NU looks to remedy \
turnover problems |
By Sam McKewon
Senior editor
Nebraska Basketball Coach Danny Nee ran off
a laundry list of new, exciting ways his team found
to turn the ball over in a 65-47 win against North
Carolina A&T on Saturday.
The list was, well, pretty long. After all. there
were 21 giveaways to account for.
"You got the illegal screens and the charges,”
Nee said. “And you got the walking turnover and
the dribbling turnover where guys are making
mechanical errors.”
He continued.
“Then you got the decision pass and the high
nsk pass. That's the ones that bother me the most.”
Such is life for the Comhuskers as they strug
gle to control turnover problems and find roles for
all of the players. That search for identity continues
tonight when NU faces Tulsa at 7:05 p.m. at the
Bob Devaney Sports Center.
Nee said part of the turnover problem for NU
(3-2 overall) is adjusting to life without guard
Tyronn Lue. Nee said players have yet to find their
place on the team.
“Lue would go out and get his 20 points, and
we could hide those turnovers,” Nee said. “We
can't do that now. Guys have to see that out there.”
Senior forward Andy Markowski, who 15 had
pomts and rune rebounds against A&T, agreed.
“We've got to establish our roles,” Markowski
said. “When you have good teams, everyone takes
on a role. You got players that going to make the
open shot, and you got players that are going to
turn that shot down. Right now, everybody's not on
the same page.”
The Golden Hurricane is one team NU had
problems turning over the ball against last year. NU
had 24 turnovers in 85-68 loss at Tulsa. The
Hurricane made 10 of its 16 3-point attempts.
At 4-1, Tulsa is coming off a 66-55 win over St.
Joseph's (Pa.). The lone loss this season came in a
Tuesday, 7:05 p.m. Devaney Sports Center
Nebraska (3-2) Rankings: None
Pos. No. Name Ht/Yr. PPG RPG H
F 15 Chad Johnson 6-6 / So. 7.4 3.8
F 44 Andy Markowski 6-8 / Sr. 8.4 5.6
C 4 Venson Hamilton 6-10 / Sr. 14.4 8.4
G 30 Cookie Belcher 64Ik. 13.8 3.0
G 21 Joe Holmes 5-11/Jr. 2.4 1.6
Tulsa (4-1) Rankings: None
Pos. No. Name HUYr. PPG RPG
F 11 Eric Coley 6-5/Jr. 11.2 4.4
F 51 Michael Ruffin 6-8 / Sr. 10.8 9.2
C 13 Brandon Kurtz 6-10/Jr. 10.6 5.0
G 31 Marcus Hill 6-5 / So. 12.6 3.6
G 24 Shawn Williams 5-10/Sr. 7.6 1.8
Jon Frank/DN H
78-61 setback at Alabama-Birmingham.
Nee called Tulsa a good team with several
junior college transfers. TU returns two starters
from last year, including 6-foot-8 forward Michael H
Ruffin, who averages 10.8 points and 9.2 rebounds IH
per game. He had 20 points and 10 rebounds
against Nebraska last year.
Like always, Markowski said limiting
turnovers is a key.
“We have cut them down," Markowski said.
“Coaches emphasize it in practice, and every time H
we drop the ball, we run. We don't like to run.
“But still it doesn't get better. We just have to
turn down some of the bad passes. We must cut
each player down to one or two turnovers.'’
NU guard Cookie Belcher said he'd also like to ■
see better decision-making from an offensive point
of view in approaching the Hurricane.
“A lot of times we run the clock down to four ™
seconds and then throw up something," Belcher
said. “We need to pull it out and run a set offense.”
- |
Scott McClurg/DN
Senior forward Andy Markowski said the ^
Huskers need to cut down turnovers if they are jl
to be successful against Tulsa on Tuesday night. ■
Huskers battle for top recruits
By Sam McKewon
Senior editor
The great chase began yesterday.
Monday was the first day allowed
under NCAA rules for college football
coaches to start visiting players. One at
a time, Nebraska assistant coaches will
go after some of the nation's most her
alded recruits in high schools and
junior colleges.
Nebraska remains in the race for
several key recruits, many of them of
the national variety. NU has already
plucked many of the state's top talents
including Omaha Westside lineman
Tim Green, who committed on
Saturday and brings NU’s total com
mitments up to 12.
Green, a 6-foot-5, 305-pound
offensive lineman, said he would com
mit to Nebraska when it offered a
scholarship after he met the final pre
requisite of getting a 20 on his ACT.
NU Coach Dan Young called Saturday,
and Green committed.
Nebraska already has done well in
the lineman department, picking up six
(Phil Peetz, Chris Loos, Green, Ryon
Bingham, Trevor Johnson and Spencer
Owen), who will play either offensive
or defensive line.
NU has picked up three running
backs as well. Robm Miller, a 6-foot,
220-pounder from Kent, Wash., com
mitted a few weeks ago. Josh Davis, a
5-11, 190-pound back out of Loveland,
Colo., currently has 1,325 yards and is
ranked the nation’s 12th best back by
the National Recruiting Advisor.
Judd Davies, a 6-2,245-pound full
back out of Millard North High School
also signed this summer. He finished
the season with 1,499 yards and 23
touchdowns. He’s ranked
ninth by the Advisor.
NU also has two com
mitments from defensive
backs and one linebacker.
The defensive backs are
Taylor Gehman and Rob
Blomeier, and the line
backer is Shaun Coleman.
Nebraska remains in the
running for several top play
ers around the nation. One
of the most pressing needs is
at quarterback, where
Nebraska failed to land a
recruit last season.
