Sunday, February 03, 2008
Lewis Witcher turns in a gutsy effort to lift Tech
Aaron McFarling
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BLACKSBURG -- Lewis Witcher sat in his familiar spot on the bench, leaning forward. A crowd of nearly 10,000 was on its feet at Cassell Coliseum as overtime ticked away, but there was no bigger fan of the Virginia Tech players on that floor than Witcher. He wanted this. Oh, man, how he wanted this.
When was the last time he felt this good? Was it that UNC Asheville game, when he scored a season-high 11 points? Maybe, but who really cares about wins over UNC Asheville?
No, better go back further, to last season, to that win at North Carolina. Yes, that was a big one. And Witcher, the two-time Timesland player of the year from Franklin County High School, was a part of it.
Tech's forgotten man didn't play a single minute of overtime Saturday, but he was without question a part of this 72-65 win over Virginia.
In fact, he was the biggest part. There's no win without Witcher. There's no overtime, either.
It was Witcher who broke UVa's big run early in the second half, getting an offensive rebound and putting it back in to shut down an 11-0 Cavaliers surge. It was Witcher who went hard to the hoop two possessions later, drawing a foul and hitting both free throws. It was Witcher who slammed home that dunk with 2:34 remaining in regulation, stirring the crowd and bringing the Hokies to within 50-49.
Witcher finished with 10 points, four rebounds (all offensive) and a steal and no turnovers. This from a guy who scored two points in Tech's previous seven games combined.
Therein lies the biggest difference between Tech and UVa right now. While the Cavaliers are shuffling players in and out, trying to find somebody other than Sean Singletary who can deliver a jolt, the Hokies don't have enough minutes to go around for their emerging post players.
"If I had to give a game ball, without a doubt, Lewis Witcher," Tech coach Seth Greenberg said after the Hokies completed the season sweep of their rivals and improved to 5-3 in the ACC. "He was terrific."
Terrific. Sounds nice, doesn't it? And such praise brings that familiar smile back to Witcher's face. But Witcher would settle for a less-emphatic adjective: useful.
The Hokies are putting together something special again this season, and Witcher just wants to contribute. A year after starting 20 games, the sophomore forward has been elbowed aside by a pair of talented freshmen -- Jeff Allen and J.T. Thompson -- so much so that it was realistic to think we wouldn't see a performance like Saturday's again.
Witcher's minutes have dwindled since ACC play started. Two minutes here. Four there. It got so bleak that even the suspension of Allen, Tech's regular starter at power forward, didn't rip him from the bench. He played a combined eight minutes in the two games Allen sat.
"It's hard," Witcher said. "But there's a point where you've just got to keep yourself up and keep yourself motivated to still play. You never know. One game it might be somebody else's turn to do something well, then the next game might be your turn. You've just got to keep yourself motivated and upbeat."
That's rarely been a problem for Witcher, a model student with an ebullient personality. But even he began to wonder what his role was -- or even if he had one at all outside of practice.
"My confidence was down a little bit," he said. "I was kind of struggling a little bit with not playing as much. But I never gave up. I always worked hard and everything in practice. I knew that it would come up one day that they needed me, and luckily today I got the chance to really show what I could do."
Greenberg said he's noticed a different Witcher in practice lately. A bouncier Witcher. A more instinctive Witcher. And it was that Witcher who came rushing out of the tunnel a little after noon Saturday.
"I felt really good coming into the game," Witcher said. "In warm-ups and stuff, I'm like, 'man, I feel really good. I'm hoping I get a chance today to go out and show what I can do. I think today might be a good day.' "
He smiled.
"I didn't really expect all this," he said.
When it was over, assistant coach James Johnson pulled Witcher close and whispered in his ear for a good 45 seconds. Witcher said later that Johnson simply told him how proud he was, how it looked like all the hard work in practice was finally being rewarded.
A classy move by the coach. But Johnson could have condensed his comments to three words -- words all the Tech fans can say along with him:
Welcome back, Lewis.
