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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 1996)
Piatkowski, Belcher gain first starts HOOPS from page 10 first player off the NU bench, said the inexperienced team will bring a differ ent attitude to the court this season. “We have a young team this year,” Markowski said. “It’s just a different attitude. We just don’t know how good we can be.” Despite a young team—with only two seniors—Coach Danny Nee said his returning veterans have improved. Lue, a 6-foot point guard, has gained the confidence of his teammates and emerged as a leader on the defend ing National Invitation Tournament Comhusker squad, Nee said. Nee said he expects Lue, who av eraged 8.5 points and 4.1 assists per game last season, to improve his num bers. “Tim Hardaway (of the NBA’s Mi ami Heat) averages 10 assists per game and he averages 22 points,” Nee said. “That’s what I want Tyronn Lue to do. But the ball is going to be in his hands a lot, except when he’s giving it out to someone else to score. “I think he’s one of the premier players in the country, and we are go ing to groom him to be a great player.” Gamer and Moore will receive the majority of Lue’s passes in the paint, Nee said. “We are way more inside-oriented,” Nee said. “Mikki and Gamer will get more shots than they ever have. “We’ve got two or three go-to guys: Mikki, Barnard and Lue. It’s more clearly defined. Last year, we had go to guys, but they didn’t make their shots.” Though this year’s Husker team will take more inside shots, Nee said, its weakness is perimeter shooting. “Right now, outside shooting is sus pect,” Nee said. “We’re not going to be as efficient as we have been in the past.” Because of the young roster, NU will experience growing pains this sea son. “Every year, we’ve had pain,” Nee said. “It’s just inflicted in different ways. “I expect adversity and I expect problems. But at least there won’t be a fight over who thinks they’re better, because there’s just not enough guys. They’re all going to play, so there should be a little more harmony in the locker room.” Note: Because of two minor recruiting violations in connection with Nigerian basketball player Osita Nwachukwu in 1992, Nee will not be allowed to con tact recruits off campus during the first two days of the spring recruiting pe riod. Allegations against Nee made last spring by Christopher Pond, a Raleigh, N.C., man, are unsubstantiated, NU Athletic Director Bill Byrne said Tues day. Steelere* pafli Second-year Pittsburgh lineman adjusts well to life in the NFL. By Gregg Madsen StaffReporter The Pittsburgh Steelers’ locker room was a busy place last month after their 17-7 victory over Kansas City. But in all the excitement, running back Jerome Bettis sought out one man: Brendan Stai. “Nice job, man,” Bettis yelled. “We went over 100 tonight.” At Nebraska from 1991 through 1994 and now the starting right guard for Pittsburgh, Stai and his fellow linemen helped Bettis to a 103-yard performance on 27 rush ing attempts. Stai said his game has improved in countless ways since he left Ne braska after an All-American senior season. “From a year ago to now, I couldn’t draw any certain things that * have been the biggest changes,” he said. “There’s things that I work on every week. And that’s just some thing you’ve got to do as an offen sive lineman.” Since his rookie season, he said he has become a complete lineman. “We had something to prove on the road,” Stai said of the win over Kansas City. “I think we did that. I knew it was going to be a battle — a war on the line. It was just a mat ter of time, wearing them down and having some things go our way.” The Steelers were able to do the same thing one week later in their 20-10 win over Cincinnati. Bettis rambled for 109 yards and Tomczak threw for 182. But Stai tore liga ments in his left elbow, requiring surgery. He is expected to return in mid-November. | ROAD LOSED to This one in a series of stories about former NU players in the NFL “The thing about this team is, it’s all of us,” Stai said. “It’s like at Ne braska. We had a lot of unity. On this team, there’s a lot of team unity. When teams have that, teams are successful, not only on the offen sive line, but the whole team.” Stai’s football career has in cluded a national championship at Nebraska and a Super Bowl appear ance as a Pittsburgh rookie in 1995. This season, Stai has helped pave the way for Bettis, the NFL’s second-leading rusher with 953 yards. Steeler quarterback Mike Tomczak has had enough time in the pocket to throw, for 1,574 yards, helping the Steelers to a 7-2 start, placing them atop the AFC’s Cen tral Division. “No matter if it’s your second year or your 10th year, you’ve got to work on something, because dif ferent teams show you a lot of dif ferent things.” Despite his busy schedule, Stai said he still makes an effort to keep up with the Huskers. “I was a little disappointed with how things went at Arizona State,” Stai said. “But they rebounded, and good teams do that.” Not to us! We're going straight ahead for treatments and cures r 40 neuromuscular diseases. lMDA Muscular Dystrophy Association 1-800-572-1717 ople help MDA...because MDA helps people. ,, J. ; -- — Not valid wrth ar^ other offef. Coupon preserted at tirne of purchase. Uppinghouse leads NU through perfect year SOCCER from page 10 the week twice this season. At 5-foot-ll, Uppinghouse pro vides an imposing presence. Through out the season, the fifth-ranked Husk ers (19-0 overall and 9-0 in the Big 12) have looked to her in crucial situations. In Nebraska’s 3-2 overtime win over Vanderbilt, Uppinghouse scored the game-winning goal with one minute remaining. In the Huskers clash with then sixth-ranked Texas A&M, Uppinghouse scored the game’s lone goal to give Nebraska a 1-0 victory. “We don’t necessarily designate her as a go-to player,” Walker said. “Her position is such that much of the play goes through her.” Becoming NU’s first-ever All American would be a great honor, Uppinghouse said, but that has not been her focus this season. “I guess it has entered my mind,” she said. “But I haven’t put much em phasis on it. I just wanted to crane out and constantly give everything I have. That’s what John stresses.” After transferring from George Mason a year ago, the junior midfielder from Littleton, Colo., said she feels comfortable with her teammates, most of whom are also in their first or sec ond year in the Nebraska program. The Husker soccer program, just three years old, has reached new NSCAA TOP 25 ^ heights this season. “We’re just focusing one game at a time,” Uppinghouse said. “It’s a good opportunity for us.” NU will play the winner of Thursday’s Texas Tech-Missouri game Saturday at 11 a.m. in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament in St. Louis. t f * € % t I ♦
