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Longhorns run rampant
Texas guards are too much forNUin big conference bss
By Matthew Hansen
Staff writer T~
Things looked promising for the Nebraska
basketball team after five minutes of play in a
Big 12 road contest against No. 14 Texas. The
Comhuskers held a 12-5 lead.
Then the roof caved in.
The next 35 minutes were a succession of
one Longhorn run after another, as Texas
quickly caught up and pulled away from NU in
a big way. By game’s end the Huskers were on
the losing end of a lopsided 82-55 score.
NEBRASKA 55
TEXAS82
Down by seven with 15:39 left in the first
half, Texas embarked on a 16-2 run. From then
on, the gap widened. By the four-minute mark
in the first half, the Longhorns led by 17, and
by halftime, the deficit was 22 at 46-24.
After scoring those 12 points in the first
five minutes, the Huskers, 9-10 overall and 2-4
in Big 12 Conference, only managed to match
that total in the next 15 minutes.
And it didn’t stop there. The lead reached
35 midway through the second half and was
still 30 with only seconds left in the game
before Cary Cochran’s steal and 3-pointer as
time expired. It was the Huskers’ worst Big 12
regular season loss and their worst regular sea
son conference defeat since a 93-53 Big Eight
loss to Oklahoma State during the 1994-95
season.
Texas (13-5 and 5-1) used balanced scoring
to bury the Huskers in front of 11,242 fans at
the Frank Erwin Center. All-American Center
Chris Mihm and Lawrence Williams both
scored 14 for the ‘Horns, while Gabe
Muoneke contributed a double-double with 12
points and 14 rebounds.
Nebraska did have three frontcourt players
in double figures, with Stefifon Bradford lead
ing the team with 13 points and Kimani
FfHend and Larry Florence following with 12
and 10, respectively. Ffriend also added eight
rebounds and blocked five Texas shots.
The play of the guards was a different story.
No Husker guard scored until Danny Walker
hit a 3 with only eight minutes remaining in the
game. The backcourt quartet of Walker,
Cochran, Rodney Fields and Matt Davison
played a combined 80 minutes but managed
just 10 points on 4-14 shooting.
Photo Courtesy erf Nathan Lambrecht/Daily Texan
TEXAS FORWARD Data Muoneke dunks over the Nebraska defense at the Frank Erwin Center in
Austin, Texas,, Tuesday night.
--a
Meyerscough
waits for
•Jr
board ruling '
■ NU shot-putter tested
postive for steroids in
November, coaches say;
case is on appeal with IAAF.
. .. ■ I*
By Matthew Hansen
Staff writer
Carl Myerscough, a Nebraska fresh
man shot-putter from England, was sus
pended by the International Amateur
Athletics Federation last November for
an alleged positive steroid test, Husker ;•
coaches said Tuesday.
The suspension, which he revealed"'^
to Nebraska personnel in December,
does not affect his status with the
Huskers. But, with possible further dis
ciplinary action forthcoming when the
IAAF rules on his case, Myerscough
may be banned from international com
petition for his native United Kingdom.
Coach Gary Pepin said Myerscough,
who nearly broke the school shot put
record in his first collegiate meet last
Saturday, would continue to compete for
NU. For Myerscough’s sake, though,
Pepin hopes the freshman will be cleared
of any wrongdoing.
“With an athlete of his caliber, they
look forward to international competi
tion like the Olympics,” he said. “1 hope
that when the IAAJF hears the case, he is
well-represented and is cleared.”
Myerscough, who maintains his
innocence, faces stiff penalties from UK
Athletics and the British Olympic
Association if convicted by the IAAF.
The British Olympic Association’s poli
cy is a lifetime ban for anyone convicted
of drug use.
David Moorcroft, chief executive of
UK Athletics, said the shot-putter’s con
tinued participation at NU could possi
bly hurt his status with the IAAF. But
Nebraska Throwing Coach Mark
Colligan denied this and explained
Please see APPEAL on 14
Leonhardt provides large target in the NU paint
By John Gaskins
Staff writer
Casey Leonhardt is a walking contradiction.
