P

Mareh 22, 1946.

‘

Mr. George R. Edwards,
Basketball Coach,
University ef Missouri,
Golumbia, Mo.

Dear George:

_ I have never doubted for a second the sincerity in your desire
to do a wholesome and complete job. Frankly, I did not expect you
to take the time or the trouble that you have gone to with my comments.

Frankly, I did not care about raising the ire of certdéin menbers
on that committee. I did not want it to reflect on you or Pleyd Rowe
or Heo Edmondson, - maybe I have missed someone else, - but as for the
rest of them, it suite me fine.

I dare say that the rules comlttee will pay no attention to any of
mine and to the majority of other suggestions. Let the eomnittee
aseept the responsibility for making the game a rougher one by inereas-
ing the fouls from 4 to 5. They have played a good many years without
the increase in number of fouls, and had they increased that from 4 to
5 in the begiming they would have just had five or six more rougher

years.

My guess is that the committee will refuse te reduce the number from
5 to 4 because to do so would mean that a number of coaches would be
forced to do a little more coaching in regard to some of the finer
points of the game and maybe take out some of the slam-bang tactics
that they now, employ. ‘Outside of a few members on the committees, I
have always thought things were done to keep somebedy good-natured
-vather than because logie dictated the action.

George, I wrete this Sammy Wolfe stuff that was from "Pime" of
February 12, on the gambling expose, because he was a race horse tout
and discussed very unsoientifically and wimowingly the game of basket-
ball. Read it over again.

_ Personally, George, I don't care whether the rules committee ever
change a rule or make another one. I was much interested when you said
that there had been mech work done on the 12 foot basket. John Bunn
had a most exhaustive report on the 11 and 12 foot basket, and knowing
Roy Munderff as I do, because I was down there at a coaching school and
eeached the South Georgie. boys against his North Georgia beys, I would
say that he didn't spend a lot of time on 12 foot basket research. I
have had 12 foot baskets erected in Robinson Gymasiun for fifteen years
and we use them constantly. I have tried them out from a great many