It’s hard to get serious about
Mr. Allen’s cage views for the
simple reason that no one else
will, but when he turns that

 

Allen, incidentally, regrets the
removal of the center jump from
basketball. He liked the old sys-
tem which gave fans and play-
ers alike a few seconds of re-
laxation after baskets were
made, Now that the jump is
gone he doesn’t think it will
ever return, But in the same

. breath he rips out the belief

that basketball has been ruined
as a scientific sport and convert-
ed into mob footraces which
wind up with players and spec-
tators alike so limp they can’t
leave the place until their
nerves have settled. His point
is that defense is no longer a
part. of the game. He’s partly
right, although Franklin high
reached the state finals more on
defense than it did on offense,
* #e *

What gripes Allen most is that
the cage fathers won’t try his
12-foot basket idea. He doesn’t

| suggest it for high schools, only

for colleges. The tragic part of
the whole thing is that Allen is
probably right in his conviction
that basketball would again be-
come a game of skill and finesse
rather than a footrace, Unfor-

tunately, in the days of yore |
when the game was more delib- |

erate, almost nobody could out-
smart Phog. He didn’t go for
goon centers—unless he had one
—but regardless of material he
kept beating everybody with

 

such consistency that sheer des- .

peration forced all his coaching
mates to line up against him.
Now the guy’s got something,
but every time he starts talking
it up with other coaches they
start shoving the roses aside to
find the hidden gimmick which
will again make Allen boss. For
that matter, maybe he has one,

 

maxes the Y. M. C. A. sports year
and brings into the limelight all
and sundry of the champs in
Gurney Day’s muscle factory. The
list is long and each titleholder
has been publicized here before at
the time of reaching the cham-
pionship peak,

So for the purposes of this rec-
ord, suffice it to say that Craven
Shuttleworth served as toastmas-
ter; Orville Rennie was song
leader; Ira Carrithers spoke on
the salient points in connection
with the fact that this is the cen-
tennial year for Y, M. C. A.; Hor-
ace G. “Cap” Hedges presented
the awards; and special music was
dished’ out by Doris Newman.

Special commendation should go
to the men behind the scenes
whe arranged the banquet and
brought Dr. Allen to Cedar Rapids.
The affair fittingly celebrated the

00th year of Y, M. C, A, history.

n Isett headed the committee

on arrangements, Russ Landis was

the ticket chairman and peddled
them all. And back of the scenes
was Gurney Day, working for al-
most two months to make the
show the success it was.