Basketball
The one man who could least afford losing hair, but who apparently was losing the most, was Doggie Julian, Big Green basketball mentor. One night the team played like professionals and the next night a good high school club could take them. As for individual standouts, there are none. High scorer in the 17 games thus far is Captain Fred Gieg, who from his forward post has scored 86 field goals and 68 fouls for 240 points and a 14.1 -points-per-game average. Glenn Wilson, sophomore guard, ranks second with 80 field goals and 45 fouls for 205 points and an even 12 points per contest. However, Wilson's shooting has been way off in recent outings and his average has suffered in consequence. Art Patterson, the other regular forward, is averaging 9.4 points per game, while center Paul Wisdom has an 8.5 average for the 10 games he has played, and guard Pete Geithner ranks fifth with an 8.0 average.
Even less spectacular than the Dartmouth shooting averages were the Big Green rebounding and free throw attempts. The Indians were missing many opportunities under the basket and on the foul line, a problem which had been noticeable from the start of the season. However, in the most recent games, except for a letdown at Harvard, the Dartmouth squad has shown signs of improvement, but just how they will fare in the remaining contests is anybody's guess.
In our last report, the Big Green had just dropped two games, one to Columbia, the other to Penn. Following these contests the Indians had little trouble dropping Brown 76-49 and then Yale at Winter Carnival by a 61-51 score. However, four days later the team reverted to its sloppy ways and was edged by Harvard at Cambridge 50-46. In the most recent contest, the Big Green helped their league standings by winning over Princeton 60-51 on the Alumni Gymnasium court.
The Princeton game was an example of the Big Green at its best. The Indians' zone defense forced the Tigers to shoot from outside and with Dartmouth players pressing them closely, the Princeton men had difficulty even with their outside shots. Paul Wisdom and Captain Fred Gieg did splendid work in the rebounding department and Gieg was also high scorer for the evening with six baskets and three fouls for 15 points. Glenn Wilson, the sharp-shooting sophomore guard, had a bad first half but found his eye during the final stanzas to hit for a 12-point total. High scorer for the Tigers was forward Fred Tritschler with 14 points, while Don Marshall, the other Princeton forward, had a 10-point total. Dartmouth had a slim lead during most of the game, although at one time in the third period the Tigers had cut a 6-point lead down to one point and looked as if they might go ahead. Here was a case where the Indians played steady, heads-up ball, with every man showing to advantage. It is the type of basketball that the Big Green should play against all opponents, and which it is hoped will be displayed for the balance of the season.
