December 24, 1941.

I em sorry that T have not answered your inguiry of the
15th sooner. I intended to reply immediately when your letter came
to my desk, but the rush of administrative duties has kept me from
doing 80.

There are several factors that interfere with our basket-
ball schedule. ne is Hoch Auditorium, the arena in which we play
basketball, is built for concerts, lectures, vespers, and so forth.
Prior to our game with Denver we had practice but four times in the
euditorium since basketball season began.

| We do most of our practicing in the gymasium and when it
is all added up, we play on a semi-foreign court in each of our home
gemes, and on a foreign court, of course, in our visiting games.
This situation of playing on a semi-foreign court for the home games
is true only of Kansas in the Big Six.

The date that we played Denver was the only time that we
could play any team coming to Lawrence before the students left on
their vacation. We played Bethel at Newton the following night,
which did not permit us to string our games out at all. Of course,
I would have desired more early season games if it were practicable,
ee ee

ct emuetins, 1 ke Mees belo even suny fires hone for
Ghriatenn: Snaahdaes dal taka as Maiti WOE thee ten’. poe sacth to
know, If I had a young team or a team that needed drilling in funde-
mentals, I would much prefer to stay homo during the Christmas vacation
ee ee ek eee
storming trip with the hope that games against big name teems would
improve the playing more than the “benefit dcrived from drilling on
fundamentals. .

: In other words, I regard the teaching that I endeavor to do
on fundamentals more important than traveling end playing against :
scheduled opponents in different cities. The ideal situation, of course,
would be to work on fundamentals and attempt to play as many non-confer-

ence games as possible before getting into the customary leggue play.