All the Men - 1964

L.A. Sta te'sdefen se tries to clos e in o n Lytnond William s. A se cond later . I,y /.ip|x

B A SK ETB A LL WHAT MAKES A WINNING SEASO N?

present when Kulhcrgscintillated under the Inmnlsin the upset victory over Cal Western. Could it have IM *CII this determination ami desire? Maybe. "The addition of Ashford was probablythe biggest factor," states! Farias.Cliff Ashford, the high-scoring guardfromDetroit, was the brillantshot and Moorman with a pair of hands so ambitious they averaged18.7 l>oints pergame.Were his long, looping jiinq>ers, which silently swishedthroughthe n et of cardinal importance? Couldhis pragmatic l>oardworkhave made that much difference?Did his scrambling tactics mean anything - inthe long run? May 1M*. Castillo saidthe turnabout cam e as a result of the renascent attitude of the rooters. Did the fans have thatmuch to do with it? Could the "spirit can" have accountedfora few morevictories? Did (iontang and Minor and Hotzmilleradd to the increased success? < ouIdthe fraternity good-luck |M>stcrs have contributed such a pertinentpart? Maybe. Ogawabrought up the name of Phil Owens PrMT*. the hustling center o n the team. "He tries hard," said Ogawa. "He's a good worker: attenti ve, punctual, con­ sistent." Yes, hedidworkhard. He had spur ts whenhe playedlike Kusscll; he had spurts when he showed grit, guts, and guffaw; he had spur ts when he lookedas if he were rcs|w>nding to the lxioming chants of the crowd. Could he have had that much of a hand in th e success ofthe Toreros? Maybe. Ebertmentioned Malerich.Matt had games where­ inhe bucketed a doaen points in amatter of four or five minutes.Wheneverthere was a home game he put the

\ on sat in the stands and watched the Toreros plav basket I tail.Sometimes the Toreros won the game; sometimes they didn't. Sometimes the sta nds werejub­ ilant; sometimes the dismal faces pronouncedthe score. Hut it wasn'tlike the preceding season. This wasa year moresuccessfulthan last. This yea r the Torero basket­ ball teamwasa little moreprolific. ^on enjoyed the basketball games this year, l*n- like the campaign of a season ago, the victories match­ ed the defeats: 13- 13. Why the improvement? Ifeve r there was a dark- horse, it was this year's squad. Compiling only a mid­ dling to poor<»19 record the preceding season, the Torerosdidn't look as if they were destined for the higher strata of final play standings. Then how could a group of nine men change so much in only a year? Desnles said " . . .desiremade th e difference." . . . Could it have been that the Torero basketball team wanted to wina bit more? Part of the team's main strength lay ini ts ability to work together smoothly as a unit. Couldit have !>conth en, that it saw the chance for moresuccess, and that it sacrificedmore,in orderto achieve it? Maybe. Somolnidyelse said itwas determination. Hut then, determinationand desire g o hand in hand. Hotli were quite evident when Ashford skidded across the court attempting to prevent the basketball froml> ounciiig out of l>ounds.Hothwere then*when Yavorsky curledhis lip and bankedin a go-foot jump shot fromnear the corner. Hothcould In* seen when Mover wedgedhis cl- IH»W into the stomach of Cal Polv 'S center, thus keep­ ing his opponent from retrieving the rebound. Hoth were