The word goes round that the league is loaded this winter and the word is right. House basketball, by all portents and by the opinions of athletic secretaries and players, should be faster, finer, and loss soggy than ever before.

The secret behind this revitalization, which has forced adoption of an additional B League in the Straus competition, is the elimination of jayvee basketball. A minor horde of ex-jayvees and Varsity cuts, already primed by a month of training, has filtered into intramural play and will form a high quality nucleus on most teams. Last year's highly organized Freshman League has also handed on a higher caliber of player than usual.

Play starts this afternoon, after a week and a half of practice, and although most teams are not positive on starting lineups, there in little doubt about the general composition of the A squads. These are expected to be limited to tea at the beginning of next week by intramural Director Dolph Samborski and his council of House athletic secretaries.

The B squade, on the other hand, have fallen heir to the early-season problems that formerly beset first line fives. Doubt about the availability of players, shortage of coaches, and the general confusion typical of enthuslastic participation have produced eight question mark teams.

From all indications, Lowell is the team to beat in the A League. No loss than five Jayvees have joined with the cream of last year's third-place unit into a combination that is both tall and talented. The rest of the world quavers at the thought of the fluid, everybody-is-a-forward, Varsity-type system cooked up by Coaches Cliff Crosby and John Rockwell. The Bellboys also boast the only certain starting lineup: Jack Goldsmith and Wally Coulson at guard, Fred Donahue and Mike Post at forward and John Altroechi at center.

Dunster last year's champion, picked up two Jayvees in the draws, and retained three regulars. The team will lose most of what little height it has at midyears when center and pivot man John Brunsman (6"3") graduates. At least till then the style of play will be short pass, ball handling with feedins to the pivot. The tentative lineup includes: Jack Norman, Wally Baker, Chuck Brynteson, Dave Warden, Al Rosenberg, and Len Ragozin.

The whole starting combination from last year's second place team will do Winthrop no harm, especially center Ted Nelson, who is roughly six feet seven inches tall. With this in mind, the Puritans are operating on the pivot system which worked well for them last year (Winthrop lost the title to Dunster in the last game of the season). Brawn, if such be needed on the court, is certainly present in the form of football players Jerry Kanter, Art Hyde and skip Garvey; other more slender men include frank Gump, Jim Powell, Joe Thalfer, and Bob Blinken.

The Dudley Commuters stand to do better in basketball than anything else this year with a 25-man turnout and the fact that not one of last year's 7-7 team has left. The fast break, with a pivot man and a floating man-to-man defense feature the Dudley play. The fairly tall squad consists of Dave Bishop, John Woods, Brad Ryan, Hugh MacFarland, Carl Marshall, Herb Lewis, and Herb White.

A considerable gloom pervades the rest of the division. Leverett's regulars are scattered, and the Jayvees offer little support, the sole ray of sunshine being the presence of three members of last year's champion Yard team. Practices indicate that the team may well be better than last year's seventh place outfit, but in the new hopped-up league, a little improvement is a dangerous thing. No certain lineup can be perceived in the flux but the following are among the leaders: Dave Belcher, Jim Ross, Tom Unverferth, Sam Seager, and Browy Craig.

Adams gleaned Frank Holt from the Jayvees, kept held of Fred Craft, and dean Phypers of last year, and picked up Chip Gannon as coach. For this reason the Gold Coasters will be using the Varsity fiuld play system with a team that will be short and fast. Other possible starters are Bob Whitelaw, Roger Davis, and Ted Wolf.

Kirkland hopes against hope that last year's late-jelling squad, a great deal of which is returning, can develop under the coaching of Gunther Rosinus. Considerable height and piut-sized Pankey, guard from last year's Freshman team, will be a big help.

Dave McGiffert and Ted Bullard at the forward posts will carry Eliot wherever it goes this season, although a fairly tall opening aggregation will help to keep the Elephant head above water. The starting five will probably consist of these two, and Bob Crichton, Fred England, and John Palmer.

Play starts today in the Blockhouse with three games on the state:

2 p.m. Dunster-Dudley

8 p.m. Winthrop-Kirkland

9 p.m. Eliot-Adams