Awe

know the purpose of this = to strengthen the tissues of the wrists and
fingers so that you do not sprain your thumbs and fingers during the
basketball seasone A sprained thumb is a "dead horse" in basketball, And
snappy fingers execute unerring shots with more power and poise than do
"“dish-rag" fingers which constantly slop over the balle

I ean hear you say that you certainly want to win the
championship in the Big Six this year and maybe a national ochampionshipe
Well, let's see you begin now, and when the first day of basketball prac-
tice rolls around you should report in tip-top physical conditione

Now, you want to know when we are going to start. Well,
it will be before the first of October, and the first day of school is
on September 21. So you can see how many days we are going to loaf before
we start actual practice three times a week, and by the middle of October
we will practice four times a weeks. Remember, we are meeting Oklahoma As
and Me on December 5th at Lawrenco, and while there is still a moot dis~
cussion as to when the Thanksgiving football game will be played between
Kansas and Missouri, really it is just the day after school begins after
the Thanksgiving holidays that we play Oklahoma A. a nd Me

For one year, at least, I feel better when I say that we
are not ehampions of the Big Sixe We have been defending champions too
longe A defensive army never won a war in its life. It is the offensive
army that winse You boys who played on the team last year and went through
the debacle at Missouri have not forgotten that, nor will you ever forget
ite But you can satisfy yourselves by coming back and showing those
Missourians et Columbia on January 18, 1940, that Kansas men don't put on
exhibitions the like of which were show at Columbia on Maroh 2nd. Wasn't
that a headache? All right, let's seo what we are going to do about it.

I imagine most of you will not forget the game at Iowa State
when we really presented the Cyclones with the ball gamee But you Imow I
never was a’ fellow to cry over spilled milk. I believe in going out and
getbting tem, and this year is the year to do it, Last year I remember this
line in the letter I sent you: “Remember this, a sophomore team has never
yet won the championship of the Big Six Conference," Well, we are not
sophomores any more, we are a year older, and I Imow that we will have a
different morale than was enéountered during a part of last ycare

I told you I had a small bunch of fighting Georgia lads
down there and those North Georgia boys just out-fought those South Georgia
boys and won the ball game. Well, I am expecting that of you Kansas boys
because in every game you play in the Big Six Conference, or most every
game, you are going to be out+-reached, out-woighed, a nd everything but
out=foughte Well, here's your only ehance «- better ball handling, more
finesse and more fights We won a lot of games last year in the last two
minutes of plays Those games could have gone either way, but most of then
went our waye The law of averages would cause us to feel that we might
fall short on some of those scores this year unless you make it happen the
way that you will it. I still remember Alexander Dumas? Three Musketeers =