Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 8, 1994                   TAG: 9403080030
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

TECH'S CUSTIS ON METRO ROOKIE TEAM

"I remember a time last year during rehabilitation where I just wanted to give up and call my basketball career to an end," said Custis, who tore knee ligaments during the 1992-93 preseason. "My mother told me, `Don't give up.' "

He didn't, and on Monday the 6-foot-7 forward was selected to the Metro Conference all-freshman team after averaging 10.7 points and nine rebounds, breaking the Tech freshman record for rebounds in a season and helping the Hokies to a 17-9 regular-season record.

Custis was listed on 45 of the 46 ballots cast by league coaches and by the Metro Conference Sportswriters and Broadcasters Association, and he became the second Hokie in two seasons to make the all-freshman team. Sophomore Shawn Smith was honored last year, and senior guard Jay Purcell made the 1990-91 team.

Louisville point guard DeJuan Wheat and Tulane forward Jerald Honeycutt were unanimous rookie-team choices. Cardinals forward Jason Osborne received 43 votes, and Tulane forward Rayshard Allen got 26 to fill out the team.

The league's freshman of the year, expected to be either Wheat or Honeycutt, will be announced Thursday.

The knee injury wasn't Custis' only setback. As a senior at Northampton High School, he wrecked his car, leaving him with a broken jaw and nose and causing him to miss a chunk of the season.

"It made me take education a lot more seriously," said Custis, who is from Eastville. "You could step on the court, and that could be your last game. After I had my injuries, my mother told me, `Basketball can't take you but so far. Just use it to take you as far as you can.' "

Custis' defense and rebounding have boosted the Hokies - he was Tech's game-high rebounder 19 times this year - but Tech coach Bill Foster also mentions Custis' passing. Custis had 59 assists, third on the team to guards Purcell and Shawn Good. Foster said Tech's offense against presses and zones sometimes calls for Custis to be the "pivotal passer."

Custis enjoys that, noting he played guard in middle school and never had a growth spurt to destroy his ball-handling and agility.

"In high school, my coach told me I was the man on the court, I had control of the game," said Custis, who was averaging 28 points per game before his car wreck. "He told me, `Stop giving the ball up so much.' [But] it's just a bad feeling when I shoot the ball and I know someone's open."