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By Bob Robinson
Emarald Sporli Editor
Talk about having the wool pulled over your eyes! We think
that the < tregon State Barometer sports department has really
gone "bugs” with a recent article they printed on Beaver bas
ketball coach, Slats Gill.
To quote the Barometer exactly: “Slats ('.ill is in our opinion
the best basketball coach in the nation!” Wliooh! We wonder
vs hat such stalwart hoop mentors as Adolph Rupp of Kentucky,
I'hog Allen of Kansas, Howard Hobson of Vale, and numerous
others would think of that statement.
Don’t get us wrong. We are not saying that (’.ill isn’t a good
coach. \\ hat we are wondering about is this statement which
they made saying he is the greatest coach of them all.
No Higher Than Fourth
Gill has turned out many fine teams at Oregon State but then
so have main other coaches. It is interesting to note that the
Beavers have never placed higher than fourth in the N. C. A. A.
play-offs. It seems to us that in as many years of coaching as
(.ill has spent he would have been able to produce at least one
national champion if he is the “greatest coach in the nation.”
Hobson, although he spent much less time in one place as a
coach, guided the Oregon Ducks to the X. C. A. A. title in 1939.
And that is not the only coast school which has attained college
basketball s throne room. Stanford won the championship in
1942 and Washington State placed second in 1941.
\\ hy hasn’t a Gill-coached team ever been able to ascend title
heights.'’ It couldn’t be said that he never has had the material.
In Skeet O'Connell, Kd Lewis, Cliff Crandall, Red Rocha, Lew
Beck. Krland Anderson, Alex Peterson, and Dick Ballantvne,
(.ill has bad some of the most capable hoopers the Pacific
Coast conference has ever seen.
Coach Makes a Difference
T lie fact that OSC has never been able to quite reach the
X. C. A. A. championship is in itself an explanation of why Gill
is not the top coach in the country. It is our belief that the dif
ference between a great team and a very good one is the coach.
W ith the tremendous amount of capability that hoopers have
attained in the last 20 years, good basketball teams have be
come more and more in number. By the time that the top fives
of this select group have eliminated themselves down to a final
eight, which take part in the X. C. A. A. tourney, there is very
little difference in their players’ capabilities. "
This is where top-flight coaching becomes apparent. When
ten cagers of very even ability take to the maple boards to play
each other, what happens? Usually, not always, the team with
the best coaching strategy behind it comes out on top.
Strategy Important
, One point of clarification. When we speak of coaching being
the determining factor, we do not mean to infer that a coach
whose team doesn't win any cups is not capable. What we do
mean is that after a quintet has won its way all the way to the
regional play-offs of the X. C. A. A. tourney, oftentimes coach
ing strategy is the determining factor in just how far they get
in their quest for the title.
If Gill can be termed the best hoop mentor in the business it
seems to us that in all his years of coaching he would have been
able to guide at least one of his potent teams to the very top of
the heap.
Shaw's Joke Backfires
George Shaw, Oregon center-fielder, came up with a joke at
last week's Oregon-Willamctte baseball game that had every
one who heard it rocking with laughter. But, ironically, within
one hour after he had pulled his bit of humor, Shaw was forced
to bite his lip and wish that he had never opened his mouth.
Just before the start of the Bearcat-Duck diamond fracas,
tutor Don Kirsch of the Ducks asked Shaw if he hadn’t better
wear a pair of sunglasses, considering the brightness of the
gleaming sun. Shaw replied: “No. Don, my brother Jerry is
coming to the game afterwhile and he will stand behind the
backstop and blot out the whole sun so I won't need them.”
When players and other officials along the players’ bench
heard this comment the whole group of them became wild with
laughter. Almost all of them knew George’s brother, rotund,
240 pound Jerry, and the humor of the statement hit everyone
at the same time.
A few innings later George was quite embarrassed when a
long fly ball off one of the Willamette bats dropped harmlessly
within five feet of him while he stood unable to see it because
of the shiny sun.
Good sport that lie is, Shaw saw his mistake and sent short
stop John Keller in to get the glasses during a time-out period
called specially for the purpose.
0
Legal Eagles Upset
Hale Kane Squad
The Legal Eagles pulled a big
surprise In intramural softball ac
tion Thursday afternoon when they
upset highly favored Hale Kane,
9-3.
In other Thursday games; Chi
Psi walloped Delta Tau Delta, 11-2;
Campbell Club stopped Phi Gamma
Delta, 10-6; Pi Kappa Alpha rolled
over Tau Kappa Epsilon, 14-3; Phi
Delta Theta shut out Delta Upsilon,
9-0; and Merrick and French halls
battled to a 4-4 deadlock in a game
j called because of the time limit.
The Eagles scored their startling
I triumph as a result of several good
J hits in the right spots and some
j poor pitching on the part of the
j losers.
