THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 28, 1995 TAG: 9512280419
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
When Virginia Tech played at William and Mary earlier this month, Hokies forward Ace Custis went scrambling for tickets. Never in his Virginia Tech career would the Custis play closer to his Eastern Shore home, and he wanted to take advantage.
``I was able to get 25,'' he said.
He could have used 100 more, which would have been nearly enough to accommodate every man, woman and child in his hometown of Eastville.
Custis starred at Northampton High and has long been a source of pride in Eastville. Lately, he's been the backbone of Virginia Tech.
Custis averaged 15.8 points and 10.5 rebounds for the Hokies last year and was a close runner-up in voting for Metro Conference player of the year. He was a model of consistency, failing to score in double figures just three times and grabbing fewer than eight rebounds just four times in 35 games.
This year, with the Hokies expected to stay in the top 25 - they're No. 21 heading into tonight's game in Roanoke against No. 22 Virginia - similar production could bring Custis national recognition. Through five games, Custis is averaging 14.2 points and 9.4 rebounds on a Tech team that is far deeper than last year's. He's averaging 29 minutes this season, down from 35 a year ago.
Custis has been mentioned as an All-American candidate, and last summer was an alternate on the World University Games team that featured Tim Duncan and Allen Iverson.
If success has fazed him, Custis didn't show it, bouncing his 15-month-old son, A.J., on his knee after the William and Mary game. Custis maintains the same even disposition off the court as he does on it, where he's a model of quiet efficiency, a career 53 percent shooter who rarely wastes a motion.
``I guess things are starting to come together now,'' he said. ``Things looked a little shaky at the beginning.''
``Shaky'' doesn't do justice to the tumultuous times Custis endured several years ago, when a series of tragedies shaped his outlook on life.
It started in 1988, when his older brother and role model, Antonio, died in a car crash on Route 13.
A half-brother died in 1991.
A little more than a year later, Custis fell asleep at the wheel of his 1980 Mustang - near the spot where Antonio died - and woke up in a ditch with a broken jaw, nose and facial lacerations. The injuries caused him to miss the second half of his senior basketball season.
Custis recovered, and headed to Tech. A month into practice, he blew out his right knee, and was lost for the season.
He returned, a brace on his knee, for the 1993-94 season, and averaged 10.9 points and 9.1 rebounds.
Custis shed the brace last season but still wasn't completely healthy. He played most of the year with a stress fracture in his right foot.
It begs the question of what Custis could do if he were healthy. He's hoping to find out this season.
``Knock on wood, I'm healthy,'' he said. ``I feel good.''
A proven inside scorer, and the best offensive rebounder since Tech began keeping the statistic nearly two decades ago, Custis is hoping to add a perimeter game to his arsenal this year.
``I've played the post so long that I really know that game,'' he said. ``I need to face up, create off the dribble.''
Coach Bill Foster thinks Custis is capable. ``If we played him at the (power forward) spot all the time, he might be more effective and his numbers might be better,'' he said. ``But down the road, playing (small forward) is going to be good for him and us both.''
Custis was encouraged by the fact that he was not the team's leading rebounder in any preseason scrimmage. Tech's depth could allow him to roam the perimeter and show off his new skills.
He didn't get a chance to show them against William and Mary, however. Custis got in foul trouble early and finished with just nine points, and 10 rebounds.
Still, Custis didn't seem to mind, basking in the company of so many friends and family members after the game. With all the troubles he's had, Custis says he's learned to live for each day, and take nothing for granted.
The proof came a couple minutes later, when Custis was asked where he was headed next. Custis had to borrow a pocket schedule to provide an answer.
``Sorry,'' he said. ``I don't ever look ahead.'' ILLUSTRATION: LANDMARK NEWS FILE
After a series of tragedies, Virginia Tech's Ace Custis has learned
to take basketball, and life, one day at a time.
by CNB