Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 1999)
RECRUIT from page 7 players who can make a contribution from within the region and state to play for us, and they do,” Byrne said Not the right fit The last players to be seriously eval uated by Nee were Hahn and Omaha Westside center Mike Preston in 1997, and Mason in 1996. Mason, who starts as a sophomore at ASU, was evaluated at NU summer camps and by contacting people who knew him personally, Nee said. He was n’t wanted “We hadTyronn Lue in the program, so we had no need for a point guard,” Nee said “(Mason) also had some disci plinary problems. A lot of his support people thought any chance of him mak ing it was to get out of town. We agreed with that” Ex-NU Assistant Scott Howard contacted Collura about Hahn, passing on the message that if Hahn were inter ested in the Huskers, to contact him. Nebraska never received that call. Mike Hahn’s father, Richard, had his reasons, most dealing with Nee. “I wanted my son to play for a coach like Tom Osborne, but I didn’t see any of r,™iM ■ ■■■■ those qualities in Danny Nee,” Hahn said. Mike Hahn now plays along with Preston and former Plattsmouth for ward Dan Masters at Pacific. Nee said if that’s what players want to do, fine. And he defends his role model status. “I think that’s good that parents have opinions. A good role model for player A may not be a good role model for player B,” Nee said. “IfS not role model, you know what it realty is?It’s personality. “The fundamental characteristics of Danny Nee are a good role model. But the personality of Danny Nee may not appeal to that parent Tom Osborne and I have a lot of the same characteristics, but with totally different personalities,” Nee said. Preston’s situation was different He was offered a scholarship, and then it was revoked because Preston didn’t fit in. “It was an awkward situation,” Nee said. “I offered the scholarship prema turely without seeing him play on some people’s recommendations, his high school coach’s recommendations. When I saw him play, I realized it would be unfair to Mike and unfair for me, because he wasn’t where I thought he should be. “I really wanted -1 was anxious to get an in-state player. We had lost T.J. Pugh. I knew Mike came from a tremendous family, was a great student, quality player, big and strong. We thought we had to get on him quickly, otherwise a North Carolina or someone might come in. As the summer unfold ed, his value or stock dropped instead of increased.” Apparently, recruiting players with out actually seeing them play is some thing Nee has done before. Early signers At Notre Dame, Nee recruited Orlando Woolridge and Kelly Tripuca without seeing them play. Both went on to be NBA All-Stars. It was the same way at Ohio, when Nee’s assistants landed future NBA player Paul “Snoopy” Graham. “A lot of times in recruiting it’s get ting there first or making a good first impression,” Nee said. “I’ve gone on people’s recommendations at the begin ning and offered a scholarship to get in and get there first. At Nebraska it’s such a hard sell to recruit players and keep them here. In order to get a great player, you sometimes have to go out on a limb and take a chance.” The recruiting process starts during me player s junior season or rresnman year, if they’re in junior college. The goal is to stay ayear to a year and a half ahead, Nee said. “If you have to wait for the list of top 100 to come out, you’ve already missed the boat,” Nee said. “Those kids are already being recruited. You go with your contacts and try to stay one calen dar year ahead.” The list is compiled several ways. Overall team needs are looked at Then coaches either watch a player in person or players send tapes to Nee. Clearly, sometimes they don’t, since Nee has recruited players he’s never seen. Nee contends he looks at Nebraska first “We start in the state of Nebraska and work our way out” Nee said. “As different publications come out we are cross-checking and cross-referencing all the time. Usually it’s because of personal contacts that you know of someone.” Marketing the Huskers Once NU establishes contacts and finds players, there has to be mutual interest That’s where it gets difficult for Nee. “We go in, and we’re one of 25 schools recruiting a player,” Nee said. “We’ve got to be one of five that he will make a visit to. Out of five, I’ve got to make him want Nebraska, and I only have 12 official visits. So we have to be very selective.” And frankly, Nee said, Nebraska doesn’t have a whole lot to offer that other schools don’t already have. “Why would a youngster want to come to Nebraska to play basketball?” Nee asked. “If you said facilities, every body has facilities. If you said the Big 12 Conference, he could play in the Big Ten, the Southeastern Conference, or he could play in die Pac JO.” Nee builds relationships. Then he sells them on playing time, academic support and the opportunity to graduate. Where NU has run into trouble is when players Nee wanted didn’t buy into the NU plan. Then he has to take time out of recruiting juniors in order to fill his senior class - with guys he does n’t want. And some don’t stick around too long. Or Nee tells them straight up that they don’t fit in. So they leave. It’s unknown if this was the reason ing behind the departure of Brant Hamman this year, or Rodney Williams last season. Or Leif Nelson. Or Chad Ideus. Or Woolridge. Or any other play-* er who left the system recently and did n’t play much. But it might be. “You’re talking about a recruiting mistake,” Nee said. “I’m just truthful with them. I tell them what