Juco transfers bolster 'big' schools fast
BY GALEN BLAND
Kansan Sports Writer
It was in the finals of the NCAA basketball tournament. Artis Gilmore, Jacksonville's 7-2 center, grabbed the ball, leaped high in the air and dropped the ball through the hoop to make his Dolphins the National Champions.
Well, not yet, but the Dolphins definitely have a chance at the crown. Many fans are wondering how the Dolphins made the gigantic climb from .500 ball to championship contenders in one year. The answer is simple—junior college recruiting.
Jacksonville found Gilmore playing for Gardner-Webb Junior College in Boiling Springs, N.C. Then they got another 7-footer, Pembroke Burrows, from Brevard Junior College. Gilmore, who was clumsy in high school but improved steadily in Juco, fulfilled his potential this year
and the Dolphins are 26-1 instead of 13-12.
Jacksonville is not the only team that has gone to the Jucos to fill the gaps that their regular recruiting programs have left. UCLA has remained a national power after superstar Lew Alcindor graduated with the help of hot-shooting John Vallely and Sidney Wicks, both junior college transfers from California.
Cliff Meeley, 6-8 forward, transferred to Colorado from Northeastern Colorado Junior College and the Buffaloes won the Big Eight with Meeeley leading the last year last.
Examples of junior college recruiting were shown in the Mid-West regional here last week. Drake, who lost four men off last year's team, was led by 6-5 Jeff Halliburton, Halliburton came from San Jacinto College in Texas. Houston had Ollie Taylor, who averaged 24.7, and Poo
Welch, both Texas Juco transfers. Jerry Venable, a transfer from Ferrum (Va.) Juco, was the big man for Kansas State's Wildcats.
Junior college recruiting has become an excellent means for college teams to quickly bolster their strength. The Juco crop of talent this year is again outstanding, but a few names, unknown now, have the best shot at becoming stars in the college ranks.
Harold Fox, a 6-2 guard who plays for Brevard Junior College in Cocoa, Fla., could be the best of the best. Fox led Brevard to a 25-1 record this year with his 263 average and his outstanding defensive play. Fox was the first schoolboy since Elgin Baylor to make All-Metropolitan Washington, D.C., three years in a row. Nearly 300 colleges, including KU, are after Fox.
Another standout can be found
Local club organizes meet expands area track circuit
The first of what is hoped to be the annual Mid-America Relays sponsored by the Kansas Track Club was held last Saturday at Wentworth Military Academy, Lexington, Mo.
Fort Hays State won the indoor meet with 46 points. Lincoln University finished a close second with 40. Ottawa University and Emporia State tied for third with 30 points each followed by Southwestern (Winfield) with 22 and the Kansas Track Club (KTC) with 18.
Individual highlights in the meet were provided by Lincoln's Walter Walker who ran a 6.1 in the 60-yard dash and Fort Hays State's Larbi Oukada who claimed three first place medals
with wins in the two-mile relay, two-mile run and the distant medley relay.
Jay Steinberg, Glen Elya, Ill. junior and president of the KTC, organized the meet along with Wayne Smith, meet coordinator and a Westchester, Ill. sophomore
Steinberg said the meet was, hopefully a stepping stone toward the meet's future success. He said the KTC's intention is for the Mid-America Relays to become a major relay in the midwest.
A similar outdoor meet is scheduled at Emporia State on May 1.
Saturday's meet was sanctioned by the NCAA and NAIA in addition to the United States Track and Field Federation. It was completely student-run with invited officials taking part.
Wes Santee, former KU miler, served as the official starter while Bill Easton, former KU track coach, served as an advisor to the KTC.
Steinberg said the coaches of the teams in the meet were optimistic that the Mid-America Relays can become an integral part of the track circuit. The KTC president said it is hopeful the meet will soon follow the Wichita State Relays, KU Relays and Drake Relays.
"We feel we are stepping in the right direction for the Relays to become a success, particularly with our outdoor meet in Emporia on May 1," Steinberg said.
Golfers taste first action as OSU shines
Oklahoma State easily swept their own invitational golf tournament last weekend in Stillwater. The Cowboys walked away with the first four individual spots.
Mike Holden led OSU by winning medalist honors with a 138 total for the 36 hole contest. He was followed by teammates Doug Tool, Mark Haze and Jim Shade.
State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, KU and Tulsa.
The Jayhawks' next meet will be the Oklahoma Intercollegiate in Shawnee, Okla., on the third and fourth of April.
OSU topped runnerup Arkansas by 27 strokes. Other teams, in order of finish, were Wichita
more, shot a 158. DeLongy shot the low 18-hole score for the Jayhawks, a 75 on the first day.
Perhaps that player will be Harold Fox or Charlie Dudley or maybe someone even more obscure. The players will be found, however, and a year from now some of them will probably be making their mark on college ball just as Gilmore and so many of his "cohorts" have done this year.
in Pratt. Paul "Boogie" Stovani, 6-5 leaper from Wichita, led the nation in rebounding with 25 a game and was second in scoring with a 32.5 average.
This week college recruiters are getting a chance to see the best of the juco players in head-to-head competition. The National Junior College tournament is being played in Hutchinson this week and college coaches will be after that one player they need to go all the way next year.
KU appears to have the inside track on 6-7 forward Bob Nash of San Jacinto College in Pasadena, Texas. Nash averaged 22.8 points and 18 rebounds a game this year. He was also the fastest man on this high-ranking team that produced Halliburton and Taylor.
Burlington College, the Juco home of Iowa's Fred Brown, has another standout this year in Charlie Brakes, a 6-7 forward.
Brakes, although bothered by injuries this year, has been climbing back toward his 25-point average of a year ago. Jacksonville, Iowa, Minnesota and Texas at El Paso are all in the running for him.
Steve Davidson, a 6-8 forward for Christian College in Dallas, is also being heavily sought after by many universities. Davidson threw in 23 points and grabbed 20 rebounds per game this season.
Charlie Dudley is a standout for the perennially strong Moberly, Mo. team. The little guard averaged 24 points for the Greyhounds and led them into the National Tournament this year.
The Vinceennes Trailblazers from Indiana were top-ranked most of this year. They have a tall team with six players averaging in double figures but most college recruiters are looking at Oscar Evans, a guard who averages only 13.4 points a contest. Evans does not shoot much but is an outstanding ball-handler and defensive player.
When the University of Kansas opened in 1866, the enrollment was 55 and there were only four faculty members.
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