Then & Now: Randy Cipriano on

Then & Now: Randy Cipriano on

Joe Cipriano

Compiled By Dave Brandon

(Photo Courtesy NU Media Relations)

Randy

Cipriano was an Assistant Coach at Nebraska from

1982-1986, and saw his teams go a combined 91-57 (.615)

while serving under Coach Moe Iba.

Cipriano

is the son of the late Joe Cipriano (Head Coach,

1964-1980), who is second on the all-time victories

list at Nebraska (253-197, .562).

Cipriano

is our latest guest in this special two-part/two-week

edition of "Then & Now."

HHC: Thanks

for talking with us about your Dad last week and for

joining us for a second installment about yourself this

week. You grew up in Lincoln, and were obviously around

Nebraska basketball a lot. What are some of your

favorite memories and teams?

RC: I really remember the players. I’m still

really good friends with Mike Naderer and Terry Novak,

and (Jerry) Fort, like I said.

As far

as the fanatic part, as far as do you remember this game

or that game, or this tournament, not really. I remember

the relationships and the friendships more than

anything.

HHC: You had

an outstanding career at Lincoln Southeast High School

under Coach Wally McNaught before ultimately going to

Kearney State under Coach Jerry Hueser. What was it like

being a coach’s son, and did your Dad encourage you to

play, or was that something you did on your own?

RC: My Dad’s philosophy was that if you

want to succeed, whether it is reading, basketball, or

dancing, whatever you do, do it because you want to do

it, not because someone else does. I don’t ever remember

him pushing me to play basketball.

HHC: Before

going to Kearney State, was there ever the thought of

you walking on at Nebraska?

RC: No. Coming out of high school, I

wasn’t even near good enough, although by my junior year

of college, maybe I would have been good enough.

But I

played against the players all summer long, and even

playing at Kearney, there is a big division between the

athletes, size, quickness, and speed. There were one or

two kids at Kearney that could have played D-1, and that

was it, and its still that way today.

HHC: At Kearney State, you scored 1,039

points and set Antelope season and career assist marks

of 150 and 329. You also led the team to the finals of

the 1978 NAIA Tournament and won the Hustle Award, along

with garnering All-Tournament honors. What were those

years like?

RC: Fantastic.

I was away from home, out on my own, my own person,

feeling my own way through life. Had some successes, and

got away from Lincoln a little bit. It was great, I

loved it. I played for a coach that gave me freedom to

grow up and be myself, and he knew we’d compete and

play, and we won a lot of games.

So, once

you get involved in a program, no matter what level, its

important to you. We should have won the national

championship my junior year, and I do remember we got a

bad call at the end of the game against Grand Canyon and

it cost us the game. The kid traveled and they didn’t

call it and we should have won. But you learn a lot from

that, too.

But as

far as Coach Hueser goes, I think that he had a lot of

influence on my life, and even some of his basketball

philosophies impacted me later.

HHC: What person prepared you most for

coaching?

RC: I had a really unique opportunity to

pick and choose what I liked since I was around so many

great coaches, so I don’t think I can be pin holed into

one. I think Moe Iba was a big defensive side to my

beliefs, and then there was Norm Stewart, and gosh, lots

of other guys.

You’ve

got to remember that since I was six years old, I was in

my dad’s office listening to these guys talk basketball.

HHC: You got your first coaching gig in

1980-1981 at Ogallala (NE.) High School. Talk about that

year and what it taught you?

RC: It’s your first job. I loved Ogallala

because I like to fish and hunt, so Lake McConaughey was

great.

At that

time, Ogallala hadn’t had a lot of success, and I think

we won 5 or 6 games my only year there, but I was

playing with only one senior and lots of sophomores and

juniors. We came back to the university to a team camp

in the summer and we won the thing, a perfect 14-0, and

I knew we would have been good my second year. But I

left in August for Lincoln.

While at

Ogallala, I had an opportunity to develop some of my

strategies for coaching, and it was nice to be my own

boss for a while.

HHC: In 1981-1982 you were hired by Moe

Iba in Lincoln, as you mentioned. How much of a thrill

was that?

