McCray works to improve his mental game, too

Some days Toney McCray feels great, and other days not so much.

And we’re talking about more than his injured left elbow.

McCray, a sophomore on the Nebraska men’s basketball team, said he’s trying to improve his mental focus in hopes of finding coach Doc Sadler’s good side.

“We’ve talked,” McCray said, “and it’s about time I started maturing and stop having him ride me about the same things.”

Things like rebounding, playing defense and being more patient.

“Start reading the defense more before I start reacting,” said McCray, who averaged 5.7 points and 2.8 rebounds as a redshirt freshman. “Try to not have my mind made up before I even start to do anything. That’s his biggest thing he tells me a lot.

“It all comes down to just maturing.”

The 6-foot-6 guard from Missouri City, Texas, is also practicing with a torn ligament in his non-shooting elbow. Sadler said McCray, who’s begun wearing a lighter brace, will play in Nebraska’s two exhibition games before any decisions are made about possible season-ending surgery.

“It’s a day-to-day thing,” McCray said of his elbow. “But it’s mostly mental. You’ve got to keep playing through it. I’m going to give myself a shot.”

Getting adjusted

Drake Beranek said he’s always pretended he could play point guard, but never actually has.

At least, not until Sadler put Beranek, a walk-on senior transfer from Nebraska-Kearney, at point guard on the scout team.

“That’s been difficult, because I’ve had to battle against Lance Jeter and Brandon Richardson, two great defenders there,” Beranek said. “Lance is strong. You aren’t ever going to get by him. And Brandon’s so quick. You put the ball in front of him, he’ll just nab that thing every time.”

Beranek, a 6-3 shooting guard from Ravenna, scored 1,453 points to rank 15th on UNK’s all-time scoring list. He said he has no regrets thus far about transferring.

“I’ve learned a lot already, but I think I’m going to continue to learn a lot throughout the entire year,” said Beranek, who must sit out this season and will have one season of eligibility.

Sadler said Beranek has been an “unbelievable asset” for the Huskers.

“As I told the team today before practice, the two guys right now who aren’t eligible to play, Christian (Standhardinger) and Drake, are guys that dive on the floor more than anybody else.”

Standhardinger, a freshman forward who’s been ruled ineligible for the first half of the regular season, is eligible to play in exhibition games.

Beranek is not. But if he was?

“Could be starting,” Sadler said.

Briefly

* Senior Ryan Anderson has lost 20 pounds since the end of last season, with one goal in mind. “To get on that wing, man,” he said. The 6-4 Anderson, now at 190 pounds, spent last season playing inside.

* Nebraska plays exhibition games Friday against Arkansas-Fort Smith and Nov. 10 against Hastings. Both start at 7 p.m.

* Nebraska’s Nov. 14 regular-season opener against South Carolina Upstate will tip off at 7 p.m. Single-game tickets for all home games went on sale Monday.

Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.