Post by nashvillestag on Feb 12, 2014 12:28:18 GMT -5
Perhaps the reason he has gotten the chance is not a good one, but you have to feel good for Steve Johnston for what he has been able to do on the basketball court in the past few games. Certainly it proves he is a hard worker and obviously deserves the opportunity he has been getting. But that led me to thinking about the walk on history of the program. Has there been any players in the past that have made any mark at all in performance? The most recent guy to play some (although limited) important minutes was Gary Martin a couple of years ago when injuries depleated the Stag's backcourt. As a matter of fact I recall a moment in the G. Mason NIT game in 2010 when Cooley, out of desperation, inserted Gary for a few minutes when they were basically down 25-27 points, and that is where the turnaround started that night. Going back further, wasn't Alvin Carter originally a walk on? And Walsh (can't remember his first name) who played for TOT? Back in the 90s, I remember a walk on who had basically one night in the sun with a great performance. I think his name was Tim Schwartz and I remember that Cormier played him out of desperation (injuries to others) and if I am not mistaken I believe he scored something like 25 points in a victory. And I also remember a friend commenting after the game that "a star is born"! Unfortunately however not much happened after that game for him, but certainly he would have a memory that would last for the rest of his life. Going back further I really can't think of any others at the moment. Who can we add to this list?
Nash, I thought Tim Schwartz had many good games over a 2-3 year period, and became a part time starter. Are we talking about the same player ..... 6-7, thin, white, Black hair.
Plansky also played some key minutes for us inthe 80's and I think started a few games
Last Edit: Feb 12, 2014 12:45:11 GMT -5 by JoeStag
Nash, I thought Tim Schwartz had many good games over a 2-3 year period, and became a part time starter. Are we talking about the same player ..... 6-7, thin, white, Black hair.
Plansky also played some key minutes for us inthe 80's and I think started a few games
Yeah JS we are talking about the same player. You are probably right and I am not giving him enough credit. I guess the one outstanding game stuck out in my mind relative to any further successes. Any records in Stag history go back that far?
Post by reindeerfan on Feb 12, 2014 13:55:25 GMT -5
My memory may not be perfect, but here's what I recall. Tim Schwartz always believed he was a D1 Talent. I believe he originally attended Marist, and tried to walk on, and the next year switched to Fairfield because he believed his chances to play there were better. He made the team as a walk on and played some including a 20 point game as a sophomore and was awarded a scholarship his junior and senior years. I also believe he wanted to return for a 5th year but did not when his scholarship was not renewed. He had hoped to move into coaching. Tim was tall and very thin. While he lacked bulk he was an excellent three point shooter.
Last Edit: Feb 12, 2014 13:59:05 GMT -5 by reindeerfan
Nash, I thought Tim Schwartz had many good games over a 2-3 year period, and became a part time starter. Are we talking about the same player ..... 6-7, thin, white, Black hair.
Plansky also played some key minutes for us inthe 80's and I think started a few games
Yeah JS we are talking about the same player. You are probably right and I am not giving him enough credit. I guess the one outstanding game stuck out in my mind relative to any further successes. Any records in Stag history go back that far?
Nash - that would be a research project, when I have time I will get the numbers for Swartz and any other notable walk-on's I can recall.
Post by ctghostman on Feb 12, 2014 17:12:32 GMT -5
Plansky was a walk-on who was put on scholarship for his last three years. Pat Murphy was my classmate also. He walked on and got a scholarship for his sophomore year. Plansky was a great shooter and sound fundamentally. He was adept at getting the bigs the ball down low. He was slow as molasses though. He started a bit senior year after they moved Kevin George to the two.
My memory may not be perfect, but here's what I recall. Tim Schwartz always believed he was a D1 Talent. I believe he originally attended Marist, and tried to walk on, and the next year switched to Fairfield because he believed his chances to play there were better. He made the team as a walk on and played some including a 20 point game as a sophomore and was awarded a scholarship his junior and senior years. I also believe he wanted to return for a 5th year but did not when his scholarship was not renewed. He had hoped to move into coaching. Tim was tall and very thin. While he lacked bulk he was an excellent three point shooter.
