Sports Weekend
Friday, February 2, 1996
Page 7
smurs opinion
Beau Finley
Athlete’s life
shines—even
in tragic death
I saw Jimmy Davis kick a few
months ago.
It was an awful night to play
football, not to mention watch it.
The temperature hovered near
freezing, and the wind was abso
lutely howling through the bleach
ers, making it seem much colder.
Yet here was this 16-year-old jun
ior from Roncalli High School in
Omaha banging extra points so far
that the balls sailed into the shrub
bery outlining the field some 40
yards beyond the end zone.
I always remember the unlucky
ball boys who were assigned to
retrieve the kicks, looking contemp
tuously back at Jimmy before they
waded into the bushes.
Jimmy was having an excellent
year.
He was among the top three or
four scorers in the conference and
hatf-booted a field goal of 46 yards
earlier in the season. To get an idea
of the strength of that kick, the
longest field goal in the history of
Nebraska football is only 9 yards
longer.
After watching him that night, I
would occasionally step into my
sports writer role and pronounce
that this kid had some big-time tal
ent. The only problem was that ev
eryone already knew it. The truth
was that the talent of Jimmy Davis,
as a player and as a person, was no
secret to anyone.
Perhaps that is what hurts the
most.
On Jan. 12 of this year, Jimmy
died in an automobile accident as
he drove to school.
The days that followed saw a
massive collection of people gath
ered to remember Jimmy for who
he was, a passionate young man;
one who knew only one way to do
the things that truly mattered to him
— with diligence, sensitivity and
the utmost caring.
Whether it be loving his family
and friends or play ing sports, Jimmy
did it with a passion.
At Jimmy’s funeral, I walked
through a display of his awards,
jerseys and memorabilia. I saw pic
tures of him in full pads, grinning
the grin that only he had. It formed
a mosaic of the honor and love that
permeated his life, as well as the
loss that now plagues ours.
But as I looked at this display, I
realized that football was one truly
accessible way to witness firsthand
the talent, both athletic and spiri
tual, possessed by Jimmy Davis.
Football was a sort of canvas for
Jimmy. The sport was an expres
sion. Success was not simply an
accolade. It was a genuine display
of self.
When an excellent player plays
the game with passion and love,
there comes a sense of artistry in his
performance. It is a gift that all who
watch share.
Jimmy gave many people that
gift. It was a gift that was truly from
the bottom of his heart, and one
uniquely his own.
Flaky is a third-year law stadeat
aad Dally Nebraskaa sports col nmols t.
Boone’s status unknown for Saturday
By Trevor Parks
Senior Reporter
The Nebraska basketball team is
spiraling downward as it plays host to
the Big Eight’s second-place team this
Saturday.
Iowa State is off to a torrid start in
the Big Eight, winning four of its first
five games.
Meanwhile Nebraska, 15-6 overall
and 3-3 in the Big Eight, enters
Saturday’s 12:45 p.m. game at the
Bob Devaney Sports Center having
lost two straight games after a three
game winning streak.
The Cyclones (15-4 and 4-1) come
in having won four Big Eight games in
a row, something they haven’t done
since 1979. Nebraska coach Danny
Nee said Iowa State coach Tim Floyd
had done a great job in his second
season. Iowa State beat Nebraska 79
77 in Lincoln last season, the Cy
clones’ first win at Nebraska since
1990.
“I really feel that Iowa State has
come together,” Nee said. “They’ve
been playing very solid, very effective
basketball.”
The Comhuskers, on theother hand,
might be falling apart.
In Wednesday night ’ s 77-68 loss at
Kansas State, Nee made the decision
at halftime to bench senior guard Jaron
Boone for disciplinary reasons.
Boone, a preseason All-Big Eight
pick, has been struggling throughout
the conference season, averaging only
11.7 points per game and shooting
38.8 percent from the field.
In 10 games this season, Boone
was the Huskers’ leading scorer, but
in the past three games, he failed to
score in double figures. A year ago,
Boone scored in double figures in all
but one game.
Nee said Thursday in a statement
that Boone was indefinitely suspended
from the team, but his status for
Saturday’s game would be determined
just prior to tipoff.
“I will continue to evaluate his sta
tus on a day-to-day basis,” Nee said.
