• ■ • .<
Sports
Wednesday, February 14,1996 Page 7
Derek Samson
Finger pointing
won’t translate
into victories
Iowa State’s Dedric Willoughby
summed up the Cyclones’ success
this season after they rolled past
Nebraska 74-59 Saturday in Ames,
Iowa.
“We were all like a bunch of
Lego parts when we came here,”
said Willoughby, who scored 29
points against the Cornhuskers.
“Nobody knew each other. But I
knew we were all going to be a
together group. It was all about
whether we would listen or not.
And so far we’ve been listening.”
The Cyclones and Huskers are
complete opposites.
Iowa State’s win improved it to
17-5 and 6-2 in conference play.
Not bad for a group of drifters try
ing to replace four starters lost from
last season’s 23-11 squad.
Meanwhile, the Huskers
dropped to 15-9 and 3-6 in the Big
Eight with their fifth straight loss.
Not good for a team that re
turned six seniors, four starters and
all its scoring except 5.5 points per
game from last year.
While other teams improved, the
Huskers have resorted to finger
pointing.
They pointed fingers at each
other after the Iowa State loss. They
pointed fingers at the officials and
even pointed fingers at the fans.
Coach Danny Nee burst into an
irate display at his weekly press
conference three weeks ago, recit
ing lines from the Encyclopedia of
Obscenities and Curse Words.
But this isn’t the fans’ problem.
Nor is it the officials’ fault—sorry
Kent Pavelka.
This is a problem that starts at
the top. It began in 1994 when Ne
braska lost another first-round
NCAA game, this one to Pennsyl
vania after winning the Big Eight
Tournament. Since that embarrass
ing loss, the Husker basketball pro
gram has been in a constant down
ward slide.
When a team’s goals before a
game are teamwork, hustle and lis
ten to coaches, something has gone
tremendously wrong.
Block out? Maybe. Better shot
selection? Sure. But teamwork,
hustle and listen to coaches? Please,
this is Division I college basket
ball, not third-grade YMCA.
Nebraska has the second-most
talented team in the Big Eight, but
it is only a half game away from the
cellar.
The team needs to care when it
loses. Itneeds to take responsibility
for losses and not blame officials,
teammates and fans.
In other words, Nebraska needs
Iowa State’s attitude.
Until then, Nebraska can be
thankful that it has one thing in
common with Iowa State — both
teams are extremely fortunate the
Big Eight is bad this year.
’ • '
Samson Is a senior news-editorial
major and a Dally Nebraskan sports
colnmnlst
Huskers searching for answers
From Staff Reports
After five straight losses, Nebraska
basketball players are trying to sort
through the team's problems.
Most of the Comhusker players,
including guards Jaron Boone and
Erick Strickland, met with Athletic
Director Bill Byrne on Tuesday, de
laying the start of practice. Byrne said
Tuesday night that he would not dis
cuss what was talked about in the
meeting.
The team wanted to get sugges
tions from Byrne about what could be
done to halt the Huskers’ five-game
skid, said a player who requested to
not be identified.
Nebraska coach Danny Nee said
he also met with Byrne this week to
discuss the recent woes of the basket
ball team.
The Huskers may have had more
problems in practice the past two days.
On his radio show Tuesday night,
Nee said that not everybody showed
up for a required workout on Monday.
Original ly a workout wasn ’ t sched
uled for Monday, redshirt freshman
center Leif Nelson said. But then the
coaches scheduled a workout before
canceling it after the players had called
and requested to switch their off day
to Monday instead of Thursday, he
said.
Instead, Nelson said the players
spent the time in a team meeting with
out the coaches. Over the past 48
hours, he said the players had met at a
variety of places, including the play
ers’ homes and the Hewit Center, to
discuss the team’s problems.
Talk of a team boycott was not
discussed, players said.
“There is no such thing as a boy
cott,” junior forward Bernard Gamer
said. “Nobody talked of a boycott. All
we want to do is play basketball.”
Gamer also dismissed rumors that
Nee may resign.
“From what I’ve heard, Danny Nee
will be my coach the remainder of this
Travis Heying/DN
Comhusker basketball coach Danny Nee defended the character of his team Tuesday at his
weekly press conference. He said he still held out hope that the Huskers could make the NCAA
Tournament this year.
year and next,” said Gamer, who.
walked out of a team huddle in the
second half of Nebraska’s 74-59 loss
to Iowa State on Saturday. He did not
return to the court the remainder of the
game.
Nee defended his team and his 10
year coaching career at Nebraska dur
ing his press conference on Tuesday.
“Are you judging Danny Nee on
the last two weeks or are you judging
Danny Nee on 9 1/2 years?” Nee said.
Nee, who owns a record of 179
126 at NeDraska, nas taken seven teams
to postseason appearances, including
four NCAA Tournaments.
After what started out as a promis
ing season, Nebraska has been the
target of criticism since its current
five-game losing streak began.
“When you start losing, everything
gets magnified and put in a whole
different perspective,” Nee said.
