Too earlv to think about boycott, Nee says
By Tim Pearson
Senior Reporter__
Talk of a boycott by coaches and
players over the NCAA’s defeat of
Proposal 42 is a little premature, Ne
braska coach Danny Nee said Thurs
day.
Proposal 42
would have raised
thenumberofbas
ketball scholar
ships from 13 to
14.
“As of today, I
have not heard
anything that
would substanti
Nee
“There’s nothing
know about.
ate a boycott,
Nee said,
on the table that I
“In the last 24 hours, I haven’t
heard from a coach who knows any
thing about it.”
The Black Coaches Association is
apparently considering taking action
because the proposal was defeated at
the NCAA convention in San Anto
nio. The defeat of the proposal elim
inates 300 scholarships, which could
have afforded more opportunities for
minorities, the BCA said.
But Nee said a boycott of games
was not a way to protest.
“The coaches have to go back to
the table and study this,” he said. “We
should boycott against gang violence
and AIDS, instead.”
Comhusker assistant coach J immy
W ill iams, a member of the BCA, said
something had to be done.
“I don’t think it’ll be an all-out
boycott,” he said. “A lot of these
- 44
There’s just nothing
there at this point
but a lot of smoke.
—Nee
Nebraska basketball coach
-tt
discussions have been made without
the discussion of the coaches.”
The coaches’ frustration with
NCAA legislation goes beyond the
defeat of Proposal 42.
“The scholarship issue is one im
portant factor,” he said. “It takes away
scholarships and opportunities.
“But it’s from frustration over leg
islation being passed without the
coaches having a say on it.”
NCAA efforts at achieving gender
squity — including scholarship cuts
—may be a cause of all of the frustra
tion, Nee said.
“It’s all over gender equity,” he
said. “They’re just trying to balance
the sports.
“It’s hurting men’s basketball,
which is one of the horses in this
race.”
But in a way, Nee said, keeping the
scholarships at 13 can benefit a pro
gram like Nebraska.
“It enlarges the pool of athletes,”
he said. “Now we can go into Indiana
and Michigan to get players.”
If a boycott occurred, Nee said, his
players would decide as a team whether
to join it.
“If there is a boycott, we’re going
to do it as a team,” he said. “If they
vote yes, we’ll all do it. If they vote
no, we’re all not going to do it.”
Williams said it was more likely
that the coaches, rather than the play
ers, would boycott.
“I think there will be some kind of
protest,” he said. “Not by players but
by coaches. A coach boycott would be
a lot more appropriate than a player
boycott.”
But Nee said he didn’t think a
boycott would occur anytime soon,
and he wasn’t going to take the first
step in starting one. But something
has to be done, he said.
“I don’t see that as an issue right
now,” Nee said. “If you forfeit a game,
you’re talking about heavy hits. If
both teams boycott, it’s a double loss.
“There’s just nothing there at this
point but a lot of smoke. I see a
potential problem here, and I don’t
think it’s just going to go away.”
Kangaroos look to punch out Huskers
By Jeff Griesch
Senior Editor
During the past two years, the University
of Missouri-Kansas City hasn’t let Nebraska
kick them around on the basketball court.
The Cornhuskers have struggled with the
Kangaroos in the past, but Nebraska coach
Danny Nee said that a week of rest would
help his team in Saturday’s 7:05 p.m. game
at the Bob Dcvaney Sports Center.
“If you can get a little break in your
schedule, this is a good time to have it,” Nee
said. “We got days off, we got more prepa
ration, we got fundamentals, and we got
execution. Any time you have more prepa
ration for a game, it’s helpful to Nebraska.”
* * ' The Huskers,-11-2 overall and 2-0 ir> the-*
Big Eight, are riding a 10-game winning
streak, but haven’t played since pounding
Colorado 106-67 last Saturday in Lincoln.
UMKC lost to the same Buffalo team 84
76 on Wednesday, but Nee said the Kanga
Probable Starters
Nebraska
vs***.
