Hall-of-Famer Chubick: Huskers Have the Heart to Win an NCAA Game

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Nothing is impossible to a valiant heart.

It's Valentine's Day weekend, and the newest member of the Nebraska Basketball Hall of Fame class wants to talk about the heart he sees in the Husker men's basketball team ... the heart, he believes, that still has a chance to make history.

"I played in four NCAA Tournaments, and we didn't win a game," Bruce Chubick said a week before his induction into the Nebraska Basketball Hall of Fame. "But I've never given up hope. I still believe this Nebraska team has the chance to win the first NCAA Tournament game in our program's history. This team has what it takes. They have the heart. They can still get it done."

What comes from the heart goes to the heart. How else do you explain how the 6-foot-7 Chubick could play out of his natural position and out-battle the likes of 7-foot Bryant "Big Country" Reeves, who led Oklahoma State to an NCAA Final Four; 7-foot-2 Greg Ostertag, who played in two Final Fours at Kansas; and 6-foot-10 Loren Meyer, who became a first-round draft choice of the Dallas Mavericks after his career at Iowa State?

You gotta have heart to fight those kinds of fights, and Nebraska fans everywhere always viewed Chubick as a man with a hero's heart. He's the captain of yours, mine and our all-effort team, a basketball throwback with a football player's mindset. One longtime Husker basketball fan even refers to Chubick as the Makovickas, Cory Schlesinger and Terry Connealy all rolled into one.

When Chubick played at West Holt High School in Atkinson, Neb., he realized that every great achievement is really nothing more than a victory for a flaming heart. "I maximized my potential," he said, pointing out how he used the weight room to transform himself into a physical force.

"I went from 195 to 225 pounds my first year at Nebraska and finished my senior year at 240," he said. "We had a great support staff, and I committed myself to being the best I could be. I got stronger, and I got faster. When I got to Nebraska, my vertical jump was 23½ inches. When I left, it was 33½."

Weight Room Made it Possible for Him to Play Post

That kind of daily dedication convinced NU Head Coach Danny Nee that Chubick could go against some of the nation's best big men. "I did everything possible, so I could play the position Coach Nee asked me to play," Chubick said. "I didn't come to Nebraska to do what I wanted to do personally. I came to Nebraska to win. I had opportunities to go other places, but I wanted to win here. That was my total focus.

"We did everything we could, but didn't win an NCAA game," Chubick said. "Since we didn't get it done, I prefer that Doc Sadler be the coach that gets it done. He's someone I can identify with. He doesn't advertise with trumpets or fanfare. He lives the game more than he talks about it. Doc puts the focus on his players, not himself. That's why he has their hearts. I could see that by the way they competed at Missouri and Kansas to the very end. Those were my markers for what they can do."

Make no mistake. Chubick is perfectly aware that the Huskers are 3-6 in the Big 12 standings right now, but he believes that the heart always sees before the head sees. Therefore, he will be surprised if this team does not turn the corner in the last half of its conference schedule. "They've had some tough losses," Chubick said, "but they can still get hot ... they can still go on a nice run and do something in the Big 12 Tournament."

The conference tournament ...now there's something Chubick can remember and still revere 17 years after he helped lead the Huskers on a memorable run of their own. They didn't win the regular-season conference title in 1994, but they beat Oklahoma (105-88), Missouri (98-91) and Oklahoma State (77-68) for the Big Eight Conference Tournament Championship.

It was the only league title Nebraska's men have achieved in the last six decades, and that accomplishment is something still living right next to his heart. The Huskers' last championship before that feat was back-to-back conference titles in 1949 and '50.

Chubick Wouldn't Trade NCAA Win for Big Eight Title

"Everyone keeps talking about Nebraska never winning an NCAA Tournament game," Chubick said. "I'll be honest. I would not trade that Big Eight Tournament championship for a first-round win in the NCAA Tournament. I would definitely trade it for two NCAA wins to get to the Sweet 16, but I'm serious. That Big Eight Tournament title was very special."

He remembers hugging teammate and fellow Nebraska Basketball Hall-of-Famer Eric Piatkowski after winning the championship in Kansas City's Kemper Arena. The two looked at each other, and almost said the same thing at the same time: "This is why we came to Nebraska ... to do something that hasn't been done in like forever - win a championship!"

Chubick also remembers the drive back to Lincoln that day when cars pulled off to the side of Highway 2 to hold up signs for Nebraska's bus that was bringing the team back home, not to mention something else - a championship trophy.

Unfortunately, that win was followed by a fourth consecutive opening-round loss in the NCAA Tournament. Let's talk about that and finish this column with eight questions for a Big Eight standout that's become a Hall-of-Famer:

1) Just curious. Since you and Pike are the only Huskers in history to play in four NCAA Tournament games, how much do you remember about each loss?

Answer:"I remember being a No. 3 seed and losing to Xavier (89-84) when I was a freshman in the dome in Minneapolis. We had no business losing that game. We looked ahead and underachieved. I remember losing to U Conn (86-65) in Cincinnati as a sophomore. It wasn't close from the get-go. It was a tough match man-to-man, and then they carved us up in our zone. We played in another dome as junior and lost (93-79) to New Mexico State in Syracuse. We were about equal seeds. It was a close game for awhile, but they had a guard named Sam Crawford, and he just ate us up. He had 22 assists. Every time we stepped up to help, he found someone to dunk it for him. As a senior, we looked ahead just like we did four years earlier. We played Pennsylvania in the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York. That was a short train ride for their fans, and about 15,000 of them were there in a crowd of 18,000. This is a tough one for me to remember because for the life of me, to this day, I will never understand why we shot 20 three-pointers (and made only three) when their tallest post player was 6-5. That one hurt the worst. That's why I want Doc's team to win one so bad."

