Success a struggle for Ffriend
FFRIENDfrom page 10
Getting there is a struggle that happens both right
in front of Devaney Center crowds, and far from die
spotlight In Ffriend’s low-post moves, and in his brain.
It’s essentially the same struggle, though. Every
day, Kimani Ffriend, handed loads of potential at
birth, chases that potential, held back by circum
stances that were also his birthright So far, there is no
dear winner.
It doesn't take long to get a read on the basketball
personality of Ffriend. It's simple — buy a ticket and
enjoy die show.
It’s Ttexas/Nebraska at die Devaney Center Jan. 13.
The show is rolling. Ffriend makes a basket and is
fouled. He swings both arms and tongue wildly as die
crowd roars. It’s not a scripted celebration.
Not three minutes later, the smile has vanished.
Several Texas big men take turns playing physical
defense on Ffriend. Nothing cheap or dirty, just a
series of good old-fashioned bumps to the back and
hip.
Most good centers ignore the banging and play on.
But it bothers Ffriend to no end. He bangs back angri
ly. He flails and falls unnecessarily, hoping to draw a
foul Finally, he takes exception to one shove, and, as
play stops, menacingly steps toward the defender, a
look of anger on his face. Teammates step in. Coach
Barry Collier briefly lectures him. Everything is fine
until next time.
Ffriend gets a pained expression on his face when
die incident and others like it are brought up.
“People make way too big of a deal about things
like 11131,” he said. “Because I’m a focal point for the
fans and other teams, anything I might do gets blown
out of proportion.
“Most of die time, those things are minor stuff. I’ll
get angry for a split second, and one of my teammates
will come up and tell me to cool it I’ll already be cool,
and I’ll try to tell them that fait by then Coach Collier
is calling me over and telling me to cool it Everybody
sees it because everybody’s watching, and I’ve been
fine since the second it happened.”
He does have a point Ffriend looms large on the
court, both because of his demeanor and his play.
Those who know basketball obviously have a strong
appreciation for his talent—he center was voted to
the Big 12’s Preseason All-Conference team
But Ffriend’s play, like his demeanor, has seen
more twists and turns than your average soap opera.
Ffriend doesn't miss many shots (he leads the country
in Add goal percentage at 70 percent) but misses way
more than his share of free throws (47-110 this sea
son) ^He’s second in the Big 12 in blocked shots with 3.1
per game, while he unofficially leads the conference in
goaltending calls by a wide margin.
Crowd pleasing dunks, unnecessary fall-away
jumpers, the occasional amazingly quick low-post
move that is inevitably followed by a turnover on a
later move, bad passes, breathtaking alley-oops,
missed free throws: It's all a part of the Ffriend basket
ball package.
“I have to get stronger, work on my fundamentals,”
Ffriend acknowledges, “turnovers, jumpers, free
throws.. .a lot of stuff ”
Ffriend is nothing if not a work in progress.
“We've basically been working on the ABC’s of bas
ketball with him this season,” NU Coach Barry Collier
said.
It’s easy to see why. Growing up, the tall Jamaican
didn’t play basketball. Ever. Soccer and track were the
sports of choice. He was a standout at both.
But Ffriend just kept growing. He was 6-foot-4 in
seventh grade, 6-8 as he entered high school. By his
senior season, Ffriend was pushing the 7 -foot mark by
his senior year. He had taken up basketball earlier that
year, and right away, he and the game had taken to
*You have to learn how to get along
with people, understand their point
of view and accept it. I've gotten a
lot better at that since I've been here
and even this season
Kimani Ffriend
NU center
each other.
“It was just like I had a knack for the game,” he said.
“People started telling me I should go play college bas
ketball in the States."
Ffriend liked the idea, but nothing happened until
a meeting that seems pulled from the pages of a
Hollywood script
“I was at the bank, running an errand for my mom,
and this guy came up to me and asked me if I played
basketball,” Ffriend said. “I told him I did, he gave me
his number, I called him the next week and I had a
place to play.”
The basketball Samaritan was a member of the
Jamaican Olympic Committee, and the school he had
hooked Ffriend up with was Dekalb (Ga.) Junior
College.
He stepped in and started right away at Dekalb,
and while still learning the basics of the game, helped
die time reach the JUCO national tournament
But Ffriend, far from Jamaica, was homesick. He,
in his own words, didn’t study, and his grades were bad
enough that he had to leave.
It wasn’t hard to find another place to play. The
national tournament had helped Ffriend get wide
spread exposure. Gulf Coast Community College was
the lucky school, and Ffriend had a monster season,
averaging 18 points, 10 rebounds and more than five
blocked shots a game.
