Huskers End Year in Florida

The Nebraska men’s basketball team returns to the court for the first time in 10 days when it takes on Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) foe FloridaState on Jan. 31 at the BankAtlanticCenter in Sunrise, Fla. The Huskers and Seminoles will tip off at 12:30 p.m. CST (1:30 p.m. local time).

The game will be the first contest of a New Year’s Eve double-header that will also include a game between Miami and nationally ranked Louisville as part of the MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic. The last time Nebraska played in the event was 2000 when the Huskers defeated Miami, 72-64.

Nebraska’s contest against Florida State will be seen live in Nebraska on FSN Midwest (Channel 37 on Time Warner around Lincoln; Channel 47 on Cox Cable around Omaha; Channel 26 on Charter Cable; Channel 33 on Qwest; and Channel 32 on Cable One; DirecTV channel 648; and Dish Network channel 445) with Greg Sharpe handling play by play and Matt Davison adding color commentary. The game will also be seen on FSN Florida/Sun Sports with Tom Block (play by play) and Charles Davis (color) calling the actoin for fans in the SunshineState.

All Nebraska men’s basketball games can also be heard on the Pinnacle Sports Network throughout the state of Nebraska and worldwide on the Internet at Huskers.com. The voice of the Huskers, Randy Lee, will call the action.

With a 9-2 record, NU is looking to post its second 10-win non-conference slate in the past three seasons. NU also won 10 contests prior to league play in 2004-05 before going on to win 18 games overall, including two in the National Invitation Tournament.

 

Starting to Hit Stride
Playing just their second road game ? and first contest outside of the state this season ? the Huskers will look to build on the offensive consistency they have gained over the past three games when they face off with Florida State on New Year’s Eve. During that span, Nebraska has connected on 50.9 percent from the floor, including 43.2 percent from 3-point range and has averaged 83.3 points per game, winning by an average of 22.7 points per contest.

Among the hottest Huskers in the final week before the holiday break were sophomore guard Joe McCray and freshman guard Marcus Walker.

McCray has come on strong lately, averaging 16.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game over the past three contests. He has hit 50.0 percent from the field (16-of-32) in the past three games, including 12-of-24 from 3-point range while adding a team-best 1.7 steals per game. The top returning scorer from last season, McCray started the year on a slow note but is now averaging 10.7 points per game on the season and owns a team-best 23 3-pointers.

Marcus Walker has been outstanding the past three contests, ranking second on the squad with 14.7 points per game while adding a team-best 5.0 assists per contest. Walker, who plays primarily the point but has moved to shooting guard at times, has connected on 69.6 percent (16-of-23) of his shot attempts, including 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from long range.

A native of Kansas City, Walker set a season best for points in each of the past two contests, including a 20-point outburst against Alabama A&M. He is the second Husker freshman in as many years to record a 20-point game, as McCray set the Nebraska freshman record last year with 10 20-point contests.

Senior forward Wes Wilkinson is the third Husker hitting better than 50.0 percent from beyond the arc over the last three games as he has connected on 6-of-11 attempts (54.5 percent). Wilkinson, who leads the Big 12 Conference this season in 3-point field-goal percentage and blocked shots, is the Huskers’ leading scorer so far this season at a career-best 14.0 points-per-game clip.

 

Movement Pays Off
Nebraska’s efficiency over the past three games has been due, in part, to better ball movement. The Huskers have recorded 60 assists on 85 baskets during the win streak, while commiting 45 turnovers. Marcus Walker leads the way with 15 assists while Charles Richardson Jr. has had 13 assists against just one turnover in the past three games. Joe McCray has also averaged 3.0 assists over the past three contests.

 

The Matchup
Nebraska and FloridaState will be facing off for the first time in series history Saturday when they play in the first game of a double-header at the MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic. FSU is the sixth first-time opponent for the Huskers this season. Nebraska has gone 5-0 this year against the other first-time opponents (Longwood, Yale, Louisiana Tech, SoutheastMissouriState and Alabama A&M).

