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I am just glad that Coach Smith got this straighten out before he had to do a "Soey Pig" kind of thing.

Well played, men. Drake finished third in the NCAA in 1969, a couple of weeks before I got married. They were beaten by one of Wooden's UCLA teams by only 3 points and beat North Carolina for third place (when that game was actually played) by 20 points. (I had to look the scores up myself). One summer I played pickup basketball against John's son on many occasions. He proved to be one of those jerks who were no fun to play against, taking everything way too seriously and also taking every shot. Another interesting Drake fact: In '64 they tied for first in the Missouri Valley. They had a playoff game against Wichita State held at Allen Fieldhouse for some reason and it was packed by fans of both sides. Bulldogs had a player Billy Foster (as I recall) who had been given 6 fouls by a referee mistake in their first meeting. Shocker fans held up huge signs saying "That's One Billy" etc. with each foul and got into his head enough cause him to have a terrible game. Shockers then went to NCAA where they proceeded to give up 60+ points to Bill Bradley in the third place game which is still the NCAA tourney record I think.

Jimmy, quit humping my leg!

I am disappointed that the article didnt mention Grace Mitchell. She didn't get the minutes of those mentioned, but I thought effort was always evident and her play was always solid. She was usually guarding bigger opponents but i thought that she often out worked them. I look forward to seeing her contributions in years to come

Doug Gottlieb being interviewed at OSU today. I understand the first two questions he had to answer were 1. How do you identify a "punk"? and 2. Can you demonstrate the correct way to put on your shorts?

Yeah pretty bad when something called Illinois State talks smack about us.

Nothing was better than an old broken in Wilson Jet.

Oh yes they did. Maury John was their coach and they had a player named Dolph Pullian or something like that. He became a local broadcaster in DSM. It was the late 60's...perhaps '68.

Going off the top of my head, I think Drake went to the NIT Final 4 around 1970 somewhere. Can't remember who the coach or any of the players were.

Sounds to me like he pretty much goes baseline to baseline.

Long overdue.

Babyruth!

You know nobody has seen Darryl and Kearney man at the same time

Hmmm, his comments on the previous coach not recruiting Class A talent in the state is off base. Vonnie Turner and Dominique Kelly among others would disagree. Plus, would he want us to not have Emily Cady start over 100 games because she was Class B? Or that Chartrice White wouldn't have helped since she played at Shelby? And, of course, a WNBA player in Hooper, who was a dreaded Class B player! Sure, we have missed some (Kastaneks and KK Houser as examples), but we had a lot of instate players over the years contribute significantly, way more than with the men's program.

Did he get the idea from watching tennis?

Extremely well deserved, He also continues to be a great ambassador for UNL and the basketball program. Hard to miss him at Husker games

Because he's planning on winning this year and figures he'll also need players for the years following?

and in a "truth is weirder than fiction" kind of way, Chuck Barris died yesterday. I always loved The Gong Show. RIP Chuck Barris:

I lurk on quite a few boards and one thing I've noticed about our fanbase is that it likes to be patted on the back and told that it is a good fan base. Seems weird to me.

Isn't he your best friend?

Jean would have a heart attack! Love how they tried to hide it with the K S U though haha!

So, I'm gonna stand up for the crowd a bit. I went to the Iowa game in Iowa City. Perhaps it was because it was Super Bowl Sunday. Or maybe it was because NU's not a big name opponent. Or, IDK, there might have been a different reason, but the atmosphere there wasn't as good as it was in Lincoln. Their fans weren't engaged for the most part until they made their last push to put NU away. Their student section was virtually non-existent. When the yell squad shouts into those mega phones, it's just a couple of dudes yelling a couple of words and it's more awkward than it is motivating. Frankly, the crowd at PBA, based on my small sample size, was significantly better than the one at Carver-Hawkeye. I started paying attention to crowds at other places. If it was a big game, like when Kansas went somewhere, or the Duke/UNC game, the crowd was obviously great from start to finish, but I watched the Kentucky/Georgia game and the UK crowd was listless. Michigan, Ohio State, Wisconin, Penn St...none of them were anything special. None of them sustained anything for more than a few possessions. And, believe it or not, there were a lot of empty seats at the end of just about every game I watched, unless it was a close game. All this to say, the crowd at PBA gets a bad wrap. I don't think we know how good we really have it. It's, at worst, a pretty typical college basketball crowd. If the team lives up to it's potential, I think the crowd will, too.

"However, in the unlikely event of a fire, fans will be allowed to use the southeast tunnel for egress purposes prior to the game clock reaching 0:00."

OK, after 4 seasons at PBA, I bump this thread to announce ... our crowd pretty much sucks. Except for no-sit Sunday against Wisconsin. But, except for that one game, we haven't been very remarkable or created an intimidating environment. Some lessons learned: The various tiers create structural barriers at PBA that make it difficult to get the whole crowd involved in sustained cheering. When they announce on the big screen that it's time to "MAKE SOME NOISE," you just get about 30 seconds of the crowd yelling nothing in particular. Unlike in Devaney where the crowd would generally exit to the main concourse and it wasn't so evident when people started leaving, at PBA it sticks out like a sore thumb, probably demoralizes the team a bit, makes us look bad when the game is televised, and kinda pisses the die-hards off a bit. Our crowd needs help. I think we desperately need to bring back the yell squad. I think we need dudes on the sidelines with megaphones getting the crowd to start chanting things in unison. This would tend to negate the effects of the various tiers of seating that somewhat prevent the whole crowd from becoming involved. It would also solve the "30 seconds of the crowd yelling nothing in particular." If the yell squad started the place chanting "DEEE-FENSE (clap clap) DEEE-FENSE (clap clap)" there would be organization and structure to the cheering and it would have a greater tendency to last a bit longer but also a greater tendency to reach the rafters (as with the "HUSKER POWER" chant at the beginning of the game.) Second, we need to notify fans in the lower bowl that the tunnel in the southeast corner of the court will NOT be available for fans to exit until the game is over. That, instead, they can use the main concourse to depart if they leave before the game ends. Offer some BS reason like fans walking out courtside before the end of games blocks the view of fans who wish to stay until the end. You wanna leave? Climb the steps instead, buddy. And get security over there to point people to the steps and not allow them out that tunnel. If the powers-that-be don't enact this one little change, then they are idiots who are trying to bring about the destruction of this program. No other way to say it. Anyone else want to chime in with anything?

Smart.

Damn! there are two i was hoping would leave!

I absolutely cannot stand the Adidas ball. Heck, even the Baiden ball high schools in Nebraska have to use are better than the Adidas ball.

I have a feeling the crowd is going up be pretty tame next year in wait and see approach. Having a lame duck coach will do that.

Sharp has connections, so I'm sure he's been in the know this whole time. Sounds like USD got the money together to counter and keep him. Either way good for Coach Smith - seems like a good dude. Can't wait until 2025 when we make a run at a final 4 under Coach Smith and Asst. Coach Miles.