I think, good or bad, and they make their decisions accordingly. It’s no secret “I’d be the first person to say I make a lot of wrong decisions. I make a lot of right decisions, but I have to live with my decisions. I can’t change them.” Dave Campbell would like to add one more mistake - one he considers glaring - to the list of Nee’s bad deci sions. Nee has made contacts all around the country, good contacts, but he rarely ventures out to Cdlnpbell’s stomping ground, Western Nebraska Community College in Scottsbluff WNCC is a powerhouse among junior colleges. It wins. A lot. And it’s producing Division I players. During the 12 years Campbell has coached at WNCC, about the same time Nee has been at NU, Campbell said he has produced 30 Division I players in his program. Nebraska has taken one - Bernard Gamer. “I don’t know why he doesn’t recruit my players,” Campbell said. “I’ve coached at Duke, Clemson and Tulane as an assistant, so I know what it takes to play at that level.” Possibly Campbell’s best player was Bobby Jackson. A guard, Jackson was snubbed by Nebraska. He went to Minnesota, where he was an All American, Big Ten player of the year and led the Gophers to die Final Four. “He wasn’t good enough for Nebraska,” Campbell said. Nee’s reasoning behind not going to ScottsblufF? It’s too far away. And it’s hard to get to. It’s a lesson in geography. “That is not an easy place to get to,” Nee said. “It’s easier to get to Kansas City and into Iowa and Kansas. It’s almost easier to get on a plane and go to Texas. You can’t fly out there. If you don’t have a private plane, you have to drive six hours. Think how far south and how far west we could go.” Campbell didn’t agree with that argument. “Now how did far did he have to go to get Venson Hamilton?” Campbell said, referring to Oak Hill, which is in Mouth of Wilson, Va. “That’s a long way. Believe me. I’ve been there.” Nee said Campbell has not been a cooperative person to deal with. “He’s had players placed there, so he won’t let you recruit them,” Nee said. “If you have good relationships and coop eration, you have a tendency to go back. Our relationship hasn’t been that way. That’s his choice. That’s not my choice. We try to develop relationships, but sometimes they don’t work out. I’ve chosen not to go there.” Said Campbell: “It doesn’t frustrate me that he doesn’t recruit my players. Everyone has their own ideas on how they recruit He’s the one that chose not to come here. Not me. He’s burned some bridges and he’s tried to put it off on somebody else. That’s not right” Winning matters Past experiences with in-state play ers also have led Nee to be hesitant on what he called “marginal” players. And Nee said he doesn’t like the heat put on him when he does recruit an in-state player, and that player sits the bench. “You take a Jason Glock,” Nee said of the Wahoo grad who played at NU from 1990-1994. “If he doesn’t play as much as people think he should play, it’s almost easier not to recruit him if you’re auic iic a nui gumg iu pioy. Said Byme: “You don’t want to take athletes just because they are from Nebraska, if they are not going to be successful.” This year Nee has inked four players he thinks can make an immediate impact. Who didn’t he sign? Shawn Redhage, a 6-foot-7-inch forward out of Lincoln East who’s going to Arizona State. If the trend continues, there will be others who sign on to play Division I schools other than Nebraska. And maybe Nebraska will have the last laugh. Maybe this is the class Nee brings in that is everything NU needs to get a win in the NCAA Tournament, maybe more. And if it is, people will likely forget absence of in-state players. But maybe Nebraska won’t get the last laugh. The odds fall in that favor, if only because of NU’s disadvantages in recruiting. In Nee’s 12 years, his best recruiting class, as far national rankings go, was the one that included Boone, Woolridge, Strickland and Badgett In that case, Nee did everything right. Three in-state players. Quality tal ent Big-time potential. Its results: One NIT championship. One player walk out. No NCAA tourney wins. So recruiting is hardly a perfect science. And in the end, Nee said he knows that winning is the real cure. NU needs consistent victories, a consistent fan base and a couple of tourney wins. Nee knows that it won’t necessarily turn Nebraska into Duke, but it’ll put diem further up the food chain. “If we win on a very high level - if we were winning the Big 12 Championship - (recruiting) would never be an issue,” Nee said. “But because we are not winning significant ly, this becomes an issue. Then these (in state) players go to other places. “Would these players make a differ ence? I don’t know.” d ? s. ,K more information 1_ H*. “ ’ - • ' . •;'-. *v Voices of the People National Satellite Conference “Racial Legacies and Learning: How to Talk about Race ? 12 noon Nebraska Union Round table discussion topic Auditorium Martin Luther King, Jr. and His Legacy on the Academic Environment ^.qq pm _ _ Nebraska Union The VOTP senes is a collaborative, nPO(in„v OnitP scholarly and grassroots dialogue approach to geniy the issue of Race, Culture and Ethnic Relations in our learning environment Each roundtable session is a facilitated dialogue, which provides opportunities for genuine inquiries about divergent traditions, cultures and beliefs. _ - , Jan 27th The series is partially supported by a grant from the ‘ _ Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and the Faculty Liaison Task Force on Diversity; and the Student Alumni Association Student |>*T i f _„_ Enhancement Fund.
