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Husker running back Marlon Lucky was the lone Nebraska player selected by the media in their preseason All-Big 12 Conference picks announced Thursday.

It is the fewest number of Huskers ever named to a preseason all-conference poll in recent memory, but Lucky is certainly a deserving pick as he is the top returning back in the conference from last year.

Missouri had seven players and Oklahoma had six on the all-conference first team. Missouri had five named on offense, led by quarterback Chase Daniel, the preseason Offensive Player of the Year selection.

Auston Elgish leads the six Sooners named to the first team, and he was tabbed the preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

The selections are as follows:

Offense
WR - Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech
TE - Chase Coffman, Missouri
OL - Duke Robinson, Oklahoma
OL - Phil Loadholt, Oklahoma
C   - Jon Cooper, Oklahoma
OL - Louis Vasquez, Texas Tech
OL - Colin Brown, Missouri
OL - Cedric Dockery, Texas
WR - Jeremy Maclin, Missouri
QB - Chase Daniel, Missouri
RB - Marlon Lucky, Nebraska
RB - DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma
PK - Jeff Wolfert, Missouri
KR - Marcus Herford, Kansas
 
Defense
DL - Auston English, Oklahoma
DL - Ian Campbell, Kansas State
DL - George Hypolite, Colorado
DL - Brian Orakpo, Texas
LB - Sean Weatherspoon, Missouri
LB - Joe Mortenson, Kansas
LB - Joe Pawelek, Baylor
DB - Nic Harris, Oklahoma
DB - William Moore, Missouri
DB - Jamar Wall, Texas Tech
DB - Jordan Lake, Baylor
P  - Justin Brantly, Texas A&M
PR - Jeremy Maclin, Missouri

The media that covers the Big 12 Conference have spoken, and they like a repeat of last year's conference championship game to take place this December.

Both Missouri and Oklahoma were runaway choices of the conference media members to win their respective divisions this year. Missouri was a unanimous selection while Oklahoma received 49 of the 51 first-place votes.

As for the Huskers, the media have Nebraska sitting in the No. 3 slot in the North Division, finishing behind the Tigers and Kansas. Colorado is fourth, followed by Kansas State and Iowa State.

In the South division, Texas received the other two first-place votes and is second behind the Sooners. Texas Tech is picked third, followed by Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and perennial doormat Baylor.

Media vote totals, with first-place votes in parenthesis, is as follows:

NORTH DIVISION
1. Missouri (51)              306
2. Kansas                        234
3. Nebraska                    183
4. Colorado                   181
5. Kansas State               108
6. Iowa State                    59

SOUTH DIVISION
1. Oklahoma (49)           304
2. Texas (2)                    230
3. Texas Tech                 227
4. Oklahoma State          140
5. Texas A&M                  118
6. Baylor                          52

The best in college volleyball will be shooting for another trip to Omaha this season, but the race to the final four kicks off in late August with the AVCA Showcase at the Qwest Center.

Nebraska will once again serve as host for the two-day, four-team showdown, as each team will play two games over the weekend Aug. 29-31. Teams invited include Nebraska, Texas, USC and Stanford.

There will be two games Friday and two more on Sunday. Friday's action kicks off at 7 p.m. when Nebraska takes on Stanford, followed by the 9:30 p.m. matchup between Texas and USC.

Sunday's games starts at 12:30 p.m., with Texas taking on Stanford. The 3 p.m. matchup will feature Nebraska and USC.

One-day tickets are available, and you can also purchase two-day ticket packages for the tournament as well. For the best seats, go to Ticket Express -- where no event is ever sold out.

We've been through this before, Husker fans.

Remember a few years ago when Josh Freeman told Bill Callahan he'd come to Nebraska, only to send him a text message saying he'd changed his mind and was going to be the quarterback at Kansas State?

Then there was last year, when Blaine Gabbert said he was coming to play quarterback at Nebraska -- and later decided he'd rather go to Missouri after last year's disaster-filled season in Huskerland.

Maybe the third time's the charm.

Husker fans are going to keep their fingers crossed on this one, as highly-touted quarterback Cody Green of Dayton, Texas announced yesterday he had verbally committed to play football for the Huskers beginning in 2009.

Now we won't know Green's final decision until February, as verbal commitments are non-binding until the letters of intent are signed in February. But if this kid follows through on his word, Nebraska is going to be getting one of the best quarterbacks in the Class of 2009.

Green, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound senior-to-be, was on the short list of a number of schools, including fellow Big 12 schools Baylor, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Texas A&M. Big-name programs like LSU, Alabama and Miami were also after Green's talents.

Green was a standout as a sophomore, passing for 1,429 yards and 19 touchdowns while completing over 60 percent of his passes. He also rushed for 689 yards on 95 carries and four touchdowns.

Last year, his team made it to the state semifinals in Texas' second-biggest class, but he missed most of the season due to torn ligaments in his ankle. His high school coach says he's about 85 percent healthy, and when at full strength he has 4.57-second speed in the 40-yard dash.

