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SIERRA VISTA — When Schuyler Witt played in his first varsity game as a sophomore at Buena, he was a project player.
Now, in preparation for his sophomore season at Cochise College, Witt is taking control of the project, sleeping, breathing and eating basketball, morning, noon and night.
“He’s definitely going to be the leader, leader by example,” Cochise head coach Jerry Carrillo said. “He had a great spring, he really bought into what we were trying to accomplish, and he’s working hard this summer and he’s by far our most vocal (returning sophomore).”
This summer, Witt is playing in the Tucson Summer Pro League, and Carrillo was able to set him up with a coaching job at Lute Olson’s camps.
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“I’ve learned a lot about leadership there,” Witt said. “It’s a great experience and it’s going to really help me this year.”
Witt even found time to compete in the “Bust Your Britches” last Saturday, finishing third in the deadlift competition and second in rapid bench press. Witt has so bulked up his 6-foot-5 frame, it almost seems silly to ask him whether he’s tall enough to compete in the post in the college ranks.
“No, it’s all about how much fight you got in you,” Witt said. “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog. If you’re willing to push it, good things will happen.”
Witt’s summer schedule has him getting up at 5:30 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday for basketball drills in the gym. Then it’s off to the weightroom, before lunch and two hours of shooting in the evening.
“Schuyler’s role is going to be two-fold, maybe three-fold,” Carrillo said. “We played him at the 4 and 5 last year and due to his understanding of things and ability to always listen he’s able to play the 4, trail on plays and pass. His role will be to play either post. We need him to rebound, defend and score.
His biggest thing right now is just understanding how to score in traffic and recognizing how to have a better feel of how to score and on top of that, how to use his strength and athleticism to his benefit all the time.”
Witt is the lone returning post player on a Cochise team that struggled terribly in scoring in the pivot last season when the Apaches were eliminated in the semifinals of the NJCAA Region I tournament.
He’ll have 6-foot-7 Steve White from Milwaukee, a transfer from Olney Cental Community College in Illinois, where he averaged 14 points and nine rebounds as a freshman to accompany him in the post. But Witt will still be absorbing a leadership role.
“On a good team, everyone is a leader. They all have to work hard. You can’t have one without the other,” Witt said. “Whatever I’ve gotta do to win I’m going to do, whether it’s taking charges, getting defensive rebounds, playing defense and being a stopper and being a threat in the paint.”
Of the extremely talented Buena class of 2006, Witt is the only of the four playing at Cochise College. His high school teammate Thomas Helgeland transferred to New Mexico Highlands in the off-season, Roger Sharp is playing at Yavapai College and Shannon Doctor, the 5A Southern Region Player of the Year in 2006, has left Western New Mexico University after his freshman year. There is a strong possibility Doctor could transfer to Cochise, perhaps grayshirting the coming season at the Douglas Campus.
“I think we did our homework,” Carrillo said. “We’re really happy to have (Witt) and I’m doing the best I can to get Shannon Doctor in our program. He’s not attending Western New Mexico and we’d love to have him in our program.”
Witt taken care that his hours spent in the weightroom translate into success on the hardwood.
“The weights have been a big factor. You have to be explosive,” he said at Saturday’s powerlifting event at the Cold Iron Gym in Tombstone. “You can be strong in here, but that might not necessarily (transition) to being strong on the court.”
“What’s awesome about Schuyler is, he doesn’t worry about how cool he is,” Carrillo said. “He’s really established himself as a superior teammate.”
Buena Fan wrote on Jul 13, 2007 8:59 PM: