Husker Notes: Confident Kusche Creating BuzzHusker Notes: Confident Kusche Creating Buzz
Lydia Asplin/Nebraska Communications
Track and Field

Husker Notes: Confident Kusche Creating Buzz

George Kusche is again putting his gift of showmanship to use as he attempts to break another Nebraska track and field record.
 
A year after Kusche publicly stated his intentions of becoming the first Husker to run a mile in less than 4 minutes – and then doing so in front of more than 2,500 fans – the South African distance runner is making a bold prediction.
 
"I'm going to do the 3K," Kusche said, "and I'm going to break the school record."
 
Kusche already holds the oversized track 3,000-meter record at Nebraska, 7:57.16, but he's aiming to break David Adams' standard-track school record of 7:58.62, set in 2011. Saturday's race at the Frank Sevigne Invitational will begin around 4 p.m. at the Devaney Center indoor track.

Kusche said the school record is "wide open" and that he's a stronger, better athlete than last season when he set the oversized track record.

"I know I'm in good shape," he said. "I know the school record isn't above my ability."
 
Kusche wanted to generate fan interest and curiosity at this same meet last season by publicly setting his lofty goal in the mile race. He then backed his words by running a 3:59.61, the fastest time by a Husker on a standard 200-meter track.
 
"Last year went pretty well, and I believe if you want to create attention and hype, you're going to have to be confident," Kusche said. "People are not going to believe in you if you don't believe in yourself. It gives you a little bit of credibility, because people know you said something and you did it, and now this year I can fall back on that, saying I want to break the school record. People will believe me because I said it last year, and if said it last year, I can certainly say it now as well."
 
And therein lies the main reason behind Kusche's confident showmanship – to create some buzz and give fans something to anticipate.
 
In return, fans provide a spark. Competitive runners such as Kusche don't enjoy the feeling of running just to get it done, and then going home.
 
"I feel like when you run in the Devaney, you run for something bigger than that," Kusche said. "There's people cheering you on, and your success is very important to them, so you don't feel as alone. … It feels like the whole crowd is chanting you on. It feels like everybody is involved.
 
"It makes it much easier. Some people think it adds pressure, but I see it as a positive thing. It's a privilege to have a fan base like the Husker base, and I think you should use that instead of seeing it as a negative thing."
 
Kusche's appreciation of Husker fans and his keen interest in entertaining them is unique.
 
"It's good for him," Nebraska track coach Gary Pepin said, "it's good for interest in the program.  A little bit of showmanship."
 
Pepin can remember two other athletes he's coached who remind him of Kusche in that regard. One is Ineta Radevica, a triple jumper from Latvia who competed in 2003 and 2004.
 
"The fans just loved her," Pepin said, "and she loves the fans."
 
The other was NCAA high jump champion Petar Malesev, who jumped at Nebraska from 1992-95. He came from what then was Yugoslavia.
 
"We had fans up in the stands when he was here that had big Yugoslavia flags that they would wave and stuff," Pepin said.
 
As for Kusche making bold predictions, Pepin is supportive.
 
"I think that's good that he feels like, 'Hey, I know I can do this and I'm better than what that previous record is.' So I think that's a plus, even if he doesn't break it," Pepin said. "If he's thinking in that way and has a good race, that's wonderful."
 
This will be Kusche's first 3,000-meter race this season. He's coming off last week's career performance at Washington, when he broke his own mile record with a time of 3:57.93 on an oversized track to own the mile record at Nebraska outright.
 
Kusche said he enjoyed the competition, which included some professional runners, among them, Evan Jager.
 
"They force you to run fast. It's uncomfortable, running that fast," Kusch said. "For me, I don't really get in a rhythm. It's really just one uncomfortable run from the start to the finish. When there's people around you, it forces to run fast. I mean, I wouldn't do that on my own if I don't have to."
 
Previous workouts had indicated Kusche was in good enough shape to run a fast time, he said.
 
"I didn't want to repeat last year, where I couldn't qualify for nationals because I wasn't in a fast race," Kusche said. "I wanted to get it over."
 
