Searching For Respect
December 16, 2003 02:21 PM | General
I came across an interesting list presented to me by the Sports Communications Office. The list was comprised of the school’s top double-figurer scorers in men’s basketball. Right off the bat, one would think Jerry West is first on this list but that isn’t the case.
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| Despite being the Big East's top returning scorer, Tony says Drew Schifino still gets no respect. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
Remember, West only played three years. The school’s top double-figure scorer is none other than forward Chris Brooks, who scored double figures in 92 career games. Jerry West was second with 89, followed by early-1980s-guard Greg Jones (87), forward P.G. Greene (86) and forward Damian Owens (86).
Working my way down the list I came across Drew Schifino, who already has 50 career double-figure games in just two-plus years at WVU. Schifino will be playing his 64th career game Wednesday night against IUPUI and he needs just 18 points to become West Virginia’s 40th 1,000-point scorer.
That’s pretty remarkable when you consider the competition Schifino has faced playing in the Big East.
In my humble opinion, I don’t believe Schifino gets the recognition he deserves mainly because he doesn’t play in a big media market and his team hasn’t been on television as much as others.
He was the leading returning scorer in the Big East Conference and yet he didn’t make either of the all-Big East preseason teams.
Drew is the best scorer WVU has produced since Greg Jones played in the early 1980s. Schifino just puts points up in bunches. Take the Duquesne game last Saturday for example. His performance at the end of that game was nothing short of spectacular. He scored 11 straight points at the end of the game was pretty significant stuff and I think a lot of people just shrug their shoulders because they’re so used to seeing that.
Think about it, that’s pretty tough to do to score 11 straight points in college basketball game, particularly a closely contested game going down to the wire. Duquesne knew he was going to get the ball and yet they still couldn’t stop him.
Drew Schifino is quite a basketball player and I hope others around the East will take notice of him soon. With continued fine play, maybe Drew can force the issue.
Go back a few years and look at West Virginia’s non-conference schedules and you will be hard-pressed to find an early season non-conference slate with as many difficult games. First off, West Virginia has played four of its first six games away from the WVU Coliseum including the season opener at James Madison.
Second, this schedule is riddled with “trap games” like Northeastern, Saint Louis, George Washington and tomorrow’s game against IUPUI.
IUPUI nearly knocked off No. 25 Dayton last Saturday and comes into Wednesday night’s game with a 4-2 record. The Jags don’t start a player taller than 6-feet-6. Last year IUPUI won 20 games and represented the Mid-Continent Conference in the NCAA tournament.
What Coach Beilein is trying to do is to build this program for future success. He came into this year believing the Mountaineers must play a demanding non-conference schedule; not a ridiculously easy and not a ridiculously difficult non-conference schedule.
He has been able to achieve that goal. Playing those two games in the BB&T Classic were very valuable, playing Saint Louis in Charleston and the games coming up this week against IUPUI and Florida will help his team become more prepared for the Big East.
I think the method to his madness is right on and he is getting his team ready in a lot of different ways.
John Beilein hates to lose but he also realizes that some of the greatest benefits a team can gain come from its losses. He approaches it that way: never get too high after a big win and never get too low after losses.
One final thought about Beilein’s scheduling philosophy: I like the variety he brings to the table. So far, West Virginia has faced up-and-down athletic teams like Northeastern and George Washington, a half-court team like Saint Louis and a big and talented team like Maryland.
Wednesday West Virginia faces another small and athletic team in IUPUI before taking on a big and powerful lineup in No. 15 Florida on Saturday.
This smorgasbord of styles should be extremely beneficial when Big East play opens next month. Staying at home and beating bad teams does not get a team ready for the rigors of the league play. Being forced to rally from double-digit deficits and learning how to win in overtime is invaluable for this youthful squad.
That being said, I would like to be able to call a blowout sometime soon. Tomorrow night or Saturday night would be fine.
Remember to bring a non-perishable food item to Wednesday’s game and receive a coupon for a free ticket to a future Mountaineer game.
See you next time.
