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Nebraska Cornhuskers (2001: 14-16)

The following team preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the nation's most comprehensive look at this and all Division I teams, be sure to order the 2001-02 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518.

From this round peg in a square hole season, Nebraska managed to squeeze out 14 victories, improving on the previous year's total under Danny Nee. Nebraska won the San Juan Shootout. The Huskers beat Texas, Missouri and Oklahoma State. They had Iowa State beaten, only to lose when the Cyclones threw in a pass and scored in seven-tenths of a second. There were three one-point losses. If they all go the other way, the Cornhuskers are in the NIT.

This year, Collier has plenty of issues again.

Nobody who averaged in double figures in scoring returns.

The top returning rebounder averaged 2.8 boards. The cupboard appears bare. Collier insists it is not.

"We should be a better shooting team on the perimeter and have a better understanding of what we need to do to win,'' he said. "We will not be blocking shots or rebounding quite the same as last season, but I do think we'll play better defense overall.''

Backcourt

The top returning player is 6-1 senior guard Cary Cochran (pronounced CO-horn), a wonderful shooter who cannot be left open anywhere on his side of mid-court. Cochran (9.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.1 apg, .460 FG, .473 3PT, .871 FT) took 200 shots from the field, 165 from behind the arc. He tied the team record with 78 three-pointers last season and was the big reason that Nebraska set a mark by shooting .383 as a team on threes.

Cochran was third in the nation in three-point percentage a year ago and is the nation's leading returning shooter, but Nebraska will need more than his perimeter shooting. He'll be asked to be more of a leader and all-around player.

Cochran will keep his off-guard position and the point will be run by 6-1 senior John Robinson, a New Mexico transfer who became eligible after the first semester last season. Robinson (3.1 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 1.8 apg) is a proven scorer, averaging 10.2 points in 34.4 minutes a game for Dave Bliss' team in as a freshman in 1999. He connected on 35 percent of his three-point shots and was the starting point in the Lobos' two NCAA Tournament games.

Robinson is sure-handed; he was fourth in the Big 12 in assists to turnover ratio (1.9 to 1) a year ago.

The rest of the backcourt minutes will go to 6-2 senior Kendrick Ford and newcomers. Ford (1.1 ppg, 0.3 rpg) played in 13 games in his first year after transferring from Neosho (Kansas) Community College. He played in 13 minutes in the opener and only six the rest of the season.

Freshman Jake Muhlheisen, a 6-4 guard, was one of the top prospects in Nebraska last year when he averaged 16 points, 3.7 assists and 2.5 steals. He also shot .403 from behind the arc. Muhlheisen was a shooting guard at Southeast High School in Lincoln, Neb., but will play both guard positions this season.

Brennon Clemmons, a 6-2 junior, averaged 14 points and five rebounds for Olney Central (Ill.) Community College. He's seen as a defensive specialist at both guard positions.

Cochran's top backup could be Corey Simms, a 6-5 freshman from Normandy High School in St. Louis, Mo. He averaged 22 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.1 steals as a senior. Defense also is Simms' forte. He finished third in his conference in blocked shots.

Frontcourt

So guard-oriented is Nebraska that its best big man, 6-11 sophomore Brian Conklin, is one of the team's top outside shooters. Conklin (4.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg, .431 FG, .426 3PT, .588 FT) took more shots outside the arc (54) than inside (48). Conklin weighs a mere 220 pounds, and it's uncertain whether he has the physical capability to pound inside. But he did grab 17 rebounds in a game against Kansas State, including 14 on the defensive end.

It's not like Conklin isn't trying to get bigger. He's been eating four and five meals a day.

As for other frontcourt starters, throw a dart. The first look goes to veterans Ross Buckendahl, Justin Boeker and Ben Chesnut.

Buckendahl, a 6-5 senior, didn't play last season while recovering from knee ligament damage. He came to Nebraska as a walk-on out of Northeast (Neb.) Community College and has been awarded a scholarship. Buckendahl played a total of 94 minutes in 2000.

Boeker, a 6-9 senior, averaged 1.1 points and 0.7 rebounds in 15 games. He started his career at Manhattan College, where he averaged 1.4 points and 1.5 rebounds for the Jaspers in 1999. He's a big-body 240-pounds, the heaviest player on the roster. Chesnut, a 6-6 sophomore, played in three minutes of four games last season.

Once again, playing time beckons newcomers. Dan Heimos, a 6-11 freshman, averaged 14.1 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.1 blocks last season for Gilbault High School in Waterloo, Iowa. Like Conklin, he's on the lean side at 215 pounds. John Turek is a 6-9 freshman from Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he averaged 18 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks for a team that finished 21-1. Already in the program was Marques McCarty, a 6-5 freshman from Fort Bend Austin High School in Sugarland, Texas. McCarty sat out as a red-shirt last season but practiced with the team. He's slated to play small forward.

Bottom line

It had been eight years since Collier suffered a losing season. His fourth Butler team went 11-17 in 1993. His next seven turned in winning records, four played in the postseason, three in the NCAA Tournament.

It's not like the guy doesn't know how to win. He has a team more to his liking, with players more willing to buy into the system. He has terrific shooters in Cochran and Conklin, and now he needs them to expand their games.

If Nebraska is to be successful, players nobody outside of Lincoln know much about will have to step forward. Robinson could be one of those players. Perhaps Simms or Muhlheisen, McCarty or Heimos could, too.

Whoever it is, it will be somebody who hasn't faced the competition seen in the Big 12. Nebraska seems to be headed farther away from its days as a postseason regular.

Collier won with lesser talent at Butler. If he pulls off a winning season this year, it will be because the whole is greater than the sum of the parts and he'll be a candidate for league coach of the year.