Friday, October 31,1997_m Page 9
David Wilson
Lue shapes
attitude of
NU team
The Nebraska men’s basket
ball team has failed to qualify for
the NCAA Tournament in each of
the last three seasons. Not so
much because of a lack of talent,
but because of attitude problems.
Not this year.
Gone are the days of Jaron
Boone not running to the other
end of the court to play defense.
Gone are the days of players col
lectively walking out of practice.
And gone are the days of players
who just don’t care.
The new attitude conies
thanks to junior point guard
Tyronn Lue, who has become the
sole leader.
This year, Lue said he hoped
to step it up off the court as well.
At the end of last season, Lue
went to NU Coach Danny Nee
and said he wanted more disci
pline in practice. Nee responded,
and Lue has helped to enforce the
new winning attitude.
“The attitude of the team has
changed a lot as far as working
harder, work ethic and body lan
guage,” Lue said. “Everybody
has good character and that’s
going to carry over to the games.”
And a better attitude, Lue
said, makes basketball fun.
“When you know you’re
doing the right thing and things
just fall in place, you have fun,”
Lue said.
With the arrival of five fresh
men to match the departure of
one starter and four lettermen,
the Cornhuskers won’t be as tal
ented. The biggest hole may be
filling the shoes of big-man
Mikki Moore at center. Of the
five newcomers, only one is
taller than 6-foot-6: Brant
Harriman, a 6-10 center from
Mason City, Iowa.
But a lack of talent and expe
rience doesn’t bother Lue.
“We had a lot of talent last
year, but we didn’t win the close
games because of character
flaws,” Lue said. “I just think this
year with the right character, that
will win games more than the tal
ent would.”
The five freshmen all came
with the right attitude, Nee said.
“They did a really nice job of
coming in and wanting to 4o
things right and wanting to learn
and wanting to help us win,” Nee
said.
Nebraska’s goal this year, like
every year, is to make the NCAA
Tournament.
But this year, Lue said, the
goal is realistic.
Win or lose, it’s always more
fun to watch a team that actually
plays hard and wants to win.
Wilson is a junior news-edi
torial major and a Daily
Nebraskan senior reporter.
Osborne
focused
for OU
By Jay Saunders
Assignment Reporter
It may not be No. 1 vs. No. 2, but
it is still Nebraska vs. Oklahoma
and it is still smash-mouth football.
For the 69th consecutive time,
the No. 1 Huskers (7-0 overall, 4-0
in the Big 12 Conference) and the
Sooners (3-5 and 1-3) will play
Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Memorial
Stadium. The game will be televised
regionally by ABC.
The history of Nebraska vs.
Oklahoma has produced some of
the greatest games in college foot
ball history but in the past few
years, NU has dominated
Oklahoma, winning the last six
games by a combined score of 196
47. - 'i
Despite the absence of Sooner
Magic the last couple of years, NU
Coach Tom Osborne said this
Oklahoma game is important
because it is the next game on the
Husker schedule.
“With the possible exception of '
Washington or Kansas State, they
look about as talented of a team as
we’ve played,” Osborne said. “It is a
big game for them as it is a big game
for us.”
On Saturday, Nebraska will see
a different Oklahoma team than
almost every other team that has
played the Sooners has seen, but it is
nothing new in this rivalry.
For the first eight games of the
season, senior quarterback Justin
Fuente led an OU drop-back pass-"
ing offense that got mixed results.
Last week against Kansas State, OU
Coach John Blake inserted sopho
more Brandon Daniels to run an
option offense.
In the last game of the rivalry
until the year 2000, both teams will
be using a run-oriented game like
they did in the past great games of
the series. Senior defensive tackle
Jason Peter said he is kind of upset
Please see OU on page 10
Matt Miller/DN
NU l-BACK AHMAN GREEN needs only 41 yards this Saturday against Oklahoma to overtake Ken Clark for third
on NU’s career-rushing list. The junior has 2,996 yards in his career at Nebraska.
1995 bowl Osborne’s best win
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne
goes for his 250th win this Saturday
against Oklahoma. This week the
Daily Nebraskan highlights
Osborne’s five most memorable
games.
Osborne’s greatest victory hap
pened in the 199530rangeBowi.
Opce again Osibome took a No. 1
and undefeated team to Miami to face
the Hurricanes in their home stadium,
but this time the Huskers would score
two touchdowns in the fourth quarter
to beat Miami 24-17 and give Osborne
his first national championship.
“That game down in Miami a cou
ple years ago was pretty meaningful in
a lot of different ways,” Osborne said.
“We had a lot of trouble with those
folks, particularly on their home field
and in bowl games. So, it was pretty
nice to win that one.”
In the second half the Hurricanes
built a 10-point lead early in the third
quarter but a sack of the Miami quarto
back pulled the Huskers within eight
Then in the fourth quarter NU lull
back Cory Schlessinger broke free for a
15-yard touchdown. Osborne again
Styentfdrtwo, ironically, in the same end
zone that had cost him a national cham
pionship in 1984. But this time Husker
quarterback Tommie Frazier hit Eric
Alford to tie the score. Schlessinger
would score on a 14-yard run later in
the fourth quarto for die victory.
However, the Husker defense
played as great of a part in the victory,
holding the potent Miami offense to a
negative 35 yards indie final period.
T h el
rivalry!
‘Game of Century’ still legendary
Alter Saturday's game against
Oklahoma, the NU/OU rivalry will
take a two-year hiatus. This week
the Daily Nebraskan reviews the
top five games that have made this
an intriguing rivalry.
The original 1971 “Game of the
Century” pitted the unstoppable force
able object of Nd.l'Nebraska in one of
the greatest games college football has
ever witnessed, a 35-31 NU victory cm
Thanksgiving Day '
It began in dramatic fashion, with
NU wingback and future Heisman
Trophy winner Johnny Rodger 3s 72
yard punt return for a touchdown in the
first quarter. From that point on, NU
and OU waged a back-and-fbrth battle
well into the fourth quarter.
UKianoma came dockrromtwo 11
point deficits behind die arm of quar
terback Jack Mildren and the hands of
receiver Jon Harrison as they connect
ed on two touchdown passes, the last
putting OU ahead 31-28 with 7:10 left
in the game. From there, Nebraska
drove 74 yards in 12 plays, capping it
off with a Jeff Kinney 1-yard touch
down run for the final 35-31 margin.
It wasn’t over. Oklahoma had one
chance left to win, but Mildren over
threw Harrison for what would have
been a sure touchdown as Nebraska
won the Batde of the B ig Reds and won
the national championship.
It was the best game in the
Nebraska/Oklahoma series and may go
down as die greatest game college foot
ball has ever seen.
