Published in Sport Life Magazine, May 1949, pg. 60.

AT the risk of monotony, here's the unusual achievement of the University of Kentucky's All-America basketball ace, Alex Groza, last season: he was high scorer with 23 points in the Eastern NCAA championship final against Holy Cross; high scorer with 14 in the East-West NCAA final against Baylor; high scorer with 33 in the collegiate final of the Olympic tryouts against Baylor, again, and high scorer with 11 in the Olympic championship final against France.

In only one important game did the 6' 7" whiz fail to gain top honors, the Olympic final tryouts against the Phillips Oilers, when he was held in check by Bob Kurland. Groza overshadowed the tall Oklahoman overseas, for he was the Olympic Games' top scorer over the entire tournament with 78 points.

Alex, who tallied more than 700 points in the two seasons immediately preceding the current campaign, had one of his greatest nights in Kentucky's second meeting with Baylor. He rang up 33 points, 26 of them in the first half, and was uncanny in his marksmanship all evening.

Previously he had won laurels for his superior play throughout the NCAA tournament. First team All-America center in 1946-47, he was ranked behind Ed Macauley of St. Louis in many quarters last year.

The 22 year-old senior hails from Martins Ferry, Ohio, and shares top athletic billing there with his brother, Lou, the sensational placement kicker of the Cleveland Browns. They played as teammates in high school for one year. Lou, then a senior, was far superior at the time, ranked as the greatest court star in Martins Ferry annals. Two years later, Alex carried on the family tradition by cracking the Ohio schoolboy scoring record with 628 points.

Alex entered Kentucky in '44 but was snatched for the service before he finished his freshman year.

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