Then & Now: Henry T. Buchanan

Then & Now: Henry T. Buchanan

Compiled By Dave Brandon

(Photo Courtesy NU Media Relations)

Henry

T. Buchanan played at Nebraska from 1987-1988, and is

one of the more interesting Huskers of all-time, as he

served a six-year tour in the U.S. Air Force between

high school and college.

Buchanan

played on Danny Nee's first team at Nebraska, and played

an intricate part in the 1986-1987 21-12 and third place

NIT team, as he led the team in three-point percentage

and was among the leaders in several other categories as

the Husker point guard.

The

former third-team All-Big 8 player is our latest guest

in this Sunday's edition of "Then & Now."

HHC: Henry, thanks for joining us. Before we

talk more about you, tell us what your son Bryan is up

to these days, as we know he played a year under Coach

Nee and later transferred and started at IUPUI.

HTB: He’s working for UPS, and doing some

refereeing around Lincoln, and still playing a little

basketball here and there. He actually plays with me and

in my league quite a bit.

HHC: Ron Hunter is the coach at IUPUI, and

he'll long be remembered for putting them on the map and

leading them to the 2003 NCAA Tournament. Is he as

amazing a man and coach as he seems?

HTB: Well, I can’t speak for Bryan, but

he’s here right now if you want to ask him.

HHC: Yeah that’d be great.

HTB: Okay,

here he is.

BB: Whatsup

Dave?

HHC: Hey man,

just wanted to ask you about Ron Hunter at IUPUI. Is he

as cool of a guy and great a coach as he seems?

BB: Oh yeah, actually he is a real good

coach. I’d say he was a really a player’s coach. He

helped out players a lot, and was easy to get along

with. During the game, you would give him a suggestion

on the court, and he actually listened to you. Just a

real good players coach, and I’m glad I got a chance to

play for him.

HHC: Talk

about what it was like playing under Danny Nee in

1998-1999, the season in which you redshirted and spent

at Nebraska?

BB: That was probably one of the best

experiences I had actually. He helped me develop,

because out of high school, I wasn’t really physically

gifted or real athletic. But my first year I got in the

weight room and developed better, so I definitely think

that helped me out a lot in the long run.

HHC: Awesome, it was good to talk with

you.

BB: No problem, here’s my Dad.

HHC: Alright

T., now onto your career. You went to high school at

Muncie Southside High School in Muncie, Indiana, and

became the third point guard from there to play for the

Huskers in the 1980's, as you joined Brian Carr and the

late Jack Moore. Did you know anything about those guys

before coming to Nebraska?

HTB: Well, I played against Jack Moore and

Jerry Shoecraft in high school, and they were like

rivals. Moore and I also played against each other at

the YMCA in pickup and stuff growing up. And then I

heard about Carr when I was in the military, which I of

course did before coming to Nebraska. I used to always

call back and check on high school sports there, and I

remember my friends telling me that this kid was leading

the city in scoring and assists for two years in a row,

and they told me his name was Brian Carr. I had no idea

I’d end up playing in the backcourt with this kid later.

Carr was

probably the best tandem I have ever played with in my

life, and that includes high school, JUCO, and in the

military. He should still be in the NBA today, that’s

how good he was. Great passer, amazing court vision, and

a flat out leader.

If it

weren’t for Danny Nee forcing me to play point guard and

him to play two guard, he would have been the all-time

assist leader in the Big 8 in front of Cedric Hunter.

But unfortunately, Nee wanted me to be the point guard,

and him the two guard, so it was kind of a struggle, as

far as trying to make that work my junior year on the

court, because I understood that he was a better passer

and had better vision than me.

Plus, I

could shoot the three, but I don’t think Danny Nee ever

liked my jump shot because of the way that I shot. I

wish I would have played for Nee in the later years,

because I think he would have allowed me to do more and

put Carr where he should have been.

But

again, I can’t tell you how great Carr was. And today,

believe it or not, besides coaching basketball and

baseball back in Muncie, he has his own cooking show.

HHC: (Laughs)

What?!?

HTB: Yeah man, I’m serious, he’s like a chef.

I’ve never been fortunate enough to try his cooking, but

I hear it’s great from my brother, who runs a restaurant

up there and runs into him from time to time.

HHC: If we’re

ever in Muncie, we’ll try that out!

HTB: You need to!

HHC: (Laughs)

After you finished high school, you actually joined the

U.S. Air Force and spent six years in active duty. What

made you choose to go that route?

HTB: Well, I only had one basketball offer

out of high school, because I was kind of a 6^th

man and a late bloomer. The only offer was a community

college, and my grades weren’t good enough, so I decided

to go the military route. I worked on F-16 fighter

planes, which are still the number one plane in the

world, and I did hydraulic systems on that. I actually

almost took a job after my service time was up, but

luckily I didn’t, or I would have never played college

basketball.

