A check of all the sporting-goods stores in Sydney, Australia, proved fruitless. None had soccer boots in stock to fit 15-year-old goalkeeper Aleks Maric’s huge feet.

“It’s why I stopped playing. That’s the honest truth. I’d have to buy four pairs and stick them together,” Maric said with a grin.

He probably would be playing soccer overseas somewhere rather than basketball for Nebraska in a Big Monday showdown against Kansas University tonight if the shops were better equipped.

“I watch it whenever I can. I like to play it. I have a passion for the game (of soccer),” explained Maric, who takes a team-leading 17.6 scoring, 7.9 rebounding average into today’s 8 p.m. tipoff in Devaney Center. “I don’t play in-season, but I like to kick the ball around and stuff.”

The 6-foot-11, 270-pound Australian figures to list soccer as a hobby the rest of his life – with basketball his livelihood.

The talented big man made the 12-man Australian Senior National team last summer.

He’d returned Down Under after learning the coach who recruited him to NU, Barry Collier, had decided to leave the Cornhusker State to become athletic director at Butler.

Maric, who entered his name in the NBA Draft but didn’t hire an agent, hurt his shoulder and was unable to compete for Australia in the world championships.

He ultimately decided to put his pro aspirations on hold after meeting with newly hired Husker coach Doc Sadler, who made the long trip to Australia to re-recruit Maric.

Nebraska's Aleks Maric, right, swats a rebound away from Texas' Dexter Pittman. Texas edged Nebraska, 62-61, Wednesday in the Cornhuskers' last home game. They will play host to the Jayhawks at 8 tonight.

“I had pretty much made up my mind not to come back to Nebraska,” said Maric, whose last name is pronounced ‘MAR-itch.’

“It had nothing to do with the coaches. Doc came out and was honest with me. As soon as he walked in the door, he said he was going to work us hard, going to expect a lot from us. He said he’s not going to waste one minute of our time. I decided to come back because I like a coach who has a real passion for the game.”

Maric was impressed with the former UTEP coach’s perseverance.

“He was out there trying to meet all the players and their families. He wanted everybody to meet the new coach. Everybody wanted to find out who he is,” Maric said. “I appreciated what he had to express. I like what he had to say, so I’m back.”

Maric – who has made 120 of 194 shots, but just one of seven threes – has enjoyed Sadler’s style of play.

“It’s definitely faster,” he said. “We play 94 feet, push the ball. It’s a fun way to play.

“Coach is totally different. Doc Sadler is a good personality. He’s funny. On the court he’ll push you the way you should be pushed, get on your back. He gets the most out of his players.”

NU is off to a 12-7 start under Sadler.

The Huskers, who beat Creighton, Wyoming, Houston and Miami in nonconference play, are just 1-4 in league action after Saturday’s 61-45 loss at Kansas State, a game in which Maric had 10 points off 4-of-12 shooting with nine rebounds. Facing double teams, he went scoreless the first half and even chucked an airball from four feet.

“It’s tough for Aleks,” Sadler said after the game. “He’s there every night. Everybody knows he’s there every night. But he’s a much better player than he played offensively tonight.”

He’d have been OK with his stats had NU won the game.

“I want team success. It is more important to me than personal success,” Maric said. “I want to prove we can play and win at Nebraska. Nebraska is not very well known around the conference. But we’re going to be up there.”

Maric has five double-doubles this season. He enters the KU game with a 15-point, 12-rebounding outing in a one-point home loss to Texas fresh in his memory.

“The big guy, Maric, is a great player,” KU center Sasha Kaun said. “He is one of the best big men. His lower body is very strong. He knows how to create angles. That’s something I need to work on in the future, lower body strength.”

KU coach Bill Self said Maric was capable of dominating any given game.

“Maric is a guy who can go for 25-30. They play through him. He’ll have plenty of opportunities to score,” Self said of NU’s best player and the most popular with the fans.

He’s a regular at Big Red football games, which has to please students at the gridiron-crazed school.

“I have to be if I go to Nebraska,” Maric said of being a football fan. “I love the games. I love big-game weekend. It’s a lot of fun. As everybody knows, the stadium is a sea of red.”

Just as Devaney Center may be a sea of red for tonight’s game.

NU’s athletic department has announced plans for a “Red Out” in which fans are encouraged to wear red for the school’s first Big Monday appearance since 2000.

“It’s tough to play at anybody’s place in this conference,” KU sophomore Brandon Rush said. “I’m sure they’ll be ready for us.”