SportsWednesday
Daily Nebraskan Wednesday, March 7,2001 Page 10
ISU stuns
skeptics
At the
beginning of
this season,
Iowa State
wasn’t
expected to
do great
things in the •
Big 12 Joshua
Conference. Camenzind
And
rightfully so.
The boys from Ames, Iowa,
had just lost All-American Marcus
Fizer to the pros after his junior
year and Michael Nurse, who
proved to be a significant cog in
their NCAA Tournament run the
year before, to graduation.
Preseason polls picked ISU to
finish anywhere from third to
sixth in the conference.
We here at the DN penciled
them in fourth, thinking that
selection was a no-brainer.
Oh, how we were wrong.
The Cyclones have bolted to a
25-4 record and a No. 8 ranking in
a season where an NCAA bid
alone would have seemed suffi
cient.
Starting Friday, Iowa State,
which has already won its second
straight regular-season confer
ence title, will go in search of its
second straight Big 12 tourna
ment. The Cyclones also may be
looking for that elusive No. 1 seed
in the Big Dance.
In the name ofTim Floyd, how
did this happen?
How did a team with the likes
of Paul Shirley. Jake Sullivan and
Shane Power among its top con
tributors reach these heights?
Many are high on Sullivan
and Power as solid players in ISU s
freshman class, but Division II
basketball seems a likelier home
for this pair.
Sullivan’s windup on his 3
point shot is reminiscent to that
of Dennis Eckersley, and Power,
well, didn’t he model in last
month’s Gap catalog?
And for the heckler-friendly
Shirley, his true destination surely
must have been Kansas to play
alongside his twin, Eric
Chenowith. Both are expert whin
ers and have soft games to boot.
Iowa State’s roster rounds out
with solid contributors Kantrail
Horton and Martin Rancik, but
even those two are limited.
To find the answer to the
Cyclone’s success, one must look
no farther than two names - Larry'
Eustachy and Jamaal Tinsley.
Eustachy, the 2000 national
coach of the year, is a coaching
genius.
He knows this team is not that
good on paper. But miraculously,
he has them playing like a Final
Four contender. Eustachy has
maintained all year long he hasn't
been happy with his team’s per
formances - even after wins.
Eustachy has called 6 a.m.
practices to iron out fundamen
tals after a win the night before.
A recent 94-78 pounding at
the hands of Texas may be just
what the doctor ordered for
Eustachy’s club as he has guarded
all season long against that type of
performance.
But as good a coach as
Eustachy has been, the key has
been Tinsley - a lock for first- team
All-American and soon-to-be lot
tery pick in the NBA draft.
ISU’s offense runs through
Tinsley, and the New York City
playground prodigy single-hand
edly wins ball games - more so
than any player in the history of
the Big 12.
Nebraska's Kevin Augustine
says Tinsley is the third-best play
er he’s ever guarded. The first two?
Kobe Bryant and Stephon
Marbury.
NU has two of the best
perimeter defenders in the coun
try in Cookie Belcher and Rodney
Fields, yet Tinsley still managed a
career-high 29 points in ISU’s 86
73 victory.
How far Iowa State goes this
weekend at the Big 12 tourna
ment and next weekend in the
NCAAs depends solely on Tinsley.
Stop Tinsley, stop ISU.
Iowa State can and will be
beaten by a team willing to match
the Cyclones’ aggressiveness.
Nebraska had its chance on
Saturday but faltered because it
settled for jumpers instead of
driving to the front of the rim
every single play.
The Cyclones allowed NU to
shoot 54 percent, and Eustachy
expects that type of effort to catch
up with this team.
When will that happen?
That’s the million-dollar
question, but my guess is it will be
sooner rather than later.
Then again, ISU has proven
me and all the other skeptics
wrong before.
Miserable season ends miserably for NU
BY JOHN GASKINS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - After
her three-point attempt with six
minutes left clanked off the side
of the rim, Nebraska forward
Paige Sutton
banged her
shin on one
of the
Huskers'
bench chairs while unsuccess
fully diving for the ball after it
sailed out of bounds.
Seconds later, Sutton sat on
the bench with a painful look on
her face, crying and holding her
leg.
Fitting.
Texas 77
Nebraska 60
“We just wanted so
badly to beat the
team we weren’t
supposed to beat.”
Paige Sutton
Husker forward
Once again, and for the final
time in 2000-2001. the Huskers
fought for their dear lives but
came up miserably short. Once
again, it hurt.
Sutton painfully watched
the end of her teammates’ slow
death to a morbid 12-18 season,
a 77-60 loss to No. 22 Texas in
the first round of the Big 12
tournament at the Municipal
Auditorium.
