Ameritas Classic foes bring big names
By Trevor Parks
Senior Reporter
Their team’s names are not mar
quee, but some big-name basketball
players are headed to the Bob
D e v a n e y
Sports Center
this weekend.
That’s big
as in tall, and
big as in some
of the top post
players in the
country.
Seven
NBA scouts
will be on hand
to watch Patriot League player of
the year Adonal Foyle of Colgate,
and Mid-Eastern Athletic Confer
ence player of the year Terquin
Mott, a Coppin State forward, battle
Nebraska’s Mikki Moore.
The 10th annual Ameritas Clas
sic begins tonight when the
Cornhuskers (3-1) play host to
Coppin State (0-1) at 6:30. Bowl
ing Green (3-1) plays Colgate (0
2) following the first game.
The consolation game will be
played Saturday at 5 p.m. with the
championship game set to start at
7:10 p.m.
Moore, a 6-foot-11,220-pound
senior, the tallest of the three play
ers, said he has been looking for
ward to this weekend since the
middle of last summer.
“I’m looking forward to it, big
time,” Moore said. “I’m putting my
personal goals to the side, but when
it comes to things like this, I have
to step up. I don’t mean shoot the
ball every time I get it. I just have
to play at a level that they are.”
The 6-10, 250-pound Foyle is
averaging 23 points, 13 rebounds
and an astounding 9.5 blocked shots
per game. Foyle had a triple-double
in an overtime loss to Fairfield Sat
urday.
Mott, a 6-8 senior, has struggled,
scoring just nine points against
Oklahoma—the Eagles’ lone game
of the season. Last year, Mott aver
aged 19 points and 7.4 rebounds per
game. Coppin State guard Antoine
Brockington scored 23 points in the
88-64 loss to the Sooners.
Moore has played well in NU’s
four games. The senior from
Gaffney, S.C., is averaging 12.3
points and 10 rebounds per game.
He has also 19 blocked shots for an
average of 4.7 a game.
“When I found that is who we
are playing and who’s on those
teams,” Moore said, “I’ve been
waiting for them.”
Moore may miss matching up
against Foyle because Colgate is
playing a talented Bowling Green
team tonight. The Falcons defeated
three-time Big Ten champion
Purdue earlier this season, but lost
to Northern Illinois 81-73 on
Wednesday night.
Nebraska point guard Tyronn
Lue, who had a season-high 25
points against Texas-San Antonio
Tuesday night, said Moore plays
well when another big man poses a
tremendous challenge.
“Every time we play against a
team with a good big man, Mikki
always steps up to the challenge,”
Lue said. “I’m looking forward to
this, and Mikki is looking forward
to it also.”
F 5 Larry Florence 6-5 225 So.
G 30 Cookie Belcher 6-3 200 Fr.
Upstart Arkansas
to face No. 4 NU
Razorbacks won’t
be in awe of Nebraska,
coach says.
By Shannon Heffelfinger
Staff Reporter
No one expected Arkansas Volley
ball Coach Chris Poole to guide his
team to the second round of the NCAA
Tournament in only its third year of
existence.
But the Lady Razorbacks have ex
ceeded expectations, posting a 26-10
record and winning the Southeastern
Conference Western Division.
By defeating Rhode Island in five
games Wednesday in a first-round
battle, Arkansas advanced to the sec
ond round of the tournament to play
27-3 Nebraska, the defending national
champion, Saturday night at 7:30 at the
NU Coliseum.
“We are very excited,” Poole said.
“We’re still young, and we’re still in
experienced. We don’t have that tradi
tion yet, so everything we do, we’re
creating something for our program.
It’s just a great opportunity.”
The Razorbacks have been fortu
nate in their recruiting the last three
years, Poole said. Arkansas — which
starts three sophomores — lists only
one senior on its roster. But Poole said
his team’s youth is not necessarily a
negative thing.
“We really showed a lot of guts in
the fifth game against Rhode Island,”
Poole said* “At times, we were play
ing not to lose instead of playing to win.
“But we realized that we’d have to
step up and be the aggressor, and we
did that.”
Sophomore middle blocker Kim
Storey, who attended Bellevue West
High School v pounded a team-best 26
kills in the Razorbacks’ first-round vic
tory. Storey leads Arkansas defensively
with 1.3 blocks per game.
