A couple of pre-season scrimmages and a lot of hard work have produced considerable evidence that Coach Norm Shepard's varsity basketball team will do far better than last year's hapless squad.

Two practice games against very competent MIT quintets went to the varsity by comfortable scores. Its daily practices, according to Shepard, "have showed that we have a lot of good material."

Two-Man Pivot Attack

The squad that meets Tufts Saturday at the blockhouse should have Bill Prior or lanky Ed Smith at center. Smith has looked effective in practice this fall, and Shepard will probably team him with Prior or John Rockwell in a frequent two-man-pivot formation. John Stevenson, who came up from last year's fast freshman team, also should see some work under the basket.

Shepard's forward line will have Rockwell, Jim Gabler, Quent Stiles, and Gerry Murphy. Gabler's shooting eye has been accurate all fall, and his set-shots should be an important factor in the team's scoring. Murphy, another sophomore, is fast and shifty, a good man for the quick-break work which Shepard emphasizes.

Playing at guard against Tufts will probably be Jim Downey and Bill Hickey-two more of last year's speedy freshmen-Aaron Cohodes, Dick Covey, and Cliff Crosby. Although Cohodes has seen little action in past seasons, he and the other four may well play in Saturday's game.

Works on Fundamentals

Shepard has been teaching his men fundamentals, methodically recording the progress of each member of his 21-man squad. "I grade 'em all just like a professor would," drawls the former Davidson College coach. "They've been showing a lot of improvement."

None of the positions are fixed as yet, Shepard emphasizes, and he expects to make further changes as game experience affects his team. He feels that his charges stack up quite a bit better than his Davidson squads, but points out that he has "a lot more material to draw on in a school this size."