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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 25, 1997)
I Thursday, September 25,1997fiKi_ Page 9 Shannon Heffelfinger Sanderford perfects NU fan formula Close to the time most students are falling asleep late at night and about two hours before any of them ever dream about waking up in the early morning, a lone shaft of light shines in Bob Devaney Sports Center. Working tirelessly, Nebraska women’s basketball coach Paul Sanderford sits at his desk alone in the empty sports arena on most nights. He works for the UNL Athletic Department. He works for his play ers. He works for the city of Lincoln. But most of all, he works in the hope that the sleeping students will wake up and take notice of women’s basketball. Sixteen hours a day, seven days a week, Sanderford prepares for his tirst season, holding the hope that the quiet Devaney Center will be far from silent Nov. 7 when Sanderford makes his coaching debut for the Cornhuskers. Sanderford might be the best thing that has ever happened to women’s basketball at Nebraska. He built a program at Western Kentucky, guiding his team to 12 NCAA Tournaments, three Final Four appearances and a national championship game in 15 years. Not only is he a very good bas ketball coach and a proven winner, Sanderford is a promoter. He knows a key ingredient to success - fans. He knows that the average atten dance for NU games last season was a little more than 3,000. On more than one occasion, when Sanderford paced the side lines at Western Kentucky, nearly 13,000 fans packed into Hilltoppers’ arena. He thinks it can happen at Nebraska. Success isn’t just the amount of games you win,” Sanderford said. “It’s also earning fan support to help create strength for your program. We believe stu dents make the difference.” NU women’s basketball under Sanderford is going to be fun. They’re going to shoot 18 three point shots a game. Most nights, they’re going to score 80 points a game. Sanderford thinks students will want to attend games. Within the next month, students will ffeceive a book in the mail with tickets to women’s games. Sanderford will unveil his weekly radio call-in show and television shows. Sanderford has something to sell, and he’s practically begging the students to buy into it. I hope they’ll wake up in time to hear his message. Heffelfinger is a sophomore news-editorial major and a Daily Nebraskan assignment reporter. .. ... ■ ■•:•:•,<JvmB£8S83& \ || i^——" A :--^g^g«88ag%%aCMi^Bfc: >^83 ................... ... . Matt Miller /DN NU RUNNING BACK JOEL MAKOVICKA has set new standards at the fullback position for the Huskers, rushing for 129 yards on 12 carries last Saturday. Putting the back fullback Makovicka says best runs are yet to come, remains on track for 1,000-yard season «---— By Sam McKewon Staff Reporter It was one of the better 20-yard touchdown runs in recent memory at Memorial Stadium. Junior fullback Joel Makovicka broke through five would-be Akron tacklers, the last of which was still hanging on as he went into the end zone. The scary thing. Makovicka said, was that his best runs were yet to come. “I feel like all of my best plays and games are ahead of me,” he said. “I’m not totally satisfied with any thing I’ve done so far this year.” So far Makovicka has lived up to Men’s golf ties for second ■ The coach looks ahead to stiffer competi tion at the Indianapolis tournament Oct. 6-7. By Sam McKewon Staff Reporter Kansas used its home course advantage to win the Kansas Invitational at Alvamar Golf Course in Lawrence, Kan., while the Nebraska men’s golf team fin ished in a tie for second place. , The Cornhuskers tied Iowa State with an 876 total, 17 strokes behind champion KU. NU junior Jamie Rogers led the Huskers again, finishing in a tie for third place, shooting a 54-hole total of 216. Juniors Josh Madden and Steve Friesen finished in ties for seventh and ninth after shooting scores of 218 and 219, respectively. NU golf coach Larry Romjue said the knowledge the Jayhawks had of their own course loomed large in their victory. “If they have any kind of team at all, they’re going to win that tourna ment,” he said. “Any time you play on your home course, you can expect to have 15-20 stroke advan tage if you have a good team.” The knowledge was especially important on the greens, Romjue said, where the two-tiered putting surfaces required good accuracy and good club selection in order to get the ball close to the pin. “It’s the difference between being on the wrong tier of the green and having a chance to three-putt,” Romjue said, “or being on the right level and two-putting for sure and maybe even making it ” Romjue said he was happy with the response of the Huskers’ three, four and five golfers, especially Friesen. Friesen, who won two tour naments last fall, had struggled in the last tournament. “Steve played like we expected him to in Kansas,” Romjue said. “We know he has that kind of abili ty, it’s just an issue of doing it all the time.” Romjue said Rogers continued to perform at a high level and has developed into a player to contend with around the nation. “Jamie is a threat to win any tournament he plays in,” Romjue said. “If he continues to keep play ing even-par golf, then there’s not much you can complain about.” The competition starts to stiffen when the Huskers play at the Legends of Indiana Intercollegiate in Indianapolis on Oct.6-7. Romjue said practice will take on a new importance before the tournament. “We’re getting closer to where we want to be,” Romjue said. “We have to practice well.” his words. He followed up a seven-carry, 59 yard career-best performance against Akron with an 11-carry, 68-yard career-best performance against Central Florida. Then in Nebraska’s 27-14 victory against Washington, Makovicka again had a career-best 129 yards on 12 carries including a key 43-yard run in the fourth quarter. For the season Makovicka has 256 yards, and is averaging 85.3 yards a game. He has already sur passed last year’s starting fullback Brian Schuster, who finished the sea son with 213 yards. If he continues on the same pace, Please see FULLBACK on 10 Teams focus on positives, look forward By Sam McKewon Staff Reporter Let the healing begin. Colorado and Texas, two teams still licking their wounds from losses two weeks ago, start back on the comeback road this weekend. The Buffaloes (1-1) face Wyoming (3-1) in Boulder, Colo., on Saturday, while Texas (1 -1) travels to Houston to face Rice (2-1). Wyoming’s lone loss of the year was a 24-10 setback to No. 7 Ohio State in the opening game of the sea son, and Rice is third in the nation in Please see REBOUND on 10
