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David Wilson
NU seniors
need to step
up this year
In its two exhibition games, the
young Nebraska basketball team
has shown its potential.
True freshman Cookie Belcher
leads the team averaging 19 points
in the two preseason games and has
shown maturity beyond his years.
Belcher is followed by sopho
mores Tyronn Lue—NU’s on-the
court leader, Andy Markowski and
Larry Florence, all of whom are
averaging more than 10 points per
game.
But what about the two seniors l
Though defense has been a
strength for both Mikki Moore and
Bernard Garner, the senior duo
combined for just 36 of the Husk
ers’ 164 points in exhibition play.
“I’m disappointed, obviously,”
NU Coach Danny Nee said Tues
day. “I expect more out of them, and
I think we will get more out of them.
But you can’t have it all at once.”
Moore tiaS made just 8 of 22
shots from the field and only sopho
more Troy Piatkowski owns a lower
shooting percentage than Moore’s
.364 average. At the free-throw line,
Moore has made just 3 of 9 shots.
Garner, who averaged 10.7
points per game last season, has
taken just 15 shots in the two exhi
bition games, v.,,f * ?
“I think Gamer could get a few
more shots,” Nee said, “but he has
to leam the offense and get to the
place where the shots are, and work
a little harder at it.”
Last season, six Husker seniors
produced 52 percent of the Ne
braska offense and combined for a
.450 shooting percentage. But the
younger players out-shot the se
niors, shooting 52 percent from the
floor.
Many of last year’s seniors
stepped down, and though there are
only two this year, Gamer and
Moore need to step up. They need
to help the four first-year players
through the season.
“Because they’re seniors,” Nee
said, “there has to be leadership;
there has to be responsibility. They
have to show us an example in the
locker room and out on the court
— a work ethic and enthusiasm of
being our leaders.
“They ’re trying to do that. They
just haven’t put the numbers up that
people expect.”
The young Husker squad, which
opens the season Saturday on the
home court of No. 16 Texas, has
potential. They just need tlje direc
__ tion of two seniors.
“They’re a coachable group,”
Nee said, “Now, can we get our se
niors playing better and get our ro
tation going? I’m very confident. I
_ think we can.”
If they can come together and
continue to play as a team, Nebraska
could be the surprise team of the Big
« 12.
Wilson is a sophomore news
editorial major and a Daily Ne
braskan staff reporter.
NU tight end loses
reputation as an
unreliable receiver.
By Gregg Madsen
StaffReporter
It’s been said that one never gets a
second chance to make a first impres
sion, but in the case of Nebraska tight
end Vershan Jackson, that age-old
axiom has been proven wrong.
The 6-foot, 245-pound junior from
Omaha South was recruited to play
fullback at Nebraska. He switched to
tight end in the spring of 1995, and
quickly made an impression.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t the impres
sion he wanted to make.
Jackson said he broke into the open
during his first scrimmage at tight end
m;,,..
and dropped a sure touchdown pass.
Before the scrimmage was over, he
dropped another.
His pass
catching woes
continued
through the
spring, and his
reputation be
came notorious.
“Every time
you threw it to
Vershan, you
would count on a T ,
drop,” Jackson Jackson
said. “I was feeling sorry for myself.”
After spuing practice, Jackson said,
he stopped feeling sorry for himself
and started working on improving his
game.__
He spent the summer practicing
with former Nebraska Heisman trophy
winner Johnny Rodgers, catching
thousands of passes, running routes and
lifting weights.
In the 1995 season, as a second
team tight end, Jackson played in all
12 games of the Comhuskers’ national
championship season. He caught two
passes for 13 yards, including a 1-yard
touchdown against Kansas.
This season, the once stone-handed
Jackson has become one of the
Husker’s most reliable receivers, and
his first impression has been long for
gotten.
Nebraska Coach Tom Osbiome said
Jackson’s progress has been noticed by
nearly everyone.
“He’s played well,” Osborne said.
“Both his blocking and receiving have
improved a lot.”
Jackson is the Huskers’ third-lead
ing receiver, with 15 catches for 269
yards and six touchdowns.
His deceiving speed gives him a big
1
advantage over opposing defenses,
Osborne said. Jackson runs an elec
tronically-timed 4.74-second 40-yard
dash time, among the best for a Husker
tight end.
In Nebraska’s 49-14 romp of Iowa
State last Saturday, he showcased that
speed on a 36-yard touchdown pass
from quarterback Scott Frost.
Jackson led all receivers against the
Cyclones, catching three passes for 57
yards. Two of those catches came in
the first quarter and both went for
touchdowns.
