i L
David Wilson
Baseball:
out with old,
in with new
John Sanders was a typical
baseball coach. He had a gruff
voice, a nice gut, and he was
rarely seen without his cap on.
He never wore his jersey with
out a long-sleeved liner and never
turned down an opportunity to
talk about the game he loved.
Sanders knew baseball inside
and out. He could sit in the dugout
and notice small glitches in his
players’ batting stances as he
answered a reporter’s questions -
seemingly without breaking eye
contact with the reporter.
In 20 years as Nebraska’s head
baseball coach, Sanders compiled
a 767-453-1 record and saw 84 of
his players go on to play profes
sional baseball.
He was comfortable. Maybe a
little too comfortable.
.Sanders was relieved of his
duties Dec. 4 - a move that every
one knew would come eventually.
The announcement came after
a tense period within the Husker
baseball family. Assistant Coach
Mike Anderson was rumored to
have applied for a position else
where - and apparently didn’t get
a very good reference from
Sanders.
“When Coach Anderson was
out of the office for a month or so,
I knew some kind of change was
going to take place,” NU pitcher
Jarod Bearinger said.
But sometimes, change is nec
essary.
Over the past few years,
Sanders’ teams started to slip a
little. Since 1988, the
Cornhuskers have finished above
.500 in conference play just once.
Newly hired Coach Dave Van
Horn hopes to change that. After
being named NU’s head coach
Jan. 8, Van Horn set his sights on
qualifying for a regional tourna
ment and possibly the College
World Series in Omaha.
Sanders never talked too much
about the College World Series.
“We haven’t had a regional bid
in 12 or 13 years,” Bearinger said.
“We needed to find something to
get us going again - to get us
where Nebraska is supposed to
be.”
Van Horn just might be the
man.
Though he didn’t wear a hat or
a long-sleeved liner to the press
conference last week, Van Horn
can talk the talk.
“He’s very energetic,”
Bearinger said. “He’s going to
come in here and be positive with
us and get us headed in the right
direction.”
As for Sanders, he will always
wear his stirrups high - wherever
he may end up.
Wilson is a junior news-edi
torial major and the Daily
Nebraskan sports editor.
i
gymn
■ The Huskers look for a
confidence boost at the
University of Denver.
By Darren Ivy
Assignment Reporter
The Nebraska women’s gymnastics
team knows it wants to be at the NCAA
Championships at the end of the season.
But just wanting to get there isn’t
good enough, All-American Misty
Oxford said.
Today’s dual at the University of
Denver will give the Comhuskers a
chance to polish their routines and
improve on their score of 189.350,
which they scored at the Maui
Invitational in Hawaii.
“Our goal is to try to get into the
190s,” NU Coach Dan Kendig said.
“Obviously, it is just a matter of climb
ing the ladder from there. From 190 to
191 or 192 or 193 and then keep climb
mg.
To make the jump to higher scores,
Kendig said, NU’s gymnasts will need
to gain more confidence.
“Confidence is everything,” Kendig
said. “If you can develop that sense of
confidence now, it should carry
through. It will become even stronger
and stronger.”
Two Huskers who have a lot of con
fidence right now are Oxford and
Heather Brink, a sophomore All
American.
In the all-around at Maui, Oxford
won and Brink claimed second place.
But there are also a lot of other gym
nasts who wifi play key roles for NU this
season.
Kendig said the people who lead off
an event are important because they set
the tone for the event.
Three other key gymnasts - Jess
Swift, Courtney Brown and Amy Ringo
- compete in three events each.
Brown said NU is looking forward
to its second meet.
“I think this meet will be a lot better
than the one we just had since we got out
all the first-meet jitters and with the
freshmen now knowing how everything
is going to be run,” Brown said.
Kendig agreed that the Huskers will
continue to improve now that they have
the opening-meet j itters out of their sys
tems.
