Mike Kluck
Big 12 win
makes up
for lost time
To the surprise of almost no one,
Nebraska Football Coach Tom
Osborne complained last week about
the Big 12 championship game.
Those who have followed
Nebraska football the past couple of
years already knew about Osborne’s
dislike for the Big 12 championship
game well before last week’s remarks.
The dean of Big 12 football
coaches has often commented on
how the game forced the players to
miss more class and increased the
length of the season.
He has reminded die media that
the coaches of the Big 12 didn’t want
the game, but the presidents of the
conference schools voted for it, pro
viding the league with more money.
But last week Osborne pointed
out a new problem with the game,
saying that it prevented the coaches
who were involved with it from
recruiting on the road.
The NCAA allows coaches to
meet prospective recruits in person
beginning Dec. 1, and now is the
main time of the year coaches can get
into the homes of athletes and talk to
them about coming to the coaches’
universities.
Osborne said having to prepare
foraBig 12 championship game pre
vented Nebraska coaches from get
ting out on the road recruiting and
entering the homes of the top athletes
in the nation.
Well, I’m sorry coach. Although
some of your other points about the
downfall of a championship game
are valid, this one isn’t
Yes, you may be losing valuable
times inside these athletes’ homes,
but playing a football game on the
first Saturday of December, when no
other games are competing with you
on TV, and playing for a conference
championship gets into more homes
than all the coaches you can send on
die road.
Then to have players like fresh
man Bobby Newcombe return a punt
40 yards or sophomore Ralph
Brown, who has played since he was
a freshman, intercept a pass and
return it five yards does more to
show a recruit that a freshman can
come in and play at Nebraska than
any coach sitting on a sofa and talk
ing about possibilities.
Don’t forget the plugs the televi
sion announcers give about
Nebraska’s graduation rate, success
in the ’90s and about how the
Huskers are the best team in the
country despite what the polls say.
Itfc a bettor sell for a program than a
used-car salesman can pitch. Let
alone a coach.
And don’t forget the best selling
technique of all- a 54-15 disman
tling of the Big 12 South Division
champion.
Kindt is a journalism graduate
student and the Daily Nebraskan
sports editor.
I Win over MSU sends Huskers west
By Shannon Heffelfinger
Assignment Reporter
Prior to the Nebraska volleyball
team’s second-round NCAA tourna
ment match against Michigan State,
Coach Terry Pettit
cautioned his
team of the dan
gers involved with
tournament play.
Whether the
Comhuskers lis
tened to his warn
ing remained a
mystery after
Nebraska defeat
ed the Spartans 15
7, 15-12,15-4 Saturday night at the
NU Coliseum in front of2,009.
“It was a strange match,” Pettit
said. “We never really got in sync.
Maybe it was just the excitement of
die NCAA Tournament, but we had an
awful lot of unforced errors .”
Unforced errors nearly cost the
No. 9 Huskers (26-6) a second-game
victory over the Spartans, who defeat
ed Buder in three games Friday night
at the coliseum in the first round of
the tournament
After piecing together an 8-0 run
to top MSU (23-12) in the first game,
Nebraska committed an error on each
of its first three possessions of the sec
ond game. Michigan State jumped to
a 4-0 lead before NU scored on an ace
serve by Megan Korver.
The Spartans regained possession
after a kill by Veronica Morales before
Jessica Sanborn served six straight
points to give MSU a 10-1 lead.
The Huskers, however, turned the
tables and took a 13-10 lead on the
strength of a 12-0 run. MSU fought
back with two kills by Morales but a
kill by Nebraska’s Mandy Monson
moved NU to game point.
Husker setter Fiona Nepo ended
the second game at 15-12 with a solo
block of MSU’s Jenna Wrobel.
NU carried its momentum
through the third game, easily win
ning behind a 9-0 run with Nepo at the
serving line.
Jenna Wroblel led MSU with 14
kills.
“The second game was ugly,”
Pettit said. “We basically served die
ball in the net and hit the ball out We
almost did ourselves in.
“We were fortunate, but it’s a win,
and we’ll take it. It isn’t that we
haven’t worked hard, because we
have. I think it was just nervous ener
gy. We were trying too hard.”
Pettit attributed the Huskers’ lackf
of focus to the youth of five important
contributors. Prior to Saturday’s
match, Nikki Henk, Angie Oxley,
Kim Behrends, Katie Jahnke and
Nancy Meendering had no tourna
ment experience.
Meendering and Jahnke played lit
tle and Behrends did not suit up
because of an NCAA rule that allows
Please see VOLLEY on 11
Huskers roll
to two wins,
Ameritas title
■-n
By Sam McKewon
Staff Reporter
It took 20 minutes, but when the
Nebraska men’s basketball team
knocked down Grambling State in
the championship game of the
Ameritas Classic Saturday night, the
Tigers never got up.
The Comhuskers used a 22-6 run
at the end of the first half to open a
15-point halftime lead and never
looked back as NU captured its 10th
straight Ameritas Classic champi
onship with a 85-48 victory over
Grambling State in front of 7,405 at
the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
The Huskers defeated North
Carolina-Wilmington 85-68 on -
Friday night to get to the champi
onship game.
“We got accomplished what we
wanted to get accomplished,”
Nebraska Coach Danny Nee said. “I
was pleased with our attitude and our
overall effort.”
The Huskers had their most bal
.anced offensive performance 6f*ihe
season, with seven players scoring in
double figures. Junior point guard
Tyronn Lue, junior forward Venson
Hamilton and sophomore guard
Cookie Belcher led the way with 13
points apiece. All three were named
to the all-tournament team, with Lue
winning most-valuable-player hon
ors.
Lane Hickenbottom/DN ■
BUSKER GUARD Cookie Belcher dunks the basketball during the Huskers’ Ameritas Classic first-roand victory. Please see AMERTTAS on 11
Young baseball coach
wants Nebraska spot
By Andrew Strnad
Staff Reporter
Three days removed from die dis
missal of Nebraska Baseball Coach
John Sanders, NU has already
received an inquiry about the posi
tion. n
Cal-State Northridge Coach Mike
Batesole told the Daily Nebraskan
that he is “definitely interested” in
replacing Sanders.
Sources said Sanders was relieved
of his duties as baseball coach by NU
Athletic Director Bill Byrne
Thursday. Byrne wants to fill the
vacancy by mid-January, sources
said.
Batesole said he found out about
the opening in a California newspaper
and immediately sent Nebraska a let
ter of inquiry over the weekend.
“I have not been contacted by
Nebraska yet, but I hope that I get a
chance at the coaching job,” Batesole
said.
Batesole has been the coach at Cal
Please see BASEBALL on 11
Arizona cools down NU
in tourney championship
By Ted Taylor
Senior Reporter
TUCSON, Ariz. - The tempera
ture outside the McKale Center
Sunday during the championship
game of the Insight Classic was
unseasonably cold but not nearly as
cold as the Nebraska women’s bas
ketball team’s shooting inside.
Coming off a lukewarm 44 per
cent shooting night in the Huskers’
victory against Wichita State on
Friday, No. 12 NU got downright
chilly against 11 ^-ranked Arizona,
shooting just 32 percent from the
field - including zero of 19 from 3
point range in NU’Is 68-56 loss.' 1 '
The 1,615 fans saw the Huskers
lose only their second game 0f) fie
season while the Wildcats improved
to 4-0 and earned the possibility of a
top-10 ranking after No. 8 Georgia
and No. 9 Virginia lost over the
weekend.
“We did some nice things
against a very good Arizona basket
Please see LOSS on 12