Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 2, 1994 TAG: 9403020032
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Used to be, the slightest thing could amaze Jay Purcell.
Take his third game with Virginia Tech. In a head-turning offensive performance against William and Mary, he scored four points.
"I didn't think I'd be able to score on this level at all," Purcell said. "The William and Mary game, I scored four points and I was just dreaming."
It must've been a serious fantasy, then, a few weeks later when he scored 25 points at Freedom Hall as the Hokies beat Louisville.
That was the game that more than likely put Purcell on the Metro Conference's all-freshman team, and Denny Crum never forgot it.
"We've pointed at him, tried to work real hard at not letting him get off on us and have that kind of game," Louisville's coach said. "We've done a pretty decent job, after that game.
"I don't think we even knew who he was, or had any respect for him. We certainly gained that sense."
Purcell, a senior, never did become a big scorer, but he is the Hokies' top scorer (13.2 per game) as Tech enters tonight's game against Virginia at the Roanoke Civic Center. His on-court contributions are more like his few flashes of emotion: The closer and longer you look, the more you see.
Double and triple helpings of playing time in his sophomore and junior years helped him become Tech's floor leader, even though this season he has been primarily a shooting guard. Purcell's weight-room work helped him earn a reputation as one of the most physical defenders in the conference. Endless off-season jump-shooting has resulted in a career-high 40 percent accuracy from 3-point range this season.
"You'd definitely better guard him," Crum said.
When Bill Foster took over as Tech's coach before Purcell's sophomore season, he and Purcell connected.
"He's really attentive," Foster said. "He really makes good eye contact. A coach, or anybody, likes that. [And] after that first year, he worked so hard in the summer. He's a self-starter. That's not true with every player."
Now, Purcell doesn't want things to end. Tech went 33-52 in his first three seasons; the Hokies are 16-8 and for the first time in his career have a chance to keep playing after the Metro tournament.
"I'm trying to imagine," Purcell said, thinking "NCAA regional." "You see it on TV all the time - 50-some thousand fans or whatever, in some dome, just watching people practice for an hour."
The thought brightens Purcell's eyes and widens his grin, a notable reaction because Purcell parcels out his emotions as he would $50 bills. But he won't let himself get carried away, seeming to realize this season's pleasure has come after three seasons of hard labor.
"I'm the type of person that keeps a lot of stuff inside. But it hurt, a lot," he said of the losing seasons. "You know you're out there playing, you're one of the main players playing 38 minutes, and a lot of people [are] saying, `If I'd gotten these minutes, maybe we'd be doing this and that.'
"It may bother me at first, but I can step up to another level. I can always fight, and work hard, and try to do something to come out of the hole."
He still keeps himself at least partially under wraps. Somewhere around the eighth grade, Purcell said, he went from talkative to shy, and even now he admits he doesn't command the Hokies verbally as often as he should.
Yet watch closely and you might see a spark. Razzed by Tulane fans after airballing a 3-point attempt earlier this season, Purcell made one and backpedaled downcourt wagging his tongue at the crowd. He can throw a mean eye or a snippy phrase at an official, or go face-to-face with an opponent.
"It's almost like I'm two different people," he said. "I'm a totally different person on the court. I guess that's where the feistiness comes out. I guess I got that from my dad. Everybody on the team always jokes with me about that. My dad's a competitor at anything."
The driven Purcell had led Blacksburg High School to a 40-10 record in his last two seasons and said he thought the Hokies would be winners in his freshman year. They went 13-16. Next season, he thought, winners for sure. Personnel losses contributed to a 10-18 record. Well, maybe next season. Same record again.
Before this season, Purcell thought the off-season closeness of the team would bring a winning record. Finally, he was right.
"I'm pretty sure we're friends to the end, now," he said.
by CNB