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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 5, 1995)
Sports Derek Samson Frazier first off the field It’s too close to call. Tommie Frazier, Danny Wuerffel, Eddie George, Troy Davis or Darnell Autry? Because absolutely no one has a clue who will take home the Heisman Trophy Saturday — for the first time in many, many years — I think it is important to look at what the players have done off the field. This year, since the competition is so close, Saturday night’s Heisman festivities should be con ducted much like the Miss America . pageants. Of course, it would be without the swimsuit competition (I can do without seeing Danny Wuerffel in a speedo). Just consider the possibilities. Bob Barker will be the host, so no female cheerleaders should come near. Contestants must perform tricks, answer questions and Finish with a limbo contest. All of these would favor Frazier. Consider the tricks. Because Frazier already proved to be one of Lincoln’s best Firefighters when he and teammate Tyrone Williams helped save a neighbor’s house from burning down, he could light Troy Davis (who willingly agrees) on Fire and see how long it would take to put it out. Wuerffel’s only trick would be display ing how, when he smiles, he somehow transforms into a 10-year old boy. l neotnertnree contestants claim their only trick was actually being at the Downtown Athletic Club that night. Winner: Frazier. Consider the questions. • Barker: “Mr. Frazier, what have you done outside of stats that makes you deserving of the trophy?” Frazier: “I’ve never been ar rested.” Barker: “True. Mr. Davis, why do you deserve it?” Davis? “Umm, well, umm. De serve what?” Barker: “On to Mr. George. Why do you deserve it?” George: “Because Ohio State deserves everything. We play in the Big 10, so we deserve to be No. 1 and I deserve the Heisman. Even though I didn’t step up against Michigan-as a Heisman winner should, 1 still deserve it. And Coach (John) Cooper deserves the best coach award. It’s not his fault he told everyone we should be No. 1 so much that we forgot our biggest rivals. And about Oprah not letting coach go on her show to beg for No. 1 votes...” Barker: “Enough, Ed. Now to Mr. Wuerffel.” Wuerffel: “Well, (giggle, giggle) I have the boyish grin and look like an All-American kid. Don’t you think?” Barker: “Sure. And now for you, Mister (pointing at Autry).” Autry: “Well, I helped North western...” Barker: “I’m sorry, I’ve never heard of that. You must represent a ' See SAMSON on 11 Coaches plan for second season By Derek Samson_ Senior Reporter Three Big Eight basketball coaches have one year of conference basket ball under their belts. But all three may have to beat the sophomore jinx. Oklahoma’s Kelvin Sampson, Iowa State’s Tim Floyd and Kansas State’s Tom Asbury all face new challenges in their second season. Floyd was welcomed by 12 letterwinners and four starters in his first season with the Cyclones. This season, Floyd welcomed 10 newcom ers and only one part-time starter. “As a coaching stall, we’re prob ably a little more relaxed than we were last year,” he said. “We walked into a team with a lot of expectations last year. We don’t have those expecta tions this year. But this year, every game is a huge game for this group. “I think any loss right now would be a big setback because we don’t • really know who we are quite yet.” Floyd said his 4-0 Cyclones also would be able to play a different role than they did last year. “My personal standpoint is that this is an opportunity year for us,” he said. “Nobody expects us to do much. So there is a good opportunity for us to surprise some people.” Asbury, who went to Kansas State from Pepperdine last year, said re cruiting in Big Eight territory hasgiven him his biggest test with the Wildcats. “If we’re going to be competitive in thisconference, we’re goingtoneed to get some really fine players,” he said. “I saw last year how competitive thisconference is. We need much bet ter players than we did at Pepperdine for us to get to the level where we expect to be.” Kansas State, which finished 12 15 last year, is off to a 3-0 start this season. But Oklahoma—23-9 last season ' — is off to a 1-2 start with a game at Purdue next on the schedule. The Sooners started last season 7-0 and won 12 of their first 14 games. Sampson said the Sooners, who return the Associated Press’ 1994-95 Big Eight player of the year Ryan Minor, have lacked a killer instinct. “Last year, we had a bulldog men tality, and this year we haven’t devel oped that,” he said. “This year, we’re • playing a lot tougher teams early. Right now, we’re 1 -2 and could play a great game (against Purdue) and be 1-3. We’re playing so many inexperienced kids, and we have a chance to be a good team as we go. “We’re a solid basketball team. I’m not coaching a 40-yard dash. This is a marathon. I’m looking for im provement.” See BASKETBALL on 11 I Sophomore Success Kansas State's Tom Asbury, Iowa State's Tim Floyd and Oklahoma's Kelvin Samsen have began their second season in the Big Eight. Here's how the other conference coaches fared in their second season. 