The Huskers own a 3-4 all-time record against teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

 

Scouting the Seminoles
Florida State enters its final game before 2006 with an 8-1 record and owns a six-game winning streak. The Seminoles’ only loss this season was an eight-point setback, 74-66, on the road against nationally ranked Florida on Nov. 25.

FSU has topped the 90-point plateau three times during its six consecutive victories, including topping the century mark in its last outing when the Seminoles earned a 108-73 victory over Campbell at home. FloridaState hit 65.7 percent from the field in the second half against the Camels and 57.7 percent for the game as all 13 players who saw action scored at least four points, including six players in double figures.

Florida State, which starts a young lineup with a senior, two juniors and two sophomores, was led by Alexander Johnson, who had 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, while forward Al Thornton added a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards. Thornton paces the Seminoles with 14.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per game while hitting 58.4 percent, trailing only the 60.4 shooting percentage by Johnson, who is also second on the team with 11.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per contest.

Jason Rich is the third double-figure scorer for the Seminoles by recording 10.4 points per game, helping FSU average 83.9 points per contest as a team. The Seminoles have hit 50.9 percent from the field this season, including 36.5 percent from 3-point range. FSU, which has had at least 11 players see action in every game this season, owns a 37.7-29.3 advantage on the glass and has forced opponents into an average of 22 turnovers per game.

Florida State is coached by Leonard Hamilton (Tennessee-Martin, 1971), who is in his fourth year guiding the Seminoles and 18th year as a college head coach. Hamilton owns a 253-260 career record and is 53-50 with FSU.

 

Quick Shots

?       Nebraska is looking for its 10th win in its first 12 games this season when it plays FloridaState on New Year’s Eve. The Huskers’ best start through 12 games is an 11-1 record seven times, most recently in 1994-95. Nebraska has had at least 10 wins in its first 12 games 16 times overall, most recently in 2003-04.

?       Nebraska is holding opponents to 64.1 points per game on 37.4 percent shooting. The opponent shooting percentage ranked 17th nationally as of Dec. 19 and is second in the Big 12 Conference.

?       Charles Richardson Jr. has been outstanding taking care of the ball this season, as he has better than a 3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio (25:8). He has had 13 assists against just one turnover in the past three games, and is averaging just one turnover per contest this season.

?       Wes Wilkinson leads the conference with 27 blocked shots in 10 games this season (2.7 bpg), and needs just six more to tie his career high of 33 blocks set in 27 games last year. He needs 29 blocked shots to move onto the Nebraska single-season chart.

?       Wilkinson has played in 96 career games and will be one of two Huskers (also Jason Dourisseau, currently 95 games) who will play in their 100th career game this season.

?       Marcus Walker has 15 3-pointers this season to rank third on the team. He needs just two more to move into 10th place on the Nebraska freshman chart. Walker also has a team-best 34 assists and needs 27 assists to move into the Nebraska freshman top 10.

?       The Huskers set a season high with 28 assists as a team against North Carolina A&T, the highest total in Coach Barry Collier’s tenure, bettering the 27 assists set in 2001 against Texas A&M. The 28 assists are the most by the Huskers since recording 35 assists in a 101-60 win over Northeastern Illinois on Dec. 21, 1994.

?       Nebraska recorded seven turnovers against North Carolina A&T, the fewest turnovers in a game since posting seven against ArizonaState on Dec. 3, 2003.

?       Nebraska recorded a season-high 16 3-pointers against North Carolina A&T, just two off the school record of 18 set in 2002 in a one-point home loss to No. 1 Kansas. The Huskers’ 36 attempts from 3-point range were also one off the school record of 37 also set against No. 1 Kansas in 2002.

 

Wilkinson Adds Another Dimension For Huskers
Senior forward Wes Wilkinson missed the Louisiana Tech game with an injury but returned in fine fashion against SoutheastMissouriState (career-high 25 points, nine rebounds) and has had the hottest hand on the team in the Huskers’ subsequent games.

