A B1G Fan Who Loves Miles Can?t Wait for a Big Man

Randy York N-Sider

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Remember two years ago when Nebraska upset 2014 NCAA Final Four qualifier Wisconsin in the final weekend of the regular season? Remember the 89-year-old man who stood up for that entire entrancing game?

Even if you weren’t inside Pinnacle Bank Arena in 2014, you could feel the place shaking, rattling and rolling into a new era that helped the Huskers qualify for their first NCAA men’s basketball appearance in 16 seasons.

Inside and outside Nebraska’s new basketball home, no one had to ask Can You Feel It? Dick Knudsen, a longtime Lincoln lawyer, was feeling it so much that he never sat down when the ball was in play on that joyous moment on a March Sunday two seasons ago.

Knudsen felt nothing but good vibes then and hasn’t lost one ounce of that enthusiasm after the Huskers missed the Big Dance the past two seasons.

“My son and I go to every home basketball game, and we’re as excited now as we’ve ever been,” Knudsen told me Thursday. “I like Miles. I really do. We have nothing but great confidence about where he’s taking this program."

Knudsen: Huskers Will Find a Big Guy Soon and When They Do, Watch Out!

“Like everybody else, I’d like to see a big guy get in there,” said Knudsen (pictured above). “That would be pretty awesome to have a big guy in our offense and defense. It’ll happen. Coach Miles and that staff will find a big guy soon and when they do, watch out!”

Count Knudsen, now 91, as the quintessential Nebraska fan who’s perfectly fine with the Huskers’ decision to end their season after a gutty win over Wisconsin and a high-scoring loss to Maryland in the Big Ten quarterfinals in Indianapolis.

“I’m completely happy with Tim Miles and the way his team fights every time they play,” said Knudsen, who remembers “a guy” standing next to him two years ago while he was standing every second of the game between the Huskers and Badgers. “I saw him taking pictures on his cell phone, but I didn’t know he was taking pictures of me.”

Even though most of a sold-out crowd also stood for the entire major upset two years ago, Knudsen gained cult hero social media status while standing next to a startled man and his equally surprised daughter.

“We may lose some close games at the end, but it amazes me the way a little guy like Benny Parker can fight for the ball,” Knudsen said. “He’s the one you usually find at the bottom of the pile, but they all work hard. I’m very happy with the team and the effort they’ve shown every time they take the floor. The way we played at the end was encouraging. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a Nebraska team play harder on offense and defense than they played against Wisconsin last week, and I was just as impressed to see the way they battled against Maryland, especially when they hit 9 of 10 three-pointers against us (to start the game). We don’t quit.”

Consensus Voting among Players Ended Nebraska's Season in Indianapolis

In his 15-minute press conference Wednesday at the Bob Devaney Sports Center, Miles confirmed that Nebraska’s decision not to accept a non-NCAA and non-NIT tournament bid was the result of player votes. “It was a consensus,” he said, pointing out that the coaching staff accepted the decision.

Nebraska administrators “were going to say yes to just about anything – yes to the end or yes to the beginning,” Miles said, adding that the players’ votes were based primarily on emotional exhaustion and competition devoid of Power Five Conference programs.

Miles and his staff want what the fans want. “We need a center,” Miles said at his postseason press conference. “We need to get one signed here late that can be the center point for our offense, our defense and be one of those guys that anchors what we do. When we get somebody committed, they’ll be committed. That’s what I want.”

Knudsen, the iconic elder season ticketholder, envisions multiple NCAA appearances when Nebraska lures a big man to play in one of college basketball’s greatest venues in front of a loyal fan base that continues to sell out.

Knudsen: Nebraska Loves Its Heroes as Much as Anybody in the Country

“I feel strongly about where we’re at and where we’re going,” Miles said. “We just left too many out there this year. I wish we hadn’t. We weren’t far from being better and having a better win-loss record, but you are what your record says you are.

“I thought our offense was better, but there’s no doubt our defensive length on the perimeter hurt us with guarding threes,” Miles said. “Without a rim protector having to stop penetration with your perimeter guys and not coming out to the three, it’s hard to be two places at once, even though you have to be.”

Miles and his staff are searching everywhere possible for a big man, and options include transfers and international prospects.

“We need a center and whoever we get will never regret coming to Nebraska,” Knudsen said. “Nebraska loves its heroes as much as anybody in the country.”

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