A Small Celebration

"The superior confidence which people repose in the tall man is well merited," wrote 6'8" John Kenneth Galbraith, the blatantly heightist American economist. "Being tall, he is more visible than other men and being more visible, he is much more closely watched. In consequence, his behavior is far better than that of smaller men."

In truth few players will be more closely watched (or inspire greater confidence) than those on this page: A team of potential All-Americans, composed entirely of small Americans. College basketball is filled this season with diminutive superlatives. Our Division I shortlist.

SMALLEST COACH
Will he please stand up? (Oh, you are standing up.) It's Dave Faucher of Dartmouth, who is only 5'5". "Hey, one of our hockey coaches is only 5'3"," says Faucher. "I tower over him."

SMALLEST ARENA
Carter Gym at Campbell U in Buies Creek, N.C., seats 945 fans, but who's counting? Coach Billy Lee is. "I can tell who is absent," says Lee. The Fighting Camels once won a home game when a foe's last-gasp try hit a light fixture.

SMALLEST SCHOOL
Numbering only 850, the student body at Centenary can't fill Campbell's gym. Perhaps because the school occupies but one square mile in Shreveport, La., there are no big men on campus: The starting lineup averages only 6'3�".

SMALLEST RECRUITING BUDGET
Chicago State coach Phil Gary must make do with $2,000, and two large is just too small. "A lot of the money to find players comes out of my own pockets," laments Gary.

SMALLEST CHANCE OF A WINNING RECORD
Belmont U in Nashville, ex-NAIA power, plays a loaded schedule in its first bigtime season. The Belmont stakes have never been smaller. "If we could win five," says coach Rick Byrd, "I'd be happy.

5'10"
Tyson Wheeler
Rhode Island
This bite-sized Tyson is earmarked for greatness. He averaged 16.4 points per game last year. "Growing up," says Wheeler, a senior, "I've always been small." (It's a short thing. You wouldn't understand.)

5'8"
Terrell McIntyre
Clemson
"I feel that my heart is always bigger than the next man's," says McIntyre, a junior who averaged 13.4 points last year. So, evidently, are his soles. "With my shoes on," he swears, "I'm definitely 5'9".

5'4"
Shawnta Rogers
George Washington
His nickname is Nut, but he hardly needs a shrink. Rogers, now a junior, was the Colonials' third-best rebounder last year and he had 14 in a game at Dayton. His secret? "I'm 5'5" with my shoes on," he insists.