But one

thing that was lucky about the military was that they

take their sports real seriously, and I really developed

my game. I knew Paul Westphal, who actually tried to

recruit me to some school he was at in Arizona, Grand

Canyon or something. And then Larry Brown knew me as

well, and he helped get me to Hutchinson in Kansas,

where I went before going to Nebraska.

HHC: Speaking of Hutchinson, you were a

teammate of one of your Husker teammates, Derrick Vick.

Did you guys agree to go to the same college, or was it

coincidence that you both ended up at Nebraska?

HTB: Oh yeah, it was definitely a package

deal. We both got recruited by KU, but at the time, they

had Cedric Hunter, and I didn’t want to go there and be

a backup, although Coach Brown assured me he’d take me

and wanted me. I had too much pride at that point, and

with the campus at Nebraska selling itself, and

especially Danny Nee, I chose Nebraska.

I will

tell you that Danny Nee is a smooth talker Dave, and it

was tough to turn him down, as I told you at lunch last

week. He just had that military background and made you

believe in him, and after spending time with him, he was

a person you wanted to play for.

HHC: You were there for his first season

at Nebraska in 1986-1987, but before we get more into

your times at Nebraska, we've got to know; Was Nee

mellower in his early years, or was he the same right

off the bat?

HTB: Oh no, he was most definitely NOT

mellower. And, I could tell you so many stories about

him.

HHC: Please do, because that was our next

question.

HTB: Do you

want the bad or the good?

HHC: (Laughs) Both please.

HTB: Well,

some of the bad was on the personal side. Rich King was

one of his big recruits out of Omaha, and of course Beau

Reid came down with his Dad and had known Danny from

Ohio. And let me tell you, Beau Reid is one of the

toughest competitors ever. The guy never took a night

off, even in practice, and that’s why

the

article that he wrote for you guys after the

Creighton game was him, word for word. He just never

took a day off, and played just as hard against us as he

did opponents.

But

anyway, one day in practice, I was running the baseline,

and Beau throws this cheap elbow in my ribs, and I went

after him. And they broke it up, and nothing transpired,

but then Danny starts ripping me about it, and I had had

enough by this point, and we got to arguing. So, he

makes the rest of the team start running, and I made

some statements about him spoiling King and Reid, and we

stood at mid court, arguing nose to nose while the rest

of the team ran. So I commented to Danny, and I said to

him, “If you just brush against me, I’m going to knock

you out man.” (Laughs) So I told him he was messing with

the wrong guy, because I wasn’t no kid, and to this day,

I will say that he almost got his butt kicked that day.

So that

was my bad incident with Danny, as far as my playing

career goes. But winning man, that’s why you wanted to

win for him so badly, because he was one of the best

guys ever to be around when you won games, and the worst

when you lost. I remember we beat Furman out in North

Carolina, and came back and played Grambling and we lost

at home. And he made us practice after the game he was

so pissed.

He was

just not the person you wanted to be around when you

lost, but when you won, he was the man. I remember

winning games under him, and he would buy us Bud Light,

and I’m still a Bud Light man to this day because of

him. (Laughs)

HHC: (Laughs)

What?

HTB: (Laughs)

I’m serious Dave, I used to be Miller Lite, but now it’s

Bud because of that. There was nothing better than

drinking Bud Light and watching game tapes with Danny

Nee. 

HHC:

Priceless!

HTB: Yeah, but I also want to say, one thing

that people don’t know about Danny is that he preached

academics and the corporate world. He may have talked to

you individually about the NBA, CBA, or playing

overseas, but Danny was all about getting an education,

and constantly preached to you about how important

academics were, because after basketball, you needed to

have a life.

And

after I graduated, when I was applying at State Farm, I

honestly included everyone on my reference list on my

resume that I thought would put in a good word for me…

Coach Bargen, teammates, boosters, anybody, but actually

didn’t include Danny, because I didn’t feel like we left

each other on the best of terms. But get this, my boss

at State Farm didn’t call anybody except Danny, who told

him I was one of the best leaders he ever coached. Had

it not been for Danny, I would never had been at State

Farm.

He still

to this day doesn’t know that I didn’t put him as a

reference, so I really appreciate him more now than I

ever had.

HHC: Now, onto

1986-1987, when you guys went 21-12 and finished third

in the NIT Tournament. When we talked to Danny Nee a

couple of weeks back, he said that the success of that

team could be traced to the great Moe Iba defense that

had been installed the previous year. Do you agree with

that?