Since last season, Jackson has im
proved in nearly every strength cat
egory. He was a finalist for the 1996
Nebraska lifter-of-the-year award,
which was won by rush end Jared
Tomich.
“I worked pretty hard in the weight
Please see JACKSON on 11
’ (evils pose
major test
for Huskers
By Sam McKewon
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska soccer team’s sec
ond-round NCAA Tournament oppo
nent knows the role of an underdog
well.
At 9-9-3 entering the tournament,
many thought Duke didn’t belong in
the 32-team field.
“We’ve been overshadowed quite
a bit,” Duke Coach Bill Hempen said.
“But we deserve to be here. That’s what
we want to prove.”
The Blue Devils, who defeated Vir
ginia 1 -0 in the tournament’s first round
last week, seek to prove that their 3-1
loss to Nebraska on Sept. 8 in Durham,
N.C., was not indicative of this Duke
squad.
Hempen said he welcomes the
chance to upset the 22-0 Huskers Sun
day at the Abbott Sports Complex,
where the two teams play at 1 p.m. for
the chance to advance to the
tournament’s round of eight.
“The tournament is a whole differ
ent animal,” Hempen said. “We’re so
far removed from that game against
Nebraska. So it’s like starting over.”
One advantage over NU that Duke
has is schedule strength, which is also
one of the main reasons it was selected
for tournament despite its .500 record.
The Blue Devils {day in the nation’s
best soccer conference. The Atlantic
Coast Conference sent six teams to the
NCAA Tournament, including No. 1
ranked North Carolina, which plays
just eight miles from the Duke campus
in Chapel Hill.
Duke also has the advantage of
tournament experience. The Devils
have played in five-straight NCAA
Tournaments, including a champion
ship game appearance in 1992, which
resulted in a 9-1 loss to North Caro
lina.
Nebraska has limited experience.
Last Sunday’s 3-2 sudden-death over
time win over Minnesota aside, only
Kari Uppinghouse, who played as a
freshman at George Mason, and Becky
Horabacher, who played at Virginia,
have tournament experience.
“We’ve seen everything in the
ACC,” Hempen said, “so we won’t be
surprised by anything they do. We’ve
played some teams—like North Caro
lina —that are as good as Nebraska.”
After an 0-4-2 stretch in October,
the Blue Devils have won four of their
Please see DEVILS on 11
. Matt Miller/DN
MEGAN KOBYER feels at home as a Nebraska middle blocker this fall after transferring from
George Washington.
Korver slides into star role
Sophomore adjusts to setter; expanded responsibility
By Shannon Heffelfinger
Staff Reporter
Megan Korver enters every
match focused on improving.
Nebraska’s 6-foot-1 sophomore
knew she had big shoes to fill for
the Comhusker volleyball team this
season after injuries depleted the
middle blocker position.
So Korver decided it was her re
sponsibility to get better. And with
her constant improvement on the
court this season, the transfer from
George Washington has not disap
pointed the NU coaching staff.
“Coaches can tell you over and
over again what to do,” Korver said,
“but in the end, it’s up to you. You
have to learn to react and not think
about what ’s going on,”
Korver has become a consistent
threat in the middle for the fifth
ranked Huskers, who play host to
Texas Tfech and Baylor Friday and
Saturday.
She leads the team in blocks
with 1.6 per game and has the sec
ond-highest hitting percentage cm
the team (.292), while ranking third'
on the team in kills, pounding 2.8
per game.
But Korver has posted her best
numbers in Big 12 Conference play,
hitting .308 and averaging three
kills per game. Korver has a habit
of rising to die occasion, playing her
best in NU’s most critical matches.
“She’s just becoming more com
fortable on the court,” Coach Terry
Pettit said. “She’s really relaxed,
and her vision cm the court has im
proved.”
Against No. 24 Kansas State last
Friday, Korver — primarily a
frontcourt player-—was given the
opportunity to play in the bade row
because Maria Hedbeck, normally
Korver’s backcourt replacement,
missed nearly the entire match with
a migraine.
Korver responded well, record
ing a season-high eight digs, and she
hit .560 with 16 kills, tying a sea
son high set against No. 14 ICxas
A&M.
“We’ve been able to leave her
in there without having to go to a
sub,” Pettit said. “I think getting the
chance to serve and pass has done
a lot for her confidence.”
But playing at the net remains
Korver’s strength. Her improve
ment there, she said, has been a re
sult of connecting better with
Husker setter Fiona Nepo.
“It’s hard to come in and not be
used to your setter,” Korver said.
“It’s a struggle to get through that.
Please see KOHVER on 11
*