"PAGE SIX
Positioning Is Secret
To ions' Sliding Zone
Ever since the days when John
Lawther had charge of Penn State
basketball teams, the Lions have
been famous for their .sliding
zone defense, an intricate three
and two variation that has turned
back some of the best offensive
teams in the country.
Lowther, taught his_famous de
fense to two of his pupils—Elmer
Gross and John Egli. Gross used it
with amazing effectiveness last
year, and now Egli will put it to
work for him this season.
assically the defense appears
to be just a conventional 3-2 zone,
but it is actually an entirely dif
ferent system. Where the standard
zone attempts to cover the indi
vidual offensive players, the slid
ing zone works primarily against
the man with the ball.
In the regular zone, defensive
players are assigned to cover a
particular area or• "zone" on the
playing floor. They move about
within this area. But in the slid
ing zone, there is an entirely dif
ferent movement used.
Its basic principle is to jam the
area which the ball might be in.
One man presses the ball handler
and two more move in behind,
blocking off any path to the bas
ket. The remaining two defense
men slide into positions near the
basket, but - still between the man
with the ball and the net.
This means that for the defense
to be effective, the defensive
team must move as a unit. It must
be able to shift rapidly, and one
Man out of his proper position
will create a channel for the ball
to move toward the basket.
"To be effective," Egli explains,
"the zone must have players with
certain abilities an d physical
qualifications in pa r ticular
places "
For instance the front middle
man, usually the key ball handler
on fast breaks, can be small, but
a tall agile man is the ideal pros
pect. He should be a good ball
handler, passer, and dribbler.
Dierks Named
Soccerman for
Paul Dierks, rugged all-around booter for Coach Ken Hoster
man's undefeated soccer team which posted a 9-0 record this fall,
was awarded the outstanding player trophy last night at the annual
soccer banquet.
Senior lettermen Captain Jack Pinezich, Galen Robbins, Gerry
Gillispie, and Joe Mijares, were also honored at the Allencrest Tea
Room.
Junior Dick Packer, high-scor
ing lineman, was chosen captain
for • the 1955 season by popular
vote of his teammates.
Dierks expressed his apprecia
tion for the trophy and said that
only his teammates' family' type
of ball playing enabled him to
gain the recognition. Dierks said
the entire team fitted together
like a jig -saw puzzle and that the
team spirit and cooperation• was
an important reason why it was
undefeated.
Retiring head manager Dick
Gordon named . Leo Tarkett head
manager for 1955. Tarkett's first
three assistants will be Stanley
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Compliments
bob allison, john bischoff,
bob dougherty, ed drapcho,
jock kersh, ron Elegies,
rog snyder, russ remaky,
milt plum, norm smith,
bill stoddart, jim miller,
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This is the normal aliignment for the
i-2 sliding zone defense. Three men
out front, and two in the back line.
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Shift made when ball is passed to pivot.
Left back moves in front of basket.
Front center and hack right converge
on hall. Right and left front drop back
between ball and basket.
Should the defense intercept the
ball he is the important man.
The two front side men should
be fairly tall and rugged, good
rebounders, and ball handlers to
help in the fast break. The right
side man should be able to score
Top
Season
Lindenberg, Richard ' Dollinger,
and Paul Kauffman.
Among the 35 people attending
the banquet were guests of honor
President Milton S. Eisenhower,
Harold Gilbert, assistant director
of athletics, and James Coogan,
assistant director of public infor
mation at the University.
Hosterman, who has ended his
second year as soccer coach with
a top-rate squad, named ten un
dergraduate lettermen who will,
return for action next fall. They
are Packer, Dick Matacia, Ihor
Stelnyk, Tom Nute, Mert Springer,
Jerry Bijur, Steve Flamporis,
George Geczy, Chuck Snyder, and
Bob Little.
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THE DAILY COLLEGIAN STATE COLLEGE PENNS'YLVANIA
BASIC DEFENSIVE PATTERNS
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The tallest back man ordinarily
plays slightly forward in the foul
lane to screen down the alley.
