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University Daily Kansan Friday, Feb. 12, 1954
Kansas Tackles Nebraska In Crucial Big Seven Contest
PROBABLE STARTERS
| KANSAS | Pos. | NEBRASKA |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 5-11 Allen Kelley | F | Willard Fagler 6-5 |
| 6-2 Harold Patterson | F | Don Weber 6-4 |
| 6-9 B. H. Born | C | Bill Johnson 6-7 |
| 6-3 Bill Heitholt | G | Fred Seger 6-4 |
| 5-11 Dallas Dobbs | G | Chuck Smith 6-2 |
Game Time: 7:35 p.m. in Hoch auditorium.
Nebraska's scarlet giants confront Kansas next in the Jayhawkers' torturous drive toward a third consecutive Big Seven basketball championship. The two clubs collide in Hoch auditorium at 7:35 p.m. Saturday.
Bryant Likes Aggie Spirit
College Station, Tex.—(U.P.)-Paul (Bear) Bryant, a drawing one time backwoodsmain with an impressive coat of polish, brought only a nodding acquaintance with coaching adversity to his new job at Texas A&M.
The tall, 200-pound former Alabama end who grew up amid the lore of the Ozarks around Fordyce, Ark, has had a winner each of his nine previous seasons as a head coach—one at Maryland and eight at Kentucky.
At each of those schools, Bryant rejuvenated flagging football fortunes almost immediately and a similar "challenge" here at Aggie-land was a big factor in swinging him away from Kentucky.
Two other motivating factors were the tremendous school spirit on the part of Texas A&M's "12th man" cadet corps and the abundance of material spewing from the 800-plus Texas schoolboy football teams.
He's already made a big hit with the corps, which keeps up a thunderous roar throughout all Aggie home games, by unexpectedly following a tradition that calls for pep rally speakers to shed their coat and tie and letting them drop to the floor on the spot.
The dramatic act provoked a wild demonstration and indicated Bryant was "in" as far as the corps was concerned.
He has been here only two days, so as yet has had no chance to put his gibl, appealing tongue to work on the state's prospective college athletes. But, those who saw Bryant at work for Maryland and Kendrick University were more than able, 40-year-old mentor will sway his share of ton-grade talent.
Bryant, who once wrestled a carnival bear to earn his nickname and whose gameness was further exhibited when he played an entire game against Tennessee with a broken leg, wasn't worried too much about the dim prospects of Texas A&M.
That inaugural year at Kentucky, Bryant took a cellar team and guided it to a 7-3 season record.
"Well, it would have to be pretty weak."
The Aggies haven't won a championship since 1941, have won only one conference game a year for the past three seasons, and lost a huge delegation of the 1953 cellar-sharing club by graduation.
Asked if he thought the Aggie personnel could be any poorer than that at Kentucky when he first went there, Bryant replied:
But he best expressed his feelings at that coatiss, tieless pep rally in his first hour on the campus when he came up and shouted to the crusistiatic cadets:
The situation has an old familiar ring to Bryant.
K-State Gridders Practice
"I don't know about you, but I'm ready to play."
Considerably propped by their all-winning effort in a 2-game road swing against Tulsa and Oklahoma, the Jayhawkers can climb back into a tie for the conference lead by subduing Harry Good's Husker Five. They now trail Colorado's torrid Buffaloes by half a game in the hectic 1954 title chase which has seen the loop lead change hands on each of the last three conference playing dates.
Manhattan —(U.P.)— Kansas State college's "early spring" football practice went into its third day yesterday with the weather still "playable." While chilly temperatures kept the Wildcats moving briskly, Coach Bill Meek ran them through a schedule of conditioning, linemen drills and backfield ball-handling.
Colorado climbed on top Monday night by sacking Nebraska at Lincoln, 75-67. Kansas State had knocked the Huskers off the top on Saturday night in Manhattan with a 90-71 thumping while KU was whacking Oklahoma, 93-80, at Norman. This moved Kansas and Colorado abreast at the top at 5-1.
The Buffaloes dumped Kansas out of a 4-0 tie for the lead with Nebraska last Tuesday with a 70-62 setback in Boulder. Nebraska, now a game back of Kansas and a game and a half off CU's pace, must bag this one or see the championship run dissolve from three teams to two.
A secondary stake in this battle is KU's current home-court winning streak of 25 consecutive games. Phog Allen's troupe hasn't been beaten at home since Oklahoma clipped it in late February of '51, 11-59.
Beginning with their 70-64 triumph over Iowa State on March 7 of that season, the Jayhawks now have moved within one length of the University all-time record of 26, established by the 1939, 1940, and 1941 fives. The current edition could tie this, of course, by beating the Huskers, and write a new streak by knocking down Kansas State here next Wednesday.
