Changing Choice To Nebraska 'Best Decision Ever' For Hall Of Fame Inductee Ivy

Think about the history of Nebraska basketball with no Maurtice Ivy.
 
Had Ivy had her say, the Omaha native would've left for the west coast and played for San Diego State. She loved the coach, his style of basketball and, well, the perfect weather.
 
"It was super enticing," Ivy said.
 
In her mind, Ivy had decided on the Aztecs over Georgia, Kansas and Iowa, as the Omaha Central star had collected 245 offers.
 
"I didn't even realize there were that many schools in the country," Ivy said.
 
OK, so what about Nebraska?
 
"Nebraska wasn't even really in my Top 10," Ivy said, noting the program was in a building phase, and she wanted to play for a championship team.
 
"My mom and dad sat me down at this table that we have," Ivy said, "and they were like, 'Hey, we want you to go to Nebraska.' "
 
That was that.
 
"It's probably the best decision I ever made," Ivy said.
 
That Ivy, one of the most decorated players in school history, is among six members of the 2020 class of the Nebraska Athletic Hall of fame is certain proof.
 
"As an athlete, when you're doing something that you're passionate about and that you love and you enjoy, the Hall of Fame is a byproduct of that," Ivy said. "It's not something you think about that's going to happen to you in your career. It just happens because you enjoyed doing what you were doing through your career."
 
While San Diego State had two losing seasons and no championships to speak of during Ivy's playing career, Nebraska, after a coaching change, had a program breakthrough.
 
In Ivy's senior year of 1988, she led Nebraska to the first conference championship in program history, as the Huskers, under second-year coach Angela Beck, won the rugged Big Eight Conference.
 
"You had to lace up every game to play everybody," Ivy said of the Big Eight. "You couldn't sleep on anybody. Everybody brought their game every time you played them."
 
Ivy, who also led Nebraska to its first NCAA Tournament appearance, earned Big Eight player of the year honors.
 
"We had really, collectively, as a team decided that we wanted to win the Big Eight championship," Ivy said. "That was a buy-in from all of the players. All of us felt like that. Even the newcomers. We had already set the tone.
 
"To get on a ladder and cut down the last string of the nets and to be the first team in history to be able to accomplish that … we were the first ones to do it. To be a part of that moment in time and history was just incredible."
 
The first 2,000-point scorer in program history, Ivy was also the first Husker to be a three-time all-conference selection and the first to be named conference player of the year. Ivy became the second Husker to have her jersey retired, when her No. 30 jersey was retired in 2011.
 
Ivy ended her career as Nebraska's all-time leader in points (2,131) and points per game (19.2). She currently ranks second all-time at Nebraska in points per game and field goals (847), third in points and free throws (431), seventh in blocked shots (104) and eighth in rebounds (778).
 
While the likes of Kansas and Oklahoma were big rivals, Ivy also remembers her junior year, playing Iowa, then coached by Vivian Stringer, the legendary Women's Basketball Hall of Fame coach now at Rutgers.
 
"They had a player on their team, Michelle Edwards, and they called her 'The Ice,' " Ivy said. "She was an All-American, and they were probably picked to win that game. I had a decent game, I think I scored maybe 25-plus points, and we ended up winning.
 
"Man, I think about it, and Coach Stringer was legendary, and to be able to beat her and Iowa at the time, and have that game against Michelle Edwards, was like, 'Hey, you know what? I'm not short change. Yeah, we're bringing it, too.'
 
"That was a feel-good win for us."
 
Ivy played professional basketball in Europe and was head coach at Peru State College for six seasons. Today, she is Director of Community Partnerships with Charles Drew Health Center, while also working on her doctorate in education and leadership, and recently begun the Ivy League Youth Sports Academy in Omaha.
 
Ivy also serves on the Nebraska Greats Foundation board, which includes former Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch, who's entering the 2020 Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame alongside Ivy.
 
"We go to these different events together, and we just talk about the fans," Ivy said. "Obviously, he's a Heisman Trophy winner, so they're loving on Eric. But for sure they love on me, too.
 
"There's a level of admiration you get from the fans. That's just always great stuff. Always makes you constantly feel good and appreciated."
 
Reach Brian at brosenthal@huskers.com or follow him on Twitter @GBRosenthal.