Then, 24 games into the season, he walked.
Ffriend and the coach - “a Bobby Knight type, always
screaming,” Ffriend says — had clashed repeatedly
during the course of the season.
TWo years of college basketball, two teams, two
coaches. Not a great track record. But Division-I
coaches were clamoring for Ffriend's services. They
saw the height die speed, the raw potential They ail
thought they could be the coach to harness it
Ffriend, of course, chose Nebraska and Danny
Nee, and the rest is a turbulent two-year history. Nee
was fired after a 19-loss 2000 season. At times, Ffriend
has clashed with teammates, Nee and Collier. He
claims he's learned from all that
"You have to leam how to get along with people,
understand their point of view and accept it” he said.
“I've gotten a lot better at that since I Ve been here and
even this season.”
The struggle continues, day by day. Collier
benched Ffriend for most of the Creighton game, a
Husker loss, because, Ffriend said, “he thought I was
n’t playing hard enough.”
Ffriend has responded with three good games,
scoring a total of 47 points against Big 12 opponents
Missouri, Tfexas and Kansas.
Time will tell if Ffriend can remain consistent, a
basketball player focused on realizing his potential.
What is already clear is that the potential is there,
before him, waiting to be fulfilled. Sometimes it isn’t as
easy as putting in extra time in the gym, though. In
Ffriend’s case, the struggle is about less tangible things.
“It’s right there,” Ffriend says, pointing to the thin
air directly in front of him. “And it's real close. I just
have to keep my head on straight, have to keep work
ing. It’s going to happen.”
With that, Ffriend walks off. But everything else—
the unrealized talent, the multi-million dollar NBA
contract sure to follow ifhe realizes that talent, it hangs
there, waiting to be grabbed, or stalling before it floats
away.
Sanderford, team in tough stretch
BY LINCOLN ARNEAL
After the women’s basketball
team lost to No. 9 Texas Tech 66
50, sophomore forward Steph
Jones was not eager to look to die
future.
When asked what she thought
of the Huskers’ (9-8,1-3 Big 12)
next opponent, No. 17 Texas (14-5,
2-3 Big 12), Jones let out a large
sigh, and hung her head. She
knew NU’s road wouldn’t get any
easier.
“It’s frustrating,” she said.
“We're young, and we are learning
the hard way.”
Jones and her teammates
could use a break from the gruel
ing schedule. The 7 p.m. game in
Austin, Texas, will marie the third
straight game against a top-20
team.
Coach Paul Sanderford said
there is nothing the Huskers can
-.1—M..I. I ■ .
do about this stretch, except try to
do die best they can.
“You try to keep working,” he
said. “You can't change the sched
ule, you can’t change the players
and you can’t change the results.
You go through tough times and
you have to work through them.”
The next team the Huskers
will try to work through, Texas, will
be difficult to stop. NU won't be
able to key on one player as the
Longhorns have four players that
average double figures. Freshman
Stacy Stephens leads the team
with 11.4 points per game.
Texas will be trying to rebound
after a 72-63 loss to Kansas State, a1
team NU defeated 67-58 on
January 10.
The Longhorns pose a mis
match for the Huskers’ because
UT excels in the areas that NU
does not
“They pressure you and they
1 ■ 11
rebound, and our two major prob
lems have been handling pres
sure, turnovers, and rebounding,”
Sanderfordsaid.
The Huskers’ ball-control
problems have been hurting them
more than normal recently. They
committed a season-high 33
turnovers against Texas Tech and
gave it up 29 times against No. 7
Iowa State.
Sanderford said that if his
team can cut down on those num
bers and control Texas on the
boards, they will have a shot
“If we can take care of the ball
and limit their offensive rebounds
... we will be in the game,” he said.
Hardabura returns
as team opens year
BY KRISTEN WATERS
The seventh-ranked men's
gymnastics team will open its
2001 season today at the Rocky
Mountain Open, a tournament
that the Huskers have dominat
ed in recent years.
Nebraska has competed in
the last 10 Opens, held in
Colorado Springs, Colo., and
hosted by the Air Force
Academy, and have walked
away with six team titles.
But the heavy competition
from No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 15
Air Force may leave some uncer
tainty for the young Huskers.
Coach Francis Allen isn’t
sure what to expect from the Big
Red this early.
"I really don’t know how we
are going to perform this week
end. It’ll be a test," Allen said.
What kind of test?
“It’s like having one foot in
deep water and the other on a
banana peel,” Allen said.
