ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, February 5, 1996 TAG: 9602050102
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DAMON WATLINGTON may not get the headlines of Ace Custis, but he gets the job done for Virginia Tech. Just ask his coaches and his teammates.
Ask somebody on the street to name a player for the nation's 13th-ranked basketball team, Virginia Tech.
Ace Custis, no doubt, would roll off most tongues first.
The next most likely name? How about a Shawn, Smith or Good?
And, simply because of the sheer numbers, a Jackson - Travis, Jim or David - probably would be the next-best bet.
Wait a second here. What about Damon Watlington? What about the guy who is Tech's top outside shooting threat? The guy who is the Hokies' best perimeter defender? What about that guy?
``That stuff doesn't bother me,'' said Watlington, when asked if he felt a tad underappreciated. ``I've never been one to want the spotlight on me. I'm not looking for a lot of publicity.
``Besides, I've never liked talking in front of a bunch of people. That stuff makes me kind of nervous. I could probably do without any [media] interviews. Now I don't mind doing 'em, but it doesn't bother me if I don't.''
If Damon Watlington ever had to guard a live microphone, he'd never get off the bench. Let it be said the Hokies' soft-spoken senior guard prefers to let his play take care of his talking.
On both ends of the basketball court, Watlington is your basic silent assassin. If he doesn't bomb you to death on offense with his deft outside shooting stroke, he's a lock to wear your best scoring guard like a glove on defense. And, if all else fails, he'll just outwork you.
And when Watlington's done, he will offer no flashy postgame one-liners, no braggadocio.
``Damon is a quiet kid who just goes about the business at hand,'' said Bill Foster, Tech's head coach. ``It's easy to sort of take Damon for granted because he comes to work every day, whether it be a game or practice.
``You know, every guy has a practice when you can tell, as a coach, that he just doesn't have it in gear. But I've never seen `Wat' with one of those. Every time he comes and laces it up, he doesn't know but one speed, and that's full-ticket.''
Thanks in large part to the guy known as ``D Wat,'' the Hokies (16-2) likely won't be saying, ``Do what?'' when NCAA Tournament bids are doled out on March 10.
Outside of Custis, Watlington is arguably Tech's most valuable player. The 6-foot-2 guard from Reidsville, N.C., leads the Atlantic 10 Conference and ranks among the nation's best in 3-point shooting (45.6 percent).
Watlington's 13-point scoring average is trumped only by Custis' 14.7 norm. He has led Tech in scoring six times in 18 games, second again to Custis' eight.
More importantly, the iron-lunged Watlington is Tech's No.1 defensive stopper. He draws the opposition's top backcourt scoring card every game. More times than not, Watlington will take that card and bury it back in the deck.
``The team depends on me to shut down the other team's No.1 scorer most of the time,'' Watlington said. ``That puts pressure on me, but I look forward to it. I've got pride ... and I don't like people scoring on me.''
Anywhere or anytime. Chris Ferguson, a Tech assistant coach, said Watlington's defensive prowess is such that teammates ``razz Damon when they score on him in practice.''
``He likes the challenge of playing tough defense, and the guys know he likes it,'' Ferguson said. ``Last year, he was voted by his teammates as the best defensive player on the team, and I'll be shocked if he doesn't get that award again this year.
``The guy's one of the best defensive players I've ever seen in college basketball. You can't pick the guy, because he'll just bounce off you like a pinball.''
Just ask Custis. He's seen Watlington's practice act too many times.
``I'm sure glad I don't have to see him in a real game,'' Custis said. ``The guy can play all night. He never gets tired. He can defend anybody, even a post guy inside. Sometimes in practice he gets switched off on me and he fights me hard down low. The guy's a real pest.''
In a game in which everybody looks at offensive statistics, Ferguson said Watlington's eyes usually are focused elsewhere.
``The other night against UNC Greensboro,'' Ferguson said in reference to a 74-48 Tech victory, ``Damon was guarding [Scott] Hartzell, one of the leading 3-point shooters in the country. When Damon came in at halftime, the first thing he wanted to know was: `How many has he got on me?'
``Most times, people want to know how many points they've got. But he wants to know how many his opponent has scored, which is different.''
Different aptly sums up Watlington's game, said Bobby Hussey, another Tech assistant coach.
``If you find a guy who can shoot it, he can't play defense,'' Hussey said. ``And if you find a guy who can play defense, he can't shoot it.
``Well, Damon can do both. And let me tell you, that's a rare package. Guys like him just don't come down the street every day.''
After the staff checked out Watlington at Reidsville High School, it didn't take Tech long to get him on the road to Blacksburg.
``Phil Ford [a North Carolina assistant and former Tar Heels star] and UNC Charlotte both saw him and liked him,'' Ferguson said. ``But at that time they didn't need his position, so they didn't recruit him.
``As soon as we saw him, it was done. We knew we'd make a concrete offer. We were just hoping we could get him.''
Like most North Carolina high school stars, Watlington's lifelong dream was to be a Tar Heel.
With no offer from UNC, though, it didn't take long for Watlington to pick Tech over his other suitors, James Madison, UNC Wilmington and UNC Greensboro.
``I liked the fact I was coming in with a bunch of other freshmen,'' Watlington said. ``Plus, they told me I'd have a pretty good chance at playing early.''
Watlington started nine games as a freshman, alternating with the older, stronger Good. He spent most of his sophomore year as the No.3 guard behind ironman Jay Purcell and Good.
Last season, Watlington grew up. Damon officially became a demon, ranking third on Tech's 25-10 NIT championship team in scoring (13.8) and averaging 37 minutes a game. In one stretch, he scored 20 or more points in five consecutive games. The last Hokie who did that before Watlington now draws a paycheck in the NBA - the Miami Heat's Bimbo Coles.
Watlington's rising star wouldn't surprise Coles, Ferguson said.
``I remember Bimbo was in Blacksburg one day for a football game,'' Ferguson said. ``Bimbo came over to the gym and played some pickup ball and Damon was playing.
``I can still recall Bimbo coming off that floor and saying, `Hey, I don't know what that guy's name is, but that guy from North Carolina, man, he's quicker than I am.'''
Figures. Just another guy who didn't know Watlington's name.
``That's OK,'' Watlington said. ``It doesn't bother me. I know what I can do, and that's all that counts.''
LENGTH: Long : 132 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN KIM/Staff. Virginia Tech guard Damon Watlington,by CNBshown driving against a Dayton defender, says, ``I've never been one
to want the spotlight on me. I'm not looking for a lot of
publicity.'' He leads the Atlantic 10 Conference and ranks among the
nation's best in 3-point shooting. color. KEYWORDS: BASKETBALL