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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 2, 1947)
DUCK TRACKS By BERNIE HAMMERBECK Sports Editor Spiing term is track and baseball season, but basketball still fills the air. The fall of the Orange and Black Beaver at Kansas City caused many a disappointment, while the success oi the L tah quintet from high in the Rockies in copping the New York Invitational title has nt ougnt many a cheer. Oregon’s well-known and well liked hoop coach—Hob by Hobson—was in New York during the Invitation al playoffs and came off with some interesting observa tions. The Utes were given scarcely a chance of copping the Eastern silverware. Adolph Rupp’s fast charging Kentucky quintet had all but been conceded the title before the tourney got un derway. The Utah five, as are most RUBE BECHTOL of the Rocky mountain and Pacific Coast teams, is just a bunch of home-grown boys, mostly from within the state of Utah with a few from elsewhere in the Rockies. The Utes had finished second in their conference behind Wyoming. Hobson Praised Peterson and Utes Coach Nadal Peterson, prior to the final game, admitted to Hobson that he saw but a slim chance of downing the tremendously publicized, “All-Americans on the bench” blue grass boys. Peterson concluded the only Utah chance would be to slow the game to a walk. And that the Utes did. Hobson claims it was as beautifully planned a ball game as he has, seen and that the players did equally well in car rying out Peterson’s plans. The Utes had heart and downed Kentucky 49-45 for the far-famed Invitational title. The Westerners had tremendous support from the fans, especially in the final game. They were: definitely the under dogs, and many a rooter had little love for the Kentuckians ahyway. On hand to aid in the vocal support were the Utah cheer leaders. At first they had but little help in putting over school yells, but by halftime with the aid of a few wisecracks, a PA system, and a fighting ball club the rah-rah boys had nearly the entire 18,000 fans lustily joining the Utah school cheers. Ten Minutes Licked Beavers The Oregon State Beavers departed from KC with a piece of hardware bearing the same engraving job as did the Uni versity of Oregon Webfoots in 1945—third place winners in the Western NCAA playoffs. And inasmuch as they downed the Rocky mountain champ, Wyoming, the Gillmen also picked up the mythical title of Far Western champs. The Beavers had a rough ten minutes in their Okla homa game, and that was enough to beat them. The Bevos in fact choked but twice the whole year—against the hapless Idaho Vandals in a game that was sure to develop sooner or later, and to the Sooners of Oklahoma in the contest that really counted. ^ Alibis aplenty are being offered for the Beaver showing, most of them not even worth the proverbial grain of salt. This column originates from the hotbed of Beaver rivalry, but from here it is doubtful if the Beaver team itself is trying to get by on alibis. They had their chance and lost it. They were a great ball team. Chuck Taylor among others who say the KC playoffs tabbed them the best in the entire NCAA tourney. They just didn’t have it the night it was needed. Bechtol Noticed ND Interpretation ''m! ® if Accurate reports are till not available on the game, but the siege of traveling' violations during' the first half indicated that Lew Beck must have been having trouble with his drib bling. Observers have pointed out all year that both he and Crandall were using a dribble that ND officials approved but one that would not pass interpretations of Qtlier parts of the country. Rube Bechtol, Midwestern official and friend of Grid Coach Jim Aiken, saw but one OSC game and immediately came up with that opinion. Beck, especially, appears to hold the ball with his hand partly on top and partly behind, as he maneuvers on his -4Bhange-of-pace dribble. As the ball bounces up from the floor. Lew’s hand to all appearances meets the ball and follows it back for just a fraction, as he gives with that tremendously effective change-of-pace. Webfoot Thinclads Plagued By Surly Spring Weather Runners Move Indoors To Prepare for OSC Rainy weather forced a split in the training program of the track and field team yesterday. Faced with a thoroughly dampened track, Colonel Bill Hayward had his sprinters work indoors on the ma ples of McArthur court in lieu of sprinting on the cinders. Undaunt ed by the rain, middle distance and distance men worked out on the track. Coach Hayward told his sprint ers the workout he had lined up for them and then left them to carry out the instructions. On the track he continued to groom the longer distance runners for the coming,relays with Oregon State Saturday. Most of the sprinters didn’t em phasize speed in their workouts around the corridors of the Igloo, instead just clipped along at a good pace. The rapid change from the cinders to the hardwood floor and from spiked track shoes to flat-foot ed tennis shoes can often be disas trous to runners, and Hayward wasn’t taking any chances on the legs of his speedy gallopers. Last year the Beaver sprint team left the Ducks in the lurch, copping both the 440 and 880 yard relays. Headed by Don Humphrey , Ross Baton, Bob Laidlaw and Don Horton, the Orange dash squad pulled ahead of the Ducks early in the races and went on to victory by scant margins. The same Bevo team is back this year. On the track, even though the in side lane was partially covered with water in several spots, Hayward sent his distance men through their paces in an intensive training pro gram aimed at stopping the Aggies cold when the two-mile and four mile relays are underway. Half-milers Johnny Joachims, Stu Norene, Jerry Hunter, A1 White, and George Watkins stressed speed and accurate laps as they went to work. The Colonel hasn’t announced his starting two-mile team yet. In time trials before spring vacation, Bill Purcell led all the half milers to the finish in a good 2:05 run. Stu Norene, is rounding into shape and has recovered from a leg and foot injury as he was at the outset of the season.. Norene was the controversial figure in a recent Pacific Coast Intercolleg iate meeting and was granted an extra year of competition even Our shop is your answer for fast, dependable A shoe repair, m And it's so ■ convenient. I too. ■ CAMPUS SHOE SHOP though he transferred from Cor vallis to Eugene for his studying. His fast 1:55 half mile before the war is still One of the better times posted in Northern Division cir cles and Hayward lias his hopes on Stu to duplicate this perform ance again this year. Milers were set off in brisk warm ups of several laps that got down to the business of ironing out their pace for the long grind. They ran a three-quarter mile pace run to start off the day's program and finished with a stiff half mile aimed at perfection of stride and form. Oregon's team in the four-mile run was announced by Hayward to be A1 Pietschman, Dwight Zuloff, Bob Dreisner and Jon Morton. Dreisner, a member of last fall’s cross country team has shown good speed in recent workouts and will be a welcome addition to the squad of milers. Zuloff and Morton have shown much improvement since the be ginning of the season and are ca pable of clipping off fast times in the race. Neither men conditioned themselves by cross country in the fall but have rapidly rounded into shape, assuring themselves of starting spots on the relay team. Although hampered by a pulled tendon sustained while in the army, A1 Pietschman is scheduled to round out the milers in their team appearance Saturday. Colonel Hay ward's skill with bandages has en abled Pietschman to gain a berth on the squad. BICYCLES Get out and enjoy yourself this Spring and Summer Just arrived—Allotment of New Bicycles Ladies’ and Men’s Models Campus Cyclery 796 E. 11th Ph. 4789 Next Sunday Is Easter Are You Ready? How About Your Hair? EUGENE BARBER LORD JEFF Sweaters I Are in The UNIVERSITY SPORT SHOP NEXT TO THE SIDE PETE THE COP Says: GET YOUR CASHMERE SWEATER at MORRISON-HENNING They are fine imports in: Yellow, Navy, Brown, Green, Natural, and that hard to get color black. MORRISON & HENNING Store for Men McDonald Theater Bldg.