The 6-10, 220-pounder has averaged 15.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.75 blocks per game over the past eight contests. He has hit 47-of-87 attempts (54.0 percent) from the floor and has played a team-high 29.6 minutes per game in that span.

Wilkinson has shown his versatility by connecting on an amazing 19-of-33 (57.6 percent) attempts from 3-point range over the past eight games. He had 10 treys combined in his freshman and sophomore seasons and owned 34 career 3-pointers entering the season. He averaged 0.39 treys per game in his first three seasons but has connected on 2.3 3-pointers per game so far in 2005.

On the year, Wilkinson has averaged a team-best 14.0 points to go with 7.8 rebounds per game. He has hit 52.9 percent (54-of-102) from the floor, including 22-of-41 (53.7 percent) from long range.

Following the game against Alabama A&M, Wilkinson led the Big 12 Conference in blocked shots per game and 3-point field-goal percentage, was fifth in rebounds per game, ranked ninth in field-goal percentage and was 13th in scoring. He was the second of three seniors to be ranked among the top 20 scorers in the Big 12.

 

Block Party
Senior forward Wes Wilkinson owns 27 of Nebraska’s 44 blocked shots this season, including a career-best six blocks against Creighton. He has had three other games in his career with at least five blocks, including five against Yale and Marquette earlier this season.

Wilkinson is already eighth on the Nebraska class list and needs three to move into a tie for seventh. Wilkinson’s career total (79) currently ranks eighth in the NU record book and he needs four more to move into a tie for seventh.

If he can keep up his current Big 12-leading pace of 2.7 blocks per game, Wilkinson could challenge for one of the top spots on the NU single-season chart. The Nebraska single-season record is 91 blocked shots by Derrick Chandler in 1992. Wilkinson, who ranked 23rd nationally in blocks per game last week, is on pace for 77 blocks (assuming he plays every remaining game of the regular season), which would rank fifth in the school record book.

 

McCray Heating Up
Sophomore guard Joe McCray took a little time to get into the flow, but the Fort Lauderdale native has been simply sensational the past three games. During that span, McCray has led the Huskers with team highs of 16.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and has added 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals per contests.

McCray has hit 50.0 percent from 3-point range during the past three games and has connected on 16 of his last 39 attempts (41.0 percent) in the past five contests after hitting just 7-of-34 (20.6 percent) in his first six games. With his recent hot hand, McCray has moved into the Nebraska career 3-point record book where he is tied for ninth and needs three treys to take over sole possession of eighth place.

Last year, McCray set the Nebraska freshman scoring record with 15.5 points per game, the eighth-highest total by a league freshman since the formation of the Big 12 Conference. He was named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week twice last year and was a Freshman All-Big 12 pick by the media and a third-team Freshman All-American by Rivals.com.

 

Boarding All Rows
For the second straight season, Nebraska dominated the boards against UAB and a Husker came away with a career game. Last year, center Aleks Maric recorded a double-double in his third career game when he posted 10 points and a career-high 15 rebounds against the Blazers. The 15 rebounds were a team season high.

This year, it was senior forward Wes Wilkinson’s turn to burn the Blazers. The Grand Island native recorded his first career double-double with 17 points and a career-best 16 rebounds, including 12 in the opening period. Wilkinson’s 16 rebounds are the most by a Husker since John Turek also recorded 16 boards against Denver during the 2002-03 campaign.

 

Doubling Up
Wes Wilkinson went the first 90 games of his career without a double-figure rebounding game but had three straight performances with at least 10 boards between Dec. 3 and Dec. 11.

After posting a 17-point, 16-rebound effort against UAB for his first career double-double, Wilkinson added a 17-point, 10-board outing against South DakotaState. He came back with a game-high 13 rebounds against Creighton, although his double-double streak ended as he had just six points. Wilkinson’s double-figure rebounding streak came to an end at three games as he had just seven boards against ChicagoState.

