Sports
Huskers may end post-season loss streak
By Trevor Parks
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska men’s basketball team finds
itself in a familiar part of the season, getting
ready for post-season play.
For the 11th time in the past 13 seasons, the
Comhuskers will appear in either the NCAA
Tournament or the National Invitation Tour
nament.
Nebraska has participated in the NIT six
times and in five NCAA Tournaments over
that span.
The Huskers will keep a school-record
tying five-year streak of post-season play alive
when they play host to 18-9 Georgia in 7:05
p.m. game Thursday at the Bob Devaney Sports
Center in the first round of the NIT.
Coach Danny Nee, who has helped the
Huskers to the five straight post-season ap
pearances and seven in the past nine years, said
he was glad his team had a chance to extend its
season.
“It is an exciting time,” Nee said. “With the
University of Georgia in here, it should be a
very enjoyable game.”
But this year the Huskers would like to stick
around for a while in the tournament instead of
losing in the first round, like they have the last
four years at the NCAAs.
The last time Nebraska won a post-season
game was in 1989, when the Huskers defeated
Arkansas State 81-79 in first round of the NIT
in Lincoln.
Nee said winning a post-season game for
the first time since beating the Indians would
be great.
“I think it would be big,” Nee said. “Off the
top of my head (the last time) was 1989. It
seems like it’s been 1989 since we’ve won a
game.”
Actually the Huskers last won on Feb. 22
with a 78-75 win at Missouri.
Since then, Nebraska has lost four straight
games.
Nebraska closed out the season with losses
to Colorado, Kansas State, Iowa State and
Oklahoma State.
Nee said now was a good time for his team
to put those losses behind them and learn what
it was like to experience a post-season win.
The Huskers have lost to Xavier, Connecti
cut, New Mexico State and Pennsylvania the
last four years in the first round of the NCAA
See NIT on 12
Success shot puts Mitchell
into track team record history
By Vince P’Adamo
Staff Reporter
Under die word dedication in
the dictionary, Nebraska shot putter
Paulette Mitchell’s name would
be found, Comhusker throws coach
Mark Colligan said.
Mitchell, who finished fifth at
the NCAA Championships in the
shot put last year, dedicated her
self to going beyond that during
the indoor season.
And Mitchell did on Saturday,
when she finished second at the
NCAA meet behind UCLA’s Dawn
Dumble. Dumble won the event
- with a toss of 57 feet, 8 1/2 inches.,;
“Paulette from the get-go this
season dedicated herself to a higher
commitment,” Colligan said. “It
has been appreciated.”
Mitchell has had a goal all sea
son of improving after each meet
and of setting a personal record, or
P.R.
When she threw on Saturday,
Mitchell did more than set a per
sonal record. She also set a school
and Big Eight record with a toss of
55-5.
Mitchell surpassed her previ
ous career best of 54-10 3/4 and
broke the Big Eight record of 54
111/4 set in 1987 by Kansas State’s
Pinkie Suggs.
On Saturday, Mitchell earned
her fourth All-American honor in
the shot put in her three years at
Nebraska.
Mitchell, a junior from
“Paulette is a prime example because she’s a
great person, too. She cares about her
teammates and living up to the expectations of
this program. ”
■
MARK COLUQAN
Nebraska throws coach
Abraham Lincoln High School in
Council Bluffs, Iowa, said she had
put a lot of work and energy into
the shot put. Astfljshe knows her
All-American status has been de
served.
“It takes a lot of dedication and
hard work,” Mitchell said. “I guess
maturity is a strength because I
know what it takes to get where I
need to.”
The positive influence that
Mitchell displays every day is not
lost on Colligan, who said every
team needs great individuals.
“Paulette is a prime example
because she’s a great person, too,”
Colligan said. “She cares about
her teammates and living up to the
expectations of this program.”
Mitchell wasted no time mak
ing an impact. As a freshman,
Mitchell broke the school record
in the indoor shot put twice. First
she gained indoor All-American
honors with a throw of 51-0 1/4.
During the outdoor season, at die
Minnesota Invitational, Mitchell
turned in a clip of 52-6 3/4.
Mitchell said that invitational
meets always brought put the
nation’s best.
“It’s really important because
the good people come, and you get
the top throwers,” she said. “It gets
you motivated because I know that
they can throw far.”
Despite her success, Mitchell
still wants to improve.
“I would like to get stronger
than I was last year,” Mitchell
said. “I would like to build up my
upper body.”
Even though Mitchell had other
schools on her list before opting
for Nebraska, there was no doubt
that she made the best choice.
