
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 30, 1995                   TAG: 9503300079
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

TEAMWORK

A MARTINSVILLE reader, James Michael Bestler, M.D., writes to suggest that stories about women's and men's basketball be more clearly distinguished on the sports pages, to avoid confusion.

"Perhaps we could use a subtitle, Ladies Basketball and Real Basketball," he offers. Now isn't that hilarious.

If Bestler watched the little ladies play more often, he might have noticed the sharper passing, more sophisticated defenses, and superior teamwork evident in high-quality college women's play.

A Boston writer the other day quoted one Jon Jennings - a real man, safe to say, who is director of basketball personnel for the Boston Celtics.

Women's basketball may feature less speed and strength, fewer fast breaks and slam-dunks. But it is nowadays, says Jennings, the purest form of basketball. ``It's the way the game is meant to be played: five on five. Not one on one.''

by CNB