Nebraska has been victimized twice during this skin, losing 52-90, in '52 and falling 58-77 last season. The Jayhawks have had close calls on only three occasions during the drive, beating Oklahoma, 76-72, in the conference opener this season; and nipping Colorado, 73-68, in '52 in addition to that 6-point get-away win over Iowa State. Their average margin of victory has been 17 points.
The Kansas university swimming team left for Lincoln, Neb. this morning where they will have a triangular swimming meet with Nebraska and Colorado today.
Although Kansas leaped a traditionally tough hurdle at Norman boy flooding Oklahoma, Colorado's sweep of the northern badlands has placed the defending titlists in a position where they cannot afford to lose another conference game. Colorado plays three of its final five league starts in its friendly mountain retreat in Boulder.
Swimmers to Meet Nebraska, Colorado
Kansas will be looking for its first victory of the season in this meet. They dropped their first dual of the season to Nebraska 47-38, and last week they were defeated by Denver, 57-36, and Colorado, 45-41.
Allen will shuffle his starting lineup for the first time in 13 games, sending Bill Heitholt, 6-3 Quincy, Ill. junior, to guard, in place of Larry Davenport, 6-2 Newtonian. The Jayhawks also have been drilling daily against a zone defense, something they have not faced all season, since their return from Tulsa.
--and Mr. H. T. Stucker
New York —(U,P)—A young man named John Landy still is looking for the 4-minute mile today and it begins to appear as if the only way he'll run it is downhill with the wind behind him before a gallery of muffled mummies.
--and Mr. H. T. Stucker
A great runner, the young Australian unfortunately has proved even faster to date when it comes to second guessing the results recorded on the stop watch.
HOOKIN' HUSKER—Bill Johnson, 6-7 Nebraska center, is currently leading the Big Seven scoring race. He's shown here with his favorite shot-a soft hook
Writer Blasts Landy's Excuses For Poor Races
If the United States hadn't blown its last two matches against Australia, it would hold the Davis Cup today.
BY OSCAR FRALEY
The spiked shoe fanatics were elated last December when young John ran the third fastest eight furlongs on record, a realy dazzling 4:02. They predicted that he would be the man, finally, to run that miracle 4-minute mile.
If Rocky Marciano hadn't knocked out Jersey Joe Walcott, then old Joe would still be heavyweight champ of the world.
If Native Dancer had a nose as long as the one I continually stick into other people's business, it would have won the Kentucky Derby.
But something always seems to happen. You can take it from John that his failures were not due to the lack of 4-minute muscle but because it was too hot or too cold, the track was too hard or too soft, his feet hurt, the crowd applauded so loud that he couldn't hear his lap times and thus didn't pace himself correctly and now, after a great 4:05.6 performance, that the wind was too strong.
"IF"—that old familiar word in disappointing sporting circles—the wind hadn't been so strong he'd have done it easily. That's what Aussie officials claim. They insist that the wind cost him "six or seven seconds." That would have meant a 3.586 mile.
Born Battles Point Leader
For the second time this season, B. H. Born, Kansas' defending Big Seven individual scoring champion, has a chance to limit one of the rivals most likely to win the 1954 title from him.
The occasion is the Jayhawker's meeting with Nebraska here Saturday. The new challenger is Bill Johnson, Nebraska's 6-7 center Born actually should be listed as the challenger, since he is trailing six other scorers as the field heads down the stretch. Johnson is leading with a 22.5 average on 134 points in six conference starts. This is exactly the same mark which Born used to win the crown last season.
Born, meanwhile, is moving at 16.5, having hit 99 points in six games. However, he is rallying swiftly after a January slump which saw him fail to break 17 in a single game. He notched 16 points against Colorado Feb. 2 before fouling out at halftime. He followed with 28 against Oklahoma last Saturday and 29 against Tulsa Monday. All three outings were on the road.
Because of excessive fouling, Born was able to gain little ground in his first duel with the league's top scorer, then Burdette Haldorson of Colorado.
It is likely the outcome of the Born-Johnson duel will swing the victory scales Saturday. The crew-cut Nebraskan is running into the Kansas just in time to win, the rival which earned variety all-American accolades last season.
Not only has Born hit 71 points in his last six quarters of action, but he has blocked or deflected no less than 20 enemy field shots against OU and Tulsa, while harvesting 30 rebounds over the two games.
Johnson supplanted Halderson while the latter was touring the northern boards at Ames and Lincoln. Although CU swept both encounters, the 6-7 Buffalo pivot was collecting only 29 points to drop into second place at 21.3.
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