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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 6, 2000)
Woods at tough spot in Masters AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The Masters is not always kind to favorites. Call it the Kentucky Derby of golf. Not since Fred Couples in 1992 has the No. 1 player gone to Augusta National for the first major championship of the year and exchanged great play for a green jacket. Tiger Woods is in position to change that. The 64th Masters begins Thursday with a field of six ama teurs, 10 former champibns old enough for the Senior Tour, 78 regular tour players and one Tiger. No, this is not Woods’ tourna ment to lose, but it’s understand able why he is perhaps the most prohibitive favorite at Augusta National since Jack Nicklaus in the 1970s. Woods comes into the Masters having won 10 times on the PGA Tour since last year, which equals the number of tour victories by the next 15 players below him in the world ranking.In his last 11 tpur namnts, he was either won or fin ished second 10 times. V*. ■ No. and 3 players give Wistrom a welcome run for tight-end position. By Joshua Camenzind Staff writer Nebraska Receivers Coach Ron Brown knows he has something spe cial this year when he glances at the depth chart. Brown lost a four-year letterman in T.J. DeBates and fellow senior Damien Bauman. But he sees no real drop off, and there even might be improvement in this year’s corps. “I think it is a great position all across the board,” Brown said. “I wouldn’t trade those guys for any ___ »» one. The No. 1 guy, junior Tracey Wistrom, is coming off knee surgery that kept him out of the Big 12 Championship game and the Fiesta Bowl. Wistrom said he is coming along well, and Brown agrees. “He’s got a vision,” Brown said. “It shows you that there is something he is after. A lot of guys just fold the tent when they are injured. “But he’s hungry, and he is not just going to hand the position over to anybody” Wistrom, who has to wear a brace throughout spring drills, said it is healthy for him to worry about his job. “I don’t want to lose my spot,” said Wistrom, who led the Huskers receivers with 26.8 yards per catch. “Anything that adds pressure - which I like - the fact that if I don’t perform well, I am going to lose my position.” Wistrom’s injury last year gave sophomores Aaron Golliday and Jon Bowling a chance to step up in the final two games of the season. Both starred in the Fiesta Bowl and are listed as the No. 2 Mid No. 3 tight ends this spring. Golliday said the opportunity he had last year as a redshirt freshman carries over into the spring. “I feel pretty good,” Golliday said. “I feel like I am contributing a little bit but not reeling in confidence by any means.” Those three, along with-senior Jake McKee and freshman Trevor Johnson, can assure that Brown will not be fretting if one happens to go down. “We’ve got so much depth, there should be no reason for anybody to get tired in a game next season,” Wistrom said. “It is going to be an exciting spring and fall to see who comes out on top.” WabCT.com will NOURISH —-Your mind_ As for the rest of you, you're still on your own. For your recommended daily allowance of study resources, look no further than WebCT.com. It’s an e-learning hub, where you can get help studying, find research materials, and take practice tests and quizzes. Or join online academic forums and communicate with students and faculty around the world. Visit www.webct.com/nourish, and satisfy that hungry brain of ___ yours. On the other hand, if it’s your body that needs feeding, VebCLcom better call for takeout. Again. ornmamtimmAU.Tmmm. O 2000 WebCT. Inc Davison ready to step into leadership role RECEIVERS from 1 back up Davison at split end, and John Gibson and Troy Hassebroek will provide depth to Bobby Newcombe at the wingback slot. “They have all really improved a lot,” Davison said. “Gibson is going to be a great backup for Bobby, and Wilson has gotten a lot better from last year and has matured a lot. “So we are deep and experi enced and should have as good of a receiving corps here as we have had in a long time.” Receivers Coach Ron Brown said he expects big things out of his group, especially Newcombe, who will be trying out something new - staying at one position for the whole season. “He can do nothing but mature,” Brown said. “Part of that is knowing his mission, his purpose,. his role; all those will help a lot. “He is settling in on taking his game to a new level, fine tuning things and not having to wear too many hats.” Davison sees Newcombe and himself as a dangerous combo who have only touched the surface. “We add different things to the offense, obviously,” Davison said. “Bobby is a speedster and has improved so much. “We both add something to the offense, and when we are both on the field at the same time, opposing coaches have to take notice.” Brown said the coaches tried last season to get Newcombe more touches in an offense as explosive asNU. “We have schematically looked for ways to get him the football along with Matt Davison and even Tracey Wistrom,” Brown said. “But we have told the guys that when you get one-on-one opportu nities, there is only so much a coach can do. “You have to create your own opportunities. You can scheme all you want, but there are times when it is one on one, and let the best man win.” Hansen: job of team reform left to Collier HANSEN from 16 of team. It will be his job to teach them how to play hard, how to play together, how to win games. It won’t be easy. You had to look no further then the end of the Nebraska bench last year to gauge the unity of the Huskers. Most likely, the players who didn’t play were laughing, sometimes at those playing, sometimes, presumably, at LiT Red. They were less involved than Warren Swain. Those on die court woe capable of producing emotion, but even then, it was only in short spurts, aiding with a timeout or an opponent’s basket. Nebraska never played hard for a entire game last year. Not once. This is what Collier volunteered for when he signed on the dotted line for Bill Byrne. When Byrne introduced Collier, he spoke of his latest hire sharing values with Nebraskans. That Byrne kept on Danny Nee, a man who obviously did not share much of anything (except animosity) with the state, for many years, made the intro duction smack of hypocrisy* But after Collier spoke, it also rang true. One word seems likely to be associ ated with Nebraska’s new coach - fam ily. Much of his first press conference went along family lines-his immediate family, whom he brought up to the podium, a family mentality he tends to instill in the Husker program, making high school coaches and ordinary folk from Norfolk to North Platte feel apart of the extended family. There’s little doubt that Collier will succeed on the latter. The fact that he’s not Danny Nee, and in many ways is the anti-Nee, wins him fans before he ever coaches a game. His presence alone in locations west of die Texaco by the O Street exit will endear him to the Big Red faithful, who are just dying for a reason to get excited about basketball. Those Nebraska prepsters to whom Nee has paid no attention for the last five years will beg to play in Devaney, which, because of Collier, will be much more than half-filled. This is all possible. This will all One word seems likely to be associated with Nebraska s new coach - family. probably happen. But Collier has big ger problems, problems that could hamper the progress of the program to the extent that Collier may fail. Can he - can anyone - get this team to play like one? Can he get his new players to take on defined roles? To play hard? The early results are encouraging. Cochran and Ffriend, at title press con ference, seemed truly excited to have Collier at NU. Cochran called him a great man at least five times. Ffriend reaffirmed his commitment to stay at Nebraska. x aiki you can ten corner Knows now to bring people together. His track record at Butler, as well as his voice, makes it clear. But this ain’t Butler. On the bright side, Collier has more talent now then he ever has. That’fc right, the Husker team that won 11 games last year had more talent than Collier’s Butler team that won 23. The reason the Bulldogs would’ve killed the Huskers has little to do with talent, though. As Collier seems to know, it’s about unity. Butler was a type of family. You know, the kind you see at the end of the schmaltzy Hollywood movie. Nebraska’s roster is filled with decent guys, but fractured. They don’t identify with each other. They don’t know anything about the family con cept Collier will try to instill. He will try to teach them, just like in the movies. The opening scene is already written, and ifSs good. It is far too early to tell if those middle parts of the movie, the conflict, die learning, ultimately the triumph, will come out nearly as nice. . Matthew Hansen is a sophomore news-editorial major and a Daily Nebraskan sports staff writer.