Ex-great Bob Cousy forms basketball league with 6 ft. 4 in. height limit

Anoher new sports league. Basketball this time. But with one difference: no player can be more than 6 feet, 4 inches tall. the masthead. Does the former great Boston Celtics playmaker of the 1950s and early '60s have something worth selling?

It depends.

If you're iling a letter, then Cousy's proposed league may be for you.

This kind of league has been talked about so many times before that it can't be caling-for-dollars, something like this may work for, say, one, two, or even three years.

I must admit I'm intrigued by the name: the Internation can envision the world's headline writers rushing to cut the nickname Frankenstein down to Franks.

There are reports that the IBA will launchfinancially.

Sites most often mentioned as charter members include Washington; New York; Los Angeles; Orange County, t of hand, a salary cap of $600,000 for each team has already been agreed upon.

``Talent is not a problem,'' Cousy totools but height. We will have guys who are used to playing with their backs to the basket. We will have guys who know how to pass the ball, and guys who know how to shoot it. Our centers will be as mobile as our guards.''

Two National Basketball Association players Cousy would probably like to have in his league are 5-6 guard Spud Webb of the Atlanta Hawks and 5-3 Tyrone Bogues, a rookie this year with the Washington Bullets. Both can dunk; both are a streak on the dribble; both can throw passes through the eye of a needle. Both are also able to bump their heads on Wilt Chamberlain's knees.

What this league really needs, though, isn't a Cousy in its executive suite, but one who can turn back the clock to those glory days a quarter of a century and more ago when he was the Houdini of the Hardwoods.

Even though Oscar Robertson was stronger, and Jerry West a better shooter, Cousy had more imagination than either of them. He could make a basketball disappear just over mid-court, and then suddenly make it reappear in Tommy Heinsohn's hands for an easy layup under the basket.

On his off-nights, Bob was merely great. On his good nights, his passes were easier to catch than a pillow, and his shots never touched the rim. Always he made better players of those around him.

Since 90 percent of the world is under 6 feet, according to Cousy, his league should have built-in appeal. My only advice to Bob is to bring back the old American Basketball League's red, white, and blue ball. It sure looked great on TV!