this year’s Nebraska men’s
basketball team, was an all-state per
former at Benson High School in
Omaha.
Buthis3.3 grade pointaverageand
recognition on Benson’s honor roll
are what he’s most proud of in high
school.
And he’s hoping to lake his “suc
cess in the classroom” altitude to the
collegiate level.
“It doesn’t matter about my bas
ketball awards. Right now I’m look
ing toward the future,” said Woolridgc,
who said his main goals at Nebraska
arc “No. 1 to graduate and then make
sure I’m physically and mentally the
best basketball player I can be.”
Nebraska men’s basketball coach
Danny Nee said Woolridgc was an
example of the type of student-athlete
he wanted playing in the Cornhusker
program.
“On my first impression of him,
he’s the type of person that qualifies
for what I call ‘a student-athlete’ —
he’s got his priorities in line,” Nee
said.
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With Erick and Jaron,
we re going to help
the program and put
Nebraska basketball
on the map.
— Woolridge
-99 ~
Despite being centered on academ
ics, the 18-ycar-old Woolridge can’t
escape the attention he has received
for his play.
With fellow freshmen guards Erick
Strickland and Jaron Boone,
Woolridgc is part of what many con
sider to be Nebraska’s best recruiting
class ever.
Recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons
earlier out this vear’s Husker class in
his national top-10 list, and the three
freshmen have helped Nebraska re
ceive a No. 11 ranking in Sport
Magazine’s prescason ratings.
Woolridgc said the freshman trio
would help make the Huskers a na
tional power in coming years.
“With Erick and Jaron, we’re go
ing to help the program and put Ne
braska basketball on the map,”
Woolridgc said.
The 6-fooi-2 Woolridgc said al
though there would be pressure to
perform, he just wanted to blend into
the chemistry current team members
have already established.
“I just want to come in and contrib
ute positively,” Woolridge said. “I’m
notylanning on coming here and scor
ing a lot of points — I just want to
contribute to the team.”.
Scoring points was not a problem
for Woolridge in high school, as he
scored 50 in the Nebraska Class A
finals last March at the Bob Dcvancy
Sports Center in Benson ’s state cham -
pionship victory.
In high school, Woolridge received
See WOOLRIDGE on 7
NU looks
to slash
athletic
deficit
Priority seating,
skyboxes possible
By Jeremy Fitzpatrick
Staff Reporter
Nebraska football fans willing to
pay the price may be able to view
Cornhuskcr games from skyboxes or
priority scats in the future.
Gary Fourakcr, assistant athletic
director for business affairs, said the
athletic department is considering
those and other measures to hclpclimi
natc its S 1.8 million deficit.
“We are currently talking about
and getting involved with these things
in our Athletic Development Office,”
he said.
rouraxcr sam no committees nau
been established to evaluate propos
als for the skyboxes or for priority
seating. No formal decisions will be
made about pursuing the plans until
athletic director Bill Byrne lakes over
for Bob Dcvancy in January, he said.
'But Fourakcr said both proposals
were being seriously considered as a
method of raising revenue for the
athletic department.
“Those arc all things we talked
about several limes,” he said. “I think
the skybox issue is certainly some
thing we want to take a look at.”
Fourakcr said the existing press
box could be expanded or a new one
could be built specifically for skybox
viewing purposes.
Priority seating, or giving belter
scats to donors to the athletic depart
ment, is another option that is being
explored, he said.
“I think it’s something that will be
looked at, how seriously, I’m not sure
See DEFICIT on 7
Nebraska split end Trumane Bell reaches for a pass in last Saturday’s 55-0 Cornhusker win over Oklahoma State. Nebraska will
take a week off before playing at Missouri on 6ct. 24.
Huskers staying sharp with contact
From Staff Reports
For the second lime in the past
three weeks, the Nebraska football
team has two weeks to prepare for
a game.
How the team reacts to another
open date will rest with the indi
vidual, Comhusker coach Tom
Osborne said.
“1 think it pretty much depends
on how the team reacts,” Osborne
said. If they don tconccntrateand
keep their minds in practice, it will
hurt.”
