from Kansas City Star, Sunday, March 28, 1943

The team championship is the major item, but basketball addicts in this hot-bed of the cage sport are looking forward to the duel of individual stars in the N.C.A.A western regional playoff openers tonight.

Wyoming plays Oklahoma and the University of Washington meets Texas in the first round tonight, with the winners tangling tomorrow for the right to tackle Georgetown, the eastern champion, for the national championship in New York.

The western clubs are odds-on choices to win tonight, but in the matter of individual brilliance the honors may go to an Oklahoman or Texan.

Brightest of the Oklahoma stars is Gerald Tucker, 6-foot 4-inch center, a lad who does a workmanlike job sans showmanship. The big sooner wrecked all scoring records in the big six, averaging 17.5 points per game and setting a one-game mark of 38 points.

The boy with the most clippings, though, is Kenny Sailors, the Wyoming forward who played a major role as the Cowboys rolled to 27 victories in 29 starts. Sailors is a Rocky Mountain all-star and was named on the national A.A.U. all-star quintet at Denver last week.

One of his rivals for individual honors will be a teammate, 6-foot 7-inch Milo Komenich from Gary, Ind.

The skyscraper center is Wyoming's leading scorer and he may pass the 500 point mark during tournament play. His total for 29 games is 483, compared with Sailors' 449.

Washington boasts no standout - according to coast reports, every man is a potential 20-point getter. The Huskies' five starters finished among the 11 high scorers of the northern division. However, Capt. Walt Leask is not with the team, having received a call to the armed forces.

The Cowboys of Wyoming University won the National Collegiate Athletic association western playoff last night by defeating Texas of the Southwest conference in the championship final. In the picture, left to right, the new champions are: Back row, Don Waite, Floyd Volher, James Weir, Lewis Roney, Milo Komenich; front row, Kenneth Sailors, James Collins, Everett Shelton, coach; Jimmy Reese, and Earl Ray.