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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 1923)
THE BATTALION A^qqie) S'porK/ 3 IQ Brd J. Z)^Kg;F». Ec(ilroip T). W. eA-vP^o. Hd.J. F tPcY^Aizj*. on_s? A s-s i. E'd. T). B^C-t. AGGIES MAY CLINCH CHAMPIONSHIP SOUTHWESTERN CONFERENCE SELECTIONS Picked by The Battalion. “King” Gill and Gene Darby Are Given Places. First Team. Dean (Okla. A. and M.), forward. Darby (Texas A. and M.), forward. Lyons (Baylor), center. Gill (Texas A. and M.), guard. Robertson (Texas), guard. Second Team. Peyton (Texas), forward. Jones (S. IVf.U .), forward. Keen (Texas A. and M.), center. Washburn (Texas A. and M.), guard. Brooks (S. M. U.), guard. Third Team. Swartz (Rice), forward. Megarity (Texas A. and M.), forward. Settegest (Texas U.), center. Mathews (S.M. U.), guard. Williamson (Baylor), guard. The writer believes the above selec tion can be given at this date with a clear view of the season’s work. However there are several games to be played yet but we do not think any thing could happen that would ma terially change any of the above named players in the selection. We are keeping in mind the player’s ability and service in the game which naturally leads to his value to the team. The first man we picked for the mythical five was Lyons of Baylor to fill the center position and who has stood head and shoulders above any other player unless it be Captain “Tiny” Keen of the Aggies. Lyons has not had the ability to show up as well as he could have had he had a fair team to work with. Lyons is a very shifty man and very dangerous on shots and he can shoot better than anyone else in the field. However, not the tallest man in the Conference can out jump them all and this is a great asset to a team using keen sig nal work. Keen should be an easy second. His value to a team is his long arms that are continually get ting in the way on passing work, drib bling and under the basket. Keen’s biggest fault is lack of ability to shoot baskets outside of the ten foot mark and this is due to his heavy frame and awkard foot work. We placed Sette- gast last due to his inexperience in the game and also a weak man when a few necessary points are needed. Set tegest ought to be the class of the season next year. Coleman of Rice is a nice player but lacks stamina for the game and is an erratic shooter. Our hardest job was the selection of forward. We have never been faced with so many good men before who had somewhat the same ability. Our first selection we consider the best in the Conference is Dean of Ok lahoma A. and M. We only saw this man in but one game and it was in the midst of a hard road trip and the showing he made here was nothing less than marvelous. He is not only the high point man of nearly every game he has entered but his ability to pass and hold the ball at critical times is an outstanding feature. Any one who has seen him perform could not justly leave him off their selec tion. Our next best man we consider Gene Darby, the sensational crip shot player of the Texas Aggie. It re minds us of the days when a young man from Texas University startled the Conference by his ability to shoot from mid-court with great ease—that player was Greer. Darby is merely a duplicate of this player, however, his method of delivery is entirely differ ent from Greer’s. Darby has a meth od of shooting from the lunging posi tion, while Greer shot flat footed and with a twist of the wrists. Darby’s shooting is not the only thing that characterizes him, the best selection but his real value with the team—his ability to work with—his ability to pass well and hold his own and give his opposing guards all they can do to stand his pace. We consider Cap tain Peyton of Texas University the next best man and would probably have been selected by us had his early season sickness not occurred. Peyton is a consistent man and can always be depended on to produce his share of the scoring when in the game, but lacks the same form he had last year. Our next selection should go to Jones of S. M. U. This is indeed a flash and the only man that can be relied to shoot with regularity with the ex ception of Mathews on the S. M. U. team. Jones does his best work when he is allowed to roam the courts at ease, but when a good guard places a hand upon him his shooting days are over. Other men who should receive honorable mention are Swartz of Rice, who plays a good game when his temperamental mood is at ease, and Megarity of the Aggies, who was the indirect defeat of the Longhorns dur ing their first clash at A. and M. and Nicholson of Oklahoma A. and M. In picking the guards it was no easy matter, but our first selection ought to go easy, that being Robert son of Texas, who was picked for