Basketball Finality

As basketball season approached Red worked to sharpen players for conference play.  Ellis and Enos had graduated and would be missed for their scoring and hustle.  Bill Ellis’s height and rebounding won him the “Inspirational Player” award while Earl Enos was voted “Honorary Captain” by the team.  He had functioned as the floor captain in many of the games.  The absence of Fletcher Frazer left me as the lone tall player from last years team.  Dick Edwards returned as last years top scorer.  Four other returning lettermen finalized the core. Several transfer players and a number of freshman ball players made up the rest of the team.

This was the last year of play for me as an Eastern Savage.  I wondered if 

 the college had received their money’s worth.  From my point of view the scholarship had made a new person of me.  I resolved to give the game every thing I could this season.  The lineup suggested I would have more playing time and I meant to make the most of it.  Looking back, I felt I could have done better with more experience.  It’s a puzzle; does experience make better play or does it take better play to lead to more experience?

The “Red” men as we were often referred to played ten preconference games starting on November 29 and ending December 23.  We won only four and lost six of these games This was disappointing to Red and the team.  The four wins we had were all against out-of-state teams.  We had three wins in a row and started to think we had found the magic answer, but it wasn’t until the last game of the preconference that we won again.  Two of our wins were back to back against Montana State.  That was an interesting trip in addition to winning again.  Red used the train to transport us to and from Bozeman.  By loading us on board after the last game he saved one night in a hotel.  We had dinner before we boarded and breakfast the next morning on the train.  I will always remember how flavorful the French toast tasted.

Conference play started January 6 against Central Washington and we lost by 23 points.  Our next game was against our rival Whitworth, and their big men.  We lost by one point.  That seemed like a victory to us.  Things didn’t go well for the next few games, but we did defeat Western and College of Puget Sound.    On February 8 we met Whitworth in a special Cage Bowl game in Spokane.  We came so close to defeating them earlier, we thought we had a chance this time.  We lost by 20 points.  We won several more games and as the season final we played Whitworth again on our campus.  Some would say the third try is a charm, but we were apprehensive because their big men controlled the boards most of the time.  This was my last game for Eastern and I decided to do everything I could to stop the big men.  I did capture a good share of the rebounds.  It seemed I would end up in the right position quite often to get the ball.  The one play of the game I will never forget started with Whitworth’s center getting the ball.  I was guarding him and I remember he gave a little fake to the left and then turned to the right.  I knew he was going for the basket, so I slid over in his path and set my feet.  He didn’t hesitate, but came right on, over the top of me.  I ended up on my back on the floor and he ended up with a foul.  I don’t recall if I made the free-throw, but it changed the tempo of the game and we won by four points.  I heard Red comment to the players on the bench while I was picking myself up, “That move”, he said, “set in the player’s path, was exactly what I want you to do”.  “If you are moving with the shooter you’ll be called on a foul.  You have to get there and set before he runs into you”.  I felt good about the complement Red gave me indirectly.  It was worth the bruises I received from the game.

My basketball career was over at Eastern and there would be free time which I could certainly use.  Sometimes I felt my play was just coming together as my time ran out.  I had no regrets however, as I was able to put basketball in its place and get on with my life.  Many pages in this book have been devoted to basketball as it was an important aspect of my life at that time, but there were many interesting and exciting events still ahead for me.

Each year Scarlet Arrow, a college honor organization, acknowledges Eastern athletes.  Local news and notation in the college annual concerning the ceremony used the following words:  Basketball flash, Dick Edwards clutches his “Honorary Captain” and “Outstanding Player” awards; Ed Hill, popular hoop player, holds his “Inspirational Player” award; and grid star, Willard Julum, appears overwhelmed by his three honors-“Honorary Captain”, “Inspirational Player” and “Outstanding Player”.

Football coach, Ed Chissus and basketball coach W. B.Reese smile their approval.  We each received a hansom mantel clock with a bronze sports figure and plaque naming the award, mounted beside the clock.  I still have my clock however it stopped running soon after I placed it at home. This award was important to me as it was determined by a vote of the team.

*Taken from "Which Road Should I Follow?, Volume 1, Growing up in the country", an autobiography by Edwin K. Hill.