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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 5, 1950)
F DUCK TRACKS By JOHN BARTON Emerald Co-Sports Editor Woe has been piled upon woe for the Oregon Basketball team, hirst, Paul Sowers, stellar forward, injured his back in the Stanford series and was unable to make the trip through the Midwest. Now, the Duck hoop prowess has been dealt another blow by the temporary loss of "Will Urban, the other high spirited forward. Urban was called to Portland after the first Columbia game by news of his father's death. Will naturally was unable to return for the second of the Lion games. A blow such as the death of his father makes him emotionally unable to play, despite his usual high degree of determination on the court. Whether Will will play in the Washington State games this weekend is entirely up to iWmmmmmm® ur% EDDIE GAYDA rum. Knowing will, we think he will be ready to go against the Cougars if Coach John Warren thinks he is in shape. Ducks Need 'em Both Just how long Sowers will be lost to the squad is not exact ly known. The condition in his back is somewhat similar to that of a baseball player’s overworked arm. He has a calcium deposit in his back which makes it hard to bend or otherwise move. Right now, Sowers is up and around, but is wearing a corset like affair to keep the strain from the sore back. Warren said Tuesday that Sowers will not be able to play by Friday. Cougars Are Tough This, coupled with the possible continued absence of Urban, presents a bleak picture for the WSC series in McArthur Court Friday and Saturday. The Cougars edged out OSC Tuesday night on the Aggie home floor. They are reckoned to be one of the toughest clubs in the division this season. Old reliable Ed Gayda is with the Cougars again this year, but he has been kept off the court by a bad ankle which he sprained in Madison Square Garden during an Eastern trip. The present hotshot of the WSC team is a sophomore named GeneflConley who comes from Richland, Wash. At the end of the 12 game pre-conference play, Conley had pulled in 163 points from 59 field goals and 45 free throws. Incidentally, he has also garnered 45 personal fouls, which seem to point out that he is a little careless with his lanky body on the court. Gayda Behind in Points Right behind Conley in the points column is Ted Tappe, also a sophomore, from Bremerton. He has 78 points so far. Gayda is way down in fourth place because of his injury. In third spot is Bob Gambold, whom some fans may remember from last sea son. At any rate, we expect the Cougars to look plenty sharp this weekend. They are near the top of Northern Division teams, falling only behind Washington, perhaps. WSC may finish in the number one spot. Only the end of the season will tell. Oregon may be able to knock over the Cougars in one game this week, but unless the Ducks show some powerful improve ment, they will never win the games in Pullman on Feb. 6 and 7. That’s not meant to be a defeatist attitude—it’s just our prac tical outlook. Lion Games Slow In the late defeat at the hands of Columbia, the Ducks did not look bad, considering the handicap which they played under. This was, of course, the absence of Sowers both nights and Ur ban Tuesday night. Tuesday night both teams looked pretty sad, from the stand point of basketball as it should be played. There was lots of running, lots of shooting, but the net on the basket might have been tied shut, for all the fans could tell. The ball just didn't go through the darned hoop. Columbia had particular trouble making their shots from directly under the basket. Several times, the Lions missed sim ple “set-ups” which only junior high school teams are sup posed to miss. True, the Ducks had a worse percentage. Oregon’s percent age of field goals made for those attempted was .189, while Co lumbia made a mark of .300. Just for the sake of crying, look at the numbers: The Ducks shot 37 times from the floor and only made 7. The Lions shot 20 times and made 6. BUT, Columbia made 18 free throws for Oregon’s 11. That’s the story. With Urban back in uniform, Oregon may show the Cougars a rough time. At any rate, the games will be well worth seeing. Warren is famous for coming up with odd combinations of play ers who have winning capabilities. National Cage Ratings By MARTIN MEADOWS Now that January is here and most of the scheduled intersectional basketball games have been played, the intercollegiate hoop picture is much clearer, with half a dozen or so cage powers standing clearly over the rest of the teams. St. Johns of Brooklyn, despite its two-point upset loss to erratic CCNY, in the opinion of this writer is still the top squad, mainly due tb the fact that it has played tougher opposition than either Holy Cross or Indiana, the number two and three teams respectively. Led by Dick McGuire and' Jerry Calabrese, the Redmen have rolled up a brilliant 12-1 record, including decisive victories over Kentucky and San Francisco, last year’s tournament champions. The powerful Long Island Blackbirds, sparked by high-scoring Sher man White, are lodged in fourth spot with a 10-1 slate. They are follow ed by surprising Kentucky, which recently won the Sugar Bowl tourna ment, with seven wins against a lone defeat, that to St. Johns. The top ten is rounded out by Bradley, North Carolina State, St. Louis, Duquesne, and Missouri. Top Coast representative is UCLA in the number 19 slot. The Bruins have just completed a successful Eastern tour and are returning with an 8-3 mark. Other Coast teams are USC, ranked 26 th, and Washington, top Northern Division squad, number 36. Washington State is 50th, while Oregon State, pre-season favorite for the Northern Division crown, is way down the line at 58th. Following are the team positions and records, including Tuesday’s games: 1. St. Johns (12-1) 2. Holy Cross (9-0) 3. Indiana (9-0) 4. Long Island U. (10-1) 5. Kentucky (7-1) 6. Bradley (10-2) 7. No. Carolina State (9-1 8. St. Louis (6-1) 9. Duquesne (10-0) 10. Missouri (8-1) 11. Oklahoma A&M (7-2) 12 Cincinnati (5-0) 13. Minnesota (7-1) 14. Wisconsin (8-2) -15. Oklahoma (5-2) 16. CCNY (7-2) 17. Tulane (9-2) 18. Kansas State (9-3) 19. UCLA (8-3) 20. Illinois (7-3) i 21 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. ) 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. LaSalle (6-2) Navy (5-1) Syracuse (7-1) Western Kentucky (6-3) Bowling Green (10-4) USC (7-2) Niagara (8-1) Ohio State (5-2) Cornell (7-2) Canisius (7-3) Villanova (7-2) Toledo (10-2) Eastern Kentucky (6-2) Michigan (6-3) Louisville (10-2) Washington (10-1) Oklahoma City (11-2) Colorado (8-2) * Northwestern (6-2) Iowa (8-1) Salkeld Dickers For Title Fight The Associated Press tonight sought confirmation of a report that Portland promoter Tex Sal keld was angling for a summer title fight between local favorite Joe Kahut and worlds champion Ez zard Charles. According to the AP, Charles’ managers Jake Mintz and Tom Tannas have been considering such a bout for some time. Register Guard sports editor Dick Strite reported in a recent col umn that Salkeld was maneuvering for a Multnomah stadium fight for Kahut, his meal ticket heavy weight, whose recent victory over Joe Bosnich has revived Northwest boxing on a national scale. 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