Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1928-01-02
BIG HOOP
YEAR BEGINS
Last Years Champs.
Lineup Same, Look
Very Good

CHICAGO, Jan. 2.-That rum
cling o now hear coming out of
the middle west Is net an echo Of
Chicago's gangland warfare. bnt
merely the thump of feet unon the
gymnasium floors as the I927-2s
BASKETBALL season begins.
The middlewest takes its basket-
Dali seriously, just like the English
mar does his afternoon tea. Every
college and university, no matter
now small! or large, has its cage
crew which has a huge following and
can be depended upon to make a
splendid showing during the season.
foremost among the net combina-
tion OF the middlewest are those
OF Inc western conference. Annual
~ there is a close race for the
enanaplonshlp n n and two-point
victories and overtime m are
numerous.
Always before the start Of the
regular Big Ten schedules the con-
terence quintets meet up with the
leading non-conference teams Of the
section Frequently they are push
&c TO the limit and often beaten.
but. all in all, the Championship
conference five can stand out as the
cream Of the middlewest.
Schedule Under Way
Big Ten teams already have start
Cd their schedule. December, es-
pecially during the holiday season.
finds the charts crammed with a
raft of non-conference tits. The
games are far from the warm-up
variety, and evary opponent is to be
feared. The early games test the
real caliber of the Big Ten CUNTS
and their results indicate Just nov
they will fare when they race other
conference seige guns in January.
n Michigan university team of
s~ix-footers hat won the conference
toga by a one-game margin last year
bids fair 10 be right up there when
n 1928 struggle ends. The VOL
verines, a powerful scoring machine,
have the same offensive trio that
lead them to victory last year.
There is Benny Oosterbaan, Har-
rigan and Mccoy, a passing COM
blnation that set the pace in Big Ten
circles last year. The Oosterbaan
OF gridiron fame is equally noted on
the hardwood for his deadly shoot
ing at close range. Harrigan Is one
of the conferences best floor men
and his ability to feed the ball to
Benny is always a decided pain to
b Wolverine opponents.
Purdue looms next to the Wolver-
ines, or on a par, as the strongest
title c~ontenders. Purdue tied with
Indiana last year for second place,
just n contest behind Michigan.
Both Purdue and Indiana defeated
the Wolverines, the only games
dropped by the champions.
Purdue Has Eight Vets
Purdue has eight veterans on the
floor this year, including five letter
men. Outstanding is Wilbur Cum
mings, who at center was high scor-
er in the conference last season.
Captain Babe Wheeler, and Wilson,
forwards, and Kemmer and Wilcox,
guards, are other Boilermaker ball
tossers who performed freely last
ear as regulars. Promising ma
!, terial is also to be had from among
the sophomores, recruits from star
Indiana high school teams, which by
the way. means a lot in Indiana.
Among the most likely of the
youngsters is "Stretch Murphey,
who stands six feet seven inches in
his socks, and is the ~tallest man to
ever don an Old Gold and Black
unie. Ralph Weleh, Purdue's Tex
an gridiron hero of last fall, is also
a possibility.
Coach Everett Dean must build an
entirely new combination at Indi-
ana. The second place five's win
ming trio of last year was wrecked
by graduation, Kruger and Sibley
going out last June and Beckner will
be eligible for only four conference