Sport: Shelton’s Sharpshooters

Wyoming’s chief pride at the moment, aside from Yellowstone National Park, is the University of Wyoming basketball team. It claims to have the best-dressed coach, the craftiest dribblers, the deadliest sharpshooters in all the land—and most experts agree.

Three weeks ago, Coach Ev Shelton and his Wyoming Cowboys began a big-city invasion. Because most players have never been out of Wyoming, he lets them see the shows and the sights. Says he: “We let them have fun and thus keep them relaxed.” They relaxed at Gary, the first stop, and shot Valparaiso’s tall boys full of holes; they mauled St. Joseph’s at Philadelphia. It was the same lopsided story against highly-touted Long Island U. at Madison Square Garden, against Washington U. at St. Louis.

Business & Pleasure. Wyoming basketball tradition encourages every kid in the state to hope for college and team. Thus youngsters work hard. But most of the credit belongs to genial ex-footballer Shelton, who knows the trick of getting both fun and science into the game. He shuns blackboard drills, sets no hard & fast training rules. Unlike some coaches, Shelton doesn’t go overboard for elongated lads just because they are tall. Says he, “We try to get players who will fit our plan of offense rather than attempt to build plays around them.” He never works the team more than two hours a day. His practices start at 3 p.m. with shooting and play instruction for one hour. The last hour is devoted to scrimmage. His 19 offensive plays stress one talent, ball-handling.

Back home to Laramie last week, with ten straight victories on the books, went Wyoming to find that No. 11 was unlucky. Shelton & Co. relaxed a little too much, lost to unneighborly Utah, 45-to-31.