At 6-foot-S, she’s almost always the tallest,
biggest and most noticeable player on a basket
ball court. Naturally, she’s going to tower over
everybody and move people out of the way. The
Nebraska center’s appearance alone intimidates
the opponent before tipoff.
But talk to Leonhardt for about 10 seconds
or talk to anyone who knows her well for about
five, and you’ll find out she’s not a giant off the
court She’s been described as shy, unassuming,
introverted, kind, quietly funny and extremely
astute.
These qualities are fine and dandy to
Nebraska Coach Paul Sanderford.
He just wishes they would change once she
hits the floor.
“The term ‘gentle giant’ is {Hetty applicable
to Casey,” Sanderford said. “I just wish we could
feed her mean tablets, make her meaner. She has
to be more aggressive. She takes more than she
dishes out right now.”
Not that what she’s dished out hasn’t pro
pelled this once power-depleted offense into a
major force in the post. Her 11.4-point, 7.4
' rebound, 1,7-block per game average proves it.
Opposing coaches have expressed their frus
trations about the beating their team took by try
ing to handle Leonhardt Her own teammates
express their appreciation of her.
“Casey is just a presence,” NU forward
Charlie Rogers said. The 6-2 and much smaller
Rogers can thank Leonhardt for taking over for
her duties at cento
“She’s allowed me to step away from the bas
ket a little bit more than I did last year. It takes
some of the defensive pressure off of me, as
well. I used to have to guard the biggest player.
She does now.”
After Leonhardt transferred to NU from
Illinois last year, Sanderford and his players
knew their prayers for size and strength inside
had been answered. They didn’t have to rely on'
Nicole Rubik and Brooke Schwartz to run a
guard-oriented offense anymore.
But at 9-7, the season has been far from bliss
for a team billed with great expectations. The
guards have fed to Leonhardt, and she’s posted
up for a fair share of what appear to be easy,
point-blank shots. Problem is, she’s missed a fair
share.
“She does miss easy shots,” Sanderford said.
“It’s like the fumbling situation with the football
team this year. Her biggest problem is she lacks
confidence in her own abilities. At times, it
seems like she’s her worst enemy out there. She’s
harder on herself than the coaches are.”
Said Leonhardt: “Itls not as easy as it lodes.
People tend to think because you are taller than
everybody that you are going to dominate. It’s
not like I’m standing there with nobody around
There is defense. You have to work hard to get
the ball.”
At the very least, Leonhardt is getting the
ball. Sanderford wants her to have it That ^mOTe
than Leonhardt can say about her days at Illinois.
” I don’t regret
anything I’ve done. I
think I’ve improved
from earlier this year.”
Casey Leonhardt
NU center
“We had problems there,” Leonhardt said. “I
wasn’t happy with my situation. My position
was not something that was used to my strengths
in the post. The offense was geared toward two
guards driving to the basket, and I just stood on
the outside.”
Leonhardt, along with seven other players,
jetted fixnh a program that won a Big 10 title and
made it to the Sweet 16 both years she was there.
She found her niche at Nebraska in a system that
needed ter as much as she needed it
“I don’t regret anything I’ve done,”
Leonhardt said. “I dunk I’ve improved from ear
lier this year. I’m starting to fix my bad habits. I
know I can do more.”
It's that kind of conviction Sanderford would
like to see more of.
“She hasn’t scratched the surface with what
she can do yet,” Sanderford said. “She Is going to
bust a 30-pointer one of those nights. Casey is a
player who is capable of truly dominating a
game.”
JoshWolfe/DN
Nil CENTER CASEY Leonhard! has provided the ste Mi'
power the Comhoskors lacked up frost last season
tub 6*1001*4 junior uansvor Trom Illinois is iwiim
11.4 points, 7.4 rahomds and 1.7 Mocks par pane.