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Show (Crimson fflnmmttts By BRUCE ROBERTS Chronicle Sports Editor When the six member Western Athletic Conference basketball coaches met in Denver a couple of weeks ago, they voted unanimously for Wyoming Wyom-ing to repeat as WAC basketball champion in 1968. Only Wyoming Coach Bill Strannigan did not cast a vote for the Pokes, and he has good reason; no team picked by the coaches for the WAC championship has ever come out on top of the pile. And despite the majority of votes from the coaches, this may very likely be the case this season. Wyoming has four of last year's starters returning this year, and basically the same type of offense that chalked up an 8-2 conference mark and a playoff victory over BYU for the WAC representative in the Far Western Regionals of the NCAA finals. Coach Strannigan will have ALL-WAC guard Mike Eberle back, along with second team member Harry Hall, who jumps like a bat out of hell. Center Gary Von Krosigk will be back, as will guard Cliff Nelson, to give the Cowboys all the experience ex-perience they would need to retain their title. "Strannigan's Shuffle" completely baffled the WAC coaches last year, and although Wyoming was just about the smallest team in the conference, con-ference, they still dominated play both on their home court and visiting hardwoods. But with the caliber of the coaches in the WAC, it is highly doubtful that any mentor has overlooked a way to foil the shuffle and keep Wyoming away from the basket. Who Gets The Marbles? So who is going to pick up the marbles this year? Here it is fans, and don't gasp. 19C7 Finish 1968 Predictions 1. Wyoming (8-2) 1. Utah 2. BYU (8-2) 2. BYU 3. Utah (5-5) 3. Wyoming 4. New Mexico (5-5) 4. New Mexico 5. Arizona (3-7) 5. Arizona G. Arizona St. (1-9) G. Arizona St. What's this noise, you ask? Actually there is a very simple answer to picking Utah as an underdog candidate to win the WAC. For one thing, the Utes are due. After fifteen years as head coach at Uteville, Jack Gardner knows all the ins and outs of producing a winning win-ning team. Producing a winner is no over-night matter it takes time and effort to bring together a group of ball players that will click in every aspect of the game. Gardner has been eyeing this season for better than five years now, and if his usual genius comes through, the Utes are definite def-inite championship material. It Started In '63 It all started in 1963 when Jeff Ockel came along as one of the biggest, brightest freshman prospects in recent years. Then in 1964, the Utes picked up Merv Jackson, who is probably the finest recruit from the east in Ute history. Meanwhile, Ockel was sitting out the 1964 season as a red-shirt, thus prolonging his eligibility for another year. All three played together as sophomores on the 1965-66 squad, and all earned letters and a vast amount of experience playing in the NCAA finals. Last season saw Jackson, Ockel, and MacKay starting together, along with two JC transfers that had potential to make the Utes conference confer-ence contenders that year. Walt Simon came on as a Ute last season, and joined with Jackson to make one of the deadliest fast break teams in the west. Then there was DeWitt Menyard, who's great shooting and timing made the Utes a sure favorite for the 1968 season. But the ball took a bad bounce for Utah when Menyard was ruled ineligible, and Gardner found himself without an experienced center for this season. But Jack and his Utes hadn't come this far for nothing, and after three games this year, it looks like Utah wants that title bad, and they're ready to fight for it. BYU will give the Utes the most competition for the championship, which should be decided in the home and away series at Salt Lake and Provo. If the Runnin' Redskins can play up to their standards, it appears that no one is going to catch the fox in 1968. |