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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 9, 1995)
Omaha I-back commits verbally to Huskers Omaha Central contributes another NU running back By Mitch Sherman__ Senior Reporter OMAHA — When Calvin Jones left Ne braska early and joined the Los Angeles Raid ers at the beginning of the 1994 season, it marked the first time since 1983 that an I-back from Omaha Central was not an integral part of the Nebraska offensive backfield. Ahman Green took a major step toward putting an end to that on Friday. Green, a 6-foot-1, 206-pound I-back from Central, became the 25th player to verbally commit to sign a letter of intent with Nebraska Feb. 1. Green follows in the footsteps of his assis tant coach Keith Jones (1984-87), Leodis Flow ers (88-90) and Calvin Jones (91-93). Central also produced former Husker I-back Joe Orduna, who played at Nebraska from 1967-1970, and Gale Sayers, who is in the NFL Hall of Fame and attended college at Kansas. A two-time first-team all-state pick, Green was named the preseason national high school player of the year by National Recruiting Advi sor. He is a USA Today All-USA first team selection, and is one of eight finalists for Gatorade’s national player of the year. “It feels great that everybody knows where I am going now,” Green said. “There’s been a lot of pressure on me. I’m glad I had my mom and coach Mac (Joe McMenamin) to help me.” Green chose Nebraska over Michigan, Ari zona and Notre Dame. He said he made his final decision Wednesday night, picking Ne braska over Notre Dame. Green, who was timed at 4.36 seconds over 40 yards aLNebraska’s summer football camp last year, said he had originally planned to wait until after his official visit to Lincoln on Jan. 13 to announce his decision. But his father, Ed Scott, suffered a mild heart attack while watching the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1. Green said he watched the second half of the game from the hospital and decided to speed up the process in order to relieve stress from his family. Green said his father was doing better. “It was kind of hard to play this year,” he said, “and have everybody watch you under a microscope.” As a senior, Green averaged 9.8 yards per carry and 176.8 rushing yards per game while rushing for 1,591 yards and 14 touchdowns. He said he had told the Cornhusker coaches that he hoped to play, not redshirt, next season. “I expect to play,” Green said. “It doesn’t matter how much. I want to get some ticks in and help contribute to the team and be a team player.” McMenamin, Central’s coach, said Green would definitely play. “I feel he’ll be able to contribute immedi ately,” McMenamin said. “With his speed and his athletic ability, he’s probably ready to play right now. Over 40 yards, he may be the fastest player in the country. If he picks up the system, I look for him to contribute immediately.” All four of Nebraska’s scholarship I-backs, Lawrence Phillips, Clinton Childs, Damon Benning and Brian Knuckles, return in 1995. But McMenamin said Green would stack up well. “I know they have a lot of good running backs in Lincoln,” he said. “But no matter where Ahman had went, he would have had a lot of competition.” M ,_, , Jeff Haller/DN Nebraska s Jaron Boone reaches for a rebound In Saturday's loss to Missouri at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Boone scored 18 points for the Huskers. Central Connection i Ahman Green continues the line of Omaha Central running backs who have come to Nebraska. Years Yds. Rushing JoeOrduna 1967-68-70 1,968 Keith Jones 1984-87 2,488 Leodis Flowers 1988-90 1,635 Calvin Jones 1991-93 3,153 DN graphic McMenanun said Green had already met the grade-point average standards. It will not be a problem, McMenamin said, for Green to meet the entrance exam requirements. He will take the SAT in January and the ACT in February. Huskers miss their rhythm against Mizzou By Derek Samson Senior Reporter ——— r«- - Missouri went from being a crowd favorite with its tees to being the enemy at the Bob Devaney Sports Center Saturday with its threes. The Tigers warmed up wearing red T-shirts reading “Congratulations Coach Osborne,” and “Huskers, 1994 football national champions,” and received a standing ovation from the crowd of 14,364. But the crowd wasn’t as enthusiastic toward Missouri after it made eight of 12 3-point attempts in the second half to down Nebraska 82-74 in both teams’ Big Eight opener. Nebraska came off the opening tip slowly, falling behind 11-2, before fighting back to take its first lead — 23-22 with 8:26 left in the half. The Cornhuskers trailed 42-37 at halftime, but were able to take their second lead of the game on Erick Strickland’s 3-pointer with 12:37 remaining. That put Nebraska on top 59-56. But even when Nebraska had finally taken the lead, coach Danny Nee said he didn’t feel like it was the Huskers’ day. “I never felt like we ever got into a rhythm,” he said. “When your top players can’t get into a rhythm because of a foul or missed shot, the team never could get into a rhythm. I think part of that was Missouri’s defense.” Missouri, 10-1, made only two field goals in the second half that weren ’t from behind the 3 - See HUSKERS on 16 Defensive change helps Kansas in come-from-behind win By Trevor Parks Staff Reporter The 15th-ranked Kansas women’s basketball team was tired entering its fifth straight road game. Nebraska took advantage of the weary Jayhawks and ran to a 33-31 halftime lead. But Kansas coach Marian Wash ington turned the tide by changing from a zone to a man-to-man defense, and the Jayhawks awoke in time to claim a 77-64 win over the Cornhuskers in front of 1,513 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center Sunday. The win helped Kansas improve to 12-2 overall and 2-0 in the Big Eight. Nebraska dropped 9-5 and 0-2 in the conference. “We did play a little bit of textbook basketball,” Washington said. “We wanted denial on 11 (Kate Galligan) and see if we could create some op portunities with that” The Jay hawks did. After scoring 10 points in the first half, Chari sse Sampson and the Jayhawks held Galligan to just two points through the first 14:53 of the second half. Galligan seored eight points down the stretch to finish with a team-high 20. Head women’s basketball coach Angela Beck said Galligan played well, but the Huskers needed strong games from everyone to compete with die Jayhawks. “When you play a top 14 team in the country, you’ve got to play 40 minutes,” Beck said. “This is the most athletic team we’ll probably play this year." “It was just a matter of time for us to get into a groove. ” ■ MARIAN WASHINGTON Kansas coach The Jayhawks athleticism showed in the second half as they took the lead for good with 16:14 to go in the second half on Shelly Canada’s jumper for a 39-37 advantage. Kansas extended the lead to 5242 on TemeckaDixon’sputback. Dixon led the Jayhawks with 19 points. But the Huskers made a final run. With 11:08 remaining, Roquayyah Brown’s lay-up brought the Buskers within eight. Back-to-back layups by Chris Dillavou and Lis Brenden pulled Nebraska to within 52-48. The Huskers had a chance to get closer after Kansas’ Angela Aycock picked up her third foul. But on the ensuing possession, Galligan missed the front end of a one-and-one. After an Aycock layup with 8:14 left, the Huskers never got closer than six points. Beck said after the Huskers pulled within four, Nebraska began to fall apart. “We just got sloppy in a time you usually can’t afford to, and they took advantage of it,” Beck said. In the first half, Nebraska, coming off a 74-70 loss to Kansas State Fri day, jumped out to a 22-12 lead. Trailing 10-9, the Huskers reeled off 10 straight points to take a 19-10 lead. Brenden started the run with a 3 pointer. Tina McClain followed with a jumper, Brenden added a layup and Galligan capped the run with another 3-pointer. Washington knew her team could recover after falling behind and shoot ing^a dismal 29 percent in the first “It was just a matter of time for us to get into a groove,” Washington said.