The Sauk Centre herald., 1941-09-11
Sport 8
Wags %
Hetzel Sees World
Thru Basketball Hoop
BY Chuck Rattle

IICtLCA SSCS VvoAA1
Thru Basketball Hoop
Wilfred Hetzel-the lad who bob
bed from a Melrose boy who
couldn't make the team to the
trick shot artist of the country
has veritably seen the expanse OF
Uncle Sans continental domain
through a basketball hoop. His
golden uniform, inscribed with
Sauk Centre, has gone with him
from coast to coast. His first trips
were west, but his most recent as
signment when he appeared as a
part of the staff of coaches clinic
at Long Island, New York, has
made him an ardent devotee of the
east. He now considers his
western trip so much water over
the dam outside of the experience
it gave him.
The real chance to exhibit Is
in basketball-festering east.
They are hot out there from
Indiana on. They'll pay to
watch an exhibition of the type
Hetzel has drummed up. -.
He stopped to see us the other
day, just back from his New
York jaunt. Plans for his act
are even more ambitious after
rubbing elbows with such not
ables in the coaching game as
Clair Bee, Dick Harlow and
others from the ivy-bound al
ma matters of the east. -.
At the moment he has two deals
on the string that may make him
famous nationwide. One Is
that he may appear on the golden
jubilee celebration of basketball;
the other that he may hit spot in
a Grantland Rice Sportlight short
subject for the movies. The latter
is really the apple of his eye. An
nounced by Ted Husing, it would
show him off to advantage. :.
He'd not have the whole short but
would work with some name team
of the country. Those two are in
the fire now and the tidbits he
gathered on his eastern jaunt.
His own report, prepared es-
pecially for this column, reads
like this: upon reporting at
the Beach on August Is Clair
Bee gave me a new basketball
and told me to keep it. Not
having seen me perform before
he was anxious to watch me
work out and didn't care to
work out before too many spec
tators on the outdoor court lest
I showed too much of my rou-
tine. After dinner when I had
made no attempt to practice,
he banteringly stated that he
wanted to see me in action. I
told him I'd practice immedi-
ately. He interpreted my
willingness to demonstrate as a
sign I could live up to the ad-
vance notices about my ability.
"Mr. Bee got his first glimpse of
my tricks on the evening of Aug
ust 10 when I made two bounce
bank goals for him in the darkness.
I had trouble getting adjusted to
the rubber basketball since it was
lighter than a leather one and
more easily blown by the wind. I
exhibited at the half of an outdoor
game on August 20 before 10000
fans. That morning I had long
workout on another open air court
and I was clicking beautifully on
my set shots when one Of the by
ISLANDERS told me to keep up my
hot shooting because Clair Bee
was watching. For 5 minutes I
dropped in shot after shot from diff
ferent angles before grew cold.
I knew then that the rubber ball
would never do for outdoor shoot
ing and I became worried about
the result of my debut in the east
which was scheduled for that
Finally in the afternoon of
another practice session at
which 1 bore down in earnest
and still couldn't score my nor
NAL percentage I grew desper-
rate and decided to locate
nodded leather ball to restore
rlsn L.