TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 1951
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN, LAWRENCE, KANSAS
PAGE FIVE
Along the JAYHAWKER trail
By BOB NELSON Daily Kansan Sports Editor
Once again our consistently inconsistent Big Seven faculty representatives have failed to see the picture and consequently have thrown an extra heavy pressure upon Jack Gardner's fine Kansas State basketball team.
The Wildcats finished their regular season play Monday night by posting an impressive 87 to 48 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners for their 11th Big Seven victory in 12 games and their 21st win in 24 starts this year.
For the 1950-51 season, the Big Seven faculty lawinakers decided to rule out the "long season" and ruled against any regularly scheduled competition beyond the first week of March.
Now they've suddenly found no way to keep the Big Seven's N.C.A.A. title hopes (Kansas State team) alive by securing an opponent among the conference teams for practice games with the Wildcats.
Naturally, Kansas State deserves and should be furnished adequate opposition to keep in trim for the western N.C.A.A. playoffs in Kansas City March 21-24. But, who is to play them the practice contests?
Coach Gardner's invitation for Kansas to play K-State at Manhattan came as an honor when he said, "we'd like to play Kansas again because it would provide the toughest competition possible." We expect Gardner is sincere enough but also he must realize he'd beat the Jayhawkers again without too much trouble and by a likely one-sided score.
And just what would Kansas have to gain by playing such a game except to help keep the Wildcats in shape? Kansas has had a better than average season, a 14-8 season record to date, and can finish with an 8-4 Big Seven record the same as last year if the Jayhawks down Iowa State here Wednesday.
The K.U. basketball season has extended through almost five months since fall practice started and the boys are getting a bit tired. Kansas would have little to look forward to in such a practice game while Kansas State has visions of N.C.A.A. title honors.
F. C. "Phog" Allen's Jayhawker cage personnel also includes three of Coach Jules V. Sikes' top football candidates for spring practice—Charlie Hoag, Bill Schaake, and Dean Wells.
With spring practice scheduled to get under way, Monday, March 19, this trio of athletes needs a few days vacation. Since last August 30, these fellows haven't had a day off from the day-after-day athletic-grind and certainly deserve a week's rest following K.U.'s final game of the season against Oklahoma A. and M. at Stillwater Saturday night.
Another reason the Jayhawkers weren't too interested in playing any post-season games is the fact that it would place a burden on Coach Allen and his players on rather short notice.
It was here that the coin-toss originated to select a representative in case of a tie instead of a two-out-of-three playoff like the Missouri Valley conference uses.
Coach "Phog" Allen says this trouble lies in the Big Seven playing too short a season. Other schools play another week or ten days and aren't confronted with this problem.
The coin toss idea was to shorten the playing schedule and keep the players from competing in such "long, drawn out seasons" and thus keep students from missing so much school.
Allen says, "the faculty representatives should set up a plan where the champion could request within three or four days after winning the title the two practice games it would like to have and then conference teams could plan accordingly. But these games shouldn't count on the season records as they would be strictly practice games.
"In case of a tie in the final standing, the playoff games within the conference would also help eliminate this problem. The way the thing is set up now, the season just ends too soon."
So, it is just a tough break for Kansas State that K.U. voted (it is reportedly to have been 17 to 0) against extending its season another ten days or so.
Of course, it could have been that some of these K.U. players well remembered the way that the Kansas State fans cheered so loudly (at the Indiana game) the night the Kansas score was given over the P.A. system as K.U. took a terrific beating at Lexington against Kentucky. This same situation existed when Kansas lost to Minnesota at Kansas City during the pre-season Big Seven tourney. On the other hand, we found almost no K.U. fans that didn't hope and root for a Kansas State victory over Long Island university when the Wildcats played at Manhattan in January.
But regardless, here's wishing Kansas State the best of luck in the N.C.A.A. playoffs. We'd sure like to see the Wildcats win the Western title and play Kentucky at Minneapolis for the national N.C.A.A. title. It would be a great thing for K-State and the Big Seven conference.
18 Are Chosen For 1951 Relays
Eighteen students have been named to the 1951 Kansas Relays committee, Bill Easton, director announced today.
The 28th annual Kansas Relays will be held Saturday, April 21, with Ralph Higgins, Oklahoma A. and M. track coach, serving as referee. Higgins previously served as referee for the Drake Relays and last summer was coach of A.A.U. teams which toured Europe and South Africa.
Dr. E. R. Elbel will again serve as Relays manager this year. Dave Mordy, college senior, will be senior manager and will have the following students on the Relays committee;
Senior members: Bill Leake, engineering, and Vic Eddy, college.
Junior members: Jerry Armstrong, engineering, and Dave Raab, college.
Sophomore members: Jerry Brownlee, Walter Cole, Bob Knightly, Bob Mehl, Ed Taylor, and Don Ellis, all college sophomores.
Freshman.members: George Breckenridge, engineering; Hubert Dye, Jr., business; Bob Ball, Dan Fox, Clark Keys, Ben McCallister, and Robert Reed, all college freshmen.
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