Nebraska...not feeling Frosty anymore

[iam416]

Vince Marrow could ball. He's right around my age. Thank god, we never played Mooney in football (he was really good), but they were in our district for hoops and we played them when Marrow was a junior, I think. He could play.

That said, he wasn't as good as Jeff Boals (current OSU assistant). The only difference between our mediocre team and his team was him. And they almost made it to state with him being the 6'8" point forward. Great shooter, but the thing I remember most was his razor sharp elbows. Not getting my face broken was a significant win in that bloodbath.

[geo weidl]

Looks as if Nebraska picked up a commit from Brantford, Ontario, Canada.

[entropy]

Knevel

BRANTFORD Nebraska had David Knevel as soon he saw the big cookie.

“It was amazing. I showed up and in my hotel room was this big chocolate chip cookie with the words ‘Welcome to Nebraska’ written on it,” Knevel, 18, said. “It was the size of a small pizza. It was the best cookie that I ever had. I took it home and it was still good.”

On Tuesday, the 6-foot-8, 305-pound offensive tackle with an incredible reach of 34.5 inches announced at a news conference at Brantford’s Pauline Johnson Collegiate and Vocational School that he had selected the University of Nebraska for the next stage of his life.

The cookie played a small part in his decision. But the big reason why Knevel, one of the most highly recruited Canadian high school footballers ever, chose to play for the NCAA Big Ten powerhouse was that he believed the school gave him the best chance to succeed as a person, as well as a player.

“It came down to Nebraska, West Virginia and Alabama,” said Knevel, whose twin brother, Michael, plays quarterback. Michael will attend the Atlanta Sports Academy prep school this spring to improve his scholarship chances.

Some 30 colleges contacted him. He received full scholarship offers from 12 Division 1 schools.

It’s rare for a Canadian, especially one, who played his entire high school football in Canada, to be so highly recruited by some of the biggest American college football powers. In fact, Knevel only started playing football four years ago when hockey equipment became too expensive for his growing body.

Other scholarship offers came from Baylor, Missouri, Purdue, Toledo, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Wisconsin, Washington State and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Knevel will start school in Lincoln on Jan. 5. If he doesn’t make the Cornhuskers next fall as a freshman, he’s prepared to be redshirted (practise but not play for his first year) and come back “with a bam” the following season.

“I’m going to embrace it,” Knevel said. “Unless I play a significant role, I’ll probably red shirt. They have three returning senior tackles, so I think my time will be after they leave.”

Knevel thanked his coaches for playing a big role in his life and career as well as his teachers. He also had special praise for his parents, and his three brothers, who supported him. His parents travelled with him to numerous colleges and football camps on his journey of discovery over the past two years.

“Of course, I’d like to thank my mother (Michelle) for all the home-cooked meals. I didn’t get this size without them,” Knevel said, showing a sense of humour during his articulate address during the packed news conference at his school that was attended by teammates, coaches, family and political figures, including Brantford Mayor Chris Friel and Brant MPP David Levac.

“When I went to all the camps, kids would tell me how cool it was that my parents came with me, and then I realized just how cool it was that either one or both took time to come with me. These are the types of people I have been blessed to be around. I wanted to go to a program that would continue the values that my family started. I wanted to go to a school that would develop me as a total person in character, academics and athletics.”

Last July, Knevel helped Team Canada to a 23-17 win over Team U.S.A. in the IFAF Under-19 tournament in Austin, Texas.

Ken Chisholm, his high school coach at Pauline Johnson CVS, told two poignant stories that demonstrated the kind of person Knevel is.

When he was 14, he went to a clinic at the University of Western Ontario and wound up in the wrong session, battling 18- and 19-year-old players. But, even after he discovered his error, he didn’t want Chisholm to tell the coach.

“The contact was incredibly ferocious and he had his bucket handed to him by some big kids. I told him to tell the coach that he was in the wrong group,” Chisholm said. “He said, ‘Coach, I’m OK,’ and he went back to the same group and held his ground. That competitiveness has carried David to where he is now.”

Several months ago, Chisholm went to the school to do some work on a Saturday and discovered Knevel behind the school with a player from another high school.

“For about three hours, he taught that young man everything he knew, trying to help him be an awesome football player, and he’s now trying out for Team Ontario, thanks to David,” Chisholm said. “The athletes that we see who swagger and don’t really care about others isn’t the David that we know.”




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[Paul L]

Sounds like a terrific addition to the women's volleyball squad

[entropy]

Published Wednesday, December 19, 2012

VOLLEYBALL

Tennessee transfer picks Huskers
By Jeff Sheldon / World-Herald correspondent

LINCOLN — The Nebraska volleyball program received an early Christmas gift Wednesday that will help bring talent and experience to a young roster.

All-Southeastern Conference outside hitter Kelsey Robinson, who left Tennessee at the end of this season, confirmed Wednesday afternoon she will be transferring to Nebraska to play in 2013.

