XAQ
254
TUESDAY, JANUARY 16, 1951
PAGE FOUR
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN, LAWRENCE, KANSAS
By MARVIN ARTH and JIM VAN VALKENBURG
Before last night's game began, a K-State group in the top balcony of Hoch started yelling some nonsense about P.U. and then followed with something about every man a wildcat, and, of course, we will have to agree their manners are comparable to their boasts.
Since Governor Arn and the legislature were present the Jayhawker rooters started with the perennial yell, "We want a fieldhouse," to which the diplomatic State group retorted. "We got a fieldhouse." I suppose we can forget their poor English.
Hoch auditorium, which had been filled by 6 p.m., was soon rolling with excitement over the big game, and all went relatively well until 14% minutes had been played in the second half.
K. U. was ahead at the time and Ref. Ronnie Gibbs called one which happened to be unfavorable to the Wildcats. This in itself shouldn't have been any cause for anger, for almost everything he did was unfavorable and the bewildered man in the striped shirt had made a good many enemies in the auditorium, both Jayhawkers and Wildcats.
Coach Jack Gardner disagreed with the decision and edged onto the court so that his protests might be more obnoxious, and the two men stood shouting at each other. Bob Hurt of the Topeka Capital quotes Gardner as saying "it was just a misunderstanding," and, of course, the U.S. has a little misunderstanding with Red China, too.
We couldn't hear what was said in the pandemonium of Hoch, but at about that time, Gardner reached over and gave Gibbs a love pat on his waist. (We were told it might be libel to say he grabbed or hit Gibbs.) Well, tempers were high, and boys will be boys, and we were a little angry with Gibbs, too, so we let that one pass.
we were a little angry with Gibbs, 605.5.
The Jayhawkers gradually lost their six point lead (thanks to their stalling tactics) and with little more than a minute left, Barrett, a dead eye with a drag foot, hit a beauty to put the K-Staters ahead.
Then, as any team which happens to be behind by a narrow margin in the last minute, the Jayhawkers attempted to acquire the ball, and as any team which is ahead, Kansas State attempted to stall. Everything perfectly normal so far.
Lovellette, Ennis, and Waugh pressed Stone in an attempt to get the ball, and in the process tied him up and went to the floor with him. All perfectly legal mind you. Then for some reason not evident to us, the entire Kansas State bench swarmed to the scene under the east basket. The Kansas bench was on the west end of the court, and not one of the K.U. players crossed the mid-stripe. Mr. Hurt of the Capital implies that both benches cleared and players went into the fracas whereas it was only the team sitting toward the east end.
Even Coach Gardner rushed from the bench to the fray. He wasn't warmed up for the event as his players were, but he had been plenty hot all evening.
not an evening. Then things happened pretty fast for two eyes to follow, but we do remember a near free-for-all with several spectators crowding out onto the floor, Athletic Director "Dutch Lonborg" running around trying to calm things, a couple of policemen who did calm things with the help of more cool-minded individuals on the spot who held back some of the more angry ones.
Well, we have to admit, the Wildcats are a team of action, even if it is only to run on the court and resort to violence.
In all fairness to Kansas State, we had decided to forget the whole matter, but upon walking from Hoch, a juvenile wearing a purple sweater with a ferocious wildcat embroidered over his gut, unleashed a firecracker (at least a two-incher) which landed and exploded at my feet. Smart boys those farmers, throwing firecrackers into a crowd.
Coach F. C. "Phog" Allen, now in his 34th season as Kansas basketball coach, unquestionably deserves his place in the Helm's foundation hall of fame as one of the greatest coaches of all time.
"The Kinghawk of the Kaw" has done about everything in basketball except put the bounce in the ball. He has won 21 championships at K.U. And like every coach he has been and will be secondguessed. His Jayhawkers may go on for No 22 this season.
guessed. His skyhawkers may guess it. It's easy to second-guess the coach after a bitter defeat, especially in so controversial a game as basketball. Sure, it's easy, but the temptation is too much to resist. Out of 12 games decided by five points or less during the past season and the present half-completed season, Kansas lost 10 of them.
In the past four and a half seasons, Kansas played 41 games decided by five points or less, including six overtimes, and lost 30 of them. In the same four and a half year period, the Jayhawks dropped 10 of 12 two-pointers, seven of eight three-pointers. The team last year lost nine of 10 games decided by five points or less, six out of six decided by three points or less. Surely such a record in close games over that long a period isn't all luck.
