Year No Pos Hgt Wgt Cl Ltr Hometown 72-73 12 G 6-0 160 Fr * Tallahassee 73-74 12 G 6-0 160 So * Tallahassee 74-75 12 G 6-0 160 Jr * Tallahassee
| Cyril Stitt |
Full Name: Cyril Stitt
Died: June 3, 2012, Tallahassee, Fla.
School: Florida High School in Tallahassee, Florida
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| FSU Career |
| Basketball | |
Year No Pos Hgt Wgt Cl Ltr Hometown 72-73 12 G 6-0 160 Fr * Tallahassee 73-74 12 G 6-0 160 So * Tallahassee 74-75 12 G 6-0 160 Jr * Tallahassee |
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| Comments |
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From the Tallahassee Democrat June 5, 2012 By Gerald Ensley, Senior Staff Writer The perfect epitaph: 'Cyril was a Seminole'
Coach Hugh Durham stacked one side with the returnees from the team that had lost to UCLA in the national championship game six months before. The other side was two reserves and three new freshmen — Greg Grady, Zach Perkins and Cyril Stitt. The freshmen went off. "Stitt was shooting jumpers from half-court, butter-soft rainbows, dropping like water; Zach was killing them on the fast break; I was working the low post," said Grady, a longtime Tallahassee parks and recreation supervisor. "We were scoring as if we were the varsity. Durham was so (angry). He was hollering and screaming." So instead of a quick scrimmage, play continued for nearly 2 1/2 hours. Finally, the returning veterans established the upper hand and Durham was satisfied. But notice had been served. The freshmen could play. "As freshmen, you could have put Greg, Cyril and me on a team with yourself and your next-door neighbor and we would have beat just about any junior college team in the nation," said Perkins, a longtime truck driver in Atlanta. "I really felt Cyril never got the recognition he should. I've never seen many people shoot as well as he did from long range." Stitt, 57, died Sunday in a house fire - more than three decades after he played basketball for FSU (1973-1975). Separated from his wife of 28 years, and partially paralyzed from a stroke two years ago, Stitt was living alone in a two-bedroom apartment on Fifth Avenue. Stitt, the father of two adult daughters, did not smoke, and the fire is still being investigated by the state fire marshal. "Our whole organization is basically in shock," said Chris May, general manager of the FSU post office, where Stitt was a longtime clerk before his stroke. "Cyril was a great guy. He was a hard worker, had a great disposition, liked to tell jokes. He was liked by everyone. We were sad when he had to leave (his job)." I knew Stitt, too. Back in the 1980s, we frequently played basketball on the outdoor courts at his alma mater, Florida High. All sorts of good talent passed through those games, but it always upped the ante to play against a former FSU basketball player. I don't necessarily remember Stitt's shot being "butter-soft." But I remember he wasn't afraid to jack it up from anywhere on the court. In high school, he once made a shot from half-court near the scorer's table: "He wanted me to paint a circle where he shot it," longtime Florida High coach Bob Albertson recalled with a chuckle. Mainly, I recall that Stitt always remembered my name, even though I had just begun my newspaper career and had never interviewed him. I'd run into him around town or at FSU basketball games, and he was always quick with a smile and "Hey, Ensley, what's up?" Now I suspect he remembered my name because I remembered his. Stitt was a star at Florida High. As a senior, 1971-72, he led the Big Bend in scoring with an average of more than 28 points a game. "He was a heck of a high-school player," Albertson said. "He was not a ball hog; he just did what came naturally." Albertson admits not many schools tried to recruit the skinny 6-footer. But Durham gave him a scholarship — and a seat on the bench. Stitt played 15 games and scored 28 points as a Seminole, with almost all those games (12) and points (24) coming in his junior season during mop-up work of games already won. As a senior, he left the team and eventually school without completing his degree. Grady and Perkins concede Stitt's skills were "raw" and "unpolished," but still believe Durham should have played Stitt more. They say Durham used Stitt in practices to emulate the opposing team's leading shooter and "He was