Former Huskers lured back for golf event
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BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star
Let’s get one thing straight: Tyronn Lue doesn’t play golf.
Before Wednesday, Lue had barely touched a club.
That’s one reason the former Nebraska basketball player lasted only five holes at the Doc Sadler Golf Classic at Wilderness Ridge Golf Club.
“First time today. And I’m terrible,” Lue said. “I’m done. I got frustrated.”
Not helping Lue’s mood was the fact he hadn’t slept in a day.
Lue, who just completed his third season with the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night in Cleveland. He flew a private jet overnight so he could attend Sadler’s golf tournament, a fundraiser for the Rebounders Club.
Seems like a lot of trouble for someone who’d been a little disgruntled with Nebraska’s basketball program.
“When they fired Coach (Danny) Nee, I just never came back,” said Lue, who played under Nebraska’s former coach from 1996-98.
“He was my coach, you know? I didn’t think it was fair. I didn’t agree with that.”
So Lue quit following the Huskers.
Why return now?
“I came here to support the program,” Lue said. “Coach (Sadler) extended a hand out to us and wanted us to get back involved in the program.
“No other coach has done that since they’ve been here.”
Wednesday’s golf outing, for mostly that reason, was a huge success. The event was filled with 30 foursomes that included some 27 celebrities — former Nebraska players and coaches.
Among the more notable names: Eric Piatkowski, Erick Strickland, Beau Reid, Bruce Chubick and, of course, Lue.
“Tyronn wants Nebraska basketball to be important again,” said former player Andy Markowski, who stays in contact with Lue. “This is just one step to getting those former guys around.
“I know Coach Sadler and his staff have reached out to not only myself, but to guys like Tyronn. He wants those guys around the program. He wants things to be fun for us, and for us to feel a part of things again. It’s not ’til Doc got here that a lot of these guys have felt like they’re wanted. You reach out to former players, and they’re going to give back.”
Lue met Sadler for the first time Wednesday.
“I hope he can get it turned around,” Lue said. “I think we had a nice run with Strickland and Piatkowski and Jaron Boone and guys that were here. After Danny Nee left, a lot of those good players didn’t come here anymore.
“We need to get the talent back here in Nebraska and start winning again.”
Nee, who won 254 games in 14 seasons at Nebraska, also attended Wednesday’s event and helped with an auction of various Husker items. Among those items were tickets to NBA games, donated by Lue, Strickland and Piatkowski.
“It’s fun to see Danny Nee,” said Piatkowski, who just completed his first season with the Phoenix Suns. “Danny was great for me. I liked the way he coached me. Our personalities were similar.
“There were a lot of old faces I hadn’t seen in a long time. It showed some effort for some guys to come back. To see some of the guys who showed up today, it’s nice.”
Like Lue, Piatkowski met Sadler for the first time Wednesday.
“He’s the type of coach that people in Nebraska are going to really, really like,” Piatkowski said. “People I’ve had a chance to talk to so far, they say they just love him, and they love the way he interacts with everybody.
“He’s kind of a good ol’ boy, which is something that goes over really well in Nebraska.”
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
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