“I looked through all my options and it came down to Nebraska because I wanted to go somewhere I would be worked the hardest and pushed the hardest,” Robinson told the World-Herald Wednesday. “I’m familiar with (NU) Coach (John) Cook, and I just really respect the way he coaches. I want to be part of a program that truly loves the game and loves volleyball. You don’t really get that anywhere else.”

Cook said Wednesday he could not confirm whether Nebraska had added any player to the roster, citing NCAA rules, but Robinson said she planned to enroll at Nebraska for the spring semester in January. She will have one season of eligibility.

The Bartlett, Ill., native was initially offered by the Huskers out of Wheaton-St. Francis High School in 2009, where she was named a high school All-American by PrepVolleyball.com and Volleyball Magazine. She played club volleyball for the Chicago powerhouse Sports Performance program, where she was teammates with Husker middle blocker Meghan Haggerty.

“I’m excited to play with her again,” Robinson said, adding that the two players’ families are close.

The 6-foot-2 Robinson was one of the top players in the SEC the last three seasons. This year, she was third in the SEC in kills, averaging 4.22 kills per set, while adding 3.50 digs per game, good for 14th in the league. She led the Volunteers to a 22-8 record this year, and had 15 kills and 24 digs in Tennessee’s five-set loss to Michigan in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

In 2011, Robinson became the first Tennessee player to be named SEC player of the year after leading the conference in kills (4.52 per set), points (5.15 per set) and double-doubles (23).

Robinson was one of four players that has announced they would leave Tennessee at the end of the season. She said since Tennessee has a policy of not releasing student-athletes from their scholarship, she had to appeal to the school before being able to transfer. While the appeal was on-going, she contacted Texas, Hawaii, UCLA and Southern California in addition to Nebraska.

“There was a lot that went on this year (at Tennessee),” Robinson said. “It wasn’t just a good situation regarding communication between me and the coach. It wasn’t a healthy environment. I made my decision at the end of the year I wanted to transfer.”

Robinson’s addition should give Nebraska some much-needed experience at outside hitter in 2013 after the Huskers lost departed seniors Gina Mancuso and Hannah Werth from this year’s club. In 2013, NU will return sophomores Kelsey Fien and walk-on Alicia Ostrander at outside hitter. Nebraska also will add incoming freshmen Amber and Kadie Rolfzen from Papillion-LaVista South. The Rolfzens, both high school All-Americans, also will join the program in January after graduating from high school a semester early.

Robinson said the graduation of Nebraska’s top two attackers from last season did play a factor in her decision to come to Lincoln, but added she doesn’t expect to be handed a starting job. She said being able to arrive at a school for the spring semester was a priority for her to get acclimated to a new team and bond with her new teammates.

“I know I’m going to have to compete for it,” Robinson said, “but definitely am excited to have an opportunity to play.”




Post Extras:

[entropy]

http://www.tunnelwalkofshame.com/

[entropy]

Btw.. In case you didn't notice, you click on the pictures to get the next one..

[entropy]

“@SoonerSportscom: The #Sooners wish good luck to the @Huskers and retiring A.D. Tom Osborne in their bowl game today.”

[entropy]

http://journalstar.com/app/news-projects/osborne/index.html

[entropy]

Courtesy Scott Bruhn/NU Media Relations

Huskers to Wear Red Jerseys against Wisconsin
Courtesy NU Media Relations
Fri, January 04, 2013

Lincoln - Nebraska will don specially created jerseys by adidas for Sunday's Big Ten home opener against Wisconsin at the Devenay Center. Tipoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. and the game will be televised on BTN.

Similar to the adidas jerseys worn by NBA teams on Christmas day, the Huskers' uniforms on Sunday will feature a monochromatic color scheme with solid color team logos, names, and numbers framed with minimal accent color and a shimmer finish for a bold statement.

For the Huskers' jersey, it is a red jersey top and shorts with red lettering and numbers along with a white accent to outline the team's name and jersey numbers.

Sunday's jersey is one of two alternative home jerseys the Huskers will wear this season, as Nebraska will also wear throwbacks to the 1976-77 season for Legends Weekend against Michigan State on Saturday, Feb. 16.

Tickets for Sunday's game are available by visiting Huskers.com, calling the Nebraska Ticket Office at 800-8-BIGRED or (402) 472-3111 or at the Devaney Center Ticket Office 90 minutes before tipoff.

[entropy]

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/eye-on-baseball/21492183/darin-erstad-quickly-making-name-as-college-baseball-coach

Nice article on Nebraska Baseball

[entropy]

Miles not happy

http://www.omaha.com/article/20130104/HUSKERS/701049903/1002#miles-will-hassle-until-he-sees-hustle

[entropy]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20130106/HUSKERS/701069883/1707#mckewon-pelini-the-ceo-reaches-crossroads

[Rufus]

Question for Entropy

What is the thinking amongst Nebraska fans as the Big Ten eyes division realignment with the addition of Maryland and Rutgers?

