Nebraska Makes Quick Turnaround to Face Mean Green

>>>Game Information
Game: 5
Game Date: Nov. 29, 2006
Radio: Husker Sports Network (Kent Pavelka, play by play; Andy Markowski, color)
TV: FSN Midwest in state of Nebraska only (Greg Sharpe, play by play; Matt Davison, color)
Internet: Huskers.com (live radio, stats)
Halftime Entertainment: Scarlet Dance Team
Anthem: Big Red Express (Nebraska pep band)
Corporate Sponsor: Valentino's

Making its fastest turnaround of the young season, the Nebraska men's basketball team gets back into action on Wednesday night (Nov. 29) ? just two days after its last contest ? when it expects to get a stern test against North Texas at 7 p.m. the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Doors open to the general public 90 minutes before tipoff.

Nebraska will try to utilize a solid defensive effort to slow the Mean Green's offensive attack that has averaged 81.5 points per game while running to a 5-1 record. Recent results have been encouraging as the Huskers have held their last two opponents to 42 points apiece, a mark last reached in consecutive games in 1958. In back-to-back home games, Nebraska gave up 41 points each to Colorado and No. 4 Kansas that year before holding No. 1 Kansas State to 48 points, with all three games ending in Husker victories. That series of contests was the last time Nebraska held three straight opponents to fewer than 50 points.

Wednesday's game will be the first of 10 Husker contests telecast this season on FSN Midwest. Greg Sharpe returns for his third year calling the action for NU telecasts and will be joined by color commentator Matt Davison.

The game will be distributed only in the state of Nebraska, per Big 12 Conference rules. According to FSN Midwest, it can be seen in Lincoln on Time Warner (Channel 37); Cox (47) and Qwest (33) in Omaha; Charter (26) in Grand Island/Kearney; Cable One (32) in Norfolk; Arapahoe Cable (41) in Arapahoe; Cable TV (19) of Stanton; Glenwood Telecomm (17) in Blue Hill; and Huntel (23) in Blair. On satellite, the game can be seen in Nebraska on channel 648 on DirecTV and 445 on Dish Network.

Nebraska men's basketball games can be heard on the radio on the Husker Sports Network, which consists of a 25-station network throughout Nebraska. All Husker regular-season games can also be heard around the world on the Internet at Huskers.com and free live statistics during the game are also available on Huskers.com. The new play-by-play voice of the Husker basketball program, Kent Pavelka will call the action on Wednesday against the Mean Green while former Husker letterwinner Andy Markowski serves as color analyst.

The Cornhuskers will have little time to prepare for North Texas when the teams meet for the fourth time in series history on Wednesday. Nebraska is competing in the first of four sets of games that will be played two or fewer days apart. The only time the Huskers will have a quicker turnaround between games during the regular season will be on Dec. 22 and 23 when they play games on consecutive days at the Outrigger Rainbow Classic in Hawaii. NU also plays two days apart on Dec. 20 and 22 to open the Rainbow Classic and again on Jan. 27 and 29 when it takes on Kansas State and Kansas in a Saturday-Monday format. The Monday contest against the Jayhawks will mark NU's first appearance on ESPN's Big Monday telecast since 2000.

Last year, the Huskers won three games in three days vs. Longwood, Yale and Louisiana Tech to open the season in the John Thompson Basketball Challenge held at the Devaney Center. NU added a three-game sweep in five days during December last year with wins over Chicago State (Dec. 17), North Carolina A&T (Dec. 19) and Alabama A&M (Dec. 21).

>>>Huskers Look to Extend Streak
Nebraska heads into Wednesday's contest against North Texas looking to extend its season-opening win streak to five games. NU has won at least five games to open a season six times since the 1986-87 campaign, including two of the past three seasons.

In its last game on Monday, Nebraska started the season with a 4-0 record in consecutive years for the first time since the 1991-92 and 1992-93 campaigns.

Nebraska is one of five Big 12 Conference teams without a loss this season, joining Missouri (7-0), Oklahoma State (7-0), Iowa State (6-0) and No. 9/8 Texas A&M (6-0). Four of the five undefeated teams in the conference have new head coaches, with only A&M's Billy Gillispie having been in his current position last year.

>>>Unfamiliar Territory
First-year Husker coach Doc Sadler has moved into territory rarely seen before among the fraternity of coaches at Nebraska.

