North Carolina State University Athletics
Will Roach: "I missed it too much."
2/26/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 26, 2005
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH - Will Roach wasn't sure if he would get into another basketball game at NC State. But then that's not why he returned to the Wolfpack.
He rejoined the team back in January, when Herb Sendek was desperately trying to find 10 healthy players to conduct practice. Roach, a former walk-on from Raleigh's Broughton High School, jumped at the opportunity to return to the roster, even though he knew from the outset that his playing time would be non-existent.
But Saturday was unusual. Before the game, Sendek asked Roach to assess the team, give him some thoughts on its personality and mindset. Who better to ask than someone who has been around for nearly five years?
Then, with the Wolfpack en route to a 74-54 victory, the crowd at the RBC Center started chanting "Will Roach, Will Roach."
When freshman Andrew Brackman committed a foul with 1:23 remaining, Sendek signaled for both Roach and the team's other walk-on from Broughton, Braxton Albritten, to get in the game, along with senior forward Levi Watkins, who has been out for since Feb. 1 with a sprained medial collateral ligament.
The crowd went nuts, and ratcheted up that intensity when Roach hit Watkins with a perfect backdoor pass for an easy layup with 1:07 remaining. They kept encouraging Albritten to shoot, but he never did.
Roach took his first shot of the season with two seconds remaining, a 3-pointer from the wing that went down, then popped out. Roach was a little miffed after the game that the shot didn't fall, but he kept reminding himself that he never expected to score another point. So he appreciated the crowd's appreciation of him.
"It's kind of like a reward for all the work off the court, all the practices and not being in the games," said Roach. "Every second I am out there, I really do love it."
In his first three years, Roach played in 37 games, starting last year's home finale with seniors Scooter Sherrill and Marcus Melvin. He scored a total of 26 points in those three seasons, but was always an integral part of the Wolfpack's practice squad.
Though he chose not to come back at the beginning of the season, he rejoined the team at Sendek's invitation.
"I missed it too much - I missed my teammates and missed being with them every day," Roach said. "When you don't have it, you don't realize how great it was. When they asked me to come back and help out with practice a little bit, it showed me how much I really did miss it."
Roach admits it was an odd fall, not having to get ready for practice. He spent some weekends traveling to other schools, visiting friends he had never been able to see when he was a full-time member of the basketball team.
He also spent some time watching his little sister, Julia Roach, play her first matches as a member of the Wolfpack women's tennis team.
Julia, a two-time all-state selection who compiled a 99-2 singles record during her high school career, has been a consistent winner for the Wolfpack, which is 6-1 for the season heading into Sunday's double-header against . She's 6-2 in singles so far, is a regular in the doubles lineup.
"She is an extremely hard worker," Roach said with brotherly pride. "She does all the right things. I love having her on campus. If I am ever stuck without a ride, she is always right there. I wish we could see each other more often, but our schedules are so different.
"I went to a couple of her matches in the fall and I went to her Radford match last week."
To tell the truth, Julia isn't a big fan of having her big brother at her matches.
"I got a little nervous when he was there, because I want to do my best," she said. "But it has been a special year, being her together. It's made me feel more at home. I was glad I could come [to the Virginia Tech game] because it is the last time I will get to see him play at home."
Roach has one 400-level business class to finish before he graduates in the spring. He then plans to spend one last summer at the beach, working for a family friend's kayak and sailing shop in Beaufort, NC.
"It's my last summer to be a beach bum," Roach said. "I kayak and sail and I am going spend one last summer at the beach before I go hit the real world."
You may reach Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
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