The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1939-03-20

Tins Center Post in Biggest Battle for Position
BY JERRY BRoNDFIEI.p

BY JERRY BRONDrIEID
WE give you, then, gentle
men, the All A meri
basketball team of l939-th,
cream of the nations collegi
ate cage talent and their support
ing cast, based on recommenda
tons by coaches and sports writer
from every section of the country
Although there's bound to be |
dissenting vote here and there. ,
close perusal of the records indi
Gates it would be pretty hard Il
name team that would be an,
more worthy of All-America men
ton than the five seniors VIII,
make up the honor quintet.
Most difficult task was Sc
lecting the center for the
mythical five. Any one Of
three or four candidates might
have been placed In the pivot
post without undue criticism
but the job finally went to
Lewis (Pick) Dehner Of IL
linois.
Dehner, six-foot, four-inch
husky from Lincoln, H., wound up
second in the Big Ten scoring race
with ISL points. He has spanked
the Illini for two years and reached
the heights in this campaign.
SPENT PLENTY OF TINE
ON THE FLOOR
SMART and fast for his size,
Dehner was master of the fake
He was excellent on rebound play
and what marked him most was
his aggressiveness. 1t was said of
Dehner that he spent more time
on the floor thAn any man in the
Big Ten.
Nor was it clumsiness that put
him there. 1t was sheer drive and
fight.
Pressing closely was Oar Hutch
ms. The slender pivot man OF
Bradley Techs Famous Five was
the chief reason why the Peorians
mopped up on such big-time oppo-
nents as Oregon, Pitt, Nebraska,
c. C. N. Y, Duquesne and others.
Bob Calihan of Detroit, con-
sidered the greatest eager In
Titan history, WAS . standout
all year. Rarely was he out
scored by his opponent.
Consideration, too. must be given
to Bob Ogilvie, CALIFORNIA; star,
Slim Wintermute of Oregon, Mike
Novak of Lovola and George
Prather of Alabama.
Immediately deserving q spot on
anybody's honor team is Irving
Torgoff. six-foot forward from
Long Island university. Hailing
from New York City, Torgoff was
the bright spark of the Blackbirds'
drive to an undefeated season IN
q games.
Just as Long Island was the class
Of the east, so was Torgoff the
class of the seaboard's individual
players. His 1873 points for the
season doesn't make him the best
scorer in the country, but he has
few peers as a floor man.
= OREGON ACE WAS MASTER
OF ONE-HAND SHOTS
DARED with Torgoff is Laddie
Gale. six-foot, four-inch Ore
son star. Gale, whose home town
is Portland, probably is the best
one-hand shooter in the country.
Smooth as silk in action he is high
ly reminiscent of Hank Luisetti.
former Stanford star. who had no
equal at setting up his own shots.
Gale averaged almost IL points
game.
As it was. however, he barely
nosed out Ohio States brilliant
Jimmy Hull, leading scorer in the
Big Ten, who was the hardest man
to stop in the midwest.
Ralph Vaughn, Sout ern
California sharpshOoter, WAS
another who fell just short Of
top hOnors. Vaughn holds the
Pacific Coast league scoring
title for n single game, as .
result Of his Sc points against
u. c. L. A. early this season.
Plenty of votes poured in for
Baylor's Pete Greasy, and the
same was true for lanky Chef
Jaworsky, spearhead of Rhode Is
lands scoring mill which averaged
70 points a game.
PRESENTING TWO GUARDS
Nlun EOUTI n SHOOT
MO one could want better
brace of guards than Jim Will
eoxon of Colorado and Ernie An
dres of Indiana. Willcoxon, six
feet three. home town Coffeyville,
Kan. for two years has been a
unanimous All Rocky Mountain
selection. This season he hit his
peak. Not only does he control
the blackboard beautifully on re-
bounds but averaged II points
game-which is terrific for
guard.
Andres Was the handspring
Of Branch McCracken's other
wise all-sophOmore aggrega-
ton which wound up secind In
the Big Ten. From Jefferson
willie, this compound six-fooser
was the standout back-court-
man of his league. He WAS .
great ball handler. gooe
feeder, and remarkable scorer
himself, with an average Just
a little under 10 . game
Wibs Kautz of Loyola was the
highest scoring guard in the ma
ton, with a 16-point average. but
he didn't quite have the all-sround
ball hawking of Wilcoxon and An
dres. Just a little below their level,
too. was Bernie Opper. kentuekys
smooth workman.
Just off-hand. any coach In the
country would be more than sst
fled with any five men from the
entire prOup