Wilkinson is not the only player doubling up this season, as sophomore center Aleks Maric owns the team lead with three double-doubles, which also ties for second in the Big 12 Conference this season. Junior forward B.J. Walker also got into the act as he posted a career-best 11 boards for his first double-figure rebound effort of the season against South Dakota State, while 6-5 guard Joe McCray picked up his second career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds against Alabama A&M.

Jason Dourisseau, who has just missed out on a double-double with nine boards three times already this year, grabbed his second career double-figure rebounding total with 11 boards against Creighton.

 

Hot Hand
Senior guard Jason Dourisseau has continued his hot hand from last year when he ranked second on the squad by hitting 49.1 percent of his attempts from the floor.

While the Omaha native continues to work on his game at the free throw line, he has been exceptional from the field over his last 19 regular-season games dating back to last season. During that span, Dourisseau has hit 53.3 percent (71-of-133) from the floor, including 43-of-82 (52.4 percent) in 11 games this season.

Dourisseau is second on the team with 11.4 points and third with 7.2 rebounds per game this season. He also leads the Huskers with 15 steals.

Dourisseau was one of three Huskers named to the all-tournament team at the season-opening John Thompson Foundation Basketball Challenge, and was the only Husker to score in double figures in each of the first seven games this season.

 

Spreading the Wealth
Nebraska’s offensive execution was outstanding in its 107-57 victory over North Carolina A&T. The Huskers recorded a season-best 28 assists on 33 made baskets with three players finishing with at least five assists. The 28 assists were the most by the Huskers since 1994 when they posted 35 in a 101-60 win over Northeastern Illinois. 

Charles Richardson Jr., a junior guard, led the way as he came off the bench to record a team season-high eight assists without a turnover. The total was one off his career high of nine assists set two years ago against Tennessee. Along with Richardson, Jason Dourisseau had a career-high tying five assists without a turnover while Marcus Walker tied his career high with six assists against just one miscue.

 

Charity Work
While the percentage is still not where they would like it to be, the Huskers have done an outstanding job of getting to the free throw line in the early season games. Nebraska has averaged 25.6 free throw attempts per game (282 total attempts in 11 games) while allowing its opponents to get to the stripe just 15.2 times per game (167 attempts combined). NU has made more free throws than its opponents have attempted (177 to 167).

Nebraska has hit 62.8 percent from the line this season after connecting on 66.0 percent (409-of-620) last year. Jason Dourisseau has gotten to the line more frequently than any Husker (72 times).

 

Record Night
Nebraska picked up its 350th all-time victory at the BobDevaneySportsCenter in high fashion as the Huskers scored at least 100 points in a contest for the first time since 1996 with a 107-57 win over North Carolina A&T on Dec. 19. Marcus Perry’s free throw with 3:00 left gave the Huskers’ their 100th point of the night.

The last time the Huskers scored at least 100 points came against Oklahoma on Jan. 13, 1996, in a 117-100 triple overtime loss to the Sooners. In fact, each of the last two times the Huskers hit the century mark they lost, including a 109-104 setback to Northern Iowa on Dec. 16, 1995. The last time Nebraska collected at least 100 points in a victory came on Feb. 8, 1995, in a 100-86 win over Colorado.

The 107 points are the most by the Huskers since a 114-106 victory over Oregon on Nov. 25, 1995, while the 50-point margin of victory tied for the third largest in Devaney Center history and tied for the seventh largest win in program history overall.

 

First-Timers
Husker fans are seeing several new faces on the court in 2005-06. Nebraska’s 16-man roster entering the season included nine players (six newcomers, three redshirts) who had never played a minute in a Husker uniform during a regular-season game.

During NU’s three games at the season-opening John Thompson Foundation Basketball Challenge, six players saw action for the first time in their Husker careers, including three true freshmen (Marcus Walker, Jamel White and Kyle Marks), a redshirt junior (Marcus Perry), a redshirt freshman (Jim Ledsome) and a junior college transfer (B.J. Walker).

