In Memory

Kent Lipsett

Kent Lipsett

Here are my memories of the Attucks game played in the Tech gym in Indianapolis in 1956.
The team stayed in the hotel at Fall Creek Boulevard and Meridian Streets, one of the very few times we didn't arrive to play and then take the bus home on the same day. Pete Kroll and I roomed together.
The backdrop to this game makes this even a better story and it is written in Chapter Six of "But They Can't Beat Us, Oscar Robertson and the Crispus Attucks Tigers," Barry Roberts, Indiana Historical Society, 1999. This book is available at Amazon.com, where there is an interesting review, as well, relating the Attucks story to race relations of the time.  In another book on Hoosier HS basketball, similar points were made. When I turned the page and saw the photo of Oscar cutting the net - apparently a peach fuzzed kid - it made a realization of how one person had such an impact even greater.
Oscar was a team player, despite his scoring record. I think he still holds the assists record in the NBA (of course, he played with Kareem and could get an assist by launching the ball somewhere near the rim). Shortly before the end of the season a player from Washington broke Oscar's city scoring record of 45 in an overtime game against Speedway. Thus, sports writers were wondering if Oscar could "break 50" and reclaim the record. Attucks was undefeated and had four games in the last week of the season, ending with Frankfort. Against Sacred Heart in the third of these, just before Frankfort, the other players refused to shoot, just passing the ball back to Oscar and urging him to shoot. Despite being triple teamed at times, Oscar had, by quarter,  20, 10, 10, and 22 - a total of 62, shooting 23 of 60 and 16 of 22 from the free throw lane.
So Attucks had only the Frankfort game to win for a perfect regular season. 

From the above-cited book: "It would have been a fitting end to an exemplary regular season ? but Attucks still had to play Frankfort, a fine time with an even better basketball tradition." But we were ahead 15-6 at one point, largely due to a 4-man box zone with Kent Lipsett as a trailer on Oscar. Attucks was not playing much defense and our very patterned offense under Marvin Cave (who attended Butler with Marvin Wood, the coach of the famous Milan team celebrated in the movie Hoosiers) scored easily. We were behind by 4 at the half (I had remembered that we were ahead!) and Ray Crowe, the Attucks coach, changed to a zone for the second half. I recall that Oscar was benched for a time, an unheard of thing. We finally lost by 52-42.

I really needed all this background so that I could share this little trick Kent's friends sometimes played on him. Whenever a group of Kent's friends would encounter someone from a neighboring town - at Teener Club or at a drive-in, maybe even at MYF! - someone would point at Kent, saying, "You know, Kent guarded Oscar and held him to 10 points!" Invariable, Kent would have to make the correction and remind us that it was only 8 points.

My memory has had me telling this story over the years with 8 and 6 instead of 10 and 8 points. Some record book somewhere can tell the true story, but this will still be one of the ways I will remember our friend Kent Lipsett.

George Dorner
 



 
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10/11/09 10:40 AM #1    

Bill Stoops (Class Of "58")

I remember Kent as one of the Cool guys, and a great basketball player. In the game against Crispus Attucks(SP?) he garded Oscar Robertson and held him to one of his lowest scoring games in his high school career. We all know The Big O went on to be a college and NBA great.

10/11/09 12:00 PM #2    

Ron Miller (Class Of 1956)

If memory serves me, Kent held Oscar to eight points. This came one week after Oscar set an Indiana record of 72 points in one game. Never before, or since, did Oscar ever score so low as eight points in any game he played.

I saw the game. Kent followed Oscar like they were joined at the hip. Kent even followed Oscar to the huddle, then turned away to his own huddle.

Oscar maintained his usual cool presence, but he was certainly rattled.

Kent made history.

05/01/11 10:29 AM #3    

Bill Stoops (Class Of "58")

I recieved this note from Steve Kinney Kent's nephew.

I am Kent's nephew and he was like a Father to me. I would like to add a few comments regarding " Uncle Kent" He was a great role model and I can remember One high school game I bragged about 23 points and Uncle Kent said "How many assist did you have ?" I replied, "what?" He was always making me aware of other aspects of sports. He was also a scratch golfer who probably could have been pro. I thank you and love you Uncle Kent. See ya soon,

Steve
 


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