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Show FRANK K.BAKER 1 TIltG IIA M SPO ATS I DITOH r So much has been said about the relative sizes of basketball courts recently that I fear a few folks have the mistaken idea that the only thing Brigham Young university uni-versity has to do to lose a game will be to step off its narrow court at Provo; that the University of Utah will have an overwhelming edge over the Cougars in their two-game two-game series here this week-end simply because the Deseret gym happens to be a few feet wider than the Provo court. All this overemphasis on the advantages of the various floors on this side of the conference is probably an outgrowth of the current campaign to obtain larger and more adequate gymnasium gym-nasium facilities at all three of the state's major institutions. ; No one will deny that this territory is woefully equipped ; with basketball courts, but the situation is not much worse at one - school than at either of the others. Because it rents the Deseret gym downtown, the University of Utah is better situated to take care of a large crowd than either B. Y. U. or the Aggies. The j Deseret gym floor is not as spacious as the modern game demands, de-mands, but it does approach maximum dimensions and with its crowd facilities provides the best place of holding an important basketball game in the state. s 1 1 : , In contrast, the A. C. gym at Logan and the B. Y. U. a women's gym at Provo whila the property of the schools i, will accommodate less than half the crowd that can be taken ' care of for Utah's home games. The Aggie floor has long been I badly warped and although considerable repair work has i been done on it, the court Is not as Smooth and level as it e should bo. The Cougar gym compares favorably with specifi- cations so far as length is concerned, but It is regrettably J narrow. So much so that U has been deprecatingly called J the "cracker box," the "bowling alley" and a lot of other i unflattering names. 0 e e ' Because of the small spectator space, tickets usually , are at a premium in Provo. The athletic department has sought to take care of the general public which buys the ! higher priced seats by dividing the student body and per- emitting half the students to attend Friday night's game 'and the other half on Saturday night. J I am glad that the general public is becoming so conscious , ef our gymnasium needs in this territory for this realization ought to hasten the time when we won't need to apologize for our courts. In our understanding of our needs, however, let us ' not forget that it ia the teams and not the hardwood floors and i the iron hoops which actually decide the contests. B. T. U. cornea to Salt Lake City this week with a rapidly ' improving squad of ambitious youngsters. The Cougars have played good ball to gain the leadership in the western division, , and Utah, while slightly favored, can expect a mighty tough con- test each night. A B. Y. U. victory ia not beyond the realm of 'possibility, and Should that occur it does not mean that Utah ' flopped or that tha Cougars enacted a miracle. " There seems to be a mistaken theory going the rounds that the Cougars will be at a tremendous disadvantage just because they are leaving tha narrow confines of their home floor. I ' have no patience with this assumption because I know from fact j that the Cougars prefer the wider floors themselves. . Before Ott Roraney left the coaching post at the "Y," he j ' always argued that the Cougars played better on the bigger j j floors knd now Coach Eddie Kimball supports the same conten- i , tion by saying that the more spacious courts "give us more j i room to move about." e e e ! I This extra room for maneuvering is Important. Ordl- J t - narily a team caa move out of cramped quarters into a large j , court aaaier than a team accustomed to lota ef room can j j adjust Itself to a narrow court. For that reason I believe that ) the Cougars will have less trouble adjusting themselves to j ' playing conditions at Montana State, which has the only I man's siied court oa this side of the conference, than the ' , Bobcats did in trying to fit themselves into B. Y. U.'a court. a a Rival teams have frequently tried to prepare themselves for Provo invasion by chalking off a few feet on each aide of their j practice gyms so their players would be accustomed to playing : J in the same width court they will face at the "Y." The "Y" can accomplish the same effect in reverse by pushing back the bleachers for practice the week before they go to Logan or come ; to Salt Lake City. , Tor that matter, though, the A. C. Is the only team to prac-e prac-e tice regularly on the same floor on which its home games are played. Utah works out regularly on the floor in the campus gymnasium, going to the Deseret gym for only an occasional J drill during the campaign. And while the women's gym at a Provo la actually part of the campus equipment, the Cougars a have only limited drills there, too, practicing most of the time In the men's gym across the street. . The nearness of the spectators la a, handicap in virtually every gymnasium In the state. Front row customers dangle their feet right into the very playing apace and frequently find players and officials in their laps, sometimes with injuries resulting. The , first few rows behind the baskets are downright dangerous places . to be when the big fellows come charging down under the hoop, f Proof of that is the broken wrist George Gourley of the "Y" got a season ago while sitting on the bench at one end of the floor. f see J At Frev last Saturday, I talked with a B. Y. U. Brofes- , aer whe unfortunately interpreted comment in the daily areas abemt the "Y's" small floor as being unfriendly to the " Cougar Institution. The Telegram had not made this par-- par-- ' ticular comment, but I could safely assure the professor that ' ha was mistaken. Instead, I feel that It was made In the ' warmest ef friendly attempts te point out a need that la " felt at all three major schools In the state. And when mem- hers ef "Y's" ewa student newspaper staff providing routine , ; correapendence for the daily press make similar references Im their stories, the Cougar professor must be doubly re- assured. .-see Ev.er7 athlete expects some advantage to go with competition at home. The visiting golfer may have his I difficulties in figuring out strange greens. A bowler f re- quently needs time, too, in adjusting himself to the pe- culiarities of a strange pair of alleys. Even a deer hunter e prefers to hunt in territory with which he is familiar. Home crowds and familiar surroundings generally help a basketball team, and I hope the time will soon come ? when this psychological angle will be the only one left I to talk about in competition between Utah's three .major a schools. In other words, brand new, spacious gyms at I each school can't come too quickly I |