Nebraskan
Thursday, January 13,1994
Sports
Coaches plan to take
action against NCAA
By Tim Pearson
Senior Reporter
The NCAA’s defeat of Proposal 42, which
would have raised the number of basketball
scholarships from 13 to 14, has the Black
Coaches Association up in arms.
Williams
Drake coach Rudy Wash
ington, who heads the asso
ciation, said the BCA would
protest the defeat of the schol
arship increase by doing one
of three things: boycotting
the season, boycotting press
conferences, or disrupting the
NCAA tournament.
Nebraska assistant coach
Jimmy Williams, a member
of the BCA, said the boycott
would be justified because of the cuts in schol
arships over the past several years.
“This will eliminate something over 300
kids,” he said. “These are 300 lives that can be
benefited by scholarship.
“A lot of those kids will be minorities who
won’t have the money to pay their own way
through college.”
Williams said that Washington had contact
ed him about the potential boycott by the BCA.
“I got a call from Rudy,” he said. “I’m not
sure what position will be taken, but I think
some type of position needs to be taken.”
The association has 3,000 members, includ
ing Washington, Georgetown coach John Th
ompson and George Raveling of Southern Cal
ifornia.
Williams said he agreed with Indiana coach
Bobby Knight and Raveling on their views of
scholarship reductions.
“I agree with a lot of coaches like Bobby
Knight, who said that to have a solid program,
you need 14 scholarships,” Williams said.
“There are a lot of players out there who need
a couple of years of development.
Junior draftees
can change mind
From Staff Reports
Juniors who declare early for the NBA
draft now have a choice.
No longer will the players be obligated to
play for the team that drafts them. They can
now make the decision to return to their
college team within 30 days after the draft.
The NCAA voted Tuesday to change the
rule regarding the college eligibility of jun
iors who enter the NBA draft.
The players will benefit from the new
rule, Nebraska assistant coach Jimmy Wil
liams said.
“From a player’s standpoint, it’s very
good,” he said. “There have been situations
in the past where players have thought they’d
be a high draft choice and then discovered
they weren’t ready.
“Now this gives them the opportunity to
test the waters.”
But the new rule could have bad effects
on some players, Williams said.
“It could send a bad signal to a lot of
players to test the waters,” he said. “The rule
could benefit some players who may not
have what it takes.”
“I also agree with George Raveling that this
will eliminate a scholarship probably for some
minority kid who can’t pay his way to school.”
Williams said the proposal wasn’t passed
because the NCAA was so concerned with
cutting costs in the big-name sports.
‘There is no reason why one scholarship per
school would hurt the financial situation of the
school,” he said.
Tho Associated Press contributed to this report.
Recruiter not fazed by slow start
By Mitch Sherman
Stall Reporter
Despite having less than 3 1/2 weeks of
recruiting left and only five verbal commit
ments, the Nebraska football coaching staff is
staying calm.
Between now and Feb. 2, the Comhuskers
plan to receive 13 to 15 more commitments,
recruiting coordinator Dave Gillespie said.
“These next few weeks should be very busy
and very crucial,” Gillespie said. “Usually by
this time we have at least 10 or so commit
ments. But we’re certainly not panicking. We
think that because of the quality of players that
we’re involved with, it tends to go down to the
end.”
Coaches are prohibited by NCAA regula
tions from talking about potential recruits until
after they sign a letter of intent to accept a
scholarship.
Gillespie said the Huskers, who are allowed
to award 25 scholarships this year, will give out
approximately 23. In addition to losing three
scholarships — because of an NCAA rule
cutting the total number of football scholar
ships to 85 — the Huskers have also promised
scholarships to five or six players who are
already on campus, Gillespie said.
He said the number of athletes visiting the
campus in the past few weeks had been similar
to years past.
“In terms of numbers, it has been pretty
normal,” Gillespie said. “But in terms of qual
ity, it has been a little abnormal. We’ve had
maybe a little better quality overall.”
The Associated Press reported Wednesday
that Arizona State wide receiver John Livingston
would accept a scholarship and transfer to
Nebraska.
Livingston, recruited by Nebraska out of
Palomar (Calif.) Junior College, caught one
pass for Arizona State last fall.
Of the Huskers’ other five commitments,
four have come from in-state athletes. They
include Ted Butler, a lineman from Lincoln
Southeast; Travis Toline, a lineman from Wa
hoo; and Brandt Wade, a lineman from Spring
field-Platteview.
Darin Erstad.an All-American outfielder on
the Nebraska baseball team, will accept a schol
arship with the football team. With Byron
Bennett gone, Erstad expects to contend for
Nebraska’s punting and place-kicking duties.
Nebraska has also received a commitment
from Mike Rucker, a defensive end from St.
Joseph, Mo.
