It's been quite the week for redshirt freshman forward Alonzo Edwards, in ways both good and bad.
On one hand, Edwards was handed a golden opportunity to establish himself as one of Nebraska's primary post players for this season and the next three years after sophomore forward Alex Chapman's decision to transfer last week.
PREGAME NOTES
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| Tip: 7:07 p.m. CST
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| Where: Devaney Sports Center 13,595
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| Head Coach: Doc Sadler 3rd yr (43-29 overall)
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| Radio: Husker Sports Radio Network stations (Play-by-play: Kent Pavelka. Color: Matt Davison.)
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| TV: FSN Midwest (Nebraska only). Play-by-play: Greg Sharpe. Color: Eric Piatkowski
Satellite TV: ESPN FullCourt, DirecTV
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| Series: Nebraska leads 1-0
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On the other, he's hardly been able to take advantage of that opportunity, as lingering lower back spasms have limited his ability to even practice, let alone play in games.
The window of opportunity likely won't be closing anytime soon this season, but with a cast of incoming big men joining the Huskers next season, Edwards knows the sooner he can establish himself as a fixture in the post this season, the better his chances will be of keeping that role in the future.
"In a way it's frustrating, but I just can't let it get to me," Edwards said. "Sometimes I do (get frustrated), and sometimes I don't even think about it. I'm just trying to get healthy, whether I'm on the court or not."
Along with the issues with his back, Edwards missed some practice last week after turning his ankle early last week. The injury wasn't severe by any means, but it was just another setback in his quest to become the strong post presence the Huskers have been looking for all season.
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UMBC (5-5, 0-0 America East)
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| 7:07 p.m.
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Nebraska (7-2, 0-0 Big 12)
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| FSN Midwest (Nebraska only)
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PROJECTED STARTERS
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Nebraska 7-2
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|
Pos
|
#
|
Name
|
Yr
|
Pts/reb
|
G
|
5
|
Sek Henry (6-3, 200)
|
Jr
|
8.0/3.7
|
G
|
4
|
Steve Harley (5-11, 180)
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Sr
|
13.6/3.3
|
G
|
11
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Ade Dagunduro (6-5, 200)
|
Sr
|
7.0/3.4
|
G
|
44
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Ryan Anderson (6-4, 205)
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Jr
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5.2/3.9
|
F
|
32
|
Chris Balham (6-8, 235)
|
Jr
|
1.0/0.8
|
|
|
|
UMBC 5-5
|
|
Pos
|
#
|
Name
|
Yr
|
Pts/reb
|
G
|
2
|
Jay Greene (5-8, 160)
|
Sr
|
13.2/4.0
|
G
|
21
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Matt Spadafora (6-5, 200)
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Jr
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8.9/2.9
|
F
|
32
|
Darryl Proctor (6-4, 230)
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Sr
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17.8/8.7
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F
|
4
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Rich Flemming (6-7, 205)
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So
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9.0/4.8
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F
|
30
|
Justin Fry (6-9, 225)
|
Jr
|
8.4/3.3
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|
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In addition to Chapman's departure, junior forward Chris Balham provided sparse minutes to open the year and hasn't been able to play or even fully practice the past few weeks while his surgically repaired knee continues to give him problems.
What should be a wide-open door for Edwards to establish himself in the Huskers' lineup has only been delayed by lingering injuries. Still, both he and head coach Doc Sadler said the only pressure for Edwards to get healthy enough to take advantage of the opportunity is coming from Edwards himself
"I think it gives him an opportunity," Edwards said. "I don't know if it's any more pressure. Obviously there's an opportunity for a lot of guys. In Alonzo's case, this has not been a good week for him, not being able to practice."
Edwards said he's been getting daily treatment on his back, and his practice time hasn't been significantly limited because of the injury, Still, it's been significant enough that he didn't play at all in the Huskers' win over IPFW last weekend, and saw just four minutes of playing time in their loss to Oregon State two weeks ago.
But Edwards insists he hasn't let his injury problems get the best of him, and he's fully confident that he'll eventually get healthy enough to take advantage of the playing time that is essentially sitting there waiting for him.
For now, though, the No. 1 priority is simply getting healthy enough to get to that point.
"At the end of the day, basketball's not going to be there forever, you know what I'm saying?" Edwards said. "Overall, as long as my health is fine, like I said, the talent and everything is going to be there, but if I'm not healthy, there's nothing really that I can do."
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