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Published in Quick Magazine, January 23 1950, pp. 58-59
At the halfway mark of the professional basketball season, fans were asking the $64 question: how many times can George Mikan keep on breaking his own scoring records? If the tempo of court action continues to speed up, the answer may well be: as long as the 6-foot, lO-inch center of the Minneapolis Lakers wants to.
Experts call Mikan the greatest center in the game. Unlike most extra-tall players, he is agile and speedy, has the stamina to carry him through a season of hounding by opponents who try to hold down his scoring by guarding him with two or even three men. A collegiate record-breaker when he was at DePaul U., Mikan holds almost every pro mark in his huge (size 12) hands. With but half the season gone, he was leading the Natl. Basketball Assn. with 954 points, a pace fast enough to let him crack the league record of 1,698 points he set last year (which broke the mark of 1,195 he set two years ago).
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In addition to total points, Mikan holds 19 records including highest points-per-game average, most goals made, most fouls made. Mikan scores nearly as many points on tap-ins under the basket as he does on set shots. He credits his grandmother for that fact: she made him practice piano-playing so much his fingers developed the strength and instinctive touch needed for under-the-backboard scrambles.
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A three-year collegiate All-American, Alex was the most sought-after player after he graduated. When he organized his own five, it was predicted the ex-collegians would have rough sledding in the faster pro ranks. But the Olympians shook an early slump, now are fighting for the lead in the league's Western Division. Likeliest forecast: that Groza will be a serious challenger for Mikan's crown, will eventually inherit it when George retires in a year or two.
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