RF, I believe Schwartz started out at Marquette rather than Marist.
Thanks Danny, you're spot on. From the 1992 media guide:
After transferring from Marquette, where he didn't play basketball, Schwartz made the team as a walk-on. He came off the bench to lead the stags to a victory over Manhattan, scoring 15 points and 16 rebounds in an 88-86 final. For this season he had a .480 field goal percentage and shot 85% from the line, playing in 17 games.
Last Edit: Feb 12, 2014 21:46:14 GMT -5 by reindeerfan
I remember him being decent. In particular, he was a little better rebounder than you would've thought.
On the other side of the coin - I remember one of my friends used to freak out every time he'd shoot a 3 - but, he'd make just enough that the end result wasn't as bad you expected. For a comparison - think what you feel each time Barrow shoots a 3
Last Edit: Feb 12, 2014 22:25:11 GMT -5 by typhaon
Post by reindeerfan on Feb 12, 2014 23:20:47 GMT -5
I believe Swartz had around a .321 three point shooting percentage which really wasn't all that bad. Its about the same as Needham's which I think was around .330. Given the talent level that team had I thought Swartz was one of our better players. He was very hot in a few games and his hot shooting had everything to do with those wins. Despite being very thin he was also a decent rebounder. He was quite tall.
Last Edit: Feb 13, 2014 0:22:35 GMT -5 by reindeerfan
Post by reindeerfan on Feb 12, 2014 23:24:31 GMT -5
Notable Walk-on’s in Fairfield history
Here's some data I threw together on some of the more notable walk-on's in Fairfield history. If I am missing some significant walk on's by all means respond to my post and I research their statistics. These are the players I could think of......
Points Years Played Player Name - Comments 388, 1990-1993 Tim Swartz – probably the all time points leader for a walk on Tim played for 3 seasons and appeared in 72 games. 187, 2001-2006 Alvin Carter – Alvin Redshirted his freshman year and became a scholarship player. His status as a “walk-on” is a little unusual as he redshirted as a freshman and I believe received 4 years of basketball scholarships from Fairfield. Alvin appeared in 96 games, 143 rebounds and 187 career points 72, 1987-1992 Mike Plansky is probably among the all time leaders in games played as a walkon. He appeared in 63 games and scored 72 points. 34, 1994-1997 Brandon Jubrey – hit a three point shot versus Iona in Maac tournament in Albany that I believe led to overtime, appeared in 28 games 21, 2000-2002 Keith Urgo – Keith appeared in 27 games and scored 21 points. 2, 2006-2008 Bajda, Joe – Joe had 2 career points 1, 1969? James Fitzpatrick – I believe he walked on in the late 60’s or appeared in a game while managing the team. He scored 1 or 2 points. Unfortunately during that era stats were only kept on the top 11 scorers per year, so points on walk-on’s are not available. Two points were scored in 1969 by non scholarship players, and 16 points were scored in 1968 by walk-ons. 0, 1988 Pat Murphy – a walk-on in 1988 who appeared in 4 games and did not score.
According to Statsheet Steve Johnston has appeared in 25 games and scored 71 points
Last Edit: Feb 12, 2014 23:40:10 GMT -5 by reindeerfan
I believe Alvin Carter was promised a scholarship before attending Fairfield. But since we did not have one, he walked on and redshirted that 1st year. I think he was also rated high by Hoopscoop (top 300).
The interesting thing about him is that he kinda came in as a 3 player package with Kudjo Sogadzi and Dewitt Maxwell. All 3 played on a great NJ Roadrunner AAU team with Randy Foye (NBA) and 6-10 Fergusan, who both went to Villanova. I think Jerry Hobbie had strong connections with the Roadrunner coach, Sandy Pyonin. Probably was not a good 3 player deal..... One starter, one backup and one bench player