Oh, Baby

Baby sitting can be hard work--especially when, the baby weighs 225 Ibs., stands 7 ft. 1 in., and loves to play rough. Just ask Jay Carty, a onetime Oregon State basketball star now studying for his doctor's degree at U.C.L.A. He was hired this fall to look after the Bruins' prize prospect: towering Lew Alcindor, 18, the ex-Manhattan schoolboy who was the most-sought-after high school player in the U.S. last year. When Alcindor turned out for the U.C.L.A. freshman team this fall, he showed lots of promise and precious little else. "He just stood there with his hands down," recalls Bruins Coach John Wooden. "He faded away from his shots, so he was never in position for the rebound. He got tired quickly from running."

Carty put Alcindor on a crash training program. For openers each day, Lew had to jump up and touch a line on the backboard 15 times in a row. The line was 11 1/2 ft. high. Next, Alcindor practiced "stuffing" shots--jamming balls into the basket from above. After that, Carty and Lew squared off for a game of two-man basketball: the winner was the first to score 20 points. "I jumped on him," admits Carty. "I did everything I could to try and rattle him."

At last, Lew was ready for a public game against the Bruin varsity, the No. 1-ranked college team in the U.S. Alcindor scored 31 points, pulled down 21 rebounds, blocked 7 shots, and the Brubabes clobbered the Bruins, 75-60. All of which may just make the U.C.L.A. freshmen the best team in the U.S.--considering that the varsity then went out and clobbered Ohio State 92-66.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.