Dixie dominates national cage scene
By BRUCE CARNAHAN Kansan Sports Writer
With the termination of Lew Alcindor's dominance of college basketball the UCLA Bruins no longer enjoy the cakewalk to the national championship that they have had the past three years. The dynasty of the Bruins who won 88-90 games during the Alcindor era, has by no means crumbled, but the hectic chore
bounds a game during his freshman season.
Kentucky
This will probably be Adolph Rupp's last year at the helm of Kentucky and his Wildcats should run away with the Southeastern Conference and perhaps a national championship. Kentucky was 23-5 and fifth ranked a year ago and the Wildcats appear to be stronger this year de-
UDK Preseason Poll
1. South Carolina 11. Colorado
2. Kentucky 12. St. Johns
3. UCLA 13. Santa Clara
4. Purdue 14. Southern California
5. Davidson 15. Notre Dame
6. New Mexico State 16. Louisville
7. Wilmington 17. Columbia
8. Duquesne 18. Drake
9. Marquette 19. Ohio State
10. North Carolina 20. Le Salle
Possible breakthroughs—Cincinnati, Duke, Iowa, Seattle, St. Bonaventure Weber State, Davon, Providence, Princeton, Pennsylvania, Kansas, L.S.U.
possible breakthroughs—Cincinnati, Iowa, Iowa, Seattle, St. Bonaventure,
St. Benedict, Indiana, Princeton, Pennsylvania, Kansas, L.S.U.
Wake Forest, Tennessee
of determining a new national champion begins as a dynamic duo from Dixie will attempt to shatter any Bruin dreams of an unprecedented fourth straight NCAA championship.
The South has risen again as Frank McGuire's Gamecocks of South Carolina and Adolph Rupp's always powerful Wildcats have emerged as the popular favorites to dethrone UCLA's long-enduring reign over college basketball.
Here's the rundown on this writer's choices for the country's top five teams:
South Carolina
McGuire's "super sophs" of last year are back and are on the verge of building a dynasty that could replace UCLA's mystical dominance of college basketball. McGuire does most of his talent hunting in the New York City area and last year his "backyard recruiting" resulted in an all-New York Cinderella squad that registered a 21-7 record and a trip to the NIT.
John Roche, 6-2 junior, averaged 23.6 points a game last season, led the team in assists, and was named as the Atlantic Coast conference's outstanding player, only the third time that the award has been bestowed on a sophomore. He'll be joined by Bob Cremis, John Ribcock and Tom Owens (16.4 pg) and the conference's leading rebounder. The fifth starter of last year, guard Billy Walsh, is a casualty of the books and is ineligible for the first semester but will figure heavily in the second semester drive for the national championship.
The powerful (15-1) freshman squad of last season should solve the depth problem that caused McGuire to use his "iron five" most of the time last year. Tom Riker, a 6-10 center, promises to be one of the outstanding sophomores in the nation as he averaged 26.6 points and 18.3 respite the unexpected loss of Mike Casey, who broke a leg in an auto accident this summer.
Dec. 3
1969 KANSAN 7
Four starters are back from last year and provide the "Baron" with an excellent nucleus for his third straight SEC title. Dan Issel, a 6-8 All-American who averaged 28.6 points and 13.6 rebounds a game, is joined by veterans Mike Pratt (16.9 ppg), Larry Steele and Bob McGowen. Kent Hollenbeck is up from the 18-4 freshman team. Hellenbeck averaged 20 points per game last year and could fill Casey's vacated spot.
Graduation took its toll—Alcindor, Sweek, Heitz, and Shackleford—and the picture looks dim for another Bruin national championship, or even $v$ Pacific Eight championship. But John Wooden won two consecutive national titles before Alcindor ever wore a Bruin suit, and the title picture may come into focus again if he returns to the same fast-breaking, bail-hawing game that won NCAA crowns for him in '64 and '65.
Steve Patterson, 6-9 and 220, will crawl out from under Alcindor's shadow to inherit the high post position. Sid Wicks and Curtis Rowe combine at the forward positions to give the Bruins a powerful rebounding corps and ample scoring ability. John Valley, who came out of the junior-college ranks into stardom in the NCAA tournament last year, will hold down one guard position and Terry Schofield, Rich Betchley, and Henry Bibby will battle it out for the other guard spot.
UCLA
Purdue
Rick Mount, the nation's number two scorer last year, and eight other lettermen return from last year's Boilermaker squad that swept to a Big Ten championship and a runner-up spot to UCLA in the NCAA tournament. Coach Clyde King also has three fine sophomores moving up from the freshman team to replace Herm Gilliam and Bill Keller, his two standout guards who have graduated. Things look good for another conference title and possible berth in the NCAA post-season shoot-out.
Mount scored at a 33.3 points per game clip last year, was named to everybody's All-America teams and was voted the most valuable player in the Big Ten. Other returnees from last year's 23-5 team that averaged 93 points a game include junior forward George Faerber, whose 63 per cent mark from the field was one of the nation's best, and Larry Weatherford, the oft-injured Gilliam's replacement during the closing part of the season. Jerry Johnson, 6-10, and Chuck Davis, 7-foot, were expected to alternate at the center position and give Purdue one of the tallest center combinations in the country. But a pre-season injury has forced Davis out of action and has given Johnson sole possession of the center slot. Sophomore Bob Ford, a 6-7 center-forward, has grabbed the remaining starting berth. Ford was the leading scorer on the freshman squad a year ago.
Davidson
Coach Lefty Driesell has departed from Davidson to take over at Maryland but enough talent remains from last year's 27-3 team to once again make the Wildcats a national power. Three starters are back from last year's Southern Conference champs. Returning are All-America center Mike Maloy, who averaged 24.3 points and 14 rebounds a game last year, and forwards Doug Cook (14 ppg) and Jerry Kroll. New coach Terry Holland has lost Dave Moser and Wayne Huckle, last year's starting backcourt, but ex-subs Steve Kirley and Ron Stelzer and sophomores Brian Adrian (28.6 points per game for a 17-2 freshman team) and 6-8 Eric Minkin should ease the pain of their departure.
Holland has stated that a national championship is a possibility with some hard work and dedication.
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