Daily
Nebraskan
Wodnasday, April 20, 1904
Sports
Junior college recruit
chooses Tulsa over NU
By Mitch Sherman
Staff Reporter
One day after Nebraska recruit and junior
college All-American Ben Davis committed to
Arizona, theCornhuskcr basketball team missed
out on another junior college player.
Ray Poindexter, a 6-foot-11-inch, 220-pound
forward from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M,
committed to Tulsa on Monday, NEO coach
Lonnie Spencer said Tuesday.
“Ray just felt more comfortable staying
closer to home,” Spencer said. “Both schools
did a good job of recruiting him. Hercallylikcd
Nebraska coaches (Gary) Bargcn and (Danny)
Nee but decided Tulsa was a better choice.”
Poindexter, who made his official visit to
Nebraska last weekend after making more than
one unofficial visit to Lincoln, averaged 12.5
points and 7.3 rebounds per game at NEO last
season.
He was scheduled to visit Tulsa this week
end.
The Huskcfsarc still waitingonChrisSallcc,
a 6- foot-10-inch, 225-pound center from Phoe
nix South Mountain Community College.
Sallee, who also visited Lincoln last weekend,
averaged 20 points and 13.2 rebounds last
season.
Sallee also broke the school record for blocks,
averaging 2.5 per game.
4
-4*
Both schools did a good
job of recruiting him. He
really liked Nebraska
coaches (Gary) Bargen and
(Danny) Nee but decided
Tulsa was a better choice.
— Spencer
Northeast Oklahoma A&M coach
South Mountain Athletic Director Doug
Ferguson said Tuesday that Sallee was “very
close” to committing to Nebraska.
“I am pretty sure he’s going to go there,”
Ferguson said. “I talked to him, and he had a
great visit up in Lincoln. You guys are getting
a real ballplayer in Chris. He improved 180
percent from his first to second year here.”
Ferguson said Sallee would probably sign a
letter of intent later this week.
Husker assistant coach Jimmy Williams vis
ited Sallee in Tucson, Ari/.., on Monday.
Nebraska, which signed four players during
the fall signing period, has three scholarships to
give during the spring period.
NU right fielder shakes slump,
helps team reverse dismal start
By Jeff Griesch
Senior Editor
For Nebraska right fielder Matt McKay, the
story of the Nebraska baseball team’s season
McKay
draws a striking parallel to
the story of his own season.
Like the Cornhuskers,
McKay opened the season
with great expectations.
Afterhitting .255, includ
ing nine homers and 33
RBIs, while playing first
base in his first year with
the Huskers, the senior from
Omaha Burke and
Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College was
planning on an even bigger season.
But like the Huskers, McKay got off to a
rocky start.
McKay began the season in right field but
returned to first base after Troy Brohawn was
injured in the season opener.
After putting up dismal numbers at the plate
through 15 games. McKay found himselfon the
bench. /x
McKay batted only six times in six games at
the Pepsi/Johnny Quik Classic in Fresno. Ca
lif.. in mid-March, and his confidence hit rock
bottom.
“It was rough.” McKay said. “I was striking
out way too much, and I didn’t feel comfortable
at the plate. 1 hit a point where I wasn’t playing,
and when I got in the game, I was pressing at the
plate.”
McKay’s batting average tumbled to .231
after the opening conference series against
Huskers win again
From Staff Reports
The Nebraska baseball team extended
its winning streak to 11 by beating 21st
ranked Kansas 9-1 Wednesday night in
Lawrence, Kan.
Troy Brohawn,3-l on the season, held
Kansas to one run on nine hits.
Meanwhile Nebraska, who improved
to 25-16 and 9-7 in the Big Eight, explod
ed for five runs in the third inning and
three runs in the ninth inning to win.
Darin Erstad homered for the Husk
ers.
The loss was just Kansas’ third in 20
games at home this season.
The Jayhawks, third in the confer
ence. and the fourth-place Huskers will
square up again today at 3 p.m. in
Lawrence before returning to Lincoln for
three games at Buck Beltzer Field this
weekend.
Missouri, but he finally broke out of his slump
in a big way in the next series against Oklahoma
State.
McKay went 9-for-19 with two homers in
the five games against the Cowboys, and he
won back his starting spot in right field.
“I got my confidence back against Oklaho
See MCKAY on 11
Jon Waller/DN
Nebraska linebacker Troy Dumas warms up by backpedaling before
practice Monday.
Closing the deal
Senior looking to lead Blackshirts
By Mitch Sherman
Staff Reporter
When Nebraska foolball player Troy
Dumas was in 1 Olh grade, he made a big
decision about his future.
“I decided if Nebraska ever offered me a
football scholarship. I would take it.” he
said.