literally unstoppable," Grady said. "He had an incredibly quick release (with his shot)." Nearly 40 years later, Durham doesn't remember any specific reasons Stitt didn't play - though FSU was loaded with talent at guard in those days. What he does remember is Stitt was happy to be on the team. "What I remember is he wanted to be a Seminole, we signed him and he was always loyal," said Durham, who lives in Jacksonville. "A lot of guys probably don't play as much as they think they should. But when all is said and done, Cyril was a Seminole. There is a lot to be said for dreaming and having loyalty." Certainly, Stitt never lost his affection for FSU. He will be buried Friday in a garnet and gold coffin, adorned with yellow and white flowers: "He was just so proud to be a Seminole," said his wife, Linda Stitt, who now lives in Orlando. But his buddies say he always ached about not succeeding as a college player. Perkins remembers Stitt telling him eight years ago he wasn't going to attend any more of FSU's on-court reunions of former players. "He said it was too emotional; though he was part of (the program), there were people whispering, 'It's just Stitt; he didn't really play,' " Perkins said. "That hurt Cyril so much." Stitt was a kind soul. He fed the neighborhood cats and, before his stroke, taught kids how to shoot a jump shot on the community center court next to his apartment complex. His wife remembers his rushing home one day to grab a pair of tennis shoes to give to a barefoot homeless man on the street. In recent years, he became very spiritual. He often called Perkins, son of a pastor, to talk about religion and the Bible - the voicemail message on his cell phone says: "This is Cyril. Be at peace, remember Jesus said before he left, love one another." Yet behind his spirituality and cheerfulness, friends believe there lingered a forever disappointment about his basketball career.
"The beauty - and sometimes the fault - of Stitt was that he could
forgive," Grady said. "Although he was strong and forgiving, I think life
broke his heart. He was extremely talented, but never got the opportunity
to use his gift." |
| FSU Statistics |
| Basketball |
--3 Point--- ----REBOUNDS-----
Year GP GS Min FGM FGA PCT FGM FGA PCT FTM FTA PCT PTS AVG OFF DEF TOT AVG PF DQ AST TO BLK STL
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72-73 2 0 2 7 .286 .000 0 0 .000 4 2.0 2 1.0 0 0 0
73-74 1 0 3 0 0 .000 .000 0 0 .000 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0
74-75 12 0 33 12 26 .462 .000 0 1 .000 24 2.0 2 0.2 2 0 0
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Tot 15 0 36 14 33 .424 0 0 .000 0 1 .000 28 1.9 0 0 4 0.3 2 0 0 0 0 0
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| Basketball |
Game Statistics 1972-73 3 Point --REBOUNDS-- Date Opponent GP GS Min FGM FGA FGM FGA FTM FTA PTS OFF DEF TOT PF AST TO BLK STL -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Feb 10 Cincinnati 1 7 2 6 0 0 4 1 0 0 Feb 23 South Alabama 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals 2 0 10 2 7 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1973-74 3 Point --REBOUNDS-- Date Opponent GP GS Min FGM FGA FGM FGA FTM FTA PTS OFF DEF TOT PF AST TO BLK STL -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Feb 23 South Alabama 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1974-75 3 Point --REBOUNDS-- Date Opponent GP GS Min FGM FGA FGM FGA FTM FTA PTS OFF DEF TOT PF AST TO BLK STL -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dec 7 Marshall 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dec 18 Cal St-Bakersfield 1 3 1 2 0 1 2 0 0 0 Jan 4 Eastern Kentucky 1 3 1 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 Jan 7 Wisconsin-Milwaukee 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Jan 11 Biscayne 1 3 1 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 Jan 18 Hofstra 1 3 2 3 0 0 4 0 0 0 Jan 27 New Mexico 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Feb 1 UT-Chattanooga 1 3 2 4 0 0 4 0 0 0 Feb 9 Georgia Southern 1 3 2 2 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 Feb 13 Georgia State 1 2 1 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 Feb 22 Georgia Southern 1 6 2 7 0 0 4 2 1 0 Feb 24 Mercer 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals 12 0 32 12 26 0 0 0 1 24 0 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 |
