,_ 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 . .