But he may be the back man
should the ball be on the op
posite side of the court. The fifth
man plays back nearer the basket,
but will move forward when the
ball enters his side of the court.
He should be the biggest man
on the team, rugged, hard work
ing, and able to rebound both
from a standing position and
while in motion. He usually starts
the fast break and should have
a good one hand pass—both short
and long. He must be able to
move fast to cover the corners.
Moore 'Held' Twice
Only twice in nine games was
Penn State's fleet halfback, Lenny
Moore, restricted to fewer than
100 yards. Pitt limited him to 68
yards, Syracuse to 87. His `nine
game total of 1082 yards set a new
Penn State record.
. „
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Shift made when ball is passed down
side to corner. acs right covers ball.
Front right and iront center form
screin behind. Bad: left and front left
protect hosizet.
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Shift made when ball is passed from
side, to pivot, and in ,to base line.
Back right and center front cover
at post with 'front right shooting back
to protect. Back right and left cover
at base line.
on driving lay up shots from the
right. The left side man should
be able to do it from the left.
' B4'ett
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Now that it's gift-giving tim
you're goin g to want tc
s-t-r-e-t-c-h those sheckels.
But your appetite and taste
pleasures need not suffer
there's always delicious
food at delightful prices at
the Dell. Why not sample:
HAMBURGERS
HOT DOGS
GRILLED CHEESE
SOUPS
CHIP STEAK SANDWICH . 35c
HAM or EGG SANDWICH.4c
NITTANY DELL
The home of
delicious sandwiches
Across front Aths.rion Han
Werner Seeks
Track Candidates
With road map and compass in hand, track Coach Chick
Werner is embarking on his annual search for talent for this
season's team.
"Desire," Werner emphasized, "is more important than
experience. The opportunity is here for those who want to
compete. We have some good • men left from last year, but
there is no such thing as a 'set' team."
Sure, the Lions will have such star returnees as speed
ster. Art Pollard and weight man Rosey Grier, but "there's
always, room for one more."
Werner has good reason for
placing, sc, much weight on the
element el "desire." 'Some . of his
finest performers have risen from
the ranks of the 'Unknown to stel
lar heights through their love for
the • sport. Werner feels that ex
perience can be gained, but that
desire Must he present from the
start.
Among the prince examples of
Penn State track and field stars
who have made good despite their
lack of experience are Horace
Ashenfelter and Doug Moorhead.
Ashenfelter was a Nittany star
during the 1940'5. Curt Stone, an
other Lion track standout, had to
convince Ash that he had a bright
future in \ track. Once Ash de
cided to devote - his interests to
track rather than baseball he
slowly improved until he hit the
top. His, brightest victory came
in the 1952 Olympics at Helsinki,
Finland, when he sped to one of
the greatest upset wins of all time
by copping the 3000-meter steeple
chase grind.
It was only fitting that Werner,
the man who guided Ash in his
rise from obscurity, should also
have coached hiin for his great
Olympic victory.
Moorhead's story closely paral
lels Ashenfelter's. Before he came
to Penn State, Moorhead had
ISc
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FRIDAY. DECEMBER 3. 1954
By HERM WEISKOPF
never actually competed in any
track events. However, under the
coaching of Werner and his as
sistant Norm Gordon, Moorhead
has been turned into one of the
top distance runners at the Uni
versity. Moorhead was the No. I
man on this year's cross-country
team. He is also a fine two-miler.
On Tuesday Moorhead. was se
lected by his teammates as cap
tain for next season's cross-coun
try squad—;a tribute to his climb
up the ladder of success.
Although there will be no fresh
man schedule for the indoor sea
son, there will be plenty of action
on the banked boards for both
frosh and varsity candidates. One
of the main advantages of indoor
track, Werner said, is that it will
prepare the team for the' more
important outdoor campaign
which will get underway in the
spring.
The schedule for the indoor sea
son is still in the making and will
not be released for some time, but
the track and field hopefuls have
been practicing for several weeks.
Students interested in compet
ing in track and field events are
asked to report to Werner in Rec
Hall as soon as possible. "Even
if they can't come out to practice
at this time," Werner said, "we
would like to at least talk to
those who are interested."