Daily
Nebraskan
Tussday, March 29,1994
SPORTS
Lack of Husker depth worries Osborne
By Derek Samson
Senior Reporter_
Nebraska coach T om Osborne
is hoping many questions
concerning the 1994 Husk
ers will be answered during spring
practice, which began Monday.
Although Tommie Frazier,
Nebraska’s Orange Bowl MVP, re
turns, the lack ofdcpth at quarterback
— as well as at tight end and safety—
heads the list of Osborne’s concerns,
he said.
“We really want Tommie Frazier
and our I-backs to improve a lot in the
spi lllg, UMUUI1IL
said after Nebra
ska’s 2 1/2-hour
workout at Memo
rial Stadium Mon
day. “We’ll need
them to perform
well. It’s hard to
point out a certain
position and say
they have to work
Osborne harder than another
position because we need everyone to
work hard and improve.”
Osborne might have a tough task
developing depth at quarterback.
Brook Berringcr, who will be a junior
in the fall, is the only other returning
scholarship quarterback.
Tony Vcland, who suffered two
major injuries in his first two seasons,
will switch from Quarterback to a new
position in the fall.
Ben Rut/, also a backup a year ago,
transferred to Northeastern Oklahoma
A&M Junior College in January.
But depth at quarterback isn’t his
only concern, Osborne said.
“1 hate to say one guy has to do
particularly better than someone else
in the spring,” he said. “I hope we
nnproveat every position this spring.”
That includes tight end and safety.
“Offensively, losing our two top
tight ends is a concern, and defen
sively we’re concerned at the safety
spot,” he said. “We lost quite a few
linebackers also, but I think we’ll be
all right there."
The pre-spring depth chart listed
Matt Shaw, out of Lincoln Northeast,
and MarkGilmanofKalispell, Mont.,
as the top two tight ends.
At free safety, senior Sedric Coll ins
heads into the spring as the front
runner, while Mike Minter is the top
rover.
Jeff Haller/DN
Nebraska’s Barron Miles smiles as he warms up before the Huskers’ first spring practice Monday.
With the early departure of I-back
Calvin Jones, who declared himself
eligible in January for the NFL draft,
the I-backs also will need to have a
good spring, Osborne said.
Lawrence Phillips leads a group of
experienced backups from last year.
Phil lips, Damon Benning and Clinton
Childs all received considerable play
ing time last season.
A strong spring season last year
helped Nebraska to a Big Eight cham
pionship and all-1 season, accord
ing to Osborne.
“Usually when you play well in the
spring, you’re going to play well in
the fall, barring injuries,” Osborne
said. “Last year we had a good spring,
and we ended up 11-1.”
Losing 18-16 in the Orange Bowl
to Florida State could make the Husk
ers even more determined, Osborne
said.
“If they take the right attitude out
of that game, they can assume they are
capable ofwinning any game on their
schedule orbeating anyone they might
play in a bowl game,” he said. “Com
ing that close to a national champion
ship should make them want to get
back to that game or to that situation.”
Williams to sit out opener
From Staff Reports
Corncrback Tyrone Williams,
who is awaiting trial on felony
charges resulting from a Jan. 30
shooting incident, practiced with
the football team Monday.
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne
said Williams would be held out of
the last week ofspring practice and
the April 23 spring game. Will
iams also w ill not play in the Husk
ers’ opener against West Virginia
in the Kickoff Classic, Osborne
said.
“A lot is pending on what the
court rules in this case,” Osborne
said. “We feel there will be some
action taken. Tyrone is undergoing
some counseling. Hcdefinitcly will
miss the spring game, and he prob
ably will miss at least the first game
next year.”
Senior leader an all-around champion at Big bight meet
By Trevor Paries
Staff Raportar_____
Nebraska gymnast Dennis Harrison said he
knew he had a chance to do well at Friday’s Big
Eight championships at the BobDevaney Sports
Center.
“I’ve been starting to build up my workouts
and my routines,” Harrison said. “I’m getting
more and more confident with them each week.”
It’s showed.
Harrison not only helped Nebraska win its
third consecutive Big Eight championship but
also won the all-around for the third straight
year by scoring 57.625.
Nebraska men’s gymnastics coach Francis
Allen said Harrison was beginning to polish his
performances.
“Dennis is starting to shine again,” Allen
said.
Harrison’s numbers arc looking bright na
tionally, too. The senior from Omaha is ranked
fourth in the nation in the all-around with an
average of57.2167. He’s also ranked fourth in
the vault, 10th in the parallel bars, 11 th in the
pommel horse and 13th in the floor exercise.
