Big Man Scoring
November 22, 2004 10:46 AM | General
November 22, 2004
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia center D’or Fischer did something last Saturday night against St. Peter’s that very few Mountaineer big men have ever done in a basketball game: score at least 20 points. The 6-foot-11 center produced a career-high 24 points to lead the Mountaineers to an 82-70 victory over the Peacocks.
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| D'or Fischer's 24 points last Saturday against St. Peter's represents a career high.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
According to St. Peter’s coach Bob Leckie, Fischer was free to shoot away on Saturday. “The game plan was to play off of him and they use him a lot to reverse the ball,” said Leckie. “If (Kevin) Pittsnogle was playing that position we would definitely have to respect him and go out for the shot. We wanted Fischer to shoot the ball and he shot it well.”
D’or made 11 of 13 field goal attempts and two of three from the free-throw line for his team-high 24 points.
“He can really shoot it and most people don’t want their 7-foot guy shooting 15 footers but he is as good as anyone we have on the team,” West Virginia coach John Beilein said. “There is one particular cut that opens him up at times and he’s just very good at knocking that shot down. We work on it endlessly with him as well."
His 24 points makes Fischer just the fifth different player in school history standing 6-feet-11 or taller to ever tally more than 20 points in a basketball game. And it matched Mike Heitz’ 24 points scored three different times as the third-most points ever scored by a WVU big man.
“I just think he’s bigger and longer inside this year,” Beilein said of Fischer. “He’s carrying some extra weight and that fatigues him. But I like the way he’s keeping the ball up and finishing around the basket when he’s in traffic. A year ago he might have thrown a couple of those back out.”
Six-foot-11 teammate Kevin Pittsnogle has scored at least 20 points in a game four times, producing a career-high 26 points against Rutgers as a freshman in 2003.
Prior to that, 6-foot-11 Gordon Malone was the last WVU big man to reach 20 points in a game in 1997. He also scored a career-high 28 points against Boston College that season. Malone’s 28 represents the most points ever scored by a player standing 6-feet-11 or taller. He produced eight 20-point games during his brief two-year career from 1995-97.
Seven-foot-one Heitz was the first WVU big man to reach 20 points in a game and had 10 20-point games for his career – the most by any Mountaineer player standing 6-feet-11 or taller. Heitz scored a career-high 24 points three times against Penn State (1971), Pitt and William & Mary (1972).
Six-foot-11 Junius Lewis is the only other big man to reach 20 points, doing it three times during a career spanning from 1976-79. The Richmond native’s career high was 23 points against St. Francis, N.Y., on Feb. 18, 1978.
Fischer’s effort was just the 26th time a Mountaineer player standing 6-feet-11 or taller has scored 20 points in a game.
West Virginia has had just 13 players standing 6-feet-11 or taller in school history. The first was Parkersburg’s Dave Duncan, a member of the 1961 West Virginia team.
The Mountaineers have had four players standing 7-feet or taller on its roster: 7-foot-1 Mike Heitz, 7-foot-1 Lyle Shannon (1985-87), 7-foot-1 Ales Chan (2000-02) and now 7-foot Luke Bonner (2004-05).
Beilein’s 2004-05 team is just the second in school history to have three players standing 6-feet-11 or taller on the same roster. In 1997 Gale Catlett had three 6-feet-11 players in Gordon Malone, Sandro Varajao and Brian Lewin.
This year’s Mountaineer team has 7-foot Bonner and 6-foot-11 Fischer and Pittsnogle.
Here is West Virginia’s all-time roster of players standing 6-feet-11 or taller:
The Mountaineers (1-0) return to action on Wednesday night at Duquesne (1-3) in Pittsburgh. Game time is 7:05 pm.
