Cagers Test New Line-up Against Lord Jeffs Tonight

After two disappointing losses in the past week, the Harvard basketball team has a chance to get back on the winning track tonight when it faces a mediocre Amherst team at 8 p.m. in the Amherst Cage.

Whether the Crimson will win or not is a moot question; how it does it is not. If it defeats the Lord Jeffs convincingly, it will gain the momentum necessary for its upcoming contests against Massachusetts, Duquesne, North Carolina and St. John's.

Head coach Bob Harrison is revamping his line-up to do it. James Brown is moving back to forward (which he played in high school), sophomore Tony Jenkins is moving to the middle, and junior Jean Wilkinson will start at guard.

"With this line-up we'll be able to take some pressure off J.B. and Fitzsimmons so that they can concentrate on scoring and rebounding," Harrison said yesterday. "We're counting on Jean to run the offense, and because he's our quickest guard, to get us moving on the fast break."

The changes will make the squad quicker, which in turn should make its offense better. One of the team's problems so far this season has been offense, and with Wilkinson running the team. Brown and Fitzsimmons, potentially two of the best shooters in the country, will be free to score.

Attitude, another of the team's problems this winter, should improve, too. The Crimson has traditionally suffered from only playing up to the calibre of its opponents, and the results is narrow victories over poor teams, and narrow losses to good ones.

Tonight's game will be important from that standpoint. If Harvard decides to force Amherst to play its game, it should blow the Lord Jeffs off the court. Unless the Crimson develops that kind of confidenct in its game soon, it will never make it through its tough Christmas schedule.

Amherst was 6-15 last winter, and even with nine lettermen returning from that squad, it will be hard pressed to match last year's record if its game Thursday is any indication. It lost to Brandeis, 88-71.

Defensively, Harvard is improved over last year, and the line-up change should make its defense even better. With the quickness gained, the Crimson should force its share of turnovers and cut down on fouls.

Harvard's ability to come from behind, due largely to the sure shot of sophomore guard Jim Fitzsimmons, who leads the squad in scoring with 24 points a game, has also improved over last winter. It's a dubious mark, since the team should not have been behind the teams it has played so far this season.

Harvard faces a series of increasingly tough contests in the next ten days. After Amherst, it meets Boston University, Holy Cross, Massachusetts (the only home game), and Duquesne. It must get rolling against Amherst tonight, or it will find rough going next week.