"1 think some of us were
pressing a bit,” said Sutton, who
finished with just two points.
“When your season resides on
one game, there’s going to be a
lot of nerves involved. We just
wanted so badly to beat the
team we weren’t supposed to
beat.”
Coach Paul Sanderford's
first losing season in his 23-year
college career came to an offi
cial end. But really, the season
had been over for quite some
time, and so had NU’s final
game.
The Longhorns rattled off
runs of 14-0 and 18-2 in the first
half to take a 39-23 halftime
lead and never looked back.
“We went through about a
six-minute stretch in the first
half and kind of dug ourselves a
grave,” Sanderford said. “Texas
hit some good shots, and they
shot the ball well early in the
game.”
While the Huskers missed 17
of their first 21 shots - including
their first five shots from point
blank range - UT freshman
guard Kaira White made four of
her first five shots, including
three early three-pointers.
White and teammate Tracy
Cook scored all of the Horns’
first 19 points as Cook’s basket
with 13:54 left capped a 14-0
run to give UT a 19-7 lead.
NU tried to strike back.
Senior Amanda Went and fresh
man Shannon Howell, who led
NU with 17 points, hit back-to
back threes to cut the lead to six.
That’s when Texas put NU to
bed. The Longhorns went on an
18-2 run and had their biggest
lead at 37-15 with four minutes
left until halftime.
During that eight-minute
stretch. NU failed to score on 13
Please see BIG 12 on 9
Omaha, Lincoln pipeline for Husker recruits
BY JEFF SHELDON
Travel experts say the stretch of 1-80
running from Lincoln to Omaha is the
backbone of travel in the state.
It just may also be the backbone of the
Nebraska football team.
Despite scouring the nation in pursuit
of high school football's elite, the NU
coaching staff has managed to build its
program on the backs of players from the
state's two largest cities.
“We always try to recruit the best ath
letes regardless of where they are from,”
said Nebraska Offensive Line/Kickers
Coach Dan Young, who has been in
charge of in-state recruiting since 1987.
“But it turns out that the same local
schools just keep turning out good play
ers.”
Traditionally, Nebraska has found a
pool of talent at I-back at Omaha Central,
Young said, referring to former Huskers
Calvin Jones and Ahman Green. Lincoln
Southeast has produced some quality
linemen, while Millard W'est has also
recently become a source of talent.
The Huskers’ 2000 roster shows that, if
anything, the Omaha/Lincoln pipeline is
only getting stronger.
Of the 145 players on last season's
depth chart, over a quarter (38) graduated
from high schools in either the Lincoln or
Omaha area, including starting quarter
back Eric Crouch (Millard North). fullback
Willie Miller (Bellevue West), linebacker
Randy Stella (Omaha Benson), defensive
back Erwin Swiney (Lincoln Northeast)
and defensive tackle Jeremy Slechta
(Papillion-LaVista), who started after
Loran Kaiser was injured.
The trend looks to continue next sea
son as both Iincoln and Omaha each pro
duced two players in the 2001 recruiting
class. Barret Rudd from Lincoln
Southeast, Titus Adams of Omaha
Creighton Prep and Millard North’s Mike
McLaughlin have all signed letters of
intent with Nebraska. Clifford Brye, a 1997
Lincoln Northeast graduate, has also
signed with NU and will transfer from
Hutchinson Community College in
Kansas.
According to Young, Husker coaches
play no favorite schools, and the numbers
seem to back him up. Perennial powers
Lincoln Southeast, Millard North and
Millard West each had four players on last
year’s roster, but Omaha Westside,
Papillion-LaVista, Omaha Gross and
Elkhorn each could boast three players.
In all, 18 schools in the Lincoln or
Omaha area could claim alumni on the
team.
Young was quick to point out that it is
not always automatic that the Metro elite
will sign with the Huskers.
“It’s not a given.” Young said. “ (NU
coaches) have to show interest just like
any other player.”
Recent examples of high-profile prep
stars that left Nebraska include Lincoln
38 of 145 players on
last season’s
depth chart (26%)
Millard West 4
Millard North 4
Westside 3
Papillion LV 3
Gross 3
Elkhorn 3
Central 2
Benson 1
Prep 1
North 1
Burke 1
Northwest 1
Bellevue West 1
Delan Lonowski/DN
Northeast graduate Ty Goode,
who signed with Notre Dame,
and Brandon Williams of
Omaha Central, who now
attends the University of
Michigan.
