Nee, Strickland Head Hall of Fame Lineup This Weekend

Lincoln ? This weekend, the Husker basketball program will proudly induct two new members into the Nebraska Basketball Hall of Fame when former coach Danny Nee and Husker standout Erick Strickland earn the prestigious honor.

Nee and Strickland will be joined in the celebration this weekend by Kent Pavelka, the Bud Cuca Special Merit Award winner, and Rex Ekwall, the Distinguished Hall of Fame Alumni Award winner. All four will be honored at an induction banquet on Friday evening hosted by the Nebraska Atheltic Department and the Rebounders Club. The foursome will be introduced to the fans at the Devaney Center on Saturday at halftime of the Nebraska-Kansas State game (5 p.m. tipoff), and all Hall of Fame members in attendance will also be recognized during pregame.

Nee and Strickland will join elite company upon their induction into the Nebraska Basketball Hall of Fame. Nee will be the sixth head coach enshrined in the hall and first since Moe Iba earned the honor in 1996, while Strickland will be only the second player inducted in the past five years. Overall, 59 former coaches and players have been inducted into the Nebraska Basketball Hall of Fame between 1989 and 2006.

 

Nee recorded more wins at Nebraska than any coach, accumulating 254 victories over 14 years. He owned a .572 winning percentage (254-190) at Nebraska while leading the Huskers to five NCAA Tournament and six NIT berths. Nee is the only coach since 1950 to lead the Huskers to a league or national title, helping Nebraska to the 1994 Big Eight Tournament and the 1996 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) titles.  

 

In his first season coaching the Huskers, Nee guided Nebraska to 21 wins in 1986-87, one of seven 20-win seasons under Nee. Overall, Nebraska has had 12 20-win campaigns in history. 

 

Nee led NU to a school-record 26 wins in 1991 and earned league coach-of-the-year accolades as the Huskers posted the school’s highest-ever final ranking of No. 9 (AP) and 11 (UPI). He coached 10 of Nebraska’s 25 1,000-point scorers and recruited and coached all three of NU’s first-round selections in the NBA Draft (Rich King, 1991; Eric Piatkowski, 1994; Tyronn Lue, 1998), as well as 1999 Big 12 Player of the Year Venson Hamilton (second-round NBA pick). 

 

Strickland was a key component of Husker squads that won 79 games between 1992-93 and 1995-96, with three seasons earning at least 20 wins. During his career, Strickland played in two NCAA Tournaments and two NITs, including helping Nebraska win five straight games in March to earn the 1996 NIT championship. 

 

Along the way, Strickland played in 127 games with 84 starts, while averaging 12.5 points per game for his career. He had his best scoring season as a junior when he averaged 16.3 points per game and hit a career-best 54 3-pointers with 5.4 rebounds per game.

 

A native of Bellevue, Neb., Strickland was the MVP of the 1996 NIT and earned Big Eight All-Defensive Team honors three times. A complete player, Strickland ranks third in Nebraska history in career games played, fourth in 3-pointers (179), third in 3-point attempts (512), fifth in assists (414) and second all-time at Nebraska in steals with 257. He also averaged 4.0 rebounds per game for his career while hitting 35.0 percent from beyond the arc and better than 77 percent from the charity stripe. 

 

Following his Husker career, Strickland earned a spot in the NBA as a free agent, playing nine years in the league primarily with Dallas and Milwaukee. He averaged more than 20 minutes per game while collecting 7.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists over 501 games, including 122 starts. 

 

Strickland is the first player to play after 1994 to be enshrined in the hall. He is the fifth player to compete under Nee to be inducted in the Hall of Fame, joining Rich King (inducted 2001), Clifford Scales (2002), Beau Reid (2003) and Eric Piatkowski (2006). 

 

Pavelka is the 19th person to earn the Special Merit Award and first since 2003. The award is given to someone who helps shape the Husker basketball program from a supporting role. The award was renamed in 2003 in honor of Bud Cuca, a long-time Husker basketball supporter who passed away earlier that year following a battle with cancer. 

 

Pavelka returned to the microphone as the Huskers’ basketball voice in 2006-07, and now has more than 20 years under his belt calling Nebraska hoops. He began his basketball radio career in 1974, calling Husker games until 1996. He is a six-time winner of the Nebraska Sportscaster-of-the-Year Award. Pavelka also was a member of the Husker football broadcast team from 1974 to 1996.

 

Also earning a special honor from the Nebraska Basketball Hall of Fame this year is Ekwall, a letterwinner for the Huskers from 1955 to 1957.Ekwall still holds the Nebraska career record for rebounding average, as he pulled in 679 boards in 65 games for an average of 10.4 per game. More than 50 years after he last played, Ekwall is still 10th on the rebounds chart and 35th in scoring at Nebraska (880 points, 13.5 points per game).

Ekwall is the second former Husker to earn the Nebraska Basketball Hall of Fame Distinguished Alumni Award, following Bus Whitehead who received the inaugural honor in 2003. The award honors a former player and Hall of Fame member who has been a positive force in the state and local community since his playing days ended.