Basketball Team May Play Game Against Russians

A Russian basketball team may play the Crimson varsity next December if negotiations now being conducted in Moscow can be completed.

Athletic Director Thomas D. Boiles has given Frank Walsh, San Francisco coach now in Moscow, permission to arrange such a contest. "We'll be glad to play them if they can get here," he said.

Walsh is trying to make a reciprocal agreement with the Russians in order to get a team of Pacific Coast stars into Russia this summer for a series of games. If the Russians do come to this country, both Yale and Springfield have also told Walsh that they would like to play them.

According to Bolles, the Russian players will be of "Olympic caliber." Although this virtually eliminates any chance for a Crimson victory, the visitors will be unable to play any professional teams such as the Boston Celtics.

With one or two exceptions, no Russian athlete has ever appeared in New England before. "I have never seen a Russian runner, swimmer, or athlete here that I can remember," Herb Holm, NEAAU chairman, said.