If rumors are true, geography will play a much more important role this time than a few years ago (which should please Barry Alvarez). Still, it's looking increasingly like Nebraska could be paired with Wisconsin, Iowa and a collection of mis-fit toys like Minnesota, Illinois, Northwestern and probably one of Purdue, Indiana and Michigan State.

I read somewhere that when leaving the Big XII that Nebraska told Jim Delaney that they wanted to avoid be stuck in the B10 equivalent of the old Big XII North (Colorado, Iowa State, Missouri, Kansas, K-State), but without one (or several) of Penn State, Michigan or Ohio State as a guaranteed game every year, that kind of seems what you are left with if the above alignment scenario winds up to be true.

Not that Nebraska would think about leaving, but any buyer's remorse?

[entropy]

The University of Nebraska announced on Wednesday that it will add sand volleyball as a women's intercollegiate sport, beginning with the spring 2013 competition season.

The addition of sand volleyball to Nebraska's list of sport offerings, gives the Huskers 24 intercollegiate programs, including 14 women's teams and 10 men's teams. Sand volleyball is the first sport Nebraska has added since women's rifle began competition in the 1998-99 season.

Sand volleyball was approved as an NCAA Emerging Sport for women in 2009 and began play in the 2011-12 school year. Fifteen schools sponsored varsity teams in the spring of 2012, the first season of competition for Division I schools. The inaugural AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball Championships were held last April in Gulf Shores, Ala., and that site will host the championship from 2013 to 2015.

More than 20 schools are currently sponsoring sand volleyball, with that number expected to grow in the coming years. When 40 institutions in Division I and II have sponsored varsity programs for one year, the NCAA will sponsor an NCAA Championship in the sport. Should funds be approved for a championship in the next budget cycle, the NCAA would host its first national championship in the spring of 2016.

Nebraska Director of Athletics Shawn Eichorst said the majority of the groundwork for the addition of sand volleyball was completed before he took over his position last week. The final steps to Nebraska's sponsorship of sand volleyball were approved by the NCAA and the Big Ten Conference over the past few days.

"Coach Osborne and Coach Cook had discussions about the possibility of adding sand volleyball over the past few months and things came together quickly in recent weeks," Eichorst said. "We are excited to sponsor a sport that is beginning to emerge on the national level, and plan to grow with the sport in the coming years. Our volleyball program has a remarkable record of success over a long period of time, and we hope to add to that legacy through our sand volleyball team in the years ahead."

Nebraska Volleyball Coach John Cook said the growing popularity of sand volleyball made the addition of the sport at Nebraska an attractive option.

"We have talked a great deal about our vision for sand volleyball," Cook said. "We plan to start small and grow as the sport continues to develop. We understand the challenges in terms of our location, but we have a good plan on how to manage our sand volleyball team and grow with the sport."

Nebraska does not intend to offer scholarships for sand volleyball players, but all members of the Huskers' court volleyball team may participate in the sand season. Sand volleyball teams may have a maximum of two coaches, and Cook said he and assistant coach Dan Meske will fill those positions.

Cook said the time together during the sand season should be a benefit for volleyball student-athletes, and it also opens open additional playing opportunities.

"This is a great opportunity for our student-athletes to work on their game and continue to develop their skills. It is a fun sport and a lot of young women have aspirations of playing sand volleyball after college, and this gives them a chance to prepare for that career."

Sand volleyball teams are required to play at least eight dates with three of the competitions being dual matches. The maximum number of competitions is 16 dates. Cook said Nebraska does not plan to hold any home competitions in the 2013 spring season. The Huskers will begin sand volleyball practice later this week.

Eichorst indicated that he does not foresee additional adjustments to Nebraska's sports sponsorship makeup in the future.

Sand Volleyball Q&A

When is the sand volleyball season?

Sand volleyball is a spring team sport. The Division I playing season starts the first Thursday in March and ends eight weeks later or the end of the school year, whichever comes first.

What is the format of play?

Each school will field five doubles teams ranked by ability. Each doubles team plays against the corresponding team or teams from other schools. In a dual meet, the winning team is the school winning three of the five matches. Individual matches are two sets to 21, with a tiebreaker set to 15, if needed. All sets are rally scoring and must be won by two points. Tournament play will include multiple schools playing in consecutive dual matches. Some events will also include a pair's tournament to allow doubles teams to play across flights.

Can court volleyball players play on the sand volleyball team?

Yes, they become two-sport athletes and must abide by the rules governing all two-sport athletes in terms of training hours, i.e. no more than 20 hours per week.

How is the sport of sand volleyball different from court volleyball?

Beyond the differences in number of players on a side and surface for competition, sand volleyball is officiated much differently than court volleyball. No open handed tipping is allowed and setting is called so tightly in sand volleyball that the bump set is more popular than the overhead set. Also, the block touch counts as the first of three allowable contacts. Another difference is that coaches may only speak to players or give them any kind of input or feedback during timeouts and between sets. Also, to mitigate the impact of wind and sun, the players switch sides of the court every seven points in a 21-point set and every five points in a 15-point set.