Boone has started 78 consecutive
games. If Boone does not start, he
likely will be replaced by senior
Terrance Badgett, a starter for most of
Basketball Starters
Nebraska 15-6,3-3 Hi WL Class PPG RPG
Iowa State 15-4,4-1
last season. Badgett would play small
forward, and Erick Strickland would
move to shooting guard, Boone ’ s spot.
On Wednesday night, Boone
played a little more than 12 minutes in
the first half, and after being replaced
with three minutes remaining, he did
not return to the court for the remain
der of the game.
Following the game, Boone did not
See ISU on 8
Tanna Kinnaman/DN
Cornhusker senior triple jumper Nicola Martial will lead Nebraska into battle Saturday at the
National Elite Track and Field Invite in Fayetteville, Ark. Martial is a four-time All-American and
the 1995 NCAA outdoor champion.
Track star
jumps into
lead role
By Vince D’Adamo
Staff Reporter
Being an All-American demands a
high performance level. Comhusker
long- and triple-jumper Nicola Mar
tial has been there and achieved that
four times.
She has rewritten the Nebraska
record book in the triple jump, break
ing the Husker outdoor record and
earning All-American honors.
Martial will lead the Husker women
into the National Elite Track and Field
Invite on Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark.
The women will face Arkansas and
North Carolina.
On the men’s side, Nebraska will
be up against Texas, North Carolina
and 12-time defending national cham
pion Arkansas.
“It’ll be the biggest meet before
nationals,” Martial said. “The top three
girls in the triple jump will be there.
“You can’t ask for much more. I’d
like to win the Husker Invite (Feb. 9
10), win the indoor national champi
onship and set the indoor school
record.”
Martial, who already has accom
plished one goal by qualifying for the
See MARTIAL on 8
All-state
linebacker
to walk on
From Staff Reports
Noland Urban, a 6-foot-2, 225
pound linebacker from Stromsburg,
said Thursday that he would walk on
at Nebraska next fall.
Urban, a first-team all-state pick,
tested second among nearly 500 play
ers in an agility drill last summer at
Nebraska’s football camp, said
Stromsburg coach Dennis Koinzan.
Urban led Stromsburg, a class C-2
school, to a 9-2 record last fall.
Much like current Comhuskers Joel
Makovicka, Brendan Holbein and
Brian Schuster, Koinzan said Nebraska
coach Tom Osborne told Urban he
would have an opportunity to earn a
scholarship.
NU to open against Aggies
By David Wilson
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska baseball team will
open its season today in the 60
degree weather of Presley Askew
Field in Las Cruces, N.M.
New Mexico State will play host
to the Comhuskers in a three-game
series this weekend, beginning to
day at 2 p.m.
II hanks to
sub-zero tem
peratures, the
Huskers have
practiced outside
only once since
the beginning of
the semester,
giving the
Aggies an edge,
iNeorasica coacn
Sanders John Sanders
said.
“They’re going to have more of
an advantage because they ’ ve been
practicing outside,” Sanders said.
“They have a fly ball coming out of
the sky. We have it coming out of
the ceiling.”
Despite losing 17 letterwinners
last season, New Mexico State re
turns six starters to its lineup.
A strong Aggie infield returns
three starters, including senior sec
ond baseman Carlos Licon, a 1995
second-team All-Big West selec
tion.
In the first-ever meeting between
the two teams last season at the
Hampton Inn/Sahara Desert Clas
sic, Licon helped the Aggies defeat
theHuskers 15-7, going4-for-6 with
a home run. Nebraska came back
two days later to even the series
with a 14-4 win.
New Mexico State coach Elliott
Avent notched his 200th career vie
tory on April 30 last season. Avent,
who begins his eighth season with
the Aggies, will be openingthe sea
son with one of the nation’s top
recruiting classes this season, ac
cording to Collegiate Baseball.
After losing nearly all of last
season’s starting rotation, the
Aggies are expected to start three
pitchers with no Division-I experi
ence.
Sanders also will start three
pitchers with very little experience.
Steve Fish, a right-handed jun
ior transfer from the College of the
Redwoods, will start for Nebraska.
Freshman Jay Sirianni, who
redshirted with Texas A&M last
season, and senior Jason Allen are
expected to throw for the Huskers
in Saturday’s doubleheader.
Allen,whoappeared in sixgames
See BASEBALL on 8