With four wins to open the season, Sadler is undefeated as NU's head coach longer into his tenure than any previous Husker mentor in more than eight decades. The last time a Nebraska first-year coach won at least four games to open his career in Lincoln was 1919 when Paul Schlisser went 6-0 to start the 1919-20 campaign. Overall, Sadler is only the fifth coach in program history to win his first four games as the Huskers' mentor.

>>>Locking Down
Coach Doc Sadler has always had his teams ready to play solid defense, whether on the Division I level or when he was a head coach in the junior college ranks. Sadler's first Husker squad is showing similar traits and improving each game.

To date, the Huskers have allowed just 51.8 points per game, a mark that ranks second in the league only behind Texas A&M's 46.7 points-per-game scoring defense. It makes sense that the teams would be near the top of the defensive statistical categories as their head coaches have the same approach to playing the game: play hard and play every foot of the floor on defense. A&M coach Billy Gillispie hired Sadler at UTEP as an assistant and when Gillispie left to coach the Aggies, Sadler took over as the Miners' head coach.

>>>Shutting the Door
Nebraska has had a solid offensive performance to open the season as it is among the national leaders by hitting 55.3 percent from the floor through its first four games. While it's defensive effort may have been overshadowed early on, this year's Husker squad has already proven to be among the stingiest in recent NU history.

The Huskers have allowed 42 points in each of their last two games, both NU wins. It is the first time since 1982 that Nebraska has held consecutive opponents to less than 50 points each. That year it accomplished the feat on two occasions, most recently in a pair of victories against Air Force (W, 63-47) and Northern Iowa (53-42).

This year's occurrence is only the seventh time since 1958 ? a span of 50 seasons ? that NU has combined to keep consecutive opponents to fewer than 50 points each. The 1957-58 campaign is also the last time Nebraska limited three straight opponents to fewer than points 50.

By holding Lubbock Christian and Arkansas-Pine Bluff to 42 points apiece, it was only the third time since 1958 that the Huskers allowed 84 or fewer combined points in consecutive games. The last time it happened was three seasons ago, when NU held Bethune-Cookman and Lipscomb to a combined 78 points, including a 70-26 romp over BCC. According to the NCAA record book, Nebraska ranks 11th in fewest points allowed in a single game since 1986 by holding Bethune-Cookman to 26 points in that contest.

>>>Heating Up the Floor
Entering the season, Nebraska coach Doc Sadler said that the thought the Huskers would be a solid shooting team. Through the first three games of the season, Sadler's prediction was an understatement.

Nebraska shot 59.7 percent (77-of-129) from the field in those contests, and in fact hit at least 55.0 percent from the floor in each of their first three games to open the season. That is the longest stretch by a Nebraska squad since the 1991-92 team connected on 55.2, 55.2 and 63.4 percent against Wisconsin, Texas A&M and Eastern Washington, respectively.

Nebraska opened the season hitting 56.5 percent (26-of-46) from the floor against Nebraska-Omaha, the second time in three years the Huskers hit at least 50 percent of their shots in a season opener. As a follow-up, NU scorched the nets by hitting more than two-thirds of its field-goal attempts (67.6 percent, 25-of-37) in an upset of No. 20/25 Creighton in the second game of the year and first against a Division I team. Nebraska continued its strong shooting by hitting 56.5 percent (26-of-46) against Lubbock Christian.

The Huskers' strong streak ended on Monday when NU was limited to 44.0 percent shooting. Nebraska played all 13 Huskers who were in uniform, including nine for at least 10 minutes apiece.

Junior center Aleks Maric leads the Big 12 Conference by hitting 68.9 percent (31-of-45) from the floor, while freshman guard Ryan Anderson has been a pleasant surprise as he is second on the team by connecting on 65.5 percent (19-of-29). Anderson is one made shot short of being eligible for the league rankings, but his current percentage would tie for second in the league.

>>>Better Looking
One of the glaring differences between the box scores from the exhibition games and the four regular-season contests came on the 3-point stat line.

Over the course of two preseason games, the Huskers attempted 54 3-pointers, making 18 (33.3 percent). During the first four games of the regular season, the Huskers worked the ball around the floor better and got it into the paint more with the return of center Aleks Maric to the lineup. The result: Nebraska accounted for 55 3-pointers attempted during the four regular-season games while making 23 (41.8 percent).

The Huskers hit a season-best 8-of-14 3-point attempts against nationally ranked Creighton, including hitting 4-of-6 from long range in the second half when they pulled away for the win. NU also had a solid long-range attack in the first half against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Monday as the Huskers connected on 5-of-10 3-point attempts while running to a 20-point halftime lead.