Arkansas is led at the net by Denise
Baez, a two-time All-SEC first-team
selection. Baez, a transfer from Wash
ington State, isaveraging a team-lead
ing 4.2 kills per game with a .311 hit
ting percentage.
The Razorbacks have played five
matches against ranked opponents this
season, including two against No. 2
Florida. Despite recording only one
victory over a ranked foe, Poole said
Scott Bruhn/DN
JAIME KRONDAK and the Nebraska volleyball team will play host
to the NCAA Tbumament’s East Regional with a win Saturday.
Arkansas will not be intimidated by the
Comhuskers, who have not lost at
home this season.
“We certainly know Nebraska’s
reputation,” Poole said. “I have a lot
of respect for Terry Pettit and the things
he’s done.
“I’m sure there will be nerves, but
I don’t think we’ll be in awe of Ne
braska. It’s not like we’ve never played
a top 10 team before. I’ve just got to
convince the team that it’s just like
playing Florida.”
Pettit said the No. 4 Huskers, who
will host the four-team East Regional
Tournament if they defeat Arkansas on
Saturday, will not take the Razorbacks
lightly.
“There haven’t been any weak
teams in the NCAAs in several years,”
Pettit said. “Whoever you play is a
great team.”
Just earning the opportunity toplay
Nebraska is a step fa* the* Razorback
program, Poole said.
“This is a match we’U build on,”
he said. “Whethet we win or lose, we’ll
gain something for our program.”
Big Kona Classic
will pit NU, Iowa
By Mike Kluck
Senior Reporter
When Coach Angela Beck con
structed Nebraska’s basketball
schedule, she wasn’t looking at this
weekend’s
Big Kona
Classic as a
nice trip to
Hawaii.
Beck
wanted to use
this trip to
Hawaii as a
measuring
stick, com
paring the
Cornhuskers
to one of the
nation’s top teams.
The 5-0 Huskers will face Pa
cific (0-2) tonight at 5 and 10th
ranked Iowa (2-1) on Sunday at
12:30 p.m. in the Big Kona Classic
in Kona, Hawaii.
“We set the schedule for this,”
Beck said. “Our team has lived up
to what we wanted. If we beat Pa
cific, we want a shot at Iowa.”
Iowa finished last season with a
27-4 record and advanced to the
regional semifinals of the NCAA
Tournament. The Hawkeyes have
beaten Iowa State and Illinois State,
but they lost at home to 20th ranked
Notre Dame. t
Nebraska and Iowa have not
faced each other since 1991, when
the Hawkeyes beat the Huskers 64
59 in Lincoln. Iowa Coach Angie
Lee said it’s strange that the two
Midwestern teams have to go to
Hawaii to play each other.
“Whenever we have played Ne
braska, they have always given us a
really good challenge,” Lee said.
“It’s been awhile since we have
played therfi, but I’ve been very
impressed with the job Angela Beck
has done with that program.
“They always seem to be in the
thick of things and our game with
them should be good.”
Both Iowa and Nebraska play an
up-tempo style. Although Beck said
NU can’t look past Pacific—which
has lost to Santa Clara and San Fran
cisco —it will be interesting to see
if the Huskers can dictate the game’s
pace against Iowa.
“Iowa is probably going to have
JS__
Basketball
Starters J§
F 22 Tina McClain 5-10 Sr.
G 20 LaToyaDoage 5-6 Sr.
F 31 Cathy Lauritzen 6-0 Jr.
G 33 Shannon Smith 5-9 Fr.
F 54 AmyHerrig , 6-4
G 13 Nadine Domond 5-9
more speed,” Beck said. “It will be
the first team we face that will have
more speed than us. I think our kids
will be challenged by that opportu
nity.
“It will be interesting to see if
we’re capable of playing our style,
or if we will have to adjust our style
to fit somebody else.”
Sunday’s game may be deter
mined by the Hawkeyes’ condition
after playing Boise State today and
Pacific on Saturday, Lee said.
aWhen you go in a tournament
like this, you put a challenge to your
players,” Lee said. “There’s not a
lot of prep time, so you just have to
rely on instinct. It’s good, because
a lot of times that’s the way it is in
the NCAA Tournament.”