But Kendig said NU didn’t have as
much time to practice as they normally
do between fnk and second meets. With
hethiidcsnextwB^wffl^em^^^^^
tant
“1 think our biggest jiunp between
meets will be between Denver and our
first home meet (Jan. 31),” Kendig said,
“because we have two full weeks of
practice prior to that meet”
Although Denver is not one of die
os in the country, Kendig^
said, tftii$i^j§et is important for NUl
because it will help determine who will |
be in the lineup die nod meet. % * *
“You realize that you’ve got team
mates on the team and they are your
biggest competition,” Kendig said. “If
you don’t do well, you have a teammate
who wants that spot just as bad as you
do.”
^I III IIM^—
Matt Miller/DN
NU GYMNASTS Misty Oxford (loft) and llnithnrnrinlrrlehid the tap tupete lithe all ewdattheMaMlevttatlonal
Saturday. The duo, along with the wet of the weewe> team, wHIcoapoto tedey at the Ueherrity of Beaver.
Lue, Brewer clash at Devaney
2 of Big 12 s top guards share mutual respect•
By Sam McKewon
Senior Reporter
Victory in Sunday’s Nehraska
Oklahoma basketball game may end
pbg«s in the.§ig3g Conferenced ’
Cprnhusker po inT^^^Tyfomr
square off in a 12:05 p.m. start at the
Bob Devaney Sports Center
“It’s a great matchup,” said
Colorado Coach Ricardo Patton, who
has faced both Nebraska and
Oklahoma this season. “I would love to
just go buy a ticket to that game and
watch those two go at it”
The Brewer-Lue showdowfi could
figure heavily in a contest between two
teams on a roll. Nebraska (11-5 overall
and 2-1 in the Big 12 Conference) has
won two straight and is 8-0 at home.
Oklahoma (13-4 and 4-0) is atop the
Big 12 South Division and is on an
eight game wmningrstreak.
“Whichever one of us plays better,
that’s probably who’ll win,” Brewer
said. “We’ve got to stop Tyronn Lue.
He’s the key to their whole team.”
When breaking down the two play
ers, several similarities surface: Both
played on the USA Under-22 National
Team this summer and both rank high
among the league’s top scorers this
season.
Lue enters the contest averaging
21.1 points ^er game, which ranks
third in the Big 12. Brewer, a 6-foot-2
senior, ranks fifth in the conference at
19.4 points per game. Both guards also
ragkqpaong the top 10 in free-throw
percentage. ~
Lue and Brewer are both coming
offjolid performances in their previ
cusj^mes. Lue scored 30 points in an
over Collado, while
Brewer recorded a career-high 36
points in mi 89-73 victory <Wer Texas.
B6th players also respect each
other. "•' * v
'“(Lue Is) just a great'point guard,”
Brewer said. “He gets into fee lane and
he makes everything happen for his
team.” .
‘^Brewer’s) turned into a really
good player,” Lue said. “He’s strong
and he’s physical.”
But fee individual matchup won’t
materialize as a one-on-one situation
for most of the game. NU Coach
Danny Nee said sophomore guard
Cookie Belcher draws the initial
assignment against Brewer, while
Brewer said he will share the duties
with point guard Michael Anderson
against Lue.
“We’re going to tty some different
things as the game goes on, but we’ll
start wife Cookie,” Nee said. “Itis a big
challenge for him.”
The two-guard matchup is just one
topic within a larger theme of contrast
mg styles between NU and OU. The
Sooners prefer a bruising, physical
style of play, and rely on four forwards
taller than 6 foot 7.
With its limited depth, Nebraska
can’t afford to play elbow for elbow
with the Sooners for 40 minutes, Nee
said.
“They’re a physical, aggressive, in
your-face-type team,” Nee said.
“Wfe’re scared to death ofthat We can’t
play that kind of game.”
Brewer said it would be important
to pound the Huskers, especially on the
road.
“We want to keep the pressure on
them and not make mistakes,” he said.
“Wve got to compete hard.”
JonFrank/DN
