Merle McClung Named League Player of Week

Crimson center Merle McClung, who seems to be on the way to an all-time Harvard season scoring record, has been named Ivy Basketball Player of the Week for his brilliant performances against Princeton and Penn last weekend.

Against the Tigers McClung hit 12 of 13 field goal attempts and four of six free throws for 20 pints, as the Crimson registered a shocking 22-32 upset. The next night he connected for 10 of 17 from the floor and a torrid 9 of 10 foul shots for 29 points.

McClung specializes in short shots, hook shots, and over-the-head flips, near the basket; even opponents as tall as 6-9 haven't been able to stop him. The only way to contain McClung is a tight defense which prevents his teammates from working the ball into him. But even that isn't much of a defense since Big Merle is one of the best outside-shooting centers in the Ivy League.

Mcclung is not really a big man as centers go: he stands 6-5 and weights 200 pounds. But the combination of sheer physical strength and deceptive moves under the basket have given McClung a 21.9 Ivy average--third beat in the League--and a 20.7 points per game overall scoring mark. At that rate the hot-shooting Harvard junior will eclipse the Crimson scoring record of 432 points.