Green told the Lincoln Journal-Star he was comfortable with the coaching staff at Nebraska and felt he could get on the field quicker than anywhere else. Green is a student of the game who spends a lot of time watching game film, and his high school coach calls him a "high-character kid" who will be a class act.

Green is the sixth verbal commitment coach Bo Pelini has received from the Class of 2009. Other verbal commitments have come from Shawn Bodtmann of Scranton, Pa.; Thaddeus Randle of Galena Park, Texas; Dontrayevous Robinson of Euless, Texas; and Nebraska standouts Cole Pensick of Lincoln Northeast and C.J. Zimmerer of Omaha Gross.

The 2007-2008 season is one that will not be forgotten very quickly for fans of Husker sports.

The one thing that may get lost in the cracks, though, is the fact that Nebraska won just one Big 12 Conference championship during the past athletic year. The volleyball team shared the title with Texas, marking the fewest conference titles won by Nebraska since joining the Big 12 Conference 12 years ago.

All in all, it wasn't a very good year for Husker athletics overall. Still, in spite of some of the ugly episodes of the previous 12 months -- the football fiasco and firing of athletic director leading the charge -- there were some good highlights this season for Big Red fans.

The women's basketball team qualified for the NCAA tournament and won a first-round matchup, marking just the second time in team history that they advanced to the second round. The Husker wrestling team finished in the top five nationally for the first time in over a decade, the track and field team was once again among the nation's best and the baseball team was ranked as high as No. 5 before a late-season slump took some of the shine off an otherwise-successful spring campaign.

In addition to the football team's worst record in almost half a century, season lowlights included the softball team finishing tied for last in the conference and missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in 14 years, the women's soccer team tied for last and missed the postseason tournament for the second straight year, and the women's gymnastics squad finished last at the conference meet and missed nationals after finishing in the top six nationally eight times in the previous nine seasons.

In the sweepstakes for the Big 12 conference, the Huskers scored 131 points and finished fourth behind Texas (178), Texas A&M (175) and Oklahoma (135). Texas A&M won the most conference titles this season, taking nine in all, while Texas was second with seven. Sweepstakes points are scored based on a school's finish in each sport (1st place is worth 12 points, 2nd place 11, etc.).

Athletic director Tom Osborne told the Omaha World-Herald that he is pleased with where the Husker athletic program is at right now and feels each team can be competitive nationally and at the conference level next season.

Both of the state's major newspapers' websites were gushing over the prospect of an Angolan native that has orally committed to play basketball for the Huskers as the team's first recruit for the 2009-2010 school year.

Vander Joaquim was sponsored by the Shadow Mountain Chruch and is a senior this year at Christina High in El Cajon, Calif. He had originally given a verbal commitment to the University of San Diego assistant coach Walter Roese, but Roese has since become an assistant for Doc Sadler at Nebraska and it appears Joaquim will follow Roese to Lincoln after graduating from high school next year.

Roese was hired by Sadler because of his international connections, and that seems to be paying some immediate dividends. Joaquim speaks Portugese and is learning English, and he certainly will have help from Roese, who is a Brazilian native and speaks three languages, including Portugese.

Joaquim, still growing at 6-foot-9, has a ton of potential, according to college basketball experts. Last year, he averaged 21 points and 17 rebounds a game at Christian High, according to coach Kelvin Starr. He also has this assessment of his talents on ESPN's Top 100 list of 2009 recruits, where he is tabbed at No. 94:

"In a nutshell, Joaquim oozes upside. He has the ideal length, athleticism and savvy to be a high-major 4 (power forward). His back-to-the-basket game is raw, but he has great hands and appears to be very coachable."

Joaquim came to America on the recommendation of his uncle after showing his talent as a member of the Angolan national team at a tournament in Brazil. His uncle played college basketball at Wayland (Texas) Baptist College, and after searching for schools in America that offer English as a second language, his family selected Christian High in California.

Nebraska has three scholarships available for the 2009-2010 season. Joaquim is the team's first commitment for that season.

Joe Ganz and Marlon Lucky both found their names on the watch lists for two major college football awards earlier this week.

Ganz was named to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award watch list, which goes to the top senior quarterback in the country. He is the likely starter this year for the Huskers and is coming off an amazing three-game effort that saw him throw for 1,453 yards and 16 touchdowns while setting single-game school records for passing yards and touchdowns.

Lucky is on the watch list for the Maxwell Award, given to the nation's top college football player. He is coming off a junior year that saw him rush for over 1,000 yards and catch a school-record 75 passes for 705 yards. He accounted for 1,743 all-purpose yards in earning second-team All-Big 12 honors last year.

Both athletes could join some legendary company if they win these awards. Former Husker I-back Mike Rozier won the Maxwell Award -- along with the Heisman Trophy and Walter Camp Award -- in 1983 after rushing for a school-record 2,148 yards. The Unitas Golden Arm Award was also won by a former Husker, as Tommie Frazier earned the honor while leading the Huskers to the national title in 1995.