Marcus Walker earned a starting nod in each of NU’s first six games, and was just the second true freshman to start his first career game at Nebraska since Cookie Belcher in 1996-97. Marcus Walker, who now owns nine career starts, is not the only newcomer to earn a start, as B.J. Walker has been in for the tip off four times this season.

Through 11 contests, Marcus Walker leads the newcomers by averaging 8.8 points per game while B.J. Walker has added 7.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest. Marcus Walker has been especially strong in December, as he has averaged 12.2 points and 3.5 assists per game over the past six contests.

During that span, he has hit 26-of-47 (55.3 percent) from the field, including 11-of-24 (45.8 percent) from 3-point range. Walker’s 15 3-pointers this season leave him just two away from breaking into the NU freshman top-10 list, as Jaron Boone had 17 as a Husker freshman in 1993.

Last year, the Huskers had two freshmen (Joe McCray and Aleks Maric) see significant time early in the season before setting NU records. McCray posted the best scoring average by an NU freshman in history after gaining a team-best 15.5 points per game. He also set records for 20-point games (10) and broke the Big 12 freshman record with 80 3-pointers. Maric set the NU freshman rebound record with 169 boards.

 

Passing Grades
Freshmen guards Marcus Walker and Jamel White have made solid first impressions for the Huskers. The duo has combined for 14.8 points, 5.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game this season.

Walker leads the team with 34 assists while White has added 26 to rank second. Walker has posted six assists on two occasions, while White has recorded five assists in two games. Walker has had at least five assists in four other contests. 

White has been efficient running the Husker offense this season, as he has 25 assists against eight turnovers since the season opener when he had one assist and six turnovers.

The freshmen have made a strong impression since the start of the exhibition season when they took Charles Richardson’s place, as he was sidelined with an injury. Richardson has led the team with a 3.1:1
assist-to-turnover ratio (25:8) since his return from injury.

 

McCray Moving Up Chart
Guard Joe McCray set several Nebraska freshman records last season and has already broke into the NU career record book as a sophomore.

McCray, who now has 103 career 3-pointers, moved into the Nebraska career top 10 against North Carolina A&T in just his 38th career game. McCray recorded five treys against the Aggies to pass former Huskers Jake Muhleisen and Jamar Johnson, who each had 95 career treys, for 10th place on the list. Against Alabama A&M, McCray became the 10th player in Nebraska history to reach 100 career treys. 

McCray is only the second Husker ever to reach 100 career treys during his sophomore season. He joined Cary Cochran, who had 101 3-pointers after two full seasons (61 games) playing for the Huskers, while McCray took just 39 games to reach the century mark. Cochran owns the NU record with 268 3-pointers in his career, while Eric Piatkowski (202) is the only other Husker with more than 200 career treys. 

 

International Man
Center Aleks Maric (pronounced MAR-itch) returned from the summer in the best shape of his life, which makes sense as he played more than 30 games in Slovenia, Greece, Canada and Argentina during July and August as part of the Australian Under-21 National Team. The 6-11, 265-pounder who set the Nebraska freshman rebounding record last season helped his Aussie team, the Crocs, to a fourth-place finish at the U21 World Championships in Argentina in August.

Maric averaged 9.4 rebounds per game while helping the Crocs to a 6-2 record at the World Championships. He was second in the tournament in rebounding, behind only 7-3 Peter Ramos, who played for the Puerto Rican Olympic team and was in the NBA last season. Maric also averaged 10.6 points while hitting 50.6 percent from the floor in the championships.

Maric is the second Husker to play on a youth World Championship team, joining current Atlanta Hawk Tyronn Lue, who played for the United States at the Under-22 World Championships in 1997. Bill Johnson played at the World Championships while helping the United States to gold in 1954, and Dave Hoppen (1985) and Eric Piatkowski (1993) played on the United States’ World University Games teams.

 

Awesome Aussie
A native of Sydney, sophomore center Aleks Maric is one of 29 Australians playing Division I college men’s basketball this season. According to the NCAA, there are 396 foreign players competing at the Division I level.

