Alcindor's only high school loss (was CP Time)

[Sam Clements]

A newspaper account of that loss shows that the final score was Dematha 46,
Power Memorial 43.  Alcindor scored 16 points.  The analysis of the game
said that Dematha used a "tough zone defense" to contain Power.

--Sam Clements, who could dunk a ball with three steps, could play defense
brilliantly, but who couldn't hit a basket to save his soul.

From: "Laurence Horn" <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
Sent: Friday, November 05, 2004 9:42 A


> At 8:20 AM -0500 11/5/04, James A. Landau wrote:
> >
> >PS to Dennis Preston, about guarding the Big O:  Back when Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar
> >was in high school (and known as "Lew Alcindor"), an opposing coach said
> >"there's no such thing as a one-man basketball team" and ordered his
> >team to let
> >Alcindor do whatever he pleased, just guard the other four players.
> >Alcindor's
> >team lost 63-60, with Alcindor scoring 57 of the 60.
>
>
> Let's see what I can find.  Ah, under the aptly yet ineptly titled
> SportsCentury web bio at espn.com, "A Dominate Force" (eggcorn
> alert!), it is noted that Alcindor's teams during his high school and
> first two college years went 126-1: "The only defeat came when
> DeMatha snapped Power Memorial's 71-game winning streak in January
> 1965."  So that must have been the game to which Jim alludes. Another
> site confirms the result but not the details, which are slightly less
> impressive:  the final score was 65-62 and Alcindor scored 38, not 57.
>