Monday night the Jayhawks seemed to have a fine K-State team on the ropes. K.U. was leading by six points, 42-36 with six minutes and 45 seconds left. Kansas had outscored the Aggies 18-7 during a stretch of several minutes. The Aggies were making bad pass after bad pass.
Why do the Jayhawks in the late stages depend upon ball-handling, passing, and floor speed to win? Let's face it, those are the departments in which K.U. is deficient. Kansas has plenty of height, and loads of shooting power from short and long range. The Jayhawks, however, are simply not endowed with clever ball-handlers. But they seem to have enough height and shooting strength to overpower the opposition.
But at this point, instead of trying to increase their lead and put the Aggies in full flight (possibly) the Jayhawks started their slow-down ball-holding tactics. Perhaps they weren't freezing the ball, but if it wasn't a freeze it was the next thing to it. Kansas tried to
KU Gives Game To K-State 47-43
A badly-frightened band of Kansas State Wildcats eagerly accepted a gift labeled "victory" from the perfect-host Jayhawkers Monday. Included in the 47 to 43 present may be the 1951 Big Seven crown.
By RAY SOLDAN
The Jayhawkers trailed for most of the opening 30 minutes before catching fire to overtake the visitors. They built their lead to 42 to 36 with seven minutes remaining, and had the rattled Cats on the run.
Kansas then tried to stall out the game—something which just can't be done for seven minutes. K-State intercepted no more than an average number of passes and hit just an average number of shots in overtaking the non-shooting Kansans.
The Jayhawkers had outscored the Wildcats 14 to 4 in the previous seven minutes, but while they were in their fatal freeze, K-State outpointed them 11 to 1. Korie Barrett, who is probably the greatest clutch player in the Big Seven conference, hit the winning goal with 45 seconds left in the game. K-State added a pair of free throws later, but Barrett's 15-footer was the clincher.
The first half scoring was all Lovelleet for Kansas. He hit eight
It was an up-hill fight for Kansas from the start. Kansas State broke and 8-8 tie with five minutes gone and was in command the rest of the half. The Cats pushed the lead to seven points late in the half—the longest lead of the night by either team. At halftime it was 24 to 19, Kansas State.
Kansas State.
Kansas knotted the game at 24 apiece to open the second half, but the Wildcats soon regained their five-point margin. A few minutes later, Bill Lienhard hit a shot and Clyde Lovelette potted two successive goals to move Kanlas in front, 34 to 32. The leading basket brought Lovelette's total to 25 points for the night—he added another a minute to raise his final total to 27 points. Bob Kenney, Lienhard, and Jerry Waugh chipped in with goals as Kansas soared to its 42 to 36 lead. Then the clock watching began.
of 13 shots and added a free throw for 17 of K.U.'s 19 points. The rest of the Kansas players pegged away at the hoop 25 times in the first half with a goal by Bill Lienhard the lone success. Many of the shots were very poor, but the cold Kansans couldn't even hit the good ones.
Kansas State, shooting 22 fewer times than Kansas—39 to 61—hit a good 41 per cent of its shots. Lew Hitch led the way with four out of five. Hoot Gibson had three of five, and Barrett four on nine.
Things were much better in the second half. Lovellette hit five of 12, while the rest of the team hit seven of 11. The second-half shooting percentage was 52 percent as compared to a dismal 24 per cent the first period.
Kansas State continued its balanced scoring attack. Gibson and Hitch showed the way with 10 points. Barrett had eight, Jim Iverson seven, and Bob Rousey six. Only four players scored for Kansas-Lovellette 27. Lienhard eight, Kenney four, and Waugh four.
At the free throw line, Kansas State hit a poor 50 per cent-13 of 26. The Jayhawkers, continuing to decline free tosses, hit three of five.
Fifty-three personal fouls and one technical foul were called in the loosely-officiated game. Coach Jack Gardner of the Wildcats got the technical foul for charging onto the floor to complain about a rule interpretation. Kansas State outfouled Kansas, 27 to 26, but wasn't
score only twice in that time. Kansas, seemingly content with 42 points, tried to stretch them too far, and wound up with a single free throw in the last 6:45, not enough to beat a team like Kansas State.