>>>The Series
The Cornhuskers and Mean Green are meeting for the fourth time in the series that dates back to the 1972 campaign when Nebraska won the first matchup 64-46. Since then the teams have met on two other occasions, with Nebraska earning a 13-point victory, 69-56, in 1974 and a six-point win, 90-84, in 1988.

The last matchup came in the first round of the Ameritas Classic, which was in its second year of existence. In the following game, North Texas' Wendell Williams blocked six shots by Army, setting the Devaney Center opponent record for single-game blocks.

Nebraska has played a Sun Belt Conference squad 17 times and owns a 12-5 all-time record against the league. NU's last matchup with a Sun Belt school came on Jan. 4, 2003, when the Huskers needed overtime to knock off Denver, 79-75.

>>>Scouting the Mean Green
North Texas enters Wednesday's game riding high after five wins in its first six contests. The Mean Green are undefeated on the road as they have picked up victories at UNC Charlotte, 90-72, and at Rice, 71-69. UNT's lone loss this season came at the hands of in-state rival Texas-Arlington, which nipped the Mean Green, 83-81, on their home court.

The Mean Green was led in the early going by Kendrick Davis, who averaged 18.7 points over the first three games before being sidelined with a wrist injury. Last year's Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year and a 2006-07 preseason first-team all-league pick, Davis is expected to miss 6-7 weeks with the injury.

In his absence, UNT has been picked up by Michael Sturns, who has come off the bench in all six games to average 15.8 points on 55.8 percent shooting, including hitting 45.5 percent from 3-point range. Sturns is third on the team in 3-pointers, as he has 10 treys, trailing Davis (11) and Calvin Watson (15). Watson has started five games and picked up 13.3 points per contest and leads the team with 5.3 rebounds per game.

A native of Lawrence, Kan., Keith Wooden is averaging 8.3 points and 4.3 rebounds while Ben Bell has added 5.3 points, 4.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game for the Mean Green. Wooden began his playing career at Arizona State, where current NU assistant coach Tony Benford served in a similar capacity.

North Texas has topped the 80-point plateau four times and reached at least 90 points twice, including its last contest Saturday with a 95-77 win over Texas State. UNT is averaging 81.2 points per game while hitting 48.2 percent shooting from the floor. North Texas has been strong from downtown as it has connected on 41.1 percent from 3-point range. On the glass, UNT is holding a +7.3 rebounding advantage (40.0-32.7).

UNT is guided by head coach Johnny Jones (LSU, 1985), who is in his sixth season leading the Mean Green. Jones has a 68-79 record at North Texas and an 83-95 career record.

>>>Maric Earns Big 12 Honors
Junior Aleks Maric was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Monday, Nov. 20, following his performance in the Huskers' first two games of the season. The 6-11, 270-pound center led Nebraska to a 2-0 start by averaging 23.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game while hitting 65.5 percent (19-of-29) from the floor.

Maric, who returned to the court 11 days after an appendectomy to start the season opener, posted 29 points and 10 rebounds in 29 minutes against Nebraska-Omaha in the Huskers' first regular-season game. He hit 11 field goals on a career-high 18 attempts and missed his second career 30-point contest by just one point. Last year, Maric had 37 points at Iowa State, the fifth-highest single-game mark in program history and the first 30-point game by a Husker since 1997.

Against No. 20/25 Creighton on Nov. 18, Maric posted 17 points and nine rebounds to lead the Huskers to a 12-point victory. Maric was saddled with foul trouble in the first half and played just nine minutes, but came on to play 19 minutes in the second period when he recorded 15 points and eight boards.

Maric was the first Husker to be named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Week since 1999 when Venson Hamilton won it in back-to-back weeks on Jan. 18 and 25. Maric is only the third Husker to earn the conference's top weekly award, joining Hamilton and Tyronn Lue, who won the award three times including twice in 1997-98.

Maric earned Big 12 Rookie-of-the-Week honors as a freshman on Feb. 28, 2005. He was one of nine Husker newcomers to earn the honor since the formation of the league for the 1996-97 season.

>>>First Time
Nebraska coach Doc Sadler has won at every level, but the Huskers' victory over No. 20/25 Creighton gave Sadler another first in his career. Not only was it his 50th win as a head coach at this level, but Sadler earned his first career victory over a ranked Division I team. Sadler entered the game with the Bluejays with an 0-3 record against ranked squads over the past two years at UTEP, with all three games played away from home.

