Roosevelt Cox Plays Basketball Again

One of the basketball players on this year's Crimson squad is enjoying a relaxing reading period this month. In fact, Roosevelt Cox, the newest addition to the team, hasn't any exams to worry about.

Cox, a senior, spent this fall in Atlanta studying at Morehouse College while the Crimson hoopsters were toiling away at the IAB. Cox's Harvard basketball career had apparently ended last year when he resigned from the team, but after talking with Harvard's new coach Frank McLaughlin this fall on the phone Cox spent his spare time playing basketball in Atlanta.

Back from Atlanta

After finishing the semester in Atlanta, he travelled north and joined the Crimson squad the week before the Dartmouth tilt. He has steadily increased his playing time in each of the last eight games and is looking forward to a much delayed debut at the IAB.

Cox went on the basketball team's trips to Arizona and Detroit over Christmas Vacation to help learn the new system sooner and immediately began contributing to the team. In Detroit, he scored 16 points against Long Island, and last weekend he exploded for 19 points against Penn.

Coach McLaughlin checked with NCAA, ECAC and Ivy league officials to avoid any complications concerning Cox's eligibility. There were no difficulties and McLaughlin found himself with a new ballplayer after the season had already begun.

Cox's career at Harvard has been off and on--off and on the team, that is. He was a starter on the freshman team three years ago. As a sophomore, he made the trip to South Carolina, but resigned from the team soon after its return to Cambridge.

Trading In

Cox was on the basketball team again his junior year, but was unhappy with the program and again resigned. It should be remembered that in the last few years several ballplayers besides Cox have traded in their Crimson jerseys without completing the whole season.

Gary Ackerman, one of the co-captains of the Harvard team, said Tuesday, "Roosevelt is a talented player with untapped potential."

The presence of Cox on the team is symbolic of the turnaround in the Harvard basketball program.

Cox says "There is more enthusiasm on the team. We really do have the talent to produce a winning ballclub."

If you see anybody about six and a half feet tall who seems to be getting enough sleep during exam period, you can bet it is Roosevelt Cox.