2

almost 2 miracle: if A, player ever AE t770 , Hanae free. enough to take a
two-hand shot,

Actually, it was quite A trick to bet one hand loose from the grasp
.of-an opponent, An offensive.player in those days not only was burdened
_with:an opponent on his back. but he frequently found himself without use
of: either arm,

Ilucky.to Have One Hand. Free

It vas not uncommon in the days. when special professional Fules vere
played around here. to have a teanmate. pass you the ball and be hit. flush
-in- the chest with it for. the. simple reason that, ‘both of your hands sudden-
ly had been pinned to. your side. And in one pro. gane, we sav the ball
lay. unmolested on the floor. under one bnrsket for severnl. seconds before
a single player. could break away fron his. “opponent lons enough’ to pick it up,

"Tho new system of shooting. with one hend has changed the gnome," was
one comment made in me preter. i Se she f

Goodness gracious," as Connie Mack WRIR say > Faares sinilar situation,
the writer of that. piece. eeksthay never saw any of the. basketball ganes
that were played around here 20 to. 30 years azo if he thinks shooting with
one hand is.a new development. 7 :

Thet was about the only vay a skye wen d erebe We fete the rules
were changed to prevent a defensive player from meking contact with an
offensive player. If his other hand vasntt alrenty pinned or paralyzed
he “tas forced. to use it as a buffer to keen. the defensive player from
pulling his shooting. arm off at the shoulder. :

And in those days, a player not only had to. shoot one handed most
of the time while in the grasp of. an 5 PEPenees but the target was not ai-
ways visible or conveniently foeated:

Basketball games are played in spacious and *rell- right ed courts for
the most part today, Years ago, they were played in town hells, churches,
school cellars and gynns vith low ceilings,

“Even Spectators Provided Obstacles :

Most of the baskets vere fastened to walls, posts, or balconies
After firing a close-up shot, 2 vlayer could fieure on. being driven into
a wall, a radiator or the lap of nn unhosnitable spectator who wasn't ad
verse to bracing his knees to provide the first line oF resiste nce,

There alvays seemed to be certain olaces on most courts where an
obstruction. of sone kind blocked the flirsht of the shot and in’ some’ ex-
treme cases the ball had to be maneuvered to a definite snot before it wns
possible to reach the basket with a shot of any kind.

There was no 7ild scoring.in those days. ‘The scores didn't measure
up to the. current standard which requires an adding machine to figure out
the final total, But plenty of one handed shots "ere fired at the basket.
And when they didn't eerom off the rafters or hit the lov. ceiling a good
nercentage of them sailed through the hoon desnite the obstacles,

Basketball has changed, yes, but. the. bierest changes are in the
freedom an offensive plasrer has peamuse of legislstion and. the opportunity
he has because of improved. corditiors under “hich the gane is played.

Give ‘some of ‘the old ‘timers, who used: to have to wierle out of their trunks
to escape the vice-like grasp of an opponent, nee around na. post and —
scale the ball over a set of steam pines to reach the brsket, the freedo

and constant conditions that prevail now and they would have molested the
strings as frequently as the modern stars, The gane has develooed rapidly
in sone. ways but the uncanny ability to shoot with one hand isn't one of

‘ ‘then, in our. opinion.

Pines. wigs: : LK KOK OK