Crimson Cagers Travel to Tennessee Classic

A Brian Banks-less Harvard basketball squad will tip-off against the Cincinnati Bearcats in tonight's opening round of the Volunteer Classic in Knoxville, Tennessee. Host Tennessee tangles with Navy in the other first round contest, with the winners meeting in tomorrow night's finals.

Banks sprained his ankle severely in last Saturday's game against highly-touted Boston College and Crimson coach Satch Sanders has decided not to risk further injury to his center.

Prior to Banks's injury, the Crimson cagers had matched the Eagles point for point, but after the 6 ft. 9 in. pivot man left the court, the taller Eagles jumped to a small lead and hung on to win, 70-66.

Sanders has switched 6 ft. 7 in. forward Lou Silver into the center slot to fill in for Banks, while co-captain Lenny Adams and fellow senior Arnie Needleman will hold the forward positions.

The sophomore guard duo of Dave Rogers and Jonas Honick will be the stabilizing constant in an otherwise makeshift Crimson lineup.

Sanders will be making frequent substitutions in the forecourt in hopes of offsetting the height advantage of the Bearcats, and can afford few variations in the backcourt.

Doc Hines and Bill Carey should expect to see plenty of action as both Crimson cagers have excellent range from the outside, as well as the height necessary to work the boards.

Against B.C., Hines was very impressive in bringing the ball upcourt and in rebounding. The 6 ft. 5 in. former All-New York City guard is quickly regaining top form after recovering from a broken wrist.

Cincinnati promises to be tough competition for the Sander's quintet despite losing the services of the Bearcats' top two scores from last season.

Bearcat coach Gale Catlett has countered his graduation losses with the recruitment of six talented freshmen, including 6 ft. 10 in. starting pivotman, Bob Miller, who captained his high school to the Kentucky state championship.

The guarding tandem of juniors Garry Kanstra and Hall Moore have put the Bearcats among the top three independents in the Ohio valley region, behind perennial powerhouse Notre Dame and improved Illinois State.

But the present Cincinnati quintet bears little resemblance to the squad Oscar Robertson led to two consecutive national championships. Despite boasting a 3-1 ledger, the Bearcats have lost their only challenge to date, dropping a 68-63 decision to Miami of Ohio.

Slimetown in Reach

Cincinnati is definitely not out of the Crimson's reach, even without Banks, but it will take a solid defensive effort combined with accurate outside shooting from Honick and Hines.

Should Harvard beat the Bearcats, it will face the inevitable victor of the Tennessee-Navy clash, Tennessee.

The Volunteers have been paced by the torrid shooting of freshman Bernie King--who burned the twine for 42 points in the 30 minutes of action he saw in his varsity debut.

Tennessee, now 2-1, has a strong supporting cast and the Vols bear a strong resemblance to the squad who finished last year's season with an impressive 19-8 slate.

Since the service academies have height limitations, Navy does not have a man over 6 ft. 6 in., and the Midshipmen will give away too much height on the boards. It is a fact of life that good ballplayers don't go to the service academies.

With a few breaks, the Crimson stand an excellent chance of knocking off Cincinnati. But without the services of the tree-like Banks, Sander's quintet will have to do what the "Belle of Louisville" does to Cincinnati's "Delta Queen" each Spring in America's only extant steamboat race--cut corners on the bigger boat.