Damon Lee/DN
Nebraska forward Bruce Chubick gets fouled Saturday.
A new look
Chubick changes along with NU
By Mitch Sherman
Staff Reporter
Since arriving in Lincoln in the fall of
1989, Bruce Chubick has gone through plen
ty of changes —just like the Husker teams
for which he has played.
In 1989, the Comhuskers were 10-18,
struggled to finish seventh in the Big Eight
and lost six home games, five of which were
conference games.
“We were a losing team,” said Chubick,
who sat out the season as a redshirt. “People
just came out to sec how funny it was going
to be—how bad Nebraska was going to get
their ass kicked.”
Since that season, the Huskers have gone
76-31. They finished in the top three of the
Big Eight twice, including a second-place
finish last season, and have lost only six
games at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
“Things have definitely changed,”
Chubick said. “Now people come out and
know they’re going to see a good game.”
Things have changed for Chubick this
year, too. The 6-foot-7-inch, 228-pound se
nior from Atkinson has had to adjust to
playing against opponents four or five inch
es taller than him.
In order to stack up, Chubick has spent
more than his share of time in the Husker
weight room.
“Strength is something I’ve put a lot of
work into,” he said. “I’ve gained about 30
See CHUBICK on 11
Just think, NU was 3 points away from Husker Twister
I put on my prettiest dress and
broke out the butter-flavored Crisco.
This Orange Bowl was going to be
special for me.
1 had watched the Comhumblers
football team for many years.
Through the good (uh, LSU) and
the bad (Miami, Florida State, Penn
State, Michigan, Clemson, Air Force
JV), I’ve watched the boys. And I’ve
oh-so-often turned the television off
with a tear in my eye and a dire need
for therapy.
But this isn’t about me or my psy
chological problems, dammit. It’s
about the Compranccrs, what could
have been and what may be.
What if Byron “gopher-killer”
Bennett had made the field goal? What
if Florescent State had not converted
the fourth down? What if the referees
hadn’t had a crush on Charlie Ward?
What if my mother did love me?
Well, let me tell you, this campus
and life in Nebraska as we know it
would be different if the ‘skers would
have won the national championship.
A look at what a Nebraska national
title would have meant to UNL:
First and foremost, no school. Sure,
we’d be on campus, but there’d be no
classes and, as the Beastie Boys would
say, no homework.
Also, a large, 100-man throne
would be set up where the Greenspace
is supposed to be and the team would
sit upon it for 40 days and the student
body as well as the Nebraska citizenry
would travel to them to pay homage.
1 guess it would be called “Redspacc. ”
People from all over this flat, un
der-wooded state would make a pil
grimage to this Mecca of the pigskin
to gl impse the rightful Kings. College
football would no longer be a profes
sion or a money-making venture; it
would be a theology.
But that’s not where the day would
Beau
Finley
end. The masses would conclude their
spirituals to Tommie with a rousing
game of Husker Twister.
I can just see it: “Right-hand blue.
Hey, Mr. Raemakers, uh, that’s my
groin.” Oh, the fun we’d have.
Next, and this is the sad part, Calvin
Jones wouldn’t be the only Husker
leaving. Tom Osborne himself would
resign as head coach in order to pur
sue a singing career.
Very few people are aware of the
outstanding version Dr. O does of the
Eddie Murphy classic “My girl wants
to party all the time.” He’s good,
reeeeeal good.
As coach of college football’s
champion, the national spotlight
would be enough to spark his promis
ing second career on the club circuit.
And who would replace the great
one? One word, baby: DITKA.
But Iron Mike wouldn’t only be
the football coach; he’d be el
presidenteof UNL. Why do you think
they kept that Smith guy around, call
ing him “president-elect”?
It’s because the big wheels of the
university (Graham Spanicr and our
editor, Jeremy Fitzpatrick) were wait
ing to see if we would win the Orange
Bowl.
We win, Ditka’s in. We lose, and
the bookies take my children. Whoops,
1 mean the school gets that Smith guy.
Anyway, I’d like to conclude this
little ditty with a message to Dr.
Osborne and the rest of the football
program.
I applaud your effort this season.
Nebraska football only affirmed what
I already knew and occasionally wrote
about: It is an outstanding program,
certainly among the best in the coun
try.
1 hope my humor was taken in the
jovial sense it was intended. I dig
Comhusker football, but there are
some funny things about it. If I had my
wish, I’d hope the team could chuckle
along with me.
But if they can’t, I more than un
derstand. Some people — even 300
pound muscular maniacs — are sen
sitive that way.
My advice to them would be to tell
the DN how much my opinions blow
and go back to their lives of breaking
rocks and hanging out at convenience
stores.
Finley is a Daily Nebraskan sports colum
nist, a first-year law student.