The Graves County Boys: A Tale of Kentucky Basketball, Perseverance, and the Unlikely Championship of the Cuba Cubs

3. The Clutch

3 The Clutch it is not enough to fight. it is the spirit which we bring to the fight that decides the issue. it is morale that wins the victory. —George C. Marshall The next evening, Thursday, March 15, 1951, in the locker room just before the first game was to begin, Coach story went over their plan. although he had never seen Covington holmes, their opponent , play before, he gave his boys what knowledge he had about how he thought they would play, who their best players were, and what the Cubs should do to prevent them from scoring. in his usual calm manner, he told them that although the other team members were taller than they were, not to let their opponents fake them. he assured them that they could control the rebounds and block holmes out, that they were better than holmes. Then he went over the basic steps that he had taught them when they were eighth graders , steps that he had had them practice regularly since then, steps that they could recite easily: (1) you get in front of your man, push your butt against him so he cannot get around you; (2) as you jump 14 The Graves County Boys to get the ball, make yourself bigger by spreading your legs wide and raising your elbows up and out; (3) hold onto the ball so your opponent cannot slap it out of your hands; (4) if your elbows are spread out and raised, your opponent will not be able to touch the ball. sharing their nervousness but appearing at ease, Coach story stood up and looked directly into their young faces so filled with emotion. he reminded them that they had beaten taller players before and that they could beat these guys. and then, as always when facing a strong opponent, he repeated his warning, “remember , when you go out there, do not look at them! it makes you look like you’re dreading them.” Just as he finished saying those words, they heard the master of ceremonies welcome everyone to Memorial Coliseum and announce the names of the teams playing that night—Covington holmes and Cuba. amid loud applause, cheerleaders ran out first; then the coaches and their teams walked out and took their places on the benches, all facing the same direction and looking out at the court and the crowd. When the organist began playing “My old Kentucky home,” everyone stood up, hand over heart, and sang. Then they blew whistles and horns, gave a huge cheer, and sat down to wait for the warm-up to begin. The anticipation of the excited crowd was palpable. all were well aware of Covington holmes’ strength, but only a few knew about Cuba’s. This warm-up would give them some idea of the smaller team’s ball-handling ability. if the crowd was curious, the Cubs were jittery. They had never seen so many people, never played in such a huge place. Feeling mounting pressure and excitement, they sat silently, glancing around at the crowd. suddenly, the organist began pumping out the jazzy strains of “sweet Georgia Brown,” the harlem Globetrotters’ theme song and, by adoption, the Cuba Cubs.’ Jimmy Jones, the team captain, said, “okay, this is it! let’s run.” The crowd laughed as ten Cubs ran onto The Clutch 15 the court bouncing basketballs painted white, green, and gold to match their satiny new uniforms. it was showtime! Within moments of the Cubs starting their warm-up by shooting layups, a careless mishap put the game in jeopardy for the team. Taking a routine pass from Joe Buddy, howie let the ball slip through his hands and hit him squarely in the face. his nose started to bleed profusely. This was the first time ever that howie had let a ball slip from his hands, and he fought back tears, thinking, Why here? Why now, God? Fortunately, he got back into action quickly as his teammates were starting their shooting practice—dribbling, driving, and repeatedly making moves and shots that they would use in the game. using skills they had learned earlier studying the Globetrotters film and had perfected by hours and hours of practice for three years, they astonished the crowd. everyone’s eyes were riveted on the Cubs as soon as doodle began to pattern himself after Goose Tatum; howie, Marques haynes; Jimmie Webb, ermar...