The Phi Delta won over the DU's
| with a neat display of class that
should make them a serious threat
to any team planning on taking the
softball title this season.
Campbell Club looked good in
winning over the Fiji's. Larry Beck
; iuh paced the hitting attack for the
i Clubbers with two hits and a walk
i in his three times at bat.
UW Hosts Idaho
In N. D. Opener
The surprisingly - successful
■ Washington Huskies get their first
i 1954 taste of Northern Division
baseball this weekend as they open
the league campaign at Graves
field against University of Idaho.
.The teams meet at 3:30 Friday
, afternoon and at 2 o'clock Satur
day.
Coach Bill Marx, obviously
I pleased with his team’s perform
ance in winning six of its first sev
en non-conference encounters, will
i lead with his ace. Bill Kearns, in
: the Friday opener. Roy Veiling,
; the hig curve - bailer who bas
; notched two wins in relief, will go
| to the mound Saturday.
With Washington State's strong
j Cougars rolling into town for
games on Monday and Tuesday,
, Marx is hoping that his top pitch
i crs will go the distance so that
j he can use either Kit Gorohoff
1 or Bob Graff, both sophomores, on
Monday, and Reams again on
Tuesday.
The rest of the Washington line
up for the Idaho opener may look
like this: Jack Ballard, catcher;
Larry Watson, first base; Harvey
Jarvis, second base; Bill Stuht,
shortstop; Jack Scott, third base;
I Roland Halle, Lou Roselli and Rod
: Pressey, outfielders. Should a
southpaw go to the mound for the
: Vandals, though, the Husky out
field probably will undergo twc
I changes, with only Halle remain
j ing as a starter.
“We’ve come a lot farther than
II thought we would,” Marx says
as his Huskies await the open
ing series, “but our hitting has
been a bit on the anemic side
against the good pitchers, and we
must tighten our infield defense
before we can become pennant
contenders.”
Some idea of the Huskies’ run
ning speed can be gathered from
the stolen base statistics. In seven
games, they’ve stolen 33 bases, or
nearly five per contest. The speed
has proven invaluable in the out
field, too, where it is one of the
keys to that fine defense.
(kntfag ft f
Banna *
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Duckling Baseballers
Schedule 12 Tussles •'
The Oregon Frosh baseball team
will play a total of 12 games this
seaaon according to the schedule
released by the Oregon athletic
department Thursday afternoon.
The Ducklings, who have as
good a group of young players as
they have had In many seasons,
opened their slate last Monday af
ternoon when they walloped
Springfield high school by the
lop-sided score of 13-1. The Frosh
were to play Eugene high on the
Axemen’s home diamond Thurs
day in their second tussle.
Beavers Stop
Wash. State
By the Associated Press
Oregon State came from behind
in the last innings at Corvallis
Thursday, to win its second straight
baseball game from Washington
State in Northern Division action.
The score was 6-4 in favor of the
Beavers.
Infielders Jay Dean and Bobby
Buob provided the scoring punch
for the winners. OSC trailed 3-2 un
til the seventh inning, when Dean
came to bat with two men in scor
ing position. He lashed a single that
scored both.
Shortstop Buob then provided
two insurance runs by singling
home another pair of tallies in the
eighth frame.
Washington State had taken the
lead in the fourth, when a double by
Terry Sparks, an error and singles
by Jack Hardman and Ernie Cecaci
produced three runs.
After two were out in the ninth
inning, Washington State started a
rally. There were successive hits by
Hon Foisey, Sparks, and Earl Mc
Intosh for one run before relief
pitcher A1 Guidotti, who entered the
game in the fourth, managed to re
tire the visitors.
Coaching the Ducklings this
year is Ray Coley, who came to
the Webfoots from Boise junior
college in 3949 after two years of
competition in both the collegiate
and semi-pro leagues of southern
Idaho. He was a standout short
stop for the Ducks in 1950 and
1951 prior to his graduation.
Following is the 1954 schedule
for the Frosh nine.
Apr. 15 Eugene at Eugene
17 Central Catholic at
Frosh diamond.
20 Eugene at Frosh dia
mond.
23 OSC Rooks at Frosh
diamond.
29 McChord Air Force
Base at Frosh diamond
30 OSC Rooks at Corvallis
May 1 Eugene at Frosh
diamond
7 OSC Rooks at Frosh
diamond
8 OSC Rooks at Corvallis
14 Medford at Frosh dia
mond
15 Springfield at Spring
field.
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Serving you fine
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at moderate prices
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Mi. 3-1825
MAMAAWWnAAAAMWVWAt
Annual Meeting
University of Oregon Co-operative Store
to be held
Thursday, April 22 at 4:00 P.M.
Room 207, Chapman Hall
Nomination for membership on
The Board of Directors will be held.
U of O Co-op Store
t
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