His first mile race of the indoor season may be his last. Kusche is confident his time will be among the top 16 in the nation, needed to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
 
Kusche is cognizant of his amount of running after a freshman season when he was uncertain how to train around the most competitive racing he'd ever experienced.
 
"It affects your training, racing that much," he said. "This year, I'm a lot more confident not to taper down and not to train less so that I can perform more. I'm confident enough to train hard and still perform at a good level."
 
Pepin, in his 40th season as Nebraska's head coach, has been around his share of quality distance runners, including Jim Ryun. So he obviously knows the traits of the best, and puts Kusche in that category.
 
"George is a really technically, mechanically, very light, good looking runner," Pepin said. "If you just watched him, if I didn't know him and was going out and recruiting, that's the guy you'd say, 'Whoa, boy, that guy runs well, I want to know more about him.' He runs nice and light and he's quick and has a great body type and all of those kind of things."


 
Continuing The Grind
 
The Nebraska men's basketball team may have had an idle week, but it certainly wasn't an off week.
 
Following a disheartening second half in last Saturday's home loss to Penn State, head coach Fred Hoiberg knew a hard week of practice was in order.
 
"We tried to put them in adverse situations and get after it and compete at a high level," Hoiberg said. "I thought our guys did that."
 
So again, Hoiberg remains optimistic and encouraged with his team's attitude and work ethic amid a seven-game losing streak heading into Saturday's 5 p.m. game at Iowa.
 
"I've talked about this a lot with this group. I've been really pleased with the effort, with the exception the second half against Penn State," Hoiberg said. "I do think we're competing, I do think we're out there playing together, for the most part, but you have to eliminate the runs. We're just not, right now, in a position to give up a 10-0 run or a 16-4 run and be able to recover from it."
 
Nebraska (7-15, 2-9 Big Ten Conference) is playing one of the two Big Ten teams it's defeated. The Huskers handed Iowa a 79-70 defeat in what was Nebraska's last victory, one month ago.
 
Hoiberg's strategy of packing the paint on All-American candidate Luka Garza and forcing Iowa to connect from the perimeter worked. Garza still managed 18 points and 16 rebounds, but the Hawkeyes were 4-of-33 on 3-pointers.
 
"The way we're built right now, we really have to try to pack it in and help in the paint and try to halfway contest on the perimeter," Hoiberg said. "I thought we did a really good job of executing that the first time we played against Iowa. They missed some shots, there's no doubt about that."
 
Iowa, though, played that game without freshman CJ Frederick, who's shooting 48.2 percent on 3-pointers and averages 11.5 points per game. Frederick is the top 3-point shooter in the Big Ten, while Nebraska junior Thorir Thorbjarnarson is second at 46.3 percent.
 
Iowa has won 10 straight home games. Nebraska's last victory at Carver-Hawkeye Arena came in 2012, the Huskers' first year in the Big Ten.
 


 
Special Visits
 
The Nebraska baseball team begins its season in one week, but a few players took time amid preseason practices for a special visit Wednesday.
 
Wayne Kaeding, a 99-year old Nebraska Baseball Hall of Fame player, shared stories and advice from the Lincoln hospice center in which he's staying. Colby Gomes, Braxton Bragg and Ben Klenke were among the Huskers who made the visit with Nebraska Assistant Director of Life Skills Tom Lemke, a former Husker pitcher.
 
Kaeding shared his background with Legion and semi-pro baseball, and his experience of playing on a team with six brothers. He also played college basketball, and he had his share of question to ask, too. If able, Kaeding may attend a game this spring at Haymarket Park.
 
Also, as the Nebraska women's gymnastics team prepares for its annual Pink Meet this weekend, gymnasts stopped by CHI Health St. Elizabeth on Thursday to visit patients and learn more about the treatments for those battling cancer. The Huskers host Maryland at 7 p.m. Saturday.
 
Reach Brian at brosenthal@huskers.com or follow him on Twitter @GBRosenthal.