RC: My

ambition was to be a college coach at that time, so it

was more of an expectation of getting where I wanted to

be than a thrill. Whether it was Nebraska or somewhere

else, it was great no matter what.

HHC: 1981-1982 was a good year for you

guys, as the team went 16-12 (7-7, T-4th) and scored a

67-51 victory over #1 and 19-0 Missouri. Jack Moore also

won the Naismith Award, which is given annually to the

nation's best player under 6'0" tall. What do you recall

most when you think about that first year?

RC: Well, I think we were really

competitive. We had to play that way to be competitive

because we didn’t have near the talent that other teams

did.

HHC: What kind

of player was Jack Moore?

RC: He was a pretty good player, really

smart. He could control the game.

HHC: 1982-1983 saw the team go 22-10 (9-5,

T-3rd) and make it further in the post-season than any

team before it, as you guys went to the semifinals in

the NIT. Dave Hoppen was a freshman that year and was

named to the All-Big 8 Freshman Team. How exciting was

that year?

RC: That was a pretty exciting year

because our gym was packed; we were getting 14,000 a

night, and then we played in Lincoln against Iona in the

NIT.

We had

some good players, and that was the year we went to New

York and there was a lot of following. A lot of fans

came out to New York, and it was a good year.

It (the

NIT) wasn’t where we wanted to be (the NCAA’s), but that

was a good stepping-stone that said we were making

progress.

HHC: 1983-1984 was another good year with

the team finishing 18-12 (7-7, 3rd) and getting to the

second round of the NIT after defeating Creighton.

Anything stick out about that year?

RC: Not too much. Creighton was always a

fun game for us because it was so competitive. And they

had and still have a good program, and with the

Interstate Rivalry, I just remember how fun that

competition was.

Anytime

you play a game that has that kind of attention and

intensity, I think that’s what you play for.

HHC: 1984-1985 saw the team make the

second round of the NIT again by going 16-14 (5-9,

T-5th), but it would be the next year that everyone

remembers. After that 1985 season, did you have any idea

of the success the next season would bring?

RC: Well yeah, I think we were getting

better every year. We felt like we had a really good

chance to make the NCAA Tournament, and as things would

end up, we did.

HHC: 1985-1986 is one of the more

memorable years in Husker history for a couple of

reasons. Before we get to the positives, we have to at

least ask about the illegal practice that occurred at

Mabel Lee prior to the start of the season. Do you feel

that the situation was blown out of proportion by the

media and that Coach Iba was treated unfairly?

RC: Yeah, he was. (Laughs) I think they

should have given him a raise; he’s working overtime

(Laughs). Seriously though, I don’t think that was

really a big deal. I think the press blew that up, and I

think we had someone inside our own trusted group that

set that up, and it wasn’t a surprise to me.

HHC: Do you feel like the negative

sentiment towards Coach Iba brought the team together,

or did it not really have much of an impact?

RC: No, I don’t think the media had

anything to do with success or losses that we had, ever.

HHC: Now, to

the season itself. You guys finished 19-11 (8-6, 3rd)

and made it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in

school history, even despite the injury to Dave Hoppen

at Colorado on February 1^st-

RC: No. According to the media we finished

19-11, but Kansas State or one of the teams we got beat

by played an illegal player, and they had to forfeit

(Editors Note: It was in fact Kansas State). But check

into it Dave, but I think really we should have credit

for 20 wins, but you can find out. That should be

changed.

HHC: We’ll ask

around. How tough was it overcoming the loss of Dave

Hoppen that year in the February 1^st game at

Colorado?

RC: Dave was a great player, and our offense was

set around him, but we had a kid named Chris Logan who

was a really good player, too. He was 6’5” or 6’6”, and

he could compete and play, and I’m a firm believer that

if you have philosophy and a solid structure, one player

isn’t going to make or break you. You have to go

compete.

Look at

Creighton this year, they lose their All-American (Nate

Funk) and everyone is singing the blues and saying they

can’t compete, and hell, they have a great year.

So don’t

me wrong, losing Hoppen was a blow, but as a coach and

team, you think about it the first night, but the next

day, you go put your tennis shoes on and play.

