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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (June 18, 1998)
Lue eagerly awaits arrival of NBA Draft By Sam McKewon Staff Reporter When Nebraska point guard Tyronn Lue said he would enter the NBA Draft a year early, he said it was decision he’d never look back on. In about 120 hours, he’ll find out just how of good of a decision he made. On June 24, Lue and other top players in the nation will find out their future in the NBA Draft, which is held in Vancouver, B.C. Lue is expected to be in top 20 picks of the two round, 58-pick event. “We’re very excited right now,” said Kim Miller, Lue’s mother. “We’ve been waiting for this.” Since March 30, when Lue announced he would be turning pro, he has said draft experts put him somewhere between the 10th and 20th picks in the draft. Lue has been considered one of the top five point guards in the draft since his announce ment. Mike Bibby of Arizona is widely consid ered top the point guard available, with Lue, Jason Williams of Florida, and Larry Hughes among the players following Bibby So which team will get Lue? The Mexico, Mo. native could make any number of NBA cities home: —bacramento. The Kings have the seventh pick and are looking for a point guard to join newly acquired forward Chris Webber. —Milwaukee. With Terrell Brandon already running the point, the Bucks probably won’t use their No. 9 pick on Lue, but maybe No. 19. —Detroit. Lindsay Hunter’s not a true point guard, so the Pistons may get one with the No. 11 pick. —Orlando. The Magic want to move Penny Hardaway to shooting guard, making a point guard selection likely in the No. 12, 13, or No. 15 picks the Magic have in the first round. —Houston. With the No. 14, No. 16, and No. 18 picks, the Rockets may pick a speedier point guard than Matt Maloney. —Los Angeles (Clippers). If they don’t go with Bibby as the No. 1 pick overall, they could pick Lue up with No. 22 pick. NU basketball coach Danny Nee said whatever team it is, an up-tempo playing style would be important for Lue to flourish. “He needs a team that likes to get it up and down the floor,” Nee said. “I don’t know enough about the teams to know who’s going to take him, but a team like that would fit him well.” Nee said that with the NBA’s 24-second shot-clock, Lue with an up-tempo mindset would work to his advantage. ‘The faster the shot clock the better,” Nee said. “With the way the 24-second goes, Lue will fit in just fine in the NBA.” The Draft will start at 6 p.m. Monday and will be televised by TNT. Soccer squad bolstered by former Huskers By Darren Ivy Co-editor After using up her eligibility in 1997, former Nebraska soccer player Tanya Franck looked for a place where she could continue to play the game. But she couldn’t find one, so the defender worked out on her own and practiced with the NU soccer team during the spring — not playing in any games. Finally, this summer, teammate Kari Uppinghouse helped Franck find her diamond in the rough. Or, m this case, her Denver Diamonds in the rough. The Diamonds, an amateur soccer team, compete in the W-League of the United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues — the top women’s league in the United States. “I was away from soccer for a bit, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to practice and play some games,” Franck said. “It’s a quality team, a quality club, and they have a great coach, so all the factors were there.” Franck and Uppinghouse are joined on the Diamonds by current Comhuskers Jenny Benson and Lindsay Eddleman, as well as college gradu ates and players from other colleges. Eddleman and Uppinghouse, both Denver area natives, returned home this summer for their third season with the Diamonds. Diamonds’ Coach Tom Stone coached Eddleman and Uppinghouse when they were younger and played with the Colorado Rush Soccer Club. So when the Diamonds were formed two years ago, Stone built his team around the two NU players. “Any team I coach, I want (Kari) on my team,” Stone said. “She’s been on every great team I’ve coached.” Eddleman also is an essential part of the Diamonds. “She is a strong, fast forward who loves to take people on,” Stone said. “Every team needs a player like that.” Thus far, Eddleman has scored two goals and had one assist in two games. Uppinghouse