Also from Sydney, New South Wales, are Blagoj Janev (New Hampshire), Martin Iti (New MexicoState) and Stefan Blaszczynski (NichollsState). Blaszczynski is one of five Australians on the NichollsState roster, the most of any school in the United States.

Along with Nebraska, major conference schools including Arizona, Baylor, Georgia, Indiana and WashingtonState have at least one Australian on its roster in 2005-06.

 

Family Affair
A new member was added to the Husker family on Friday, Dec. 16, when Akayla Perry was born to junior guard Marcus Perry and his wife, Portia. The couple also has another daughter, three-year-old Azzariah.

Following the birth, Perry missed the Huskers’ game on Dec. 17 but came back to score a career-high 13 points against North Carolina A&T on Monday, Dec. 19, in his first contest following Akayla’s birth. He also added an assist, steal and his first career blocked shot in 21 minutes of action.

 

Huskers Rise to Challenge
A trio of Huskers were named to the all-tournament team as they lead Nebraska to a perfect 3-0 record and the title of the John Thompson Foundation Basketball Challenge on the opening weekend of the 2005-06 season.

Senior Jason Dourisseau, sophomore Aleks Maric and freshman Jamel White each earned a spot on the all-tourney team, along with Yale’s Sam Kaplan, Longwood’s Michael Jefferson and tournament MVP Paul Millsap of Louisiana Tech.

The Huskers had to scratch out two of the wins as NU’s victories over Yale and LaTech were not decided until the final minutes. NU used a solid defensive effort that held its opponents to a tournament-low 61.7 points per game while shooting just 38.5 percent.

Maric and Dourisseau each averaged 12.7 points per game to lead the Huskers to the title. Maric also pulled in 10.7 rebounds per game on the weekend to rank second in the four-team field while Dourisseau was fourth overall and second on the team with 8.7 rebounds per contest.

White sparked the Huskers on both ends of the court as he took several charges on defense and added double-figure points twice. He finished with 10 points, seven boards and five assists against one turnover in the hard-fought win over Yale.

It was the first tournament title the Huskers have won since taking three straight games at the San Juan Shootout in 2000. Nebraska defeated Iona (81-80), KentState (69-68) and SMU (72-70) that season. The Huskers started that trip with a 72-64 win over Miami in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic.

 

New Bench Look
The Huskers have a new look on the bench as they have two new faces within the staff.

Jerome Francis Jr. joined the Huskers as an assistant coach in June and works directly with the post players. Francis formerly was head coach at Prairie View A&M three years and served at several Division I schools as an assistant coach, including one season at Butler with Coach Barry Collier.

Also new to the program this year is head basketball strength coach Travis Reust. A native of Oklahoma, Reust has most recently guided the programs at TCU and Colorado before coming to Nebraska. Reust has helped several Huskers reach new highs in the weight room already, as three Huskers have already benched at least 300 pounds this season while nearly every Husker has made a significant strength gain as well.

 

Fresh Faces
Nebraska has a returnee at each spot on the floor but will look for its depth this season to be provided mostly by new faces. Overall, the Huskers have six newcomers on the squad including five freshmen. The heralded group of newcomers gives Nebraska its most athletic roster in several years. 

Leading the list of fresh faces this season is junior college transfer B.J. Walker. The forward from Cincinnati nearly averaged a double-double last season with 16.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while helping Garden City (Kan.) Community College to its first-ever Jayhawk Conference West Division title. Walker has a soft touch inside 12 feet and solid offensive moves in the post and at 6-9, 245 pounds, provides another wide body to rest either Wes Wilkinson or Aleks Maric.

Along with B.J. Walker, freshmen Marcus Walker, Jamel White and Kyle Marks have earned early praise from the coaching staff. Marcus Walker, who was rated the No. 25 point guard in the country as a senior last year by scout.com, gives Nebraska another lightning-quick point guard to pair with Charles Richardson Jr. Walker and White can both score and give Nebraska a different look with a bigger lineup as they go 6-2 and 6-3, respectively. Marks has been described by his teammates as “freakishly athletic” and the 6-7, 220-pounder has one of the top vertical jumps on the team.