HTB: I do agree with that. Those guys they

had at Nebraska were so good defensively, like (Keith)

Neubert, (Anthony) Bailous, (Bernard) Day, (Brian) Carr,

(Mike) Martz… But I will also tell you that I’d like to

give Gary Bargen a lot of credit too, because Derrick

Vick and I came with him from Hutchinson, and we

complimented the Iba coached players so well

defensively.

So yes,

Iba was a big reason for our success, but I have to give

Gary Bargen credit for instilling that defense in myself

and Vick, especially me. I wasn’t a good defensive

player at all prior to being coached by Coach Bargen,

and he really taught me how to become a stopper and grow

as a player and person.

And one

quick thing about Keith Neubert, and I know this is off

topic, but I wish he would have come back out for

basketball my last year. He had one of the best shots I

have ever seen from 15 to 18 feet, but just didn’t get

along with Coach Nee, which was unfortunate, so he stuck

with football that last year.

HHC: What are

your favorite memories of that first season at Nebraska?

HTB: Man, just hitting those free throws

against Washington with virtually no time left on the

clock to seal the trip to New York in the NIT. I

remember waving my arms and telling the crowd to calm

down, because they were so loud that it made me nervous

and I couldn’t focus.

But

after I hit them, I remember hearing “New York, New

York” and having my 6 or 7 year old son in my arms as I

cut down the net on that ladder. Man, that was amazing.

HHC: During

your senior season at Nebraska, you were the oldest

player in the Big 8. Did you catch a lot of flack about

that from opposing fans and players?

HTB: Actually, not really, because there

was another guy at Georgetown at the time named

Hightower, and then a guy at K-State my junior year that

was the same age and had been military. So, I caught

more flack from my teammates, who called me grandpa,

than the rest of the guys and fans, to be honest. And

The Sporting News did a story on my age too, but in

the end, it worked out well, because I was like a big

brother to my teammates and really took care of them.

HHC: And speaking of your senior

season, 1987-1988 was a disappointment, as you guys

finished 13-18. However, you were named a third-team

All-Big 8 selection, and a first-team academic All-Big 8

performer. Which award meant more?

HTB:

Academics, and I’ll tell you why Dave. Believe it or

not, my cumulative GPA from my high school was a 1.59.

All I did was play basketball, and after basketball, I

never showed up to class. I don’t know what I learned in

high school, pretty much nothing. So, to be able to get

a bachelor’s in science with an emphasis in accounting

was by far the biggest accomplishment in my life.

And what

I got from the university is awesome as well. They used

to have in the basketball offices there, a picture of me

trying to shoot a reverse layup against Danny Manning,

and under it, it says, “First team academic All-Big 8.”

And, I have it in my basement now, its pretty awesome.

HHC: And while you guys didn't win a lot

that season, you had to have felt that you helped plant

the seeds for success of that 1990-1991 team, because on

that team your senior season were Beau Reid, Clifford

Scales, Rich King, and Kelly Lively. Did you feel like a

mentor on that team?

HTB: Oh yeah, most definitely. At the

time, to be honest, the losing was tough, because I felt

like Danny was really sacrificing the senior season of

myself and Vick. But in retrospect, I see that he had to

rebuild for the next year, and I just didn’t understand

what that was at the time. But I definitely think we

could have been better at the same time.

But that

year, we did have some big wins, like against KU when

they went on to win the championship. We also beat

Missouri. that year, Missouri, etc.

But yes,

we had a disappointing season, but I understand it more

now than I did then, since he was just trying to rebuild

and get Scales, Reid, etc. the chance to develop. I

still to this day feel we could have easily been a .500

or better team in the Big 8 though, but at least we had

big wins and beat Larry Brown and Danny Manning two

years in a row at the Devaney Center. 

And I

still let Danny know about that whenever I talk to him.

(Laughs)

HHC: Oh yeah?

HTB: Yeah, and speaking of disappointment, and I

don’t want to switch subjects, but he’s so disappointed

in this era’s basketball players and the fact that the

players today aren’t like they were then. He says he

can’t believe how these guys everywhere won’t even play

pickup ball, so that just goes to show you that it’s a

new generation, and that puts the nail on the head of

what Beau Reid said, about how these players think they

are better than they are.

And here

I am, 45 years old and playing against them, and they

are quitting before I do. Back then, you couldn’t peel

us out of the gym, but it’s just a new generation today,

and they don’t understand the work ethic it takes to

succeed. It’s a big step from high school and junior

college to play at the Big 12 level, and I don’t think

several kids don’t understand.

HHC: What are your favorite memories of

your times at the University of Nebraska?