You

don’t think those kids playing behind Hoppen didn’t want

a chance to play and prove themselves? Yes, of course

they did.

HHC: Is the 1985-1986 team one of the most

under appreciated teams in Nebraska basketball history?

RC: Oh, I don’t know what you mean by

that.

HHC: Well,

from talking to some of the former players from the team

like Harvey Marshall and Bill Jackman, and from many of

the longtime fans, many feel that team doesn’t get the

kind of respect it deserved.

RC: Well, you have to remember the media was so

dead on trying to run Moe off that they probably lost a

lot of the story. Had they just reported the games and

how successful they were, it would have been more

appreciated in Harvey’s mind, and I can 100% see why

Harvey and others have said that, and I recruited

Harvey.

HHC: Were you fully aware that Coach Iba

would step down following the NCAA Tournament (loss to

Western Kentucky in Charlotte, NC.), or was it a

surprise to you?

RC: No, not at all, he told me in December

we weren’t coming back, that it was over.

HHC: What kind

of a man was Moe Iba?

RC: Great man, absolutely solid as a rock.

And really underappreciated. He’s still a good friend of

mine.

HHC: Following

that season and his resignation, you also left the

Nebraska basketball program. Did you do any coaching

after that?

RC: No, 1986 was my last year. I shook my

head and couldn’t believe they were doing what they were

doing. I said, “I’m done with it, I’m never letting

anyone control my life again,” and I went on.

HHC: What are some of your favorite

memories during your years as a coach at Nebraska?

RC: Making the NCAA Tournament. Recruiting

the kids that had a big impact on that.

HHC: And favorite players?

RC: Oh, favorite players, as far as

talent, I thought we had some great kids. Bernard Day. I

really thought Dave Hoppen was a good player, Greg

Downing, Stan Cloudy, David Ponce.

I mean,

we had a hand full of good players, but here’s the

thing. We’re playing with a 5’10” point guard who is

really a good player. Kansas is playing with a 6’3”

point guard that is really a good player. We had to go

down a notch and try to compete, so we had to play

differently.

HHC: Talk about the state of the current

program. Is Nebraska basketball healthy right now?

RC: Wow, that’s loaded (Laughs).

HHC: (Laughs) True, I apologize.

RC: Geez man. Well, I’m going to answer it two

ways then. Is it healthy? Well, if you’re going to

analyze wins and losses, and say that it is the

barometer for healthy, I don’t think that’s fair. Barry

Collier is a good basketball coach, very good. But he

doesn’t have near the players that some of the rest of

the league has. I think they are getting better, but

Dave, everyone analyzes the program by NCAA Tournament

appearances or by how many games you won.

And

really, that’s the bottom line thing, and you know what

the records are, and whom they have played.

HHC: Fair enough. What is Randy Cipriano

up to these days, and what has he been doing since 1986?

RC: When I got out of coaching I started a

marketing firm, and I work with restaurants and hotels.

My corporate office is in Lincoln, and my biggest office

is in Omaha. I own property in the Haymarket that we

developed.

I live

on a 600-acre farm near Branched Oak Lake and have a

14-year-old daughter and have been married for 25 years,

and had 39-40 people on my payroll last week.

HHC: Sounds like all is well. If we set

you up an e-mail account at

[email protected] , would you be willing

to take some e-mails from our readers?

RC: Sure, I can do that.

HHC: Awesome. Thanks a lot for your time,

and for discussing your Father with us last week. Is

there anything you'd like to say or add?

RC: Yes Dave, my Dad thoroughly enjoyed

his time at the University of Nebraska, don’t get me

wrong. He had some good friends and it really gave him

an opportunity to develop himself in many different

ways, and I still follow the University of Nebraska. I’m

excited about the football team and like watching them

on TV. I’ll catch basketball occasionally, and it’s a

lot of good memories.

But my

whole thing is more about relationships and friendships,

and I remember competing and going to bat, and having to

work through problems with players, recruits, and

teammates, and trying to get inside someone’s head to

make them compete. I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship

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