Plenty of teams have stalled in the last two or three minutes with a six-point lead or less, but few if any get away with it for more than six minutes, especially against a team of superior floor speed. K.U. led Bradley by seven points late in the N.C.A.A. playoff game at Kansas City the past spring. Instead of using the height and shooting, which got them a seven-point lead in the first place, to build a bigger lead, Kansas tried slow-down tactics. The Jayhawks passed it around, took a long shot after several passes, and later threw the ball, and the ball game, away.
In the 1947 N.C.A.A. Western, Wyoming tried to stall too early against a Texas team that had terrific all-around speed. Texas waited for that inevitable bad pass, scored twice, and won 42-40.
We wonder what would have happened Monday if the Jayhawks had continued to drive for the basket. Last year against K-State here, K.U. built up an early 22-6 lead, and drove well against the pressing Wildcats to win 79-68. When K.U. tried at times to stall late in that game, the faster Aggies picked off pass after pass, but when K.U. depended on its height and shooting and drove for the bucket, K-State couldn't stop them. The Jayhawks' margin in that game (they had one less field goal) was in free throws where they made 29 of 36.
Dependence upon ball-handling that isn't there is perhaps the chief fault of Coach Allen's system of taking the ball out of bounds on free throws. Another fallacy is the assumption that K.U. will lose the ball every time it shoots a free throw. Even if they miss the charity, the Jayhawks will get the rebound a good part of the time, with their height, and possibly tip in a few misses.
Coach Allen has compared K.U.'s take-out record to its free throw percentage this year and last. Kansas made 65 per cent of its frees last year, second in the conference. But let's add on points made after getting the rebound of a miss, or after a tip-in. Do that and it wouldn't be unreasonable to conclude that K.U. made eight points for every ten frees it shot last year. They are not making anything like that this year, having by-passed 183 charities before Monday, and made 51 goals.
However, as Coach Allen has said, Kansas is maintaining possession of the ball. Against K-State, K.U. did undoubtedly control the ball more minutes. And the Jayhawks got 61 shots from the field to K-State's 39. That might to some be strong evidence that it paid off. It's hard to say.
We like Coach Allen's idea of changing the rules to allow the team fouled to get both the free throw and the ball out of bounds, and also his idea for unlimited individual fouling without being removed. Let the man who fouls all the time really hurt his team, Coach Allen says. But unfortunately, that rule is not in the books now. It appeared that the Aggies gained by using three men as cannon fodder to foul Clyde Lovelle repeatedly before shooting. The only penalty was Kansas' continued possession with K-State's faster club waiting to pick off a pass.
hurt like the Jayhawkers.
fouled four men out of the gas
Bill Houghland left the game with his fifth personal with 13 minutes remaining. Lienhard fouled out with six minutes to go. Charlie Hoag, who played another hustling game, followed three minutes later, and Lovellette with just seconds to go. Kansas State didn't foul out a man, although three of them picked up four persons and four more had three fouls.
The Cat's Meow!
KANSAS STATE 475
FG FT-A PF TP
Gibson, f 3 4- 8 4
Stone, f 1 2- 5 3
Hitch, c 4 2- 3 4
Barrett, g 4 0- 4 8
Iverson, g 3 1- 1 7
Head 0 0- 0 0
Knostman 0 2- 4 3
Channelh 0 0- 0 1
Upson 0 0- 1 2
Rousey 2 2- 4 3
Totals ... 17 13-26 27
FG FT-A PF
Lienhard, f 4 0-0 5
Kenney, f 2 0-0 1
Lovellette, c 13 1-2 5
Waugh, g 1 2-3 1
Hougland, g 0 0-0 5
Hoag 0 0-0 5
Schnake 0 0-0 1
Enns 0-0 0 1
Keller 0-0 0 1
Engel 0-0 0 0
KANSAS (43)
Totals ... 20 3-5 26
Officials: Cliff Ogden and Rg Gibbs
Halftime score: Kansas State Kansas 19.
Technical foul: Kansas Sta Bench.
EXPERT WATCH REPAIR
Electronically Tine Guaranteed Satisfaction 1 Week or Less Service
WOLFSON'S 743 Mass.
We have them for every age and taste. Come in and help you make your selection.
BOOKS for Birthday Gifts
THE BOOK NOOK
1021 Mass. Tel. 661
Glasses should serve two p poses—to help you see proply and help you look better.
Your eyes should be examin today.Call for appointment
Any Lens Duplicated
Lawrence Optics
LOOK WELL
SEE BETTER!
Phone 425 1025 M