1. Roy Williams 30-5 11-3 2. Eddie Sutton 28-8 8-6 3. Norm Stewart 14-11 7-7 4. Joe Herrington 13-15 4-10 5. Danny Nee 13-18 4-10 Center Moore shakes early-suspension rust By Trevor Parks Senior Reporter Mikki Moore started 28 games at center for Nebraska last season. This season, though, Moore has been comingoffthe bench after losing his starting spot. Senior Chris Sallee has started the first five games at center in place of Moore, who didn’t start at all during his freshman year before taking over the starting spot last season. He was suspended for the Comhuskers’ two exhibition games, and he has had to deal with the fact that he is two games behind everyone in game experience this season. Moore was suspended for violat ing team rules, causing him to mi ss the exhibition games against Spalding Americas and Pella Windows. But in his mind, Moore, a 6-foot 11,205-pound center, said that sitting out was the best thing that could have happened to him. “I’d have rather had it happen now than in the Big Eight Conference, where it would really hurt us,” Moore said. “They are helping me, and in the long run I’m hoping to help them.” Meanwhile, in the short run, Moore has done well. In the championship game of the Ameritas Classic Saturday against Grambling State, Moore had 16points on a 5-of-7 shooting effort and had a game-high eight rebounds. Moore scored all five of Nebraska’s points from the 14-minute mark until 11:21 remained in the second half. At the Big Island Invitational in Hilo, Hawaii, Moore averaged 7.3 points and 4.7 rebounds a game. Against Minnesota in the champion ship game, Moore had 16 points and eight rebounds. That success,however,hasn’t come easy, Moore said. “Since I broke some team rules and lost my starting position, my confi dence went down a little bit,” Moore said. Coach Danny Nee said Moore was finally shaking off the rust that ham pered him early in the season. Moore said it was tough to sit down because he had worked hard this sum mer and his goal for the season was to become one of the elite post players in the country. “Most of the big guys in this con ference and in the nation have left and went to the NBA, and there are only a few significant big guys out there and I’m trying to be one of them,” Moore said. “Once I messed up with the team rules, everything seemed like it was coming down. “It really disappointed me, and that hurt my confidence, but I just had to fight it off.” Moore’s suspension is a long story, he said, but some of his problems were accidental and some involved mis communication between the coaches and him. Moore, a native of Gaffney, S.C., said he wasn’t surprised that Nebraska had started out the season 5-0, its best start since 1992. Against the Tigers, Moore said Nebraska was sluggish in a second half that saw Nebraska get outscored 45-40, and he hoped that wouldn’t happen again later in the season. “If we do that against Kansas or Oklahoma or the real good teams and get sluggish in a game, we might not make it out of that hole,’’ Moore said. “We need the mentality of getting on them early, then don’t let up.” Scott Bruhn/DN Nebraska center Mikki Moore puts down a dunk in Saturday’s win against Grambling State. Moore scored 16 poihts, two points fewer than his career high. George Mason coach calls Nu most physical team By Gregg Madsen Staff Reporter 1 After becomingjust another hurdle in Nebraska’s run to the national title, George Mason volleyball coach Pat Kendrick offered no excuses for her team’s 3-0 loss, but praised both teams’ efforts. “I think they’re definitely the most physical team that we’ve seen,” Kendrick said. The Patriots ended their season at 21-11 after falling to the top-ranked Comhuskers on Saturday in the sec ond round of the NCAA Tournament. % George Mason started off slowly, los-. ing the first two games 15-2 and 15-5. “The first two games, we really had some trouble with our passing,” Kendrick said. “By the end of the second game, I felt we passed much better, and I could see by the end of the second game that we were starting to come around.” George Mason came out with more intensity in the third game and led most of the way, riding the strong hitting of 6-foot-3 middle blocker Virag Domokos and 5-9 outside hitter See MASON on 11 Saunders back in practice From Staff Reports Nebraska volleyball player Renee Saunders returned to prac tice for the first time Monday since being sidel ined with a foot problem on Nov. 1. Saunders, a freshman outside hitter from Omaha Marian, has played in 13 matches this season. The last match she appeared in was at Missouri on Oct. 14. For the season, Saunders has sixkills on 21 total attacks and 10 digs in limited playing time. Although Saunders returned to practice, she said she felt some pain in her left foot, but she didn’t know why it was still hurting. Coach Terry Pettit said Saunders’ status was day-to-day, and she would be questionable for this weekend’s Central Regional at the NU Coliseum.