2) You talked about having other places you could go. Who else recruited you?

Answer: "Believe it or not, the only other school I seriously considered was Wisconsin. They weren't then what they are now, but I gave them serious consideration. I really did. Creighton offered, too, and I had a couple friends try to convince me to go to Texas-Arlington. Really, the only other place I thought about was the Air Force Academy. They really wanted me to come there and play basketball, but they were honest about me being too tall to fly a fighter plane. They told me if I ever had to eject from a plane, it would take my knees off. That influenced my basketball decision."

3) You will be inducted into the Nebraska Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday night, Feb. 18, and honored on Saturday, Feb. 19, when the Huskers host Texas. What does that mean to you?

Answer: "It means a lot. It's the greatest individual honor I've had. I can't imagine anything more meaningful for a Husker.It will be an honor to share the stage Friday night with Albert Maxey (the Whitehead Distinguished Alumni Award winner) and with the Bergmeyers (Harley and Marcia, who will receive the Bud Cuca Special Merit Award). I've met Albert's son, and I used to see (the late) Bud Cuca and Heidi all the time. This means a lot to me. It really does. My wife, Wendy, will be there. So will our 12-year-old son, Trey, and Milla, our 2½-year-old daughter. My mom will be there, and so will my mother-in-law. I told my dad he can't come because we (Omaha South) have a game next Friday night against Millard West. I help my dad coach the team, but I made that decision. We can't afford both of us not being there."

4) You played seven years overseas and one year in the CBA for the Omaha Racers. Tell us about those experiences.

Answer: "I played five years in Belgium, one year in Portugal, one year in Israel and one year in between for the Omaha Racers. That was fun, but I played in Europe because the money was good, and so was the competition. I mean, almost every team in our league could beat a team like North Carolina. I remember Tom Izzo (then and still Michigan State's head basketball coach). He brought a Big Ten select team to Belgium one year and didn't win a game. I was shocked when he came over to me and said: 'Hi, Bruce.' I looked at him in amazement and asked him how he knew me because we'd never met. He told me: 'I never forget players that beat my team.' We did beat Michigan State (85-81) in East Lansing my senior year. I had a good game there. I think he was telling the truth."

5) Did you follow Nebraska basketball before you decided to play here?

Answer: "I did, even though we didn't move to Atkinson until I was in the eighth grade. I remember when we moved to Montana from Council Bluffs, and we could pick up KFAB clear as a bell. I was an Iowa kid living in Montana, but my heroes were Andre Smith, Jack Moore and Stan Cloudy. Listening on the radio, I followed them every step of the way to the NIT Final Four in New York City."

6) Ever play against any former Husker greats?

Answer: "Dave Hoppen used to come back all the time and kick the crap out of us. I wasn't a center, but had to play center, and he really helped me get better. Derrick Vick would play us and make us more competitive. All of those guys gave me a taste for the history of the program. Playing against them really helped. I always tried to play with an edge. I wasn't the biggest guy or the most athletic, so I could never take a play off - in practice or in a game. I remember when I made the high school all-star team and thought I was pretty good getting to go play in Las Vegas. I got humbled real quick. My dad picked me up and asked me how I did in the scrimmage. I told him 'some old, bald-headed guy' just kicked my rear end all over the gym. It made me wonder if I should even be going into the Big Eight Conference. My dad asked me if I knew who that old guy was, and I told him no. 'That old guy,' he said, 'is Chuck Jura - one of the best basketball players in Nebraska history and one of the highest paid players in Europe'. I learned a big lesson that day. Maybe that set the course for me to go over there and compete myself. I knew right out of high school that it was competitive professional basketball."

7) At age 40, do you still play basketball, and why did you decide to hang it up professionally?

Answer: "As a matter of fact, I do. I play in a really competitive recreation league at the Kroc Center in Omaha. I missed the Nebraska-Baylor game on TV because I had a game (he scored 25 points and had at least 10 rebounds). The truth is, my heart still wanted to play, but my wife was tired of traveling back and forth to Europe. She told me she couldn't keep going. I had to decide what was best for my family, so I got a job as a mortgage broker eight years ago and stayed in the Omaha area. I still had a lot of gas in my tank to play, and I could have continued to compete at a very high level for another five years. But really, it was time. When someone you love says something you need to hear, you listen and make the right decision."

8) Anything beyond your job, your family and your recreational basketball that piques your interest?

Answer: "I'm on the board for an organization in Omaha called SAVE - Students, Athletes Value Education. Some other ex-Huskers are on the same board - Dave Rimington, Karen Jennings, Tony Felici and Aaron Davis. It's designed to help underprivileged third-graders to eighth-graders who live in underserviced areas. We counsel them about drugs and gangs and provide academic tutors. We make sure they understand how important it is to have scholastic goals, including preparation for ACTs and SATs. We also try to help them get into sports they would not otherwise get into. It's a very rewarding experience and a great way to help the community."

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