University Daily Kansan
Page 15
Monday, Jan. 7, 1957
Surprising Sooners To Test No.1 Rating
PROBABLE STARTERS
Kansas Ht. P Oklahoma Ht.
Gene Elstun, 6-3½ F Bill Ashcraft 6-5½
Lew Johnson 6-6 F Don Schwall 6-5½
Wilt Chamberlain 7-0 C Joe King 6-6½
Maurice King 6-2½ G Gene Hudson 6-3
John Parker 6-0 G Larry Ivan 6-3
The Kansas Jayhawkers will place their No.1 national rating on the line when they move into Norman, Oklahoma to face the University of Oklahoma tonight. The game will begin at 7:30 p.m. with the game being broadcast locally over KANU and WREN.
Tonight's game will mark the renewal of a series that began in 1920. Out of 76 games KU has won 48 while the Sooners have won 28. Oklahoma finished last year's season in the conference cellar with a 1-11 record, and that one win was an upset victory over KU at Norman.
Elstun On A Spree
Once again Kansas' hopes will be riding on the 7 ft. frame of Wilt Chamberlain. Although limited to 23 points by Missouri, Chamberlain still remains the number one collegiate scorer in the nation and Oklahoma's biggest worry. Joe King 6-8. Sooner center, will have the job of containing Chamberlain's scoring ability.
Gene Elstun, Jayhawk forward, will enter the game fresh from his 26-point scoring spree against the University of Missouri. Elstun, a graduate from Shawnee Mission high school in Mission, was a high school teammate of co-captain John Parker. Ron Loneski, injured Jayhawk forward, won't see action, but is expected to be able to play within a few games.
KU romped to a 74-56 decision over the Sooners in the semi-final round of the Big Seven pre-season tournament in Kansas City, with Chamberlain firing through 36 points to lead the assault.
The Sooners, picked to finish in the cellar, have amazed fans with their improvement under Coach Doyle Parrack. They will be fresh from a 69-67 upset of Kansas State at Norman Saturday, a win which gave Oklahoma a 4-5 record for the year. The Sooners now have upset K-State twice this season, the first one coming in the opening round of the pre-season tourney.
Next to King, the top Sooner player is Don Schwall, a hard-driving forward with confounds defenses with his blinding speed. He draws a lot of fouls, and he's a sure shooter from the 15-foot range.
Iowa State Plays Tigers Tonight
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — (UP)— Little Gary Thompson and Iowa State, apparently the best hope the Big Seven has of stopping Wilt Chamberlain and Kansas, swing into action in the conference basketball race at Missouri tonight.
Colorado and Nebraska also open their conference seasons at Lincoln while Kansas plays at Oklahoma in a sellout game.
Kansas and Oklahoma took a quick first game jump on rival teams Saturday with wins, Kansas easily over Missouri, 92-79, and Oklahoma in a hard-fought battle over Kansas State, 69-67.
It was Oklahoma's second straight win this season over Kansas State and came when center Joe King, who tallied 28 points, hit a basket with six seconds left. The Sooners defeated K-State, 67-64 in the preseason tournament.
Iowa State, which is second only to Kansas in the 'all games standings' with an 8-1 record, plays Drake of the Missouri Valley at Des Moines Friday. Two conference games are scheduled Saturday, Nebraska at Colorado and Kansas State at Kansas in the annual inter-state rivalry. After playing Kansas State at home Saturday, Kansas goes to Ames to play Iowa State Monday night in a game' that is shaping up more and more as the "big one" where Kansas may be stopped.
KU Heads INS Poll; Iowa State Is 8th
Kansas Jayhawkers the No. 1 team in all three major press polls last week, again headed the International News Service voting this week. North Carolina was second and Kentucky third.
Iowa State, a team which has lost only to KU, was rated eighth in the poll, and Colorado placed 13th. No other Big Seven teams made the top 20.
OU's Progress Please Parrack
By MALCOLM APPLEGATE
(Assistant 'Sports Editor of
The Daily Kansan)
The Oklahoma Sooners would probably be given the nod in the Big Seven as the most surprising and improved team this year.
After dropping their first three games to Arkansas, Illinois, and Texas, the Sooners fought back to gain wins over Baylor and Rice before entering the recent Big Seven tournament in Kansas City.
Coach Doyle Parrack, in his second year at Oklahoma, thought the Sooner team played well during the
In the first round of the tournament they were victorious over the favored K-State Wildcats, then fell before the powerful Kansas Jayhawkers, and lost in the battle for third and fourth palce to Michigan State in an overtime.
To prove that its first victory over K-State was not luck, the Oklahoma team opened its Big Seven conference schedule Saturday night with a second win over the Wildcats, 69-67.
Parrack Is Pleased
tourney, considering the youngness of their personnel. He considers this year's squad much stronger than last year's. Oklahoma finished last in the Big Seven conference race and had an overall record of 4 wins and 18 losses last year.
Parrack said after the Kansas City tourney, concerning the Big Seven league, "I think the Big Seven is well balanced with the possible exception of KU. Chamberlain is every bit as good as I thought he was, and the Kansas team is great."
With a squad composed of seven sophomores, seven juniors, and one senior, Oklahoma's cage hopes are definitely looking brighter than they have during the past few years. The starting five for the Sooners includes three juniors and two sophomores.
King Is Leader
Oklahoma is sparked by junior center Joe King, who stands 6- $ _{6} _{2} $ and sophomore forward Don Schwall, 6- $ _{5} _{2} $ . These two were both all-tournament second team choices in the Kansas City festival.
Schwall led the Oklahoma scorers with 57 points and was also its No. 1 rebounder with 32. He maneuvers
well for his size and possesses good jump and set shots from outside or in close.
King made the Associated Press all-Big Seven team as a sophomore last Big year and was the highest scoring sophomore in OU's cage history. He averaged 15.5 points a game during the regular season and 18.3 in Big Seven games. His best shot is a soft jumper from 10 to 15 feet out. King also is a good driver and ball handler for a man of his size.
The other Oklahoma starters, Bill Aschcraft, 6-5½ forward, Gene Hudson, 6-3 guard, and Bruce Medley, 6-1 guard, give the Sooners an overall average height of better than 6-4 in their starting five.
Larry Ivan, an excellent shooter, Dick Bass, another good sophomore prospect, and Ed Abbey, who was the No. 3 Sooner scorer last year are the mainstays backing up the first five.
With these boys leading the Oklahoma cage team this year, it appears that the Sooners are definitely headed out of the cellar and could be a team that will be a big factor in determining the final outcome of the Big Seven basketball race.
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