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Stahurski: Only One Man Can Play His Part

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By JOHN MARKON

When and if they get
around to casting for the lead
role in the film, The Lanny
Stahurski Story, Burt
Reynolds, Jon Voight and any
other aspiring young actor with
his eyes on the part might have
to step aside.

It just wouldn't seem right
for the Cavaliers' reserve center
to be played by anyone other
than himself.

Stahurski is a hefty, 6-9
product of Swissvale, Pa.
presently enrolled in the
Commerce School and
majoring in Marketing and
Management. He has the deep,
steady voice that you would
expect him to have and he
smiles a lot. Burt and Jon, try
as they might, could never do
him justice.

"I think I feel more relaxed
in the big games," says Lanny,
"I feel more pressure when we
play teams that aren't of our
caliber. When you play against
a Tommy Burleson there's no
pressure.

"If you do poorly, then
they'll always say 'Oh, well. He
was playing against Burleson,
but against a team like Navy
you don't have any excuses."

So it's been, then, that
Stahurski has somehow saved
the best performances of his
career here for the "big ones."
Last year his clutch last-second
play helped beat Clemson and
N.C. State and this season he
held Burleson, State's 7-4
center, to only one rebound in
a losing effort.

The man his teammates call
"Skibo" is also optimistic
about his life at the University
off the basketball court.

"Oh, yeah," he remarks,
"I'm pretty satisfied with
Virginia. I enjoy myself down
here. First year I got kind of
homesick. you know, I missed
my parents, my friends. Now I
only seem to miss my
girlfriend."

"And about that nickname
Skibo," he continued, "Barry
Parkhill gave that name to me.
First of all he started calling
me 'Ski' all the time and then
he just made it into 'Skibo' one
day. It doesn't have anything

to do with the old 'Skibo'
Lodge on Route 29."

After spiking that popular
local myth, Lanny went to
reveal that he and his
girlfriend, who, since
Christmas, is also his fiancee,
will meet again next week
when the Wahoos travel to
Pittsburgh for a game with Pitt.
Miss Flo Kirk, along with
Lanny's parents and friends, is
sure to be there.

"Before I get married,"
Lanny went on, "I'd like to get
out of school and get a job
first. You know, I'll want to be
ready."

Recruited by a number of
colleges, Lanny chose the
University only after visiting
Maryland "four or five" times
and "taking all the tests and
filling in all the forms" to gain
admittance to the Naval
Academy, where his older
brother had gone to school.

As for this season, Lanny
hasn't played too much but
readily admits that "there's
nothing I can do about it. I
guess I feel bad but I trust
Coach (Bill)Gibson's judgment.
I know he just feels that Gus
(Gerard) can do a better job.
I'll just have to try to do
better."

That pretty much ended the
conversation with Lanny
concluding his remarks by
saying that "I kind of feel
sorry that my nickname
doesn't have anything to do
with that motel, you know, the
old Skibo Lodge. I guess a
good scandal might have
helped the article."

It might have at that, but,
somehow, a "scandal" and the
Cavs' clean-cut big man just
wouldn't seem right. Two
words to describe Stahurski
right now might be "satisfied"
and "happy." He uses them a
lot, and with good reason,
when he talks about himself.