 

Huskers Name Captains
After losing four veterans who had combined to play in more than 380 games over the past four seasons, it didn’t take long for the Huskers to figure out who would take on more of a leadership role in 2005-06. Seniors Jason Dourisseau and Wes Wilkinson and sophomore Aleks Maric were selected as team captains for the 2005-06 season.

Dourisseau and Wilkinson are the only two scholarship players on the roster from Nebraska and have stepped up during the summer to provide leadership on and off the court. After a strong summer of play with the Australian Under 21 National Team, Maric is believed to be only the second sophomore in school history to be named a captain. Former Husker Jake Muhleisen was a three-year captain between 2003 and 2005.

 

Smith, Balham to Redshirt
Newcomers Chris Balham and Mike Smith have said they will sit out this season as redshirts, looking to gain strength, speed and improve their skills before stepping onto the court for the Huskers in 2006-07.

Balham is one of the strongest players in Nebraska men’s basketball team history and has already bench pressed more than 300 pounds. Balham will continue to work on his offensive skills as he began playing basketball just five years ago when he moved to Chicago from his native Paris, France. Smith also has great physical ability but with a log-jam in the backcourt, he has decided to take the time to improve his skill set and basketball IQ in anticipation of helping the Huskers next season.

 

Defensive Mind Set
The Huskers look to continue a recent tradition of success on the defensive end of the court this season as Nebraska has held opponents to less than 64.0 points per game each of the past two years. The last time Nebraska held opponents to fewer than 64.0 points per game in consecutive seasons was 1983 (60.9 ppg) and 1984 (61.6 ppg).

Before Coach Collier arrived in Lincoln, the Huskers had held opponents to under 71.0 points per game only twice (1999, 64.3 ppg; 1998, 68.5) in the previous 14 seasons, dating back to the addition of the 3-point line in 1987. Under Collier’s guidance, NU has held opponents to less than 71.0 points per game five times in five seasons, including four times under 70.0 points per game.

 

Huskers Open Practice with Madness
Nebraska opened the 2005-06 year with a public scrimmage and dunk contest at Husker Madness on Oct. 14. With about 2,500 fans in attendance, the Huskers joined the Nebraska women’s team to give the public a taste of what was to come this season.

Following the women’s scrimmage and 3-point contest, the Husker men held a 20-minute running clock scrimmage with the veterans taking on the newcomers. The newcomers struggled early but made a late surge before being held off by the veterans,
34-27.

In the dunk contest, freshman Kyle Marks impressed the fans with a two-handed slam after jumping over the entire team, which had crouched down inside the lane. Marks’ dunk came in the finals against senior Jason Dourisseau, who cleared a ball rack set up in the lane inside the free throw line. Each scored a perfect ?50’ to force a second finals matchup, which Dourisseau won after Marks missed both of his attempts.

 

Board Games
Nebraska looks to clean the boards on a regular basis again this season as it returned 57.4 percent of its rebounding from the 2004-05 campaign when it led the Big 12 Conference in rebounding margin.

Through 11 games this season, Nebraska ranks second in the Big 12 Conference in rebound average at 42.4 boards per game with Wes Wilkinson (7.8), Aleks Maric (7.3 rpg), Jason Dourisseau (7.2) and B.J. Walker (5.5 prg) ranking among the top 20 individuals in the league.

The Huskers averaged a +5.2 rebounding margin over 28 games last season to rank 30th nationally. Last year’s effort marked the eighth time in the past 10 seasons the Huskers held an advantage on the glass. It was also NU’s highest rebounding output since 1992, when Nebraska held a +6.4 rebounding advantage, and only the third time since 1953 the Huskers had at least a +5.0 rebounding margin. 