So when the Cornhuskers came calling,
Dumas held up on his part of the deal. But he
didn’t stop there.
“I wasn’t going to come in and sit around
and be third- or fourth-string,” he said. “I
was going to come in and do what I could do.
and the rest would take care of itself.”
Once again, Dumas came through. He
was one of only three true freshman to see
playing time for the Huskcrs in 1991.
Playing as a freshman was a rewarding
experience. Dumas said.
“That was very exciting,” he said. “It puts
me at a loss for words, because coming from
Wyoming, a lot of people like myself don’t
get a chance to venture out of state.”
Now the 6-foot-4-inch, 220-pound senior
from Cheyenne. Wyo., has set his sights on
another goal.
Dumas, at the top of the depth chart at
Sam linebacker, wants to help the defense
reach its potential.
“This defense has the ability to be dom
inating,” Dumas said. “We want to be the
best. I’m impressed. From what I have seen,
we have the quickest defense since I' vc been
here.”
That quickness has shown this spring,
especially in Saturday’s scrimmage.
Nebraska’s No. 1 offense ran into a brick
wall Saturday, totaling minus X yards in its
first three possessions.
But it may be too early to tell how good
See DUMAS on 11
All aboard for wild ride toward last-chance national title
Francis Allen was kind of wild in
Bob Dcvaney’s eyes.
When Devancy hired Francis Allen
as Nebraska men's gymnastics coach
in 1969, the Comhuskcrs were com
ing off a 2-7 season, including a sixth
place finish at the Big Eight champi
onships.
Allen was an assistant coach for
Jake Gcier on that 1968-69 team.
Despite Allen's youthful exuber
ance — he was just four years out of
college — Devancy hired Allen.
And he hasn’t regretted it since.
“1 threatened him a couple of
times,” Devancy said. ‘‘I used to threat
en to fire him once in a while. But I
don’t think he ever believed it, and I
didn’t cither.”
Luckily for Nebraska, and the sport
of gymnastics, Devaney didn’t let
Allen go.
Allen has contributed his fair share
to the sport.
His accomplishments include:
• Seven national titles.
• Four Olympians and 30 individ
ual national champions.
• Coaching the Olympic team
twice, once in 1980 when the United
Stales boycotted the Moscow games
and once in 1992.
This weekend, when the NCAA
Gymnastics Championships take cen
ter stage at the Bob Dcvancy Sports
Center, Allen wants to add a little bit
more to his resume.
He wants his eighth national title.
And it may be one of the last
national title chances Allen will get at
Nebraska.
Proposal 158 will eliminate men’s
gymnastics as an NCAA-sanctioned
sport after the 1994-95 season. The
proposal states that a sport must have
40 Division 1 schools competing in it
to remain a sanctioned sport with a
national championship meet.
Tim
Pearson
Only 36 schools have men’s gym
nastics teams.
Coming up four short could leave
Nebraska without a gymnastics pro
gram and Allen without a team to
coach for the first time in 25 years.
But Allen doesn’t think he’ll be
without a job.
“There arc a lot of things that can
happen,” he said. “The NCAA has a
year to make a decision. They could
make a decision to have 36 schools
vote to have gymnastics.
Athletic Director Bill Byrne has
assured Allen that Nebraska will field
a gymnastics team after the 1995 sea
son.
Some schools that decide to retain
gymnastics may choose to form their
own league if the NCAA doesn’t sanc
tion gymnastics, Allen said.
While he doesn’t know what the
NCAA will do, Allen said, he has a
good idea that it won’t benefit the
sport.
“I tell you that it sure isn’t going to
advance gymnastics,’’ he said.
Whatever happens, Allen has left
his mark on the Nebraska athletic
program. Seven national champion
ships in the last 14 years is amazing.
“Francis Allen has added a lot to
our athletic program,” Devancy said.
“He’s been the best during the time
he’s been here.”
And this year’s team may be Allen’s
best ever. His senior class -— Dennis
Harrison, Che Bowers, Sumner Dar
ling and Burkett Powell — wants to
go out as winners.
They were supposed to win the last
two years, but they finished second
both times.
And Allen has said all year that his
team is the best in the nation.
“We’re ready,” Allen said. “We
can win it easily, but we can also lose
it.”
The Huskers lost to both Stanford
and Oklahoma this season, but they
avenged those losses at the regional
meet.
Nebraska’s other loss was to No. 2
Ohio Stale. This weekend will give
the Huskers a chance to avenge that
loss.
Win or lose, you canbe sure Allen’s
team will be prepared to compete.
And you can be sure Allen will
make this year’s championships as
wild as ever.
Pearson is a sophomore news-editorial
major and a Daily Nebraskan senior report
er.
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