has added a goal and assist and Franck also has an assist. Franck and Benson are new to the team this year, but Eddleman said most of the players on the Diamonds played club soccer together and come back each summer. The NU players have gotten to know the scenery along Interstate 80 quite well this year commuting back and forth between Denver and Lincoln for pre-session classes, and cur rently NU soccer camps. The Uppinghouse home m Littleton, Colo, has become the second home for Benson and Franck. “We’re enjoying it,” said Mary Uppinghouse. “They are nice gals.” This summer the Diamonds are 5-0, but those wins have come against lesser competi tion. However, those games have been a good tune-up, Eddleman said. “The more we play, the more comfortable we get with one another,” Eddleman said. The Diamonds next game is June 28 against Chicago Cobras — the top team in the region. Playoffs are Aug. 8, and Aug. 15 is the championship game. “The Championship game is our goal,” Eddleman said. “It seems that each year the league gets better.” Originally, the Diamonds were going to become part of a new professional soccer league this summer, but sponsors of the Mike Warren/DN AFTER THE BA11 was kicked out of bounds during a practice game at the Nebraska Soccer Camp Wednesday, Lindsay Eddleman throws it back into play. Eddleman was back in Lincoln for the camp then she will return to Denver. league pulled out at the last minute, so plans were put on hold until 2000, Eddleman said. Franck hopes the 1999 Women’s World Cup, hosted by the United States, will provide support for the league, because playing professional soc cer is one of her goals. “Knowing this team could be a professional team in 2000 was one reason I joined,” said Franck, who will join the Canadian National Team June 28. “It gets my foot in the door.” The high level of competition was another reason Franck joined. Stone said the W-League had 19 National Team players in it and is “the best league anywhere in the world.” NU Coach John Walker is pleased Benson and Eddleman are playing in this top league. “I think it’s great,” Walker said. “We encour age all our players to this. They are staying sharp, and this should help them a avoid a rusty period in the fall.” Colorado I-back commits to Huskers for ‘99 season ByAdamKlinker Staff Reporter Josh Davis is the kind of football player who’s not afraid to give his opponents the run around, but when it comes to college recruiters, he is direct Last week Davis, an I-back from Loveland, Colo., became the first commitment to the 1999 recruiting class for Nebraska. Davis, who was bom in Lincoln, committed to play football at NU after attending a session of the Big Red Football School in Lincoln last week. Also in the running for Davis were Colorado, Colorado State and New Mexico State. But Davis’ coach at Loveland High School, John Poovey, said he had a feeling that the 5-foot-11-inch, 195 pound son of former Comhusker running back Tony Davis would choose the Comhuskers. “Josh is a phenomenal running back,” Poovey said. “He’s got great vision, he finds the holes. I think he’ll fit in quite well.” Davis returns to Loveland for his senior sea son this fall after a junior year in which he rushed 112 times for 1,131 yards, averaging 10.1 yards per carry and scoring 23 touchdowns. Davis also returned 13 kicks for 420 yards, caught 13 passes for 273 yards. Defensively, Davis played safety for a team that went 10-1 in 1997. Poovey said under a run-oriented offense, Davis would have been capable of rushing for more than 2,500 yards. The multiple offensive attack at Loveland, however, ensured that Davis didn’t always have to be the go-to player. “He can do it all,” Poovey said. “But as a multiple weapon team, we showed we could do other things, too.” Davis also competed in track, where he ran a 10.64 second 100-meter dash at the Colorado State Track Meet. In Lincoln last week, he ran an electronic 40-yard dash time of 4.8 seconds but Poovey said Davis has run the 40 in 4.6 seconds. “He’s a fast kid,” Poovey said. Tony Davis, Josh’s father, was a Husker run ning back from 1973 to 1975 and was inducted into the NU football hall of fame in 1991. Tony Davis ran for 2,153 yards, which is 15th on the all-time Nebraska rushing list. He is currently the offensive coordinator at Loveland.