At the Big Eight championships, the five
time All-American scored a career-best 9.9 —
the highest score for Nebraska this year — in
the parallel bars. That marked thesccond straight
year that Harrison won both the all-around and
the parallel bars at the Big Eight meet.
“1 hit my peach basket mount better than I
have done all year,” Harrison said. “I felt pretty
confident at that point.”
Harrison went on to finish fifth in the floor
exercise with a score of9.725. He also finished
fourth on both the rings and the vault.
With the NCAA regional meet in Colorado
springs oil /\piu y OlIU HIV uiampiuu
ships in Lincoln on April 22-23, Harrison said
he and his teammates didn’t have a lot of time
to savor their Big Eight title.
“Wc’rc still missing some things,” he said.
“Wc need to hit more routines. And we need to
avoid the little things that were unnecessary on
our routines.”
Even though he has placed in the top three in
the all-around six times this year, Harrison still
has room for improvement, he said.
“This is definitely not the best 1 can do,” he
said. “1 have a lot more left.”
Final Four missing traditional powerhouse conferences
Someth ing big seems to be missing
from the NCAA tournament’s Final
Four this year.
Yes, the tournament has had its big
upsets. W isconsin-Green Bay stunned
Cal and Jason Kidd on opening day.
Tulsa surprised UCLA and then pulled
off an even bigger upset by shooting
down intrastate rival Oklahoma State
in Oklahoma City.
Or how about Maryland over Mas
sachusetts or Boston College over
North Carolina and Indiana?
And we can’t forget Pennsylvania’s
methodical dismantling of what ap
peared to be a peak ing Nebraska team.
The tournament has also provided
big plays, big excitement and some
big near-misses.
The biggest upset of the tourna
ment for me came when James Madi
son fell to Florida in the opening
round, 62-60. I was sure the Gators
were going to be the first No. 3 seed to
exit this season.
The College of Charleston had
Wake Forest lost in the woods until it
let the Demon Deacons.
Pepperdine almost got to send
Michigan home with a pleasant wave
goodbye in overtime. But the Wolver
ines’ experience kept them in the tour
ney until they ran into Arkansas.
And Glenn Robinson showed that
he was the best player in college bas
ketball by going crazy in the early
rounds ofthe tournament and pouring
in 44 points against Kansas in the
Southeast Regional Semifinal.
The Big Dance also has seen big
dramaaftcr thcdeanofcollegc coaches
— Dean Smith — went into a rage
when the Tar Heels’ star point guard
Derrick Phelps was dropped and
knocked out with a concussion by an
over/ealous Boston College defender.
Jeff
Griesch
Even more dramatic was the fight
between Arkansas and Georgetown in
the second round. Benches were
cleared, players were ejected, and ref
erees were suspended from any fur
ther tournament games.
And my personal favorite for best
performance in a dramatic role goes
to Lute Olson as the embittered coach
of Arizona.
Lute’s got a right to toot his own
flute after his Wildcats achieved their
season-long pursuit of the Final Four.
Sportswriters in the Tucson, Ariz.,
area have called for Olson’s head
because the Cats made quick exits
from the tourney the past two years.
But those writers failed to give Olson
credit for rebuilding a program that
went 1-17 in the Pac-10 the year be
fore he arrived and for winning more
than 80 percent of his games since
then.
While the tournament has had big
upsets, drama and excitement, the
Final Four lacks the “Big” confer
ences.
Despite solid runs, the Big Eight,
Big Ten and Big East arc all absent
from the Final Four.
Ignoring, of course, the king of all
conferences — the Atlantic Coast
Conference — the Big Ten and Big
Eight were supposed to be the best
conferences from top to bottom in the
country, with the Big East not too far
behind.
The Big Ten sent seven teams to
tnc snow wnue me Big tigni sent iour
and the Big East added six, but none
of those 17 teams advanced to the last
dance.
The Southeastern Conference, on
the other hand, has two representa
tives in the Final Four, with Arkansas
and surprising Florida heading to
Charlotte.
Docs any of this mean that these
three conferences still weren’t among
the best in college basketball?
Of course not, it just shows that big
pressure may be the best way to neu
tralize superior talent.
It’s definitely a helluva lot harder
to win when you’re expected to than
when you have nothing to lose —just
ask the Huskcrs.
Griesch is a junior news-editorial major
and is the Daily Nebraskan assistant sports
editor.