Missouri-Kansas City
Saturday, 7:05 P.M., Bob Devaney
Sports Center
Nebraska (11-2/2-0)
F 44 Bruce Chubick 6-7 1/2 232 Sr.
F 34 Melvin Brooks I b* 235 Jr.
G 21 Erick Strickland 6-3 1/2 210 So.
G 52 Eric Piatkowski MHM
G 24 Jaron Boone 6-6 1/2 191 So.
Missouri-Kansas City (5-10)
F 25 Darecko Rawlins 6-5 175 So.
C 44 Dennis Jacobs 1
G 20 Travis Salmon
6-11 245 Sr.
6-6 B85|SrJ
6-5 195 Jr.
DN graphic
roos still posed a serious threat to Nebras
ka's winning streak.
“If you go back and look at the scores of
Nebraska and UMKC, you can see that we
have had a lot of trouble with UMKC,” Nee
said.
Coach Lee Hunt’s Kangaroos gave the
Huskers a serious scare last year in Kansas
City, before Nebraska escaped with a 66-65
win. As time ran out, UMKC’s Tony Dumas
missed a three-pointer that would have won
the game. —
Two years ago, UMKC took the Huskers
down to the wire in Lincoln before losing 74
71. The Kangaroos blew a 68-64 lead with
less than four minutes to play.
Dumas was a major pain for the Huskers
last year, and he has been a thorn in the side
of opponents this season.
“The nucleus and the heart and soul of the
UMKC basketball team is Tony Dumas,”
Nee said. “Tony Dumas is for real. He is as
good as we will play against in the confer
ence. He can do it all and right now he is
playing at a really high level.”
See KANGAROO on 8
Jon walier/UN
Nebraska’s Erick Strickland pulls up and shoots a three-point shot
over Colorado defender Greg Jensen in the second half of the
Cornhuskers’ win over Colorado last Saturday. Strickland and the
Huskers will face the University of Missouri-Kansas City Saturday at
7:05 p.m. at the Bob Devaney sports Center.
Huskers lose
freshman QB
to small school
By Derek Samson
Senior Reporter___
Only three days after Nebraska lost Calvin
Jones to the NFL draft, another underclassman
has decided to depart from the Cornhuskcr
football program.
Rutz
Ben Rutz, a freshman
quarterback from Oklaho
ma City, has transferred to
Northeastern Oklahoma
A&M Junior College in
Miami, Okla.
Northeastern Oklahoma
A&M coach Mike Loyd
said Rutz wanted a chance
to play, something he would
not likely see at Nebraska.
“I think people need to
understand he is not leaving Nebraska witn a
sour taste in his mouth, but with the utmost
respect for Nebraska,” Loyd said. “He just
wants an opportunity to play. They have a great
player there in Tommie Frazier. He has abso
lutely no animosity toward Nebraska or anyone
associated with their program.”
Rutz, who could not be reached for com
ment, redshirted his first season at Nebraska.
He followed with a promising spring, in which
he competed for the starting quarterback job.
But then he had a major setback.
See RUTZ on 8
Coach’s problem:
Too much talent
in 1 weight class
By Tim Pearson
Senior Reporter _
Nebraska wrestling coach Tim Neumann
has a pleasant problem on his hands as his team
prepares for this Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. dual
match against No. 18 Indiana at the Bob
Devaney Sports Center.
Neumann
On one hand, he has Mike
Eierman, an All-American
last year, at 142 pounds.
On the other hand, he has
Justin Ware, a redshirt fresh
man who was the only
Comhusker to win a title
last weekend at the Great
Plains Invitational, also at
142 pounds.
The decision for Neumann
is who will take the reins at
142 for the remainder of the
season.
“It’s a problem that everybody would like to
have,” Neumann said. “We*ll have to make that
decision.”
Eierman, who won his first match last week
end and then left after being notified of the
death of two of his friends, is ranked fourth in
the nation with an 18-3 record.
See INDIANA on 8