The H uskers escaped Tuesday ’ s
practice injury-free, although line
backer Mike Anderson was held
out because of an earlier knee in
jury.
‘‘He’s still a kind ol sore, it’s
nothing big,” Osborne said.
Osborne made sure his team
would keep some contact going in
practice so tnc team would stay as
sharp as it was in Saturday’s 55-0
win against Oklahoma State. The
Huskcrs went through a full-pad
practice Tuesday and will scrim
mage Friday.
“We went through a live pass
drill and pass protection for 25
snaps,” he said. “I think it’s impor
tant we have some contact. If you
can go two weeks without contact,
it can hurt you.”
Nebraska may need the week
off to prepare for a tough confer
ence schedule. The Huskers’ next
game will be Oct. 24 at Missouri,
followed by a home date against
defending Big Eight co-champion
Colorado.
Osborne said that although Ne
braska has beaten quality oppo
nents, the conference schedule
would be tougher.
Clemens belongs in Red Sox uniform forever
I opened the paper Saturday morning, ex
pecting to read something about my high school
football team or some outrageous quote from
Oklahoma State coach Pal Jones.
That stuff was in there, all right. But when I
opened the paper, that wasn’t what caught my
eye.
Instead, it was a liny story out of Boston.
Some rumor about the Red Sox trading
Roger Clemens straight-up for the Texas Rang
ersr Juan Gon/.ales was buried three pages into
the sports section.
And while the Miami-Penn State game was
just coming on television and while I was
waiting to watch Oakland play Toronto in the
American League Championship Series, it was
the Clemens news that intrigued me most.
Roger Clemens in some other uniform?
Please, no.
Even though I’m not a Boston fan, I swear
I’ll never watch baseball again if the Red Sox
trade Clemens. It would be just plain sacrile
gious.
John
Adkisson
He’s a young throwback to the sport’s glory
years. He pitches through pain. He doesn’t
shave a lot. He can even make spitting look
manly.
Roger Clemens is no pretty boy.
More important, Clemens is a rarity in that
he’s played his entire career in Boston.
We’ve seen some great players close their
one-team career in grand style this season.
Kansas City’s George Brett and Milwaukee’s
Robin Yount each made it to the 3,(XX)-hit
plateau, and they’ve played with their respec
tive teams since they stepped into the majors.
There arc other examples: Baltimore made
sure Cal Ripken Jr. would be a lifetime Oriole
by offering him a lucrative multiyear contract.
And if there is justice in this world, Don
Mattingly should end his career with the Yan
kees, and Kirby Puckett should always be a
Twin.
It’s more than a matter of looking good in
one uniform. It’s a matter of young fans being
able to love a particular player and identifying
that player with one team.
When Dale Murphy led Atlanta to a divi
sional title in 1982,1 loved him. Ten years later
he’s laboring away with the lowly Phillies, a
sad end to a stellar career.
We’ve seen great players reduced to nobod
ics in other sports: The Milwaukee Bucks play
the Seattle SupcrSonics next week in a pre
season game in Omaha, and people will get a
chance to see former great Moses Malone
playing for the Bucks.
Moses is out of shape. Moses is no longer an
impact player. Moses has been traded countless
times. But 7-ycar-old kids who have never
seen Moses Malone in his prime will only sec
a balding fat guy who can barely make it down
the court.
That’s not to say that Roger Clemens’ late
career would ever resemble that of Malone’s.
Clemens still has a future of pitching greatness
ahead of him.
The point isn’t what’s ahead of Roger
Clemens. It’s what’s behind him.
No matter what would happen to him in
Texas, there’s no way to erase the image of him
striking out 19 Mariners or blowing a gasket in
the 1990 American League Championship Sc
ries.
It’s up to teams like the Red Sox to ensure
lhatCIcmcnsendshiscarccr with Boston. Even
talking about trading one of the best players in
the team’s history can’t help anything.
Everything he’s done has been done in a
Boston uniform, and there’s no reason tochangc
his colors now.
Adkisson Is a senior news-editorial major and the
Daily Nebraskan sports editor.
-s*