Husker men head to Colorado
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BY CURT McKEEVER / Lincoln Journal Star
Aleks Maric laughs about the varying knee-jerk reactions to the Nebraska men’s basketball team’s 2-2 start in Big 12 Conference play.
After the Huskers knocked off then-No. 12 Oklahoma and won at Kansas State, they received votes in the national polls and had some penciling them as an NCAA Tournament team. Then, they fell flat in a home loss to Iowa State and followed that with a cold-slap-in-the-face, 96-54 setback at Kansas on Saturday.
So much for the national poll votes — or ones of confidence.
“One day you could be celebrating, the next day you could be crying. The league’s so close this year,” Maric said Tuesday. “I think everybody’s vulnerable.”
Amid his calmness, the Huskers’ sophomore center recognizes the teams that end up handling the Big 12’s 16-game grind the best will be those that maintain a deadly serious attitude.
“It (will) show which team can be tough mentally and physically — who’s got the will power to compete,” Maric said.
Nebraska’s next opportunity comes tonight in Boulder, Colo., where the Huskers will run into a veteran Colorado squad that’s won three straight, including road conquests of Missouri and Oklahoma State, to move into a tie for second place in the league.
While Boulder is a stop along the Big 12 road where NU has experienced its most success, one has to wonder whether coach Barry Collier’s team, which includes seven rookies, will still be hungover from the blowout at Kansas.
“We’ve got a lot of young kids, but they strive to succeed and play hard,” Maric said. “Obviously, when you’re new, you’re going to make mistakes. More importantly, you’ve got to learn and try to look better next time.
“You’ve got to be hard on yourself sometimes, but not too hard. You’ve got to want to to be coached. A lot of the guys are determined to improve and get better as a team.”
The results of the last two games could easily leave one thinking Nebraska’s focus should be on improving perimeter defense. Iowa State’s starting guards scored 48 points, while Kansas had three combine for 47. Many of those points, though, were the result of NU’s 41 turnovers.
Against Kansas, the Huskers also went 4-for-19 in the first half on shots taken eight feet or closer to the basket — so it’s not like perimeter defense is all they need to get straightened out.
They’d also like to see sophomore guard Joe McCray get going. A member of the Big 12 All-Freshman team last season, McCray is just 11-for-33 from the field and averaging 9.3 points in league games. At this point last season, he was 23-for-62 (including 15-for-36 on 3-pointers) and averaging 17.8 points.
“There’s no question the word is out,” Collier said of the attention being given to McCray. “When you prepare for our team, you’d see points that he scored (last year) — and then I think that there are adjustments to be made for other players on our team. We’ve got some guys that are shooting really well and we need to compliment them. … (But) we’re trying to have him play more efficiently, and we need his experience to help us play defense and rebound.”
McCray sat out the first half of the Iowa State game as a penalty for missing a team function. He also didn’t start another contest as the result of violating a team rule.
“I’m still having fun, though,” said McCray, who admits he’s having to be more patient now that he’s become a bigger target for opponents. “I’m still (ready) when I get out there. I’m trying to be more of a team player. Last year, I was just a catch-and-shoot (player), but this year I’m trying to make the extra pass when I have to, box out and rebound when I have to. I’m just trying to do the things that coach wants me to do. … I’m comfortable.”
Twice against Colorado last year, McCray found a good enough comfort zone to score 21 points and lead Nebraska to its first sweep of the Buffaloes since 1999.
A win tonight could do a lot more than just set the Huskers up to repeat that feat. It could slow the head-shaking created from their last two results.
“I understand,” Maric said of the ups and downs that come in the Big 12. “Deep down inside, you have your own personal things that you think about, but you’ve got to leave that behind and get back on the hardwood and keep playing, keep doing the things that you’re good at.”
And go about them with a sense of urgency.
“After that Kansas game,” McCray said, “everybody should know.”
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.
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