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Friday, March 13. 1953 University Daily Kansan
By BOB NOLD
There's no doubt these are all good men, and every team needs a good scorer, but this team is conspicuous for the lack of a good club's most important element—a field general, a take charge type of player.
If you want to be an all-American son, you've got to score points. Only the pointmakers are ballyhooed and if you aren't ballyhooed, it makes no difference how good you are, you'll be lucky to get an all-American honorable mention.
It's doubtful if any of these players, with the possible exception of O'Brien and maybe Gola, is a ballhawk, a defensive hound, a particularly steadying influence. It's doubtful if any of them—none are guards—could move into the front court—and direct the team.
The trend in this direction was slow at first, but it didn't take long to gain momentum. This year's Associated Press elite has a 24.8 point average. The low man on the totem pole in this group is Tom Gola, La Salle's fine center, with an 18.8 average. High man is Seattle's Johnny O'Brien with a 27.8 average.
The last great ballplayer of Kelley's type was Ralph Beard of Kentucky. Beard begrudged every point his man scored. He was sick if the man got even two points. He hawked his opponent constantly. He wanted that ball and he usually got it.
Beard called the signals for that great Kentucky team which also boasted Alex Groza. But Beard had two qualities Kelley doesn't have. He was flashier and he was ballyhooed. Nevertheless, like Kelley, he was a steadying influence, and then too, in his day you didn't have to average 20 points to make all-American.
The other members and their averages are Walter Dukes of Seton Hall, 26.3; Bob Houbregs of Washington, 24.8, and Ernie Beck of Pennsylvania, 26.3.
At the beginning of the year, guess polls placed Gola, Dukes, and Houbregs on this select team with Beck and O'Brien ranking high on what the experts thought would be the second team all-American. They were ballyhooed and the ballyhoo stuck out the season.
What this club needs is a Dean Kelley. But Kelley doesn't score in the 20s often enough and he isn't ballyhooed. Whoever considered him an all-American.
That's the kind of player Dean Kelley is; that's the kind of player Gil Reich is; that's the kind of players Ralph Beard and Dick Groat, all-American from Duke last year, were.
We're not saying put Kelley on this great team—although if we were picking it, he'd be our first choice—we're saying put a quarterback on that team; put on a real all-American, a person who whether or not he's a sensational scorer is the heart of a good team.
Groat was a phenomenal scoring guard, one of the few high scorers that could really steady a team. O'Brien can hit from anywhere, but would he come through in a chips clash? Would he score against Dean Kelley?
Yes, boy, if you want to be an all-American, be a scorer. The Kelleys have the heart and make the difference in the big games, but fellows like Dukes, O'Brien, Houbregs, Gola, and Beck make the all-American. . . They shoot their way to fame.
Slugging Display Delights Grimm
Bradenton, Fla. — (U.P.) - Charley Grimm watched Andy Pfaffo, Ski Gordon, and Joe Adcock rattle the fences in a pre-exhibition game batting drill today and liked what he saw so much that he decided the first division wasn't out of reach for the Boston Braves this season.
"We needed right handed hitting power badly and I think we got it in Pafko, Gordon, and Adcock," he explained. "And then don't forget big Coop (Walker Cooper), who'll be catching quite a few games and be doing a lot of pinch hitting. He can powder that ball, too."
He said the addition of Pafko, obtained from the Dodgers, and Adcock, who came from the Reds, and the return from military service of catcher. Del Crandall and pitcher Johnny Antonelli "will make a world of difference in this ball club."
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By UNITED PRESS
Favorites Indiana and Washington and surprising little Lebanon Valley will be in the basketball spotlight tonight when second-round games in the NCAA post-season carnival are played in four cities.
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Indiana, a fire-horse club which earned the No. 1 ranking nationally while it whizzed to the Big Ten championship with a league record of 17-1, was a 6-point favorite in its game against De Paul, while Washington, the Pacific Coast champion ranked No. 2 nationally, was picked to beat Seattle.
However, Lebanon Valley's "mighty mites" were underdogs against Louisiana State, as they were against Fordham in the first round. Here are the complete pairings for tonight's regions:
At Raleigh, N.C.-Lebanon Valley (19-1) vs. Louisiana State (22-1); Wake Forest (20-6) vs. Holy Cross (19-5). At Chicago-Indiana (19-3) vs. De Paul (19-7); Notre Dame (18-4) vs. Pennsylvania (21-4). At Manhattan, Kan.-Kansas (15-5) vs. Oklahoma City (18-4); Oklahoma A&M (22-6) vs. Texas Christian (14-7). At Corvallis, Ore.-Washington (27-2) vs. Seattle (28-3); Santa Clara (19-6) vs. Wyoming (14-7).
Kansas, winner of this tourney last year and once again Big Seven champion, was favored to open its title defense with a victory over Oklahoma City. The Jayhawkers have only one starter from last season, but have come up with another big center to replace record-smashing Clyde Lovellette—B. H. Born.
The Oklahoma Aggies, Missouri Valley titlists, were picked over Southwest conference champion Texas Christian in the other game. A low-scoring game was expected since both play ball-control games.
Washington sends its 6-foot 9-inch all-American Bob Houbregs against Seattle's 5-foot 9-inch all-American Johnny O'Brien. O'Brien tuned up by scoring 42 points in the first round against Idaho State, but Washington was favored to win this rare meeting with its cross-town rival.
Kansas City—(U.P.)-Experience paid big dividends in NAIA competition today, with all four clubs in the semi-finals veterans of the 15-year-old small college basketball tournament.
Southwest Missouri State, trying to be the first team ever to win the title two years in a row, is paired against Indiana State, the 1950 champions, while Hamline university is pitted against East Texas State in tonight's round.
Santa Clara was a slender choice over Skyline conference champion Wyoming in the other game at Corvallis. Santa Clara has back the same club that, as freshmen last year, won the regionals.
Southwest, of Springfield, Mo., is playing in its sixth NAIA tourney, and Indiana State its eighth. Hamline, the daddy of them all, is making its tenth appearance. East Texas State is in its fifth appearance in tourney play.
Southwest looked smooth in scoring a 78-74 victory over Nebraska Wesleyan last night. Although the score was close, the Springfield school never was in trouble. Forrest Hamilton led Southwest with 20 points.
Indiana State rolled over Findlay (Ohio) college 106-70, and Hamline scored a 102-92 win over Mississippi Southern in the quarterfinals.
New York—(U.P.)-St. John's amazing "upset kids," who overturned the appletree in last year's NCAA basketball tournament, did the same thing to this year's National Invitation tourney today as they barged into the final round against top-seeded Seton Hall.
The inspired Brooklyn Redmen defied the law of gravity for the third straight time last night as they hammered Duquesne, the hot choice for the tourney title, right out of the picture, 64-55.
The eye-popping heroics by the unseeded Redmen stole the show from Seton Hall, which advanced as expected with a 74-56 rout of Manhattan to become the first top-seeded team to reach the NIT finals since St. Louis in 1948.
Hefty Jim Walsh, a 6-5 sub until this tourney, and burly Ed Cunningham, a 6-outmuevered and out-battled 6-4 foot 8 inch Jumper, 6-7 Dick Ricketts, and 6-4 Fletcher Johnson under the backboards—where the Dukes always win their games.
Seton Hall, led by 6-11 all-American Walt Dukes, had only momentary trouble with Manhattan. The Pirates held a 33-25 half-time lead.
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