This began to sound like high
school basketball all over again. Red
had been working with his players from last year and brought in new players a
few at a time. He did a great deal of
planning and came to the conclusion I needed more playing time, so assigned me
to the B squad. Red had three seniors
and two juniors from last years team to give him the starting experience he
needed. Two sophomores, both moving up
from the B squad gave the team some extra height. One was 6’ 5’ and the other 6’ 6 1/4’, I
understood how Red was thinking and I knew I needed the experience of playing
at the college level. The B squad was just the place to get that experience. It
looked as though strong effort and performance would speed up my transition to
the varsity, so I was determined to give it my all.
Our B squad coach was Cecil
West, an Eastern alumni and outstanding athlete. The B squad played a few games
in the area. One game I recall was played in the Chelan High School gym. We
played a “pick-up” team of former Eastern graduates. This team bested us by a few points, so it was
a good game for the public to watch.
Some of the players for the opposition were from Chelan. Gene Kelley had been on Red’s championship
team in 1951. Ron Dodge, playing on our
current team, was a local boy. It was a
fun game and I was learning a great deal about college basketball. I don’t recall why we stayed overnight in
Chelan, possibly this was one game in a series we were playing in the area. I have had many contacts with Chelan since,
and it has become a special part of my life as you will learn. Each B Squad players had their pictures taken
in uniform, so if a player moved up to varsity during the year the press
material would be ready. That was
encouraging as was the write up they put in the annual with my picture that
year.
“Hill, a freshman from Miles City, Montana, is the biggest and tallest man on the squad. He stands 6 ft, 7 and next year may be his big one.” 1952 Kinnikinick
The quarter was about over and the choir hit the road. We were in the eastern part of the state
singing at high schools. It was fun and good
advertisement for the college and the music department. The music was outstanding and probably turned
some student’s thoughts to attending this cool college when they graduate from
high school. The trips were tough on my schedule. I had to miss classes and it was a hassle
getting my work caught up. In addition,
Cecil West was starting to work in practice sessions with us. I liked singing with the group, but wasn’t
sure I would be able to manage it during basketball season. In pre-registration I listed choir as one of
my classes, which raised my total class hours to eighteen, the most I took any
quarter at Eastern.
*Taken from "Which Road Should I Follow?, Volume 1, Growing up in the country", an autobiography by Edwin K. Hill.
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