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.
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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
