Amid the Great Depression, Auerbach played basketball as a guard at PS 122 and in the Eastern District High School,[8] where he was named "Second Team All-Brooklyn" by the World-Telegram in his senior year. After a season at Seth Low Junior College, Auerbach received an athletic scholarship to the basketball program of Bill Reinhart at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.[2][9] Auerbach was a standout basketball player and graduated with a M.A. in 1941.[4] In those years, Auerbach began to understand the importance of the fast break, appreciating how potent three charging attackers against two back-pedalling defenders could be.[2]