Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.LINCOLN — Erick Strickland, a member of the Nebraska basketball hall of fame, has hopes someday of becoming a member of the Nebraska basketball coaching staff.
The former Bellevue West and Husker star, who went on to a nine-year NBA career, said Wednesday from Dallas that he talked last week with NU coach Doc Sadler about getting into college coaching.
"I want everyone to know I'm not trying to shake up anything there," Strickland said. "I just want to help.
"I love Nebraska basketball, and I want it to be the best it can be."
Strickland, 38, is still NU's No. 7 all-time scorer with 1,586 points. He was voted Big Eight freshman of the year in 1993, second-team All-Big Eight in 1996 and was a three-time selection to the league's all-defense team.
Strickland was an academic All-Big Eight pick in 1996 and graduated with a degree in sociology.
He was undrafted in 1996, but hooked on with Dallas as a free agent. When Strickland's NBA career ended in 2005 after 501 games and a career 7.5 scoring average with six teams, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban hired him as the club's manager of business relations.
Three years later, Strickland pursued minister-in-training work while also becoming involved with a luxury car dealership in Dallas.
But recently, he said, "I've been getting the coaching bug." So he pursued openings at TCU and SMU, but both were filled before he could be considered.
"At first, I wanted to stay in Dallas," he said. "But the more I looked at Nebraska, I'm glad I didn't get those spots."
Strickland visited Omaha and Lincoln last week. Among his stops: attending Nebraska's game against Indiana, getting inducted into the Bellevue West hall of fame and meeting face-to-face with Sadler.
"Doc was great," he said. "He was warm and receptive."
Strickland also has a meeting soon with one of his former NBA coaches, Isiah Thomas, about joining the former Indiana All-American and Detroit Pistons All-Star at Florida International, where Thomas is head coach.
What position on a coaching staff is Strickland seeking?
"I'm pretty open," he said. "I think I can help any program with my knowledge of the game.
"I'm open to basketball operations or scouting or recruiting or whatever I need to do. Whether it's getting in with AAU and high school coaches or whatever, the important thing is to help the program."
Contact the writer:
402-444-1024, lee.barfknecht@owh.com
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