When Tuscarawas Valley travels to Port Washington for its opening game of the season tonight, they will floor one of the most balanced basketball teams in the country. "I played all 12 boys on the varsity squad, switching them around to various combinations, in the preview last week at Conotton Valley and as far as I could see there was no appreciable difference between any of the group," commented Coach Bob Heller yesterday afternoon. He added, "A good example of our better balance this season is the fact that we will be able to go without Benny (Price, 6-5 forward) if we have to. Last year Ben was injured a couple of times and we just didn't move without him. As Benny went, so went the team. But this year that will be different." From 51 boys who originally tried out for teams from the Freshman through the Senior grades, Heller and assistant Ed Baran have cut the group down to 38, 12 of which are on the varsity team. Four veterans in Clarence Cantrill, Jerry Pullins, Price and Roy Buchanan return for this season. Cantrill, 5-8 Junior and Pullins, 5-9 Junior, are guards and will be sharing the posts with Ron Lake, Jim Studer and Richard Wolfe. Heller has moved Price from center to forward this season and Benny is battling for the job with Buchanan and Pete Eberly, while Chuck Locker, Dale Duerr and Gary Robbins are currently in a red hot fight for the center job. Heller rates his players so equal that as of yesterday afternoon he had no idea who would receive starting berths in tonight's opening game. The Trojans will be out to improve on their 11-6 record of last season. "We'll be giving these other teams a run for their money. There'll be no walk away in this league this year and I feel certain that we can win more than our share," finished Heller.*
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Tuesday, November 25, 1958
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio
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