the mythical five. Robertson has played a consistent game in all he has par ticipated in this season. He is the gest running guard in the Conference and none but Washburn ran him a close second. Mathews is a very good running guard but his best place we think, is center. Robertson is always consistent in the mix-ups and passes well and assuredly accurate, playing a good steady game and easy to co- (Contimied on Page 7) AGGIES PLUCK OWL PIN FEATHERS- BRIENT PLAYS HERO IN SECOND FRAY DARBY AND GILL STAR FIRST GAME- Farmers Take One Step Nearer the Pennant By Taking Pair From Strong Rice Team. By defeating the Rice Owls in two closely contested games Dana Bible’s fighting Farmers increased their lead on the conference title by such a mar gin that the others have little chance to overtake them. Both games were so close they were not decided until the last few minutes of play. Both teams started slowly, but be fore the end of the first half was reached they had hit their stride and were playing in championship form. Seven minutes had passed before either side had scored. Both teams were advancing the ball well but pass ing was poor and good guarding held down the field goals. Rice found the basket first, and looped two field goals. Then Darby got his eye on the basket and with the aid of “Tiny” ran up 8 points. Numerous fouls were called during the first part of the game. A. and M. failed to make good any of their free throws while Swartz of Rice was looping about half. A. and M. field goals were made from the middle of the court, while Rice made theirs by seemingly impossible one handed throws. Rice guards made it impossible for Darby and Megarity to even attempt crip shots but the long shots from the middle of the court completely puzzled the whole Rice team. If Swartz and McKean played stellar games at guard, Gill and Washburn played super-games. They were all over the floor when Rice forwards attempted a shot and they brought the ball back in a manner that reminded Aggie fans of Pat Dwy er. It was their superb dribbling and floor work that completely puzzled the Rice defense. The half ended with A. and M. leading 17 to 12. The second half was a little dif ferent from the latter part of the first half. The Owls came back full of de termination and fight but their speedy offense gained little through either Gill or Washburn. Gill was playing his usual fierce and aggressive game; at times he fought the Rice forward clear off the court. The Aggies lead was steadily increased until the score stood 25 to 17 in the last four min utes. Rice took time out and after their rest, Swartz and Coleman led them in a desperate effort to tie the score. They soon brought the score to 27 to 24 when Darby rung one more from the center of the court and gave A. and M. a lead of five points. The whistle found them carrying the ball to the Aggies’ court without being able to penetrate their defense. The lineup. Rice Position Points Swartz 6 Fitch 0 Coleman 8 Willis (captaion 10 McKean 0 A. and M. Darby 17 Megarity 2 Keen (captain) 8 Gill 0 Washburn 0 Duckett (sub.) . . . . . .forward 2 Substitutes: For Rice—Ray for Fitch, Fitch for McKean, Baker for Coleman, Coleman for Baker. A. and M.—Duckett for Megarity, Megarity for Duckett. Referee: Stansbury (Tennessee). * * * Brient Wins Game by Timely Shots. In one of the roughest games ever played on the auditorium court, the Texas Aggies completely smashed the Owl hopes for the basketball cham pionship of the Southwestern Confer ence. Both teams fought it out like it was a battle royal. Darby started the fireworks by looping a beautifully arched shot from the center of the court. Rice came back undismayed and by working the ball down the court on a series of short passes ex ecuted a crip shot. Rice quickly shot another and amid a deluge of fouls (evenly distributed between the two teams) managed to gain a three point lead at the end of the first half. The lead had seesawed with one point mar gin until the first half was nearly over. Swartz threw all of his free throws in this period while Darby failed to make one. Nearly 100 A. and M. cadets ar rived in Houston in time for the game and throughout the game lent en- encouragement to their team. When the going got rocky, “Farmers Fight” would ring out through the court and stimulated the Aggies to super-hu man effort. The second half started with the score standing 8 to 11 in favor of Rice. D. X. Bible had eventually suc ceeded in instilling more fight in the Aggie team, for they drove down the court like a whirl wind in an endeavor to overcome the Owl lead. Washburn and Gill swept everything before them with their floor work and the Aggie success in their period was chiefly due to two timely field goals by Gill. Yet