Jan. 1, 1965 - One of the country’s most desirable young basketball talents, Lew Alcindor of Power Memorial, displayed his talents to an unusually large crowd at Madison Square Garden tonight as he led his team to its 64th consecutive victory.
What makes Alcindor so desirable is the fact that he is 7 feet tall and well-coordinated. The crowd was large — about 7,000 — because the high school game was a preliminary to an NBA game between the Knicks and the Warriors at a time when the city is full of coaches, scouts, and other careerists for the college tournament in progress. In the headliner, the Knicks beat the Warriors, 101-100.
Alcindor scored 37 points in Power Memorial’s 69-44 rout of Archbishop Stepinac of White Plains. To the non-expert eye, Alcindor’s future effectiveness was difficult to judge, as he played among boys so much shorter. But the professional observers were unanimous in their opinion that he showed a fine shooting touch and good mobility and footwork.
There has been less speculation about Alcindor’s evident ability than about what college he may choose. That a hundred or so schools are interested is no secret; Alcindor’s plans, however, have been built into something of a mystery by Jack Donohue, his coach. Donohue uses a zone defense to keep interviewers away from his prize.
Watching Alcindor was a man who had lived through almost identical circumstances — Wilt Chamberlain of the Warriors, who was the talk of Philadelphia in his high school days. He eventually chose Kansas, and at the end of his junior year there turned pro with the Harlem Globetrotters. He entered the NBA a year later and has led it in scoring ever since.
After three quarters of close observation of Alcindor, Wilt closed his eyes, shook his head, and said: “Man, he’s tough. He’s a couple of inches taller than I was at the same age. He shoots better. The only edge I had on him was I think I moved better.”
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