Looking at Nebraska
Nov. 1, 2008 12:39 p.m.
It took plenty of convincing on Buzz Williams' part to lure assistant Tony Benford away from Nebraska.
And now here it is, a little more than six months later, and Benford will already be going back to Lincoln, although this time as a member of MU's coaching staff, as the Golden Eagles prepare for their Sunday scrimmage with the Cornhuskers.
"I'll tell you what, I'm excited about it," said Benford. "Coach (Doc) Sadler's a great friend of mine, also of Buzz's. We've all known each other over 15 years or more. But he's building that program. Last year they won 20 basketball games for the first time in 11 years, went to second round of the NIT, finished sixth in the Big 12.
"They've got a chance to be really good."
Nebraska was picked to finish in the lower third of the Big 12 this year in a poll of its coaches, but according to Benford the Cornhuskers will still be talented enough to provide plenty of challenges to the Golden Eagles.
The setup will be same as it was the previous two years when MU scrimmaged Kansas State.
"We're going to go in the morning from about 9 to 11, then we'll come back in the afternoon and go 3 to 5," said Benford. "We'll have officials there, but we'll also be able to do a lot of teaching. It'll be really good, really beneficial. Especially when you're playing against a team that's similar to us.
"They're not as good as us, but they're similar where they'll play you 99% man-to-man, hard-nosed defense, they run the same offense we run, so our guys are really going to have to execute against those guys. That'll be really good for us right there, and it should be a great weekend."
MU had its hands full last year when it was taken apart by Kansas State big man Michael Beasley. The Golden Eagles will catch a break this year, though, as the focal point of last year's Nebraska team, 6-foot-11 Aleks Maric, has exhausted his eligibility with the Cornhuskers.
"No Aleks Maric. But I'll tell you what they have: some really good guards," said Benford. "So it's going to be like our guys looking in the mirror. They can really break you down off the dribble, they can really defend the basketball, they can shoot it also. So it's going to be a really hard-nosed game, and it should be a lot of fun for both teams. Both teams will have a chance to get better."
Interestingly enough, Nebraska was the site of the first true road game for MU's senior trio of Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews back in 2005.
The Golden Eagles were just four days removed from winning the Great Alaska Shootout, and ultimately fell victim to both jet lag and the Cornhuskers in falling, 84-74.
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