But for former Millard
West star Chris Septak, play
ing for anyone else was not an
option.
“For me, it was a matter of
having the best coaching staff
in the country and the best
program in the country 40
minutes from my house,”
Septak said. “From my point
of view, I couldn’t imagine
leaving.”
Using current Huskers
from Omaha and Lincoln in
the recruiting process is com
mon practice, according to
both Young and Septak.
“When we bring a kid in
(on a recruiting visit), we try to
use players from their high
schools to host them,” Young
Please see FOUNDATION on 9
DN File Photo
Eric Crouch is one of many Lincoln- and Omaha-area athletes that make up over a quarter of the Nebraska
football team.
Rifle team
shoots for
winning
BY LINCOLN ARNEAL
Rifle teams beware - after
shooting a school-record 1,560 in
air rifle at the NCAA qualifying
meet, the Nebraska women’s rifle
team says there is room for
improvement at this weekend's
NCAA championships.
“Two members had a fair day
... and another shot four below
her average,” sophomore .Amanda
Trujillo said. “So if every one puts it
together, we will shoot phenome
nal.”
If the Cornhuskers put the
pieces together at the champi
onships this weekend in
Columbus, Ohio, they will have an
excellent chance of bringing
home some hardware.
But to do so, they will have to
knock off two-time defending
champion Alaska-Fairbanks. The
Nanooks are in position to take
another title as they enter with the
No. 1 seed in both air rifle and
small bore.
Nebraska is seeded second in
air rifle and eighth in small bore.
Josh Wotfe/DN
The Nebraska rifle team enters the NCAA championships with a shot at bringing home the
title, especially in the air-rifle competition, in which NU is ranked second in the country.
The Huskers have the same air
rifle qualifying score as Alaska
with 1,560, but the Nanooks hit 96
center shots, and NU hit 92.
NU Coach Karen Anthony
said the reason for the team’s suc
cess is the depth they have in air
rifle. Six of the seven women have
shot above 390 (out of400).
Even though knocking off
Alaska will be a tough task,
Anthony said it is possible.
“If Alaska shoots up to its
potential, it will be tough," she
said. "But I believe we have as
good a chance as anyone catching
them. In a match like this, a team
can have an off day."
Last year, the Huskers wit
nessed Alaska-Fairbanks take the
team title in their first trip to the
championships. Although XU fin
ished third, Anthony said the team
gained valuable experience that
they can use this year.
"It helps a great deal,” she said.
“It increases your ability' to handle
pressure, and there will be fewer
surprises this year.”
While X'U is able to match
.Alaska-Fairbanks in air rifle, small
Please see RIFLE on 9
Johnson breaks slump
with four home runs
FROM STAFF REPORTS
Dan Johnson started his way
out of a hitting slump earlier this
weekend for the No. 9 Nebraska
baseball team. He busted loose of
it Tuesday.
In helping the Cornhuskers to
first base- .. ,-i-^—i
man tied a Nebraska 12
Big 12 record s0. Utah 9
with three i_
home runs in one game, which
occurred in the first half of the
twin bill. He hit another in the
nightcap, a 12-9 come-from
behind win that raised Nil's
record to 11 -3 for 2001.
In game one. Johnson hit his
first in die fifth, another in file sev
enth and again in the eighth.
Brand an Eymann, Jed Morris and
Matt Hopper each added homers
of their own while R.D. Spiehs
moved to 2-1 with the win.
After an easy win in the open
er. die second game of file twin bill
was a struggle. N’U had to rally
w ith four runs in the top of the
ninth inning after falling behind
an 18-6, 12-9
sweep of
Southern
Utah, the
first base
Nebraska 18
So. Utah 6
9-8.
Nebraska had blown an 8-5
lead of its own by gi\ing up four in
the bottom of the eighth. In the
same inning, NU Coach Dave Van
Horn was thrown out of a game for
the second time in his career with
the Cornhuskers for arguing with
die umpire.
Down to its last out in the
ninth with no runners on, NU
seemed squarely positioned to be
upset by the lowly Thunderbirds,
who came into the doubleheader
1-10.
But die Huskers rallied fitting
ly behind Johnson, who was
intentionally walked to prevent
yet another home run.
Jeff Blevins and Justin Seely
were dien walked conventionally.
With the bases loaded, Willie
Jones, pinch running for Johnson,
scored on a wild pitch.
One hatter later, the tie was
broken as second baseman Will
Bolt hit a three-run homer to left.
Southern Utah went harm
lessly in the ninth and the sweep
was complete.
The Huskers return for their
home-opening weekend series
against Kansas State starting
Friday.