HTB: Oh, the one that sticks out in

particular was the game we won against Washington to go

to New York, as I previously mentioned. That kind of

made up for me missing that shot against K-State in the

Big 8 Tournament my junior year, which probably would

have propelled us to the NCAA Tournament instead of the

NIT. I hit that shot a thousand times, and it was an

open three in the corner off of a perfect pass from

Brian Carr, but I saw Mitch Richmond out of the corner

of my eye and just missed it because I lost my focus. We

still should have gone to the NCAA’s that year though

because we had a better record than K-State, but we lost

to them in the first round of the Big 8 Tournament so I

guess that made sense.

Anyway,

the coolest thing about hitting those free throws and

sending us to New York was that I picked up my son at

that time, which I already talked about. But when he was

at Nebraska for that year, they did a feature on him in

the program, and I have it in my basement. And they

asked him what his favorite memory was of his Dad

playing at Nebraska, and he said his favorite memory was

that same one, me holding him in my arms as I cut down

that net when he was 6 or 7 years old.

Off the

court, my best memory was going to my graduation

ceremony, and having my parents there. I was the first

family member in my immediate and extended family at

that time to achieve my bachelor’s degree, so I think

walking across the stage, and having everyone there, was

just great. And then today, I’ve got a niece, brother,

and cousin’s that have degrees, so its almost like I

opened the doors and set the stage for several relatives

to walk the same path. So, I think that was my proudest

moment off the court.

HHC: And you have stayed around Lincoln

since graduating, and we hear you still follow the

Huskers closely and play ball against some of the

current Huskers from time to time. Tell us about that?

HTB: Oh yeah, I have never not played

pickup ball. From the Strickland’s to Lue’s to the

current players, I play with and against them all. And,

I worked out with (Charles) Richardson and (Jason)

Dourisseau over the summer, and got the chance to play

against some of the new recruits, too. I think they all

have the skills, but I think it’s a new generation, and

that their philosophy of basketball is different and

they don’t understand what they are lacking.

I just

think its tough to be a leader on this Nebraska team

because of the lack of the respect that some of the

players have for each other. And, it’s kind of

disappointing for some of the older players, I think,

who really have that pride and respect of the Nebraska

program, such as (Wes) Wilkinson, who I played against

in the state games awhile back, and Dourisseau. These

guys have so much pride, and I honestly think they are

frustrated.

I think

the new generation of basketball in general doesn’t

understand the opportunity that they have been given, as

far as playing basketball at the highest level and

getting their education. I just don’t think they have a

grasp on that.

But

yeah, I’m a big supporter of the program, but I will say

that I was a little disappointed in how some of the new

player’s played pickup ball against me this summer, and

how they treated each other, as well as the work ethic.

I know that when I played, Danny Nee had a genuine

concern of what you were doing during the summer. Sure,

he knew we drank beer and everything, but as long as you

were in that gym in the off-season and working out, he

was fine. But if you weren’t doing it, he was on you,

because he understood the most important time of the

year was the summer.

To be

honest Dave, I’m not surprised they struggled against

Creighton, because Creighton has more pride in beating

us than we do beating them. But, the good news is that I

still think they can have a successful season, but

somebody is going to have to step up. But unfortunately,

it’s the younger generation that needs to step it up.

Joe McCray needs to change his attitude and start

listening to Coach Collier. And I think Richardson and

Dourisseau are some of the most laidback people that

should be leaders, but you almost can’t blame them

because of what they are dealing with. You have freshman

who think they are better than they are, and you’ve got

sophomore’s who don’t listen.

It’s

tough, but I think they will pull through.

HHC: Let’s hope so. Tell everyone what

Henry T. Buchanan up to these days, both personally and

professionally?

HTB: I’ve been working at State Farm for

17.5 years now, and I’m contemplating following Beau

Reid’s footsteps and becoming an agent. I run a

basketball league, and I still play on a high level, and

run the best league in Lincoln, as far as talent wise

goes, at Sports Courts. I run that on Tuesday’s and

Thursday’s, and I’m still very involved in the

community, as far as the Nancy and Tom Osborne mentoring

program, and I’m a coordinator for State Farm and

recruit mentors for kid’s in the 3^rd-12^th

grade. And this is my fifth year doing that, and I have

a kid I’ve been mentoring since 4^th grade, so

I’m heavily involved with that.

I’ve

been involved in the LPS graduation requirement

committee, and I did that a few years back. I also get

involved in interviewing potential principles, K-12.

So yeah,

I still try to be active and involved in the community.

(Laughs) I picked up golf a few years ago and still

suck, but I like doing it. (Laughs) Waist of money for

me though!

HHC: If we set

you up an e-mail account at

[email protected] , would you be willing

to take some e-mails from Husker fans?

HTB: Most definitely, I’d love that. And

keep up the great work with this site, and thanks for

having me.<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">