The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1921-01-17
PASSING is SECRET
OF BASKETBALL
"Pat" Page Plans to Build New
"Wonder Five"
BY Il. o. (PAT PAGE.

The Wonder FiVe-the scoring ma
chine that can't be stopped!
This is the ideal which every bas-
ketball coach builds towards, but he
is always handicapped in securing the
cogs so necessary to it.
In considering such a team the
coach looks first to the personnel-the
tall, rangy men with height for fol-
low-up shots and who handle the ball
In high plane.
Then, in the defensive zone, there
must be men with stonewall qualities
plus weight and quickness-floor men
who play on the ball. the most impor-
tant part of this Wonder Five
Schooled in handling the ball, the
Wonder Five gets set for the tipoff.
Signals flash and the game is on. The
lightning combination play that fol-
lows the tip or when the ball is
thrown from out of bounds piles up
the score.
/ find that different teams through
out the country employ different
styles in putting the punch into their
systems. The long pass or the short
pass, the bounce or the dribble, is
pulled with individual cleverness.
Go north into Wisconsin and you'll
Through Illinois and Indiana you have
the long pass In Ohio and to the
east / find they build around the in
dividual with his dribble, while in the
localities where the officiating is lax
the block and defensive play predomi-
nate. In football we have clever open
field runners. SO on the basket court
there are the floor men playing on the
ball. They dribble cleverly, but 1t
takes a smart piece of defensive play
TO stop these speed men.
Also on the gridiron the open field
tackle is appreciated. The guard who
smashes on the ball (not the mani is
a most valuable cog on the defeS sive.
As in all other sports the gl<y goes
to the player who scores. Sometimes
this honor is misplaced, 1t seems to
me- The man who makes an assist
is deserving of credit.
In baseball a player is credited with
an assist for making a good stop or
peg.
1t seems to me that the basketball
player should be given assists the
same way for his helping in the play
that eventually leads to scoring a
guard could be given a credit for
good interrogation or block of the ball,
followed by a pass that can be han
died.
Figures prove that the team getting
the greater number of basket SHOTS
generally wins. In baseball there en-
ters in the hitting luck of the game.
Basket shooters should be content II
they hit the rim. When they are
tossing the ball that close to the loop
some of the shots are going to count
on this Wonder Five there is
nlace for the long shooter, Take
team that has five good shooters on
the floor and they are an almost Ger
tain high scoring machine.
Probably in an average college game
one out Of every four shots are scored
from beyond the seven yard zone
some teams rely on slipping the ball
into the basket at close range, play
ing the back board from the side.
Their average is probably one out of
two within the five-yard radium.
Then again there is the slambang,
hit or-miss shooter. The nearest COM
parison / can think of for this is the
batter in the hit-and-run play in base
ball. In basketball they call him the
follow-up shooter. Every team needs
a player Of this type. His playing is
always threat.
Many game is won on this driv
ing up method of attack A long shoot
err can be hurried, a close shot can be
smeared, but the follow-up scoring
play cannot be checked.
The rules OF the game call for open
play with much scoring. However.
in some districts the spectator de-
mands a rough affair.
But the Wonder Five does not play
rough. 1t plays smoothly. clean-cut
and with power The cogs have mas
tered the side-step. the pivot, the feiut
and the spin. Greatest of ALL its mem
bers play the ball and not the man