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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 15, 1997)
,_ i ' | Mitch Shemac TWogame home stretch will give NU an identity Simply put, the Nebraska bas ketball team must win tonight. Danny Nee knows it. His vet eran players know it. His young players need to understand it. For the Comhuskers to finish with a conference record near .500 — and have any chance to reach their goal of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament — wins to night and Saturday over Missouri are critical. . In these two games, the 1996 97 Huskers can separate themselves from the NU teams of NIT past and create their own identity. Here’s an opportunity to buck a two-year trend that is beginning to give Ne braska a nasty reputation as a team that self-destructs each January. A quick glance at Kansas State, tonjght’s NU foe, reveals a strug gling squad that has lost its last three road games by 114 points. But Huskers face a challenge much more imposing than KSU’s impo tent offense. NU must overcome its ownyouth. * “There’s a learning curve for the young players,” Nee said Mon day, two days after NU beat Texas A&M, possibly the Big 12’s worst team, by two points in Lincoln. “That’s why we went to Puerto Rico. We had to get some tough games under our belt.” Tonight, Nebraska continues its seemingly blind journey into a con ference season filled with the po tential for disaster. And two games into the Big 12, the dike has already shown signs of cracking. Why did Bernard Garner, pegged as one of NU’s on- and off court leaders, do whatever he did on Dec. 31, prompting Nee to ship the senior forward back to Lincoln on the first plane out of Puerto Rico? And why can’t Venson Hamilton, a sophomore forward with an NBA wingspan and the taient to play at an All-Big 12 level, realize his potential? “Part of it’s maturity and part of it’s discipline,*’ Nee said of Hamilton’s inability to provide NU with a dominating big man when given the chance to Start in Gamcr’sabsence. “He needs to play better and he knows it.” in a meeting with Nee on Sun day, Hamilton said his “head wasn’t in the game” during NU’s win on Saturday. “Rji%5 minutes, I wish I’d have (mown that,” Nee said. Nebraska needs all nine of its heads every night. “We are going to keep working at it,” Nee said. ' “We have no illusions of who we are ag^L what we are,” Exactly who are these Huskers? We’ll find out soon. , j Sherman Ss a senior news-edi torial major and a Daily Nebras kan senior reporter. ___ ■_ 1 Thompson j ByAntone Oseka Staff Reporter For Nebraska heavyweight wres tler Tolly Thompson, records are fall ing like opponents. During the winter tweak, Thomp son picked up his 134th career win as a Comhusker, breaking the 12-year record of 133 career wins by NU 190 pounder Bill Scheer. Scheer won a national championship and earned All-America honors three times. Thompson, the 1995 national champion and a two-time All-Ameri can, is (xi a similar track as Scheer. In almost the exact amount of mat time, Thompson broke Scheer’s record. Scheer, who won the bronze medal in the 1988 Olympics, won 133 matches with only 18 defeats compet ing at NU from 1980-84. Thompson now has a career record of 138-19 with at least 15 matches left to go this sea son. He is 23-2 this year. Thompson’s next broken record may come this weekend. The senior from Janesville, Iowa has 64 career falls — including pins and technical falls — only four behind Gary Albright’s record of 68. Please see THOMPSON on 12 NEBRASKA HEAVYWEIGHT Tolly Thompson wrestles Brent Boshans of Minnesota Jan. 7. Thompson won that natch and after whmini four tines at the Great Plains Invitational he holds the school record for nest wins in a career with 138 victories. I Cornhusker men go for their third straight win against struggling KSU. By Mitch Sherman Senior Reporter Mikki Moore warned his Nebraska basketball teammates before the Big 12 Conference season began that noth ing comes easily in league play. No opponent lies down, he told the Comhuskers—four of whom played their first Big 12 game on Jan. 4 — and every game is a struggle. Eleven days after NU’s conference opener, the Huskers now realize Moore wasn't kidding. “In conference games, everybody is ready to play,” said sophomore Larry Florence, who scored 16 points in Nil's 74-72 win over Texas A&M Please see MEN on 11 Men's Basketball I Starters g Today, 6:05 p.m. Devaney Center :MMM| PPP NBiraska^5(n) F 5 Lany Florence 6-5 225 So. G 30 Cookie Belcher 6-3 200 Fr. Nebraska women feel like the underdog against Kansas State. ByMkeKluck Senior Reporter Although Nebraska and Kansas State are both coming off big wins over Big 12 Conference south division teams, neither coach believes her team has the upper hand in tonight’s match. The Comhuskers, off to a school best 11-1 record, play host to the Wild cats at the Bob Devaney Sports Cen ter. The game will begin about 8:15 p.m. following the NU-KSU men’s game. Last Saturday, Nebraska evened its conference mark at 1-1 by winning at Texas A&M 75-65. The Wildcats (8 4, 1-1) stunned No. 12 Texas 68-67 Please see WOMEN on 11 women's Basketfeall Starters ^ Today, 8:15 p.m. Devaney Center VrrfflBPV. I C 44 Angela Rnkse 6-1 Fr. G 23 Jenny Coaleon 5*11 So. • , > Mr-'- ' ” -V ' By David Wilson Staff Reporter Cornell Buckhalter, from Collins, Miss., has become the first running back and the 19th player to give a ver bal commitment to play football for Nebraska next season. The 6-foot-l, 210-pounder was of fered a scholarship after a visit to Lin coln in December, and made his deci sion Monday. But the Comhuskers did not ini tially pursue Buckhalter. He men tioned his interest in Nebraska to his coach, Roy Foster, who immediately shipped a tape to Lincoln. The NU coaches were impressed with what they saw, Foster said. “He is a true Lback,” said Foster, in his 22nd year of coaching. “Hell be no stranger to Nebraska.” Last fall, Buckhalter’s “hard nosed” style of play resulted in l',822 rushing yards on 238 attempts — an average of 7.7 yards per rush. He also scored 12 touchdowns. In his last game, Buckhaltef ran the ball 48 times for 387 yards, scor ing four touchdowns and contributing as a free safety on defense. Collins High School, which operated out of an offense similar to Nebraska’s, fin ished 7-4 in the state’s third; largest class. " 0; Please see RECRUITS on 12 ' ' " I Verbal Commitments - '■ ' ■ ' •' A ' ; The followingplayefs have verbally committed to play football at Nebraska next fall. ' Name pos. rn. wl nomeiown A DaveVoljc^^^OL i 1 1 * Buntcmwflwak-on next fall at NU and be placed on apademic scholarship. • Walker and Matthews have already signed letters of intent andenroled at NU. They will begin workouts with the team this spring. A . .