Husker basketball coach Doc Sadler is looking far and wide for recruits to play for the Nebraska Cornhuskers next season, and he may have found a dandy.

Eshaunte Jones ended speculation late last week by announcing that he will play at Nebraska. He chose the Huskers over some notable programs, including West Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri and Memphis.

Jones had originally committed to Indiana in 2006, but chose instead to play at Hargrave Military Academy, a Virginia prep school, for his final season. He signed to play at Oregon State, but got released when the new coach didn't contact him.

During his final high school season at Fort Wayne North Said (Ind.), he was one of the top prep players in the state. He finished third in the state in scoring, averaging 28 points per game, and also shot 42 percent from the field. During his one season at Hargrave, he averaged 19 points per game before an ankle injury ended his season early. Hargrave went on to win the prep school national championship.

At this point, Jones is finishing class work to become eligible by the NCAA academic clearinghouse and told the Lincoln Journal-Star he hoped to be taking summer classes at UNL.

The Husker volleyball team will face more than its share of quality competition during the 2008 season.

The schedule for the Nebraska volleyball team was announced Thursday, and a young Husker team will be tested early and often during the nonconference part of their schedule.

Nebraska opens up with the AVCA Showcase, set for Aug. 29-31 at the Qwest Center in Omaha. Nebraska will face two of the top teams in the Pac 10 Conference, battling Stanford on Aug. 29 and USC on Aug. 31.

The Huskers will also experience a rare doubleheder when they compete at the Cal Poly Invite on Sept. 5. Nebraska will play Northeastern in the afternoon and host Cal Poly, a Big West contender, that evening. They will also face Tulane during that tournament.

The following weekend, the Huskers host their annual Players Challenge at the UNL Coliseum, where they will face a tough LSU squad and could also see a talented St. John's team Sept. 12-13.

The conference schedule will have its challenges, including a tough first two games. The Huskers travel to Kansas State on Sept. 17 and have their home opener against a very tough and loaded Texas squad on Sept. 20.

The 2008 Husker volleyball schedule is as follows (home games at UNL Coliseum unless otherwise noted, all times Central):

AVCA Showcase (at Qwest Center) -- Aug. 29: vs. Stanford, 7 p.m.; Aug. 31: vs. USC, 3 p.m.

Sept. 1: vs. Oral Roberts, 4 p.m.

Cal Poly Invite -- Sept. 5: vs. Northeastern, 2 p.m.; vs. Cal Poly, 9:30 p.m.; Sept. 6: vs. Tulane, 8:30 p.m.

Players Challenge (at Devaney Center) -- Sept. 12: vs. LSU, 7 p.m.; Sept. 13: vs. St. John's or New Mexico, TBA

Sept. 17: at Kansas State, 7 p.m.
Sept. 20: Texas, 7 p.m.
Sept. 24: Kansas, 7 p.m.
Sept. 27: at Iowa State, 6:30 p.m.
Oct. 1: at Texas Tech, 7 p.m.
Oct. 4: Colorado, 7 p.m.
Oct. 5: at Creighton (Qwest Center), 5 p.m.
Oct. 8: Oklahoma, 7 p.m.
Oct. 12: at Missouri, 1 p.m.
Oct. 15: Baylor, 7 p.m.
Oct. 22: Texas A&M, 7 p.m.
Oct. 25: at Oklahoma, 7 p.m.
Oct. 29: at Colorado, 8 p.m.
Nov. 1: Iowa State, 7 p.m.
Nov. 5: at Texas A&M, 6:30 p.m.
Nov. 8: Kansas State, TBA
Nov. 12: Missouri, 7 p.m.
Nov. 15: at Kansas, TBA
Nov. 19: at Texas, 6:30 p.m.
Nov. 22: Texas Tech, 7 p.m.
Nov. 29: at Baylor, 7 p.m.

Even after a disappointing loss to UC Irvine on Saturday, the Husker baseball team still had hopes on Sunday morning that it could overcome the defeat and make its way to super regionals.

Those hopes were quickly and unceremoniously crushed by Oral Roberts pitcher Kelly Minissale, who pitched a two-hit gem in shutting out the Huskers 8-0 in regional action Sunday afternoon, ending hopes for the Huskers to make the short trip east to the College World Series.

The Huskers (41-16-1) got behind early and could never get a bead on Minissale, who carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and was dominant from the opening pitch.

Oral Roberts pounded Husker pitching for 15 hits in advancing to the regional final, led by Brendan Duffy's 3-for-3 effort with three runs scored. Oral Roberts scored a run in the opening inning and never looked back in bringing the Nebraska baseball team's season to a close.

It's been a great year for the Huskers, who weren't expected to finish higher than the middle of the pack in the Big 12 Conference this year. A great winning streak early in the year got them on the right track, and with some great pitching by the likes of Johnny Dorn and Thad Weber, Nebraska stayed in the conference race until the final weekend. Although the team picked the wrong time of year to go through a significant slump -- losing six of their final nine games -- the team has a lot to be proud of and hopefully they will be able to bounce back and be back in the thick of things in 2009.