Evening star., 1941-01-16
Gym, Now Classroom
Must Be Cleared in
Order 10 Practice
Coach Keller Striving
To Build Up Squad
5 With IntrumuruIs
By GEORGE HUBER.

Richard Montgomery High of
Rockville is an example of the small
er schools in the Metropolitan Area
playing a good brand of basket ball
that supplies competition and ex-
citing games which, while often
overlooked, is comparable to that
found among larger schools in this
section.
The Orange Tide-along with
Hyattsville, Mount Rainier, Green
belt, Fairfax, Falls Church and
others of that class-has good little
team that can match the best in its
own district and occasionally step up
into faster company. Rockville takes
that step this evening, playing Cath
olic U. Freshmen in a preliminary to
the Western Maryland game.
Coach Ralph Keller, Maryland U.
graduate, doesn't expect his Orange
Tide to win tonight but it will give
the boys experience in meeting the
kind of teams he hopes they even
tually will play regularly.
Tall Boys Are Needed.
The Rockville team, as usual, Is
made up of small boys. They are
fast and clever but experience diff
ficulty in getting rebounds, factor
Keller believes directly is responsible
for two of their defeats this season.
Against Landon last week they didn't
get single rebound, but it WASH t
because they weren't trying. They
just don't have the height, but Kel-
Ter is scouting every tall boy in the
school in hopes that he will find one
who can handle this phase.
Practices at Richard Montgomery
are unusual to say the least. The
school partially was destroyed by fire
last year and the gym is being used
as classroom. At $3.50 the gym
or the half-gym available for basket
ball-iS turned over to the team
after the boys remove about AZ
student and teachers desks, a piano,
II cafeteria tables and a portable
blackboard. Practice begins about
4 o'clock or as soon as several play
erS who attend classes at Bethesda
Chevy Chase arrive. They have been
shifted to Bethesda temporarily be-
cause of limited space at Rockville
Even with the gym partially
cleared they can't practice under
game conditions, having only one
blackboard. The two games they
played in Martinsburg and Shep-
herdstown, w. Va, at the start ot
the season were the first chance:
they had to scrimmage on a full
size court.
Is Developing Material.
Since coming to Rockville three
years ago Coach Keller has inaugu.
rated an intramural system which
eventually will supply good materia
for the schools team. At first h,
had only IL players for the squad
Now he has 10 on the first team, l:
on the lightweight squad and Is or
the junior team. The junior team
incidentally. practices before school
starting at 7:30 in the morning.
Rockville started this season by
using the man-for- man defense, but
before the season is over Keller
plans to install the shifting zone
favored by nearby Maryland teams
Keller's system is patterned aftel
that used by Coach Burt Shipley a
Maryland U.
Last year the Orange Tide tried
it in one game, against the big
Bethesda Chevy Chase team, and il
worked well. Rockville led for three
quarters, and there was a real upse
in the making, but three long shot!
by Johnny Shumate in the las
quarter put Bethesda in front.
Rockville, however, isn't the onl,
school having difficulty with its
practice space. Jefferson High o
Falls Church, Va, has no gym, ant
after school each day the boys mus
travel 7 miles to practice.