NU is contending for five quarter
backs who are considered prospects.
The highest ranked is C.J. Leak of
Charlotte, N.C. Leak, a 6-4, 215
pounder, is considered the top run/pass
quarterback nationally and is being
recruited by NU, Syracuse and
Tennessee, among others.
He's thrown for 2,400 yards and 28
touchdowns this season. He’s run for
450 yards and 10 touchdowns.
“I like Nebraska,” Leak said in an
interview with the Daily Nebraskan.
“But I like to throw the ball a lot, too. I
think I'm lot like Donovan McNabb at
Syracuse.”
Chris Massey, a 6-1, 190-pound
quarterback out of Spiro, Okla., also is
looking at Nebraska. Massey is ranked
12th by the National Recruiting
Advisor and is considered an option
quarterback.
Massey also is looking at several
other teams including Miami,
Oklahoma State and Arkansas.
Colby Freeman, a 6-3, 225
pounder from Brownwood, Texas, is a
strong possibility to commit to
Nebraska. Freeman said he had nar
JON r RANK/UJN
rowed his choices to the Huskers and
Texas A&M, although Tennessee,
Texas and Syracuse have offered schol
arships.
“Nebraska runs the type of offense
I ran,” Freeman said. “They have some
great quarterbacks in Eric Crouch and
Bobby Newcombe, and I can learn a lot
from them.”
Two running backs remain interest
ed in Nebraska: 5-11, 180-pound
Onterrio Smith, a running back out of
Sacramento, Calif., lists Nebraska as
his No. 1 option.
Smith was unknown before the
season began but has rushed for 2,500
yards and 46 touchdowns in nine
games. He has a visit scheduled for
Dec. 11. He is still waiting to academi
cally qualify.
Clinton, Miss., running back
Dontae Walker also said he is still inter
ested in Nebraska.
Walker is considered one of the
nation’s top three running backs by the
Advisor and has rushed for 1,689 yards
and 29 touchdowns so far this season.
Walker does list Mississippi State as
the favorite.
1999 Verbal Commitments
The NRA stands for the National Recruiting Advisor, a national
recruiting service.
Name Pos Ht. Wt. 40 time Home NRA rank
Ryon Bingham DT 64 260 - Sandy, Utah 57
RobBlomeier DB 6-0 185 4.6 Manheim 118
Township, Pa.
Shaun Coleman LB 64 212 4.5 Aurora, Colo. 32
Josh Davis RB 6-0 195 4.5 Loveland, Colo. 12
Judd Davies FB 6-2 230 4.6 Millard (North) 9
Trevor Johnson TE 64 225 4.7 Lincoln (Northeast) 32
Chris Loos OT 64 300 5.2 Lincoln (Southeast) 52
Robin Miller OLB 6-0 215 4.5 Kent,Wa. 27
Spencer Owen DL 6-5 225 4.9 Carrollton, Mo. 19
PhilPeez DL 6-2 245 4.8 Elkhom 28
Taylor Gehman DB 6-0 190 4.5 Omaha Northwest 53
Tim Green OL 6-5 305 - Omaha Westside -
NU athletes battle asthma
in the heat of competition
By Darren Ivy
Staff writer
For former Nebraska cross coun
try and track and field standout Nora
Ordt, the most frustrating part about
her asthma was the fact she never
knew when it was going to hit her.
“I'd be running great,” Ordt said.
“Then all of a sudden. I'd go from one
of the top runners to one of the last
runners in the race. It’s frustrating
//- when I knew I
had the talent to
It gets to be up there'but 1
° couldn't get
the point enough air and
oxygen to my
where you muscles.”
Ordt's case
can’t make of exercise
induced asthma
it thrOUgh may be extreme,
. ,, but there are
anything. many other ath
letes at
AMYRlNGO Nebraska who
NU gymnast suffer from
some kind or
degree of asth
ma, said Dr.
Lonnie Albers, Nebraska Athletic
Department physician.
Asthma is a common breathing
disorder that affects 40 million
Americans, Albers said. It can be set
off by many different factors, such as
air temperature changes, season
changes, pollens in the air, self
inflicted stress or allergies.
What happens during an asthma
attack is the smooth muscle sur
rounding the bronchial tubes narrows
or constricts, causing the tube to do
the same. Less air gets through the
smaller tube, causing the person to
gasp for air. There also can be lung
inflammation, which causes more
mucus and coughing, Albers said.
A national study indicated that
asthma is relatively common in col
lege athletes. The study indicated one
athlete out of 10 has asthma. The
Athletic Department doesn’t have
any statistics, but Albers estimated
that 10 percent of Cornhusker ath
letes suffer from asthma.
Sophomore gymnast Amy Ringo
is one of those athletes. When she
was younger, the Phoenix native had
gone through two years of twice-a
week allergy shots and was starting to
overcome her asthma.
Then she came to Nebraska. She
was fine for the first couple of
months in the new climate, but during
November, her asthma came back
with a vengeance. She had an attack
while she was working out.
“You feel shaky,” Ringo said. “It
feels like someone is trying to
squeeze you. Your lungs can’t
expand.”
Ringo had to go to the health cen
ter to get a muscle-relaxing shot. Like
Ordt, Ringo said the most frustrating
part of asthma is the way it just comes
out of nowhere and affects her athlet
ic performance.
“It gets to the point where you
can't make it through anything,”
Ringo said.
Teammate Laurie McLaughlin
knows that feeling. She can’t com
Please see ASTHMA on 8