Here is a look at Sadler's career matchups with ranked squads:

Date Team (rank) Result
Nov. 18, 2006 Creighton (20) W, 73-61
Feb. 2, 2006 at Memphis (4) L, 56-66
March 3, 2005 vs. Utah^ (18) L, 54-60
Feb. 19, 2005 at Pacific (19) L, 66-73

^NCAA Tournament

>>>More Honors
Junior center Aleks Maric was not the only Husker to earn an honor following the first week of the season. On Monday, Nov. 20, Nebraska coach Doc Sadler was tabbed the Coach of the Week on collegeinsider.com's Weekly Honor Roll. The web site said:

"Expectations at Nebraska just got a little higher, and credit new coach Doc Sadler. The Huskers finally ended a seven-game losing streak to in-state rival Creighton, surprising the mid-major darlings 73-61 to open the season 2-0. Nebraska shot 67% from the field, scored on its final 13 possessions of the game, and discovered it has a clutch performer in freshman guard Ryan Anderson (19 points and a key 3 in the final minutes). Yet, it all comes back to Sadler, who came to Lincoln this year after an impressive two-year stint at UTEP. With the win, he has already made a difference, earning some much-needed positive attention for the basketball team at a traditional football school."

>>>Hot Shots
Nebraska scorched the net in a 12-point victory over nationally ranked Creighton on Nov. 18. The Huskers hit an impressive 67.6 percent (25-of-37) from the floor, their top single-game shooting percentage since hitting 72.3 percent (34-of-47) against UNC-Wilmington on Dec. 5, 1997.

The percentage will likely rank among the best in the country when the first NCAA statistics are released in December, but does not top the Big 12 rankings as Oklahoma State has already hit 67.9 percent (36-of-53) against Florida Atlantic to take the top spot in the league. Last year in all of Division I, a 67.6 field-goal percentage for a single game would have ranked sixth nationally on the season.

>>>For (Freshmen) Starters
While first-year coach Doc Sadler would like to give his younger players time to adjust to the rigors of college basketball, he has had little choice but to start two freshmen in all of the Huskers' games this season. Guards Sek Henry and Ryan Anderson have performed well under pressure so far, especially Anderson who at 6-4 is playing out of position at the 4 spot.

Henry led the team in scoring in the exhibition season with 20.0 points per game. In his first four regular-season games at the college level, Henry has averaged 7.5 points per game while hitting 9-of-18 attempts from the floor. He is also second on the team with 17 assists, including 11 assists in the past two games combined.

Anderson made his presence felt in the Huskers' first exhibition game as he hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds remaining, helping NU to a 74-72 victory over Nebraska-Kearney. In his first regular-season contest, Anderson posted nine points with a game-high 11 rebounds, becoming the second Husker freshman in three years to post double-figure rebounds in his first career game. Anderson came back with an even bigger performance against No. 20/25 Creighton as he led the Huskers in scoring with 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting. He hit his first six attempts from the floor and his only miss of the game was a long 3-point attempt in the final 10 seconds of the first half. Against Creighton and Lubbock Christian, Anderson connected on 12-of-14 field-goal attempts to pace the squad. He added a game-high 10 boards vs. UAPB.

According to official box scores, Henry and Anderson were the first pair of true freshmen to start the season opener for the Huskers since the 1973-74 season when Mark Enright and Ron Taylor also opened the season in the lineup. Henry and Anderson are the third and fourth true freshmen since 2001 to start their first career game at Nebraska, joining Jake Muhleisen (2001) and Marcus Walker (2005).

>>>Injuries Deplete Frontcourt Depth
The Huskers entered the season thin on experience across the front line, and the rash of injuries already seen this season has been felt most significantly in the paint.

Because of the lack of depth, Nebraska has started 6-4 freshman Ryan Anderson, who is listed as a guard, at the 4 spot in each exhibition contest and regular-season game so far. Sophomore Jim Ledsome, who had played 61 career minutes entering the season, started each exhibition game before center Aleks Maric gave the Huskers a bit of good news with his return to the lineup in the season opener. Nebraska's only other front-court returnee to play in a regular-season game is sophomore Kyle Marks, who returned from knee surgery to make his season debut against Lubbock Christian. Marks played 122 minutes last season.

Redshirt freshman Chris Balham (legs) also missed time earlier this season and was not cleared to play until just hours before the first exhibition game. He then missed the regular-season opener but has played each game since. Freshman forward Kris Douse is the only Husker over 6-4 who has not had an injury and missed practice time in the preseason.