“There are players in that locker room
who have never lost two games in a
row.”
r*ee saiu ue aisu was trying ui show
the Huskers that he still had confi
dence in their ability to play as a team.
“I recruited them,” Nee said. “I’m
committed to them, and I’m sticking
with them.”
Nee said he was confident the Husk
ers would turn their season around,
and that they could still be contenders’
for the NCAA Tournament.
“When I look at the rest of the
season,” Nee said, “I see opportu
nity.”
NU aims
for NCAA
Tournament
By Trevor Parks
Senior Reporter
Now is the time for the Nebraska
women’s basketball team to capitalize
on its opportunities, senior guard Kate
Galligan said.
“We need to try and build some
momentum going into the end of the
season,” said Galligan, who scored a
career-best 38 points in the
Comhuskers’ 94-85 loss at Kansas on
Sunday.
Nebraska, 15-8 overall and 5-6 in
the Big Eight, plays host to No. 18
Colorado (20-6 and 7-3) tonight at 7 at
the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
i ne game is uie nrst oi tnree straignt
home games for Nebraska, which also
plays host to Missouri and Iowa State
over the next 10 days.
Galligan, who was the Big Eight
player of the week after averaging 31
points in two games last week, said
beating the Buffaloes could be a major
step toward making the NCAA Tour
nament. Nebraska hasn’tmade the tour
nament since 1993.
“We can’t just win this game and
then lose our last two and still expect
to get in,” Galligan said. “Every game
from here on out is another step closer
to the NCAAs.”
A win over Colorado, Beck said, is
crucial to the Huskers’ NCAA Tour
nament chances.
“Itwould be huge,” Beck said. “This
team still has a little bit of an attitude.
And this team has won a few games
that a lot of my teams maybe haven’t.”
Brown turns down
Buccaneers’ offer
By Trevor Parks
Senior Reporter
Nebraska receivers coach Ron
Brown announced Tuesday that he
would reject a
coaching offer
from the Tampa
Bay Buccaneers
to remain at Ne
braska.
Brown was
interviewed Feb.
7 in Tampa, Fla.,
by Buccaneers’
Dmum tirst-year coacft
crown Tony Dungy.
The nine-year Comhusker assistant
was offered a position as receivers
coach under Dungy, who was for
merly the Minnesota Vikings’ de
fensive coordinator.
“After I had a few days to think
about it, I made my decision,”
Brown said. “It wasaministry deci
sion, not a career decision.”
Brown assists in the running of
four Christian Youth camps during
the summer across Nebraska, and
he has a weekly show on Christian
radio station. He also writes a
monthly article in the Fellowship of
Christian Athletes national maga-_
zine. Dungy’s strong Christian val
ues were one of the reasons Brown
was interested in the job, he said.
This was the third time Brown
had turned down other offers to
stay at Nebraska.
He has turned down opportuni
ties to become the head coach at his
alma mater, Brown University. Af
ter the 1993 season, in which Ne
braska lost 18-16 to Florida State in
the Orange Bowl, Brown turned
down a coaching position with
Florida State.
“All of them were tough deci
sions,” Brown said. “Certainly Tom
Osborne has played a major role in
me staying here. He has been great
to his staff. That was a determining
factor, and I love my players too.”
Brown was the defensive coor
dinator of the New Jersey Rams, a
semipro team, in 1982. He coached
at Brown University from 1983-86
before coming to Nebraska in 1987.
He has been the Huskers’ receivers
coach since.
Brown has coached 17 Nebraska
tight ends and receivers who have
gone on to have professional ca
reers.
After deciding Tuesday to stay
at Nebraska, Brown said, he might
not be leaving Lincoln anytime
soon.
“I am not desperately looking to
leave Nebraska,” Brown said. “If
something comes up, I will look at
the opportunity. In this case, with
the help of God, I think I made the
correct decision.
“If and when the time comes for
me to leave here, God will give me
the wisdom.”
Huskers
to wrestle
Missouri
ByAntone Oseka
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska wrestling team will
be in action tonight at 7:30 against
Missouri at the Bob Devaney Sports
Center indoor track area.
“They’ve wrestled in anonymity this
year,” Nebraska coach Tim Neumann
said of the Tigers. “They graduated six
seniors last year, so they have a real
young team.”
Neumann said the key matches for
the third-ranked Huskers were the
lower weights.
“118 and 126 are important,”
Neumann said. “I’m honestly looking
to make sure we prepare mentally for
good teams and individuals.”
At 126 pounds, starter Jeramie
Welder will sit out for the Huskers
because of a nagging ankle injury.
Freshman Matt Infranca will take
Welder’s place for the dual.
Nebraska will see the return of 158
pounder Temoer Terry, who is ranked
No. 2 in the nation. Erik Josephson, at
177 pounds, also will return to the
Husker lineup. Ninth-ranked Joseph
son returns for Nebraska after resting
a back injury last week.
The Huskers will wrestle without
142-pounder Mike Eierman, whose
eligibility has expired. Eierman
wrestled in two duals earlier this sea
son , but the Huskers had to forfeit both
after learning Monday that Eierman
was not eligible.