The Huskers will be compet
ing without senior co-captain
Grant Clinton, who tore carti
lage in his right knee in practice
shortly after break.
Clinton is expected to be
back in 10 days, before NU’s first
home meet.
“We definitely cannot afford
to get anyone else hurt,” Allen
said. “We’re short as it is.”
Leading Nebraska is senior
co-captain Jason Hardabura,
who sat out most of the 2000
season with a shoulder injury.
However, the 1999 all-around
and floor exercise champion is
looking healthy and is ready to
compete.
“He’s looking pretty darn
good,” Allen said.
Junior Martin Fournier will
join Hardabura in the all
around. Foumeir competed last
year but never performed to his
full potential due to a wrist
injury.
Junior Jeff Kelly will add
depth to the team as he will see
action in the rings, vault and
floor exercise.
Joining Nebraska this season
are freshmen Steven Friedman
and Josh Rasile. Because NU is
short people, the freshmen will
play an important role.
The Huskers will begin com
petition today at 8 p.m. The top
six individuals from each event
will advance to compete
Saturday at 2 p.m.
"We’re just going to get out
there and see what happens,”
Allen said. “I see us starting well
and just continuing to improve
all through the season."
Revenge a factor for NU
BYPIRKCHATELAIN
Hilton Coliseum was the
scene of Nebraska women’s
gymnastics team greatest disap
pointment last spring. NU will
attempt to erase that feeling
tonight.
Iowa State snapped the
Huskers’ string of six straight
conference championships last
March at the Big 12
Championships. NU, 2-1 on the
season after beating Oregon
State on Sunday, expect a chal
lenge from the Cyclones.
“It has always been a close
meet when we have traveled to
Ames,” Nebraska Coach Dan
Kendig said. “They feel like they
got a little retribution for the Big
12s at the NCAAs, but our goal is
to hit all 24 routines. To win, we
will need to go up there and put
together four nice events.”
Consistency on each event
will be key. Nebraska, ranked
eighth in the country, has strug
gled on the balance beam in the
first two meets.
"I think the team recognizes
what’s going on and they have
the mentality to work through it
and improve,” Kendig said. “It
will be something we need to fix
this week because we close on
the beam at ISU, and in past
years, it has often come down to
the last routine.”
The Huskers will need
strong performances from
standouts Alecia Ingram and
Amy Ringo. Ingram, who was
named Big 12 Gymnast of the
Week, is rated second in the
country in the all-around. The
freshman won the all-around at
the Maui Invitational on
January 5 with a score of39.425.
Ringo, a senior All-American, is
among the top five in the nation
in the balance beam and floor
exercise.
Nebraska remains short
handed due to the injury of first
team All-American A.J. Lamb.
The sophomore from Lincoln,
who injured her back in
December, returned to practice
Monday but is doubtful for
tonight’s meet.
Texas schools
test swimmers
BY TOBY BURGER
Placid waters aren’t likely for
the men's and women’s swim
ming and diving teams this
weekend.
Today and Saturday both
teams will be competing with
some of nation’s best programs
in the Lone Star State. The
women’s team has a pair of
duels, while the men will be in
action at the Dallas Morning
News Classic Invitational.
The men are battling against
five ranked teams, three of
which are in the top 10. The field
includes: No. 3 Tennessee, No. 5
Auburn, No. 10 Florida, No. 16
Minnesota and No. 22 SMU.
The NU men are the only
unranked team in the invita
tional.
The women's team also has
a hearty pallet of competition
that starts today. First up is a
duel with 11th ranked SMU this
afternoon at 1 p.m. The team
then travels to San Antonio to
face Texas A&M in a 1 p.m. con
test on Saturday. Texas A&M
was rated 24th before dropping
out of the top 25 this week.
Yet, sucn sun competition
on both sides doesn't worry
Interim Coach Paul Nelsen. His
focus and the aim of the coach
es is for the athletes to prepare
themselves rather than concen
trating on the competition.
“The level (of competition)
there is only a factor when they
make it a factor and get oohhed
and aahhed by it," Nelsen said.
“Our job as coaches is to say ‘put
together your race for you, not
for the other people.’"
Nelsen is realistic about
competing with teams of such
high caliber. He maintains
improvement is more crucial
than placement.
“If I sat here and got caught
up in winning eyery meet, I
think I would b^ cheating
myself and cheating the kids,"
Nelsen said
Nelsen and his teams
should encounter friendlier
home waters after returning
from Texas. NU men and
women will host Kansas next
Friday and Missouri next
Saturday at the Devaney Sports
Center Pool.
The two duels are the first
home action for the teams in
nearly two months.
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