>>>Road Warriors
The Nebraska basketball team can easily take on the title of 'Road Warriors' during the month of December. After opening the regular season with five straight home games, the Huskers go on the road for six of their next seven contests, leaving them with only one home game (vs. Alabama A&M) at the Devaney Center in December.

The month opens with a trip to New Jersey to take on Rutgers on Dec. 2 followed by a trip to Portland, Ore., to take on the Oregon Ducks on Dec. 9 at the Rose Garden, home of the Portland Trailblazers. Following the Alabama A&M game at home, the Huskers leave the next morning for Hawaii where they will play three games in the Outrigger Rainbow Classic from Dec. 20-23 before coming home for Christmas. Nebraska ends the month with a road trip to the Orange Bowl Classic in Miami.

All told, the Huskers will travel 15,400 miles during the month, according to the Indo.com web site which tracks distances between cities "as the crow flies." The following are the distances the site lists as one-way trips from Lincoln, Neb. The total for one-way trips from Lincoln is 7,700 miles.

Destination Distance From Lincoln
Piscataway, N.J. 1168 miles (1880 km, 1015 nautical miles)
Portland, Ore. 1345 miles (2165 km, 1169 nautical miles)
Honolulu, Hawaii 3783 miles (6088 km, 3287 nautical miles)
Miami, Fla. 1404 miles (2259 km, 1220 nautical miles)
Total 7,700 miles (12,392 km, 6,691 nautical miles)

The trek around the country will be a new experience for the Huskers. Last year, Nebraska played 10 of its first 11 games of the year at home with the lone road game coming just 60 minutes up I-80 at the Qwest Center Omaha against Creighton. NU's first out-of-state road game last year came on Dec. 31 when the Huskers fell to Florida State in Miami at the Orange Bowl Classic.

Nebraska's most recent long stretch of road games like the upcoming month was in 2000-01 when the Huskers played five straight road games. NU played Miami in the Orange Bowl Classic before winning three straight games and the tourney title at the San Juan Shootout, and then ended the road stretch with a contest at Minnesota.

The last time Nebraska played at least six road contests in a seven-game span was 1997-98 when the Huskers played seven straight games away from Lincoln. That stretch started with true road games at Creighton and Minnesota before playing three games at the Rainbow Classic, NU's last appearance in the tournament. NU finished the road trek with games at Kansas and Oklahoma State to open Big 12 Conference play.

>>>Earning Their Keep
Following a rash of injuries, the Nebraska coaching staff held open tryouts for students on Oct. 12, a day before the official start of preseason practices. At times this fall, the Huskers have practiced with only six healthy players who are currently listed on the official roster.

From the open tryout, the staff took six players who are working out with the team on a limited basis. Forward Ben Nelson (Atwater, Minn.) and Choul Laam (Lincoln, Neb.) were the only walk-ons to see action in the exhibition games, while Andrew Wicklund (Colorado Springs, Colo.) also dressed.

In the season opener, Nebraska freshman Jay-R Strowbridge sat out with an injury, forcing Coach Doc Sadler to look for a backup point guard. Nick Krenk (Nebraska City, Neb.), who joined the team as a manager a month before, practiced only one time with the team on the day before the opener and was cleared to play in Strowbridge's place. Krenk got into the opener against Nebraska-Omaha for 13 minutes. Krenk, the son of former Husker football player Mitch Krenk, was joined by Laam in the game, and they have combined for 25 minutes on the floor in the regular season.

>>>Bumps, Bruises and Much More
Seven Huskers returned from last season's NIT squad, including three starters in guards Charles Richardson Jr. and Jamel White and center Aleks Maric. Richardson is the only Husker with significant experience who has not missed practice time with an injury or illness this fall.

Last year, Richardson had surgery on his knee during the preseason and missed the first three games of the season before coming on to start 23 contests. This season, he is one of four players ? including freshmen Sek Henry, Ryan Anderson and Kris Douse ? who have not been sidelined.

On the other hand, nine Huskers have missed time this year with a wide range of injuries that have relegated them to the bench, including: Jamel White (collarbone), Kyle Marks (knee cartilage), Paul Velander (foot), Chris Balham (legs), Jim Ledsome (ankle), Jay-R Strowbridge (thigh and knee) and Mike Smith (thigh).