%
“There were a few other schools
like Tennessee or LSU (Louisiana
State) but I really didn’t take any
visits,” Mitchell said. “It was close
to home, and Nebraska had every
thing that satisfied me.”
Jay Calderon/DN
Nebraska shot-putter Paulette Mitchell finished second
at the NCAA meet last Saturday.
March Madness: in like ice cream, out like a gerbil
You know, vast readership,
when life is reduced to its most
fundamental elements, only two
things are truly important: carp and
tapioca.
But there are several close
seconds, though, and one of those
happens to be ... that’s right, baby
... March Madness.
Let me take you back to what
happened to me last Saturday, a
trip down neurosis lane if you will,
and I’ll give you a little — and I
inean that in the small sense of the
word — insight as to what the
Madness means.
Saturday, Mookie, my pet
gerbil, confidant and (if you
remember) the original James
Bond, and I were hanging out at the
only Baskin-Robbins in this entire
friggin’ town.
Mookie insisted upon getting a
sample of every single flavor
before he chose a cone, which in
itself is fairly time-consuming in its
own right. But being as thermally
sensitive as Mode is, he got a
frozen headache after each sample.
Thus, this would be the se
quence of events.
The person at the counter
handed Mode the sample, Mook ate
it, glanced at me, screamed “my
brain’s frostbitten” and then
proceeded to run up and down the
store howling at the other custom
ers.
“They’re lobotomizing me with
Pralines n’ Cream. Save yourself,”
he shrieked.
This happened 31 times.
But Mook finally settled down
or passed out or whatever the furry
freak did, and in walked Danny
Nee.
1 was highly jazzed to see the
Czar of Hoops, especially since I
sort of forgot to go to all the home
games.
But I quickly recalled
Nebraskans less-than-stellar record
this year and realizing that... well
... you know, Nebraska’s not going
to friggin’ make the tournament, 1
thought I’d be nice to him.
I walked up to the Reverend of
Roundball and said, “Hey, coach,
no matter what happens in the
selection committee tomorrow, all
us Nebraskans and I bet a few
Iowans and Oklahomans are proud
Beau Finley
of you.”
The Minister of Midcourt
responded, “Thanks, Debbie, it’s
nice to be thought of.”
Coach Nee has called me
“Debbie” since I started covering
Comhumper basketball. Appar
ently, “Beau” is a little too hard to
pronounce.
I then proceeded to give him a
little reassurance.
“Hey, big man, don’t sweat this.
You got Boone, Strickland and
stick man, uh, Mikki Moore,
coming back. You’re in like Flynn
next year.”
Danny got a long look on his
face and said, “I tell you, Debbie,
Strickland plays defense like a
Chihuahua, and Boone is an
offensive supernova. The ball goes
in to him, and it ain't never coming
back out. I just don’t know, baby.”
Realizing I was going to be
unable to perk up the Pnnce of
Double-pump, I said my goodbyes
and commenced to find Mook.
I found him just getting a cup of
hot cocoa. I told him we were
blowing out, and he’d better hurry.
He then gulped the cocoa,
screamed “my esophagus is singed”
and sprinted off.
I tell you, vast readership, this
country is going to have to address
the plight of the thermally sensi
tive. Mook is just one of the many.
NCAA prediction: You know, I
don’t know why I’m even attempt
ing to do this. Last year I lost 50
bucks and the right to my first-born
child betting on NCAA tourney
pools.
But being a sportswriter, I feel
compelled to talk about sports at
least once a semester.
Very briefly, let me give you my
choices for an early exit:
• Connecticut: they have not
played well all of 1995 — a very
fortunate team that shall run out of
luck.
• Wake Forest: without
Randolph Childress, this team
doesn’t even make the field.
• Arkansas: Mook told me to
pick them — I have absolutely no
reasoning whatsoever.
Now, here are my horses of the
dark:
• Maryland: great team —
goofy nickname.
• Temple: defense es el uno.
• Indiana: I don’t give a rat’s fat
butt what the Hoosiers are seeded;
a Knight-coached team is always
dangerous.
So you want the prediction,
babies? 1 believe you’ve come to
the right column.
My prediction is that I’ll either
be convulsing, be incarcerated or
be deported during the national
championship, so I won’t have the
opportunity to see ... Kansas
crowned as national champions.
In fact, it’ll probably be that
friggin’ rock-chalk-Jayhawks chant
that will throw me into convul
sions.
Fluky Is a second-year law student and a
Dally Nebraskan sports columnist