 

Map Quest
Nebraska’s roster has changed quite a bit in the past 12 months. That is most evident when looking down the state listings as the only Nebraskans on the roster are the four seniors ? Jason Dourisseau and Wes Wilkinson along with walk-ons Bronsen Schliep and Tony Wilbrand. The states following Nebraska with the most current Huskers are New York and Florida with two each, while the other eight players are from seven other states and one foreign country. Overall, the Husker roster consists of players from 10 states and two countries.

 

Record Home Streak
Nebraska ended its longest homestand in 80 years with a 6-1 record after defeating South Dakota State, 76-67, on Dec. 8. It was the first time in school history the Huskers opened the season with seven straight home contests.

The last time NU played seven consecutive home games at any point was the 1926-27 season. The Huskers went 6-1 during that stretch with the only loss a 34-25 setback against Kansas. 

The Huskers have started a year with six consecutive home games as recently as the 2001-02 campaign.

Forcing Their Hand
Nebraska’s foes hit just 41.4 percent from the floor last season as the Huskers ranked fourth in the Big 12 Conference. It marked the third straight year Nebraska has held opponents to 41.5 percent or less from the floor. Since 1965, NU has held opponents to a 41.5 field-goal percentage or less just eight times, although six of those seasons have come in the last decade.

This year, opponents are hitting 37.4 percent from the field through the first 11 games of the season.

Tough Schedule
Nebraska will face 11 teams in 2005-06 that reached the postseason last year. Among the eight teams to reach the 2005 NCAA Tournament were six Big 12 opponents in Texas Tech (Sweet 16), Oklahoma State (Sweet 16), Oklahoma (Second Round), Iowa State (Second Round), Texas (First Round) and Kansas (First Round), along with two non-conference foes in UAB (Second Round) and Creighton (First Round).  Nebraska opponents Texas A&M (Third Round), Missouri (First Round) and Marquette (First Round) reached the 2005 National Invitation Tournament.

Home Sweet Home
The Huskers will play a BobDevaneySportsCenter single-season record 19 home games this season. The Huskers will break the record of 18 home games at the DevaneyCenter set three times before and last tied during the 2003-04 campaign when Nebraska picked up an NIT victory over Niagara on its way to a 15-3 home record. The 15 wins tied for second all-time on the building’s single-season win chart.

Nebraska owns a 351-110 all-time record in its 30th year at the DevaneyCenter. The Huskers picked up their 350th all-time win in the building in grand fashion as they earned a 107-57 win over North Carolina A&T on Dec. 19. The win marked the seventh-largest victory margin in school history and the third-largest in building history. It was also the first 100-point scoring effort for the Huskers since 1996.

The DevaneyCenter is one of just three current Big 12 arenas where the home team has won at least 350 games, including Kansas’ Allen Fieldhouse, Oklahoma’s LloydNobleCenter and IowaState’s Hilton Coliseum.

Get to Know Him
Sophomore center Aleks Maric gained recognition as one of the top foreign players in the country last year and has already started back on the same track in 2005-06.

In a Wednesday, Nov. 9, article titled ?20 Players You Should Know,’ Jeff Goodman of scout.com compiled a list of the top sophomores and incoming rookies who flew “under the radar or should be impact freshmen this season.” Maric was ranked No. 12 on the list and was one of two players in the Big 12 Conference, along with fellow Australian Aaron Bruce of Baylor who was ranked No. 3.

 

Graduate Work
Former guard Corey Simms can not suit up for Nebraska any more, but he had every reason to be proud to be a Husker as he stepped to the platform during the winter commencement ceremony on Dec. 17. Simms was the only former basketball player to graduate this winter, finishing his degree in four and one-half years, but was one of 30 current and former student-athletes to get their degree on the day.

Simms (2004-05) joins an extensive list of players who earned their degree after competing as a senior under Coach Barry Collier. In 17 years as a head coach, Collier has now had 51-of-55 seniors earn their degree with one (Marcus Neal Jr.) on pace to complete his requirements in 2006.