Aleks Maric joined the growing injured list as he had an appendectomy on Nov. 3. He was not available for the two exhibition games but returned to practice on a limited basis Monday, Nov. 13 and made his season debut on Tuesday, Nov. 14 in the season opener.

The 6-11, 270-pounder provides the majority of Nebraska's bulk in the paint and returned as one of the top centers in the conference after leading the Big 12 in double-doubles in league-only games last year with seven. In his season debut, Maric posted an impressive 29 points and 10 rebounds in 29 minutes and then added 17 points and nine boards against Creighton to earn honors as the Big 12 Player of the Week.

The Huskers also suffered a loss following the first exhibition game as senior guard Marcus Perry, who had already missed practice time because of foot problems, underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Nov. 9. Perry, who scored 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting from 3-point range off the bench in the first exhibition, tore cartilage in his left knee.

Perry made his regular-season debut against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, hitting 3-of-6 3-point attempts on his way to 11 points with a career-high tying four rebounds. While Perry made his return, the Huskers were without a pair of players as Paul Velander (shoulder) and Kyle Marks (knee) were in street clothes for the UAPB contest.

Overall, five Nebraska players have already combined to miss 10 games so far this season because of injury.

>>>Leading by Example
Senior guard Charles Richardson Jr. is the proven veteran of the squad as he is the Huskers' only returning three-year letterwinner. In fact, Richardson and junior center Aleks Maric are the only players on the squad with more than one year of Division I experience.

The 5-9, 165-pound Richardson helped the Huskers to a 19-14 campaign in 2006 that included their second NIT bid in three years. Richardson, who has quietly become one of the top floor generals in the Big 12, is chasing his third postseason appearance at Nebraska this season.

Behind his solid junior campaign setting up the Husker offense, Richardson ranked fourth in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.92:1 and was 10th in the league with 3.33 assists per game after gaining 100 assists on the year. His strong hand helped lead the Huskers to two victories at the Big 12 Championship in 2006, only the third time in school history that NU posted more than one win at the league postseason tournament.

For his career, Richardson has 244 assists in 91 games, including a team-high 24 assists in four games this season. He leads the current squad in both categories and is second on the squad in games started with 39. Only Aleks Maric, who has started 40 of 62 career games, has more experience in the starting lineup.

With similar statistics to last year, Richardson could move into the Nebraska career top 10 for assists. Currently sitting in 10th place on the list is former Husker and current 13-year NBA veteran Eric Piatkowski, who had 322 assists in his career.

>>>Talk With Doc
Nebraska Coach Doc Sadler will meet fans to talk about recent contests and the game plan for upcoming game with a series of four 'Talk with Doc' luncheons. The luncheons began on Nov. 17 when Doc talked about the upcoming game against Creighton.

The the final three luncheons (Dec. 15, Jan. 19 and Feb. 9) will take place at the Nebraska Club on the 20th floor of the US Bank Building in downtown Lincoln. Cost for the luncheons, which include a full buffet, is $15 per person per luncheon. Tables of eight are available for $120 and packages that include a full table of eight for all four luncheons are $450.

>>>Testing the Waters
Doc Sadler was the biggest addition to the Nebraska program this summer, but the largest returnee on the floor for the Huskers ? literally and figuratively ? was junior center Aleks Maric.

The 6-11, 270-pound Maric entered his name into the NBA Draft on April 28, 2006. After testing the waters, Maric withdrew his name before the deadline and, since he did not hire an agent, was able to return to the Huskers for the 2006-07 campaign.

However, Maric wasn't initially convinced that he would return to Lincoln following Barry Collier's resignation as head coach in August. To help Maric make up his mind, Doc Sadler got on a plane to Australia less than 48 hours following his appointment as head coach and spent a few days with Maric and his family so they could get to know each other. The following week Maric announced he would return to Lincoln in time for the start of fall classes.

Maric, who will miss the UNO contest after undergoing an appendectomy on Friday, Nov. 3, was the first Husker underclassman to declare early for the draft since Tyronn Lue announced his decision to forgo his senior season in 1998. Lue remained in the draft and was a first-round selection of the Denver Nuggets. He is still in the NBA playing for the Atlanta Hawks, one of three former Huskers currently in the league.

Maric was one of eight underclassmen from the Big 12 Conference to declare early for the draft, a high for any conference. Six of the players remained in the draft, with Maric and Colorado's all-league guard Richard Roby being the only two to pull out. Of the six who stayed in the draft, four were selected in the first two rounds.