New Beginning
October 30, 2002 02:17 PM | General
October 30, 2002
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Although West Virginia University men’s basketball coach John Beilein is not yet ready to publically reveal a starting five, it’s a safe bet that one of those players will eventually be sophomore guard Drew Schifino.
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| Guard Drew Schifino is happy to be a Mountaineer once again playing for new coach John Beilein. |
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound, Pittsburgh native has displayed a willingness to fit into Beilein’s system so far this fall, and his versatility could wind up helping him become one of WVU’s go-to players this season.
Schifino’s basketball background is an impressive one. Overshadowed by high school All-American guard Jonathan Hargett last year, Schifino’s prep credentials were almost as eye catching.
As a senior at Penn Hills High School, Schifino scored 39 points in a WPIAL Class 4A championship game to set a city record for the most points in tournament history with 147. He finished his senior season averaging 30.2 points per game to earn a spot on the Associated Press Pennsylvania Big School all-state team.
Other members of the team that year were Philadelphia Roman Catholic forward Eddie Griffin, now in the NBA with the Houston Rockets, Blackhawk High School guard Brandon Fuss-Cheatam, now playing at Ohio State, Pitt forward Chevy Troutman of Williamsport High, and St. Joseph’s, Pa. rising guard Jameer Nelson of Chester High School.
Schifino was ranked among the nation’s top 100 prep players as a high school senior in 2000, and elevated that standing after a record-setting season at Bridgton Academy in New Bridgton, Maine, in 2001. He averaged 28.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game for Coach Whit Lesure.
Last year at West Virginia, Schifino eventually worked his way into the starting lineup as the season began slipping away.
He started the team’s last seven contests and scored a season-high 20 points in the final game of the year at Pitt. He averaged 9.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game while shooting 37.5 percent from three-point distance.
Earlier in December, Schifino set a school record with 11 steals against Arkansas-Monticello and finished the season with 57.
Considering the year West Virginia had, it was a solid freshman debut.
Now with the new system being installed by Beilein, Schifino believes he can become an even more productive player this year.
“You’ve got a lot of freedom in this offense which we didn’t have last year,” the guard admitted.
For example in one zone offense Beilein put in recently, he instructs the perimeter players to simply keep running through the zone, interchanging positions until someone comes open for a three-point attempt. Only center Chaz Briggs is stationary in the paint.
Though only one example of several different offenses, Schifino says this system is a better fit for his abilities.
“Last year I had to be in a certain spot but this year you’ve got a lot of options,” he said. “I can do what I want to do and the play feeds off that.”
Even though it may seem unorganized to the casual observer, there is a method to Beilein’s madness. Last year at Richmond his team launched almost 1,000 three-point shots. By comparison, West Virginia attempted only 400.
According to the coach, utilizing the three-point shot is one way to bring Georgetown’s 7-foot monsters closer to earth.
“Thank God there’s the three-point shot,” he said. “Now you have to have a pretty good shooting team to do that and obviously we work daily on that. We just have to play a different way.”
Because his team lacks the necessary height to match up with some of the Goliaths in the Big East, Beilein will probably rely on a pesky one-three-one zone designed to push shooters farther outside and create turnovers in the paint.
“I like the one-three-one because I play up top and I can get a lot more steals,” Schifino said. “That spot requires very active, long-armed players so I think I can help us by playing there.”
Beilein’s mature approach to the game has had a calming effect on the entire Mountaineer basketball program. According to Schifino, last spring was not a fun time to be a West Virginia University basketball player.
“Every day it was something new … Bob Huggins, Drew Catlett, Dan Dakich … I didn’t think we would ever get a coach here,” said the physical education major. “Every time we thought we had a coach, a few days later we were looking for another one. After a while we just stopped talking about it.”
It was during this time that Schifino had some serious questions about remaining in the WVU program. His concern was exacerbated during Dakich’s one-week stay in Morgantown.
“I was leaving,” Schifino said matter-of-factly. “I don’t like to compare people but I like who the coach is now.”
What Beilein brings to the West Virginia program is 447 wins worth of experience and prestige. That fact is not lost among the WVU players.
Now the focus is on becoming better each practice, each scrimmage, and each game.
“We are moving forward,” Beilein said during Tuesday’s preseason press conference.
Schifino agrees: “Last year is last year and this year is this year. There’s no comparison. It’s just a whole different year.”
In its attempt to climb out of the Big East cellar, one program West Virginia could model its reclamation project after is Pitt.
As a Pittsburgh native, Schifino has a unique perspective of Pitt’s basketball renaissance. Three years ago the Panthers were near the bottom of the Big East standings before Coach Ben Howland’s personality took hold. He got rid of the players that didn’t want to play his style and he demanded that his team play unselfishly and passionately.
“When I was coming out of high school Pitt was a mediocre team,” he said. “Then once I got here my freshman year they got really good. Every time I go home people say I should have stayed home. But I’m happy here.”
Schifino sees some of the same philosophies Howland uses at Pitt being implemented by Beilein here at West Virginia.
“Last year we had selfish players,” he said. “For Pitt, everyone knew their roles and that really showed last year. I think it can happen here, too. I think we will be a surprise team, too.”
That mission begins next Monday against Latvia Select at the WVU Coliseum at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased on game day at the Mountaineer Ticket Office for just $5.
The regular season tips off on Friday, Nov. 22 at home against Delaware State.
