Initial Basketball Meeting Attracts Fifty, As Barclay Takes Charge of Court Scene

Not quite settled in his first contact with New England, Bill Barclay, Crimson's new basketball coach, took over formal control of the embryo court squad in the initial turnout last night, and promptly proceeded to outline his outlook and plans for the coming season, which starts two weeks after the close of the football wars.

"A proper mastery of fundamentals is essential for any successful basketball team," declared Barclay in his first talk to the new squad, "and I intend to concentrate on the fundamentals of offensive ball-handling and defensive play throughout our practice. Then we can get to work on offensive strategy, working from a series of basis court positions."

Barclay expressed a preference for a single-pivot offensive, "if," he adds, "the practice sessions disclose enough tall and talented center material." the Varsity will use a man-to-man defense, said Barclay, who favors a fast-moving, rapid-passing style of play.

Though he has never seen a Crimson team in action, the new court mentor was treated yesterday to a showing of the movies of the Harvard-Ohio State game in New York last year, in which the proteges of ex-Coach Floyd Stahl carried the New England championship laurels unsuccessfully into the N.C.A.A. national championships. Last night he met the six returning lettermen from last year's squad, and surveyed generally the turnout for the coming campaign.