By JOEY JOHNSTON
Tribune Sports Writer
(c) Tampa Bay Times. Originally published Dec. 3, 1988.
GAINESVILLE — He lives in a world where the rules are different. Even when performing routine tasks, like riding an elevator or walking across campus, it is impossible to be inconspicuous. There is no escape, no privacy.
Dwayne Schintzius, the University of Florida’s 7-foot-2 junior center, has always hoped for public acceptance. Instead, he has often been treated like a caged animal, an object of curiosity. After years of being teased and taunted, he still carries some scars.
“When I was growing up, it was so terrible that I can’t even explain it,’’ Schintzius said. “I felt like I was a social outcast. To have people staring at me and gawking at me was something I couldn’t handle.
“As a kid, I bottled everything up inside of me. Instead of looking for someone to talk to, or crying, or trying to get it out, I kept it all inside. I can’t remember the last time I cried. That’s wrong. It has kind of haunted me. You’ve got to show you’re human, let your feelings take over.’’
That isn’t easy. Schintzius, formerly of Brandon High School, has spent a lifetime of dealing with the hurt. He knows that his towering stature will never disappear. Slowly, he is realizing that it can be a positive force.
“I think Dwayne has lived several years of his life saying, ‘Why me?’ ‘’ Gators coach Norm Sloan said. “You have I have spent most of our lives just being ignored. When we’re in a crowd, we’re in a crowd. Dwayne has never been in a crowd. Never. He always stands out.
“People don’t give him compliments. He gets insults. In basketball, the sport where he excels, he has experienced embarrassment because of the people. His own fans booed him last year. He catches it in other buildings, then he gets it at home, too. He just has to put that away and deal with it.’’
Schintzius, 20, will need that attitude tonight at the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center, when the Gators face the Florida State Seminoles. It is Schintzius’ initial appearance of the season.
He was suspended for the first four games because of his involvement in a Nov. 5 altercation outside a Gainesville nightclub. Schintzius allegedly struck two UF students with a tennis racket after a beer can was thrown at his car.
No charges were filed. But the UF Office of Student Judicial Affairs placed Schintzius on conduct probation, preventing him from playing in the Great Alaska Shootout and in the Gators’ 71-67 victory against Siena on Wednesday night.
The Seminole fans will welcome Schintzius back with plenty of abuse. But that is expected. He’s actually accustomed to being the center of attention.
“When all this happened, I went back in my shell,’’ Schintzius said. “I wasn’t listening to anybody. I was down. Everything I had worked so hard for was caving in on me. I didn’t know how to deal with it (suspension).
“Then I just picked myself up. That goes back to maturing. No one else can do it for me but myself. Now I’m back, I’m hungry and I’m ready to play.
“Hopefully, people will say (I) made a mistake and paid for it. They’ll give me another chance and wee what I do from here on. Everybody makes mistakes, even athletes.’’
A changed man?
This is not the first time Schintzius has dealt with controversy. It probably won’t be the last.
“His career has been a lot of things, but it certainly hasn’t been boring,’’ said Schintzius’ mother, Linda.
— As a freshman, Schintzius was quoted in newspapers as saying he would dominate Syracuse center Rony Seikaly in an NCAA Tournament game. Seikaly had a career-high 33 points. Schintzius said he was misquoted, that his words were twisted by the press. But the memory is that Schintzius’ “prediction’ didn’t come true.
— In a nationally televised game that has routinely been cited as evidence of Schintzius’ “inconsistency,’’ he was outscored 30-2 by Pittsburgh’s Charles Smith. Schintzius later revealed he was sick, but chose to play anyway.
— Last season, Sloan wanted Schintzius to enter the SEC Tournament semifinal loss against Georgia with one second remaining. Schintzius refused and stayed on the bench.
— On the day he was cut from the United States Olympic basketball team, Drug Enforcement Agency investigators questioned Schintzius. The DEA was investigating drug trafficking in Gainesville and on the Florida campus. Schintzius, saying he had nothing to hide, told the DEA he had no knowledge of drug use or dealing within the Gator basketball program.
“I’m ready to put all that past stuff behind me,’’ Schintzius said. “My first two years were OK, but they could have been better. My future will be better. I know that.’’
That attitude, more than anything, is indicative of how far Schintzius has come since his high-school days. He looks nothing like the stick-figure center that helped Brandon to two state tournament appearances. A legendary appetite and a passion for the weight room have Schintzius up to 280 pounds, nearly a 100-pound improvement from his skinniest frame in high school. He is probably taller than his listed height of 7-2. “I’m 7-foot-whatever,’’ is how he puts it.
He says that proudly. In high school, he said he was verbally intimidated by people who made fun of him. He had no comebacks, except negative ones. Someone once asked him, “How’s the weather up there?’’ Schintzius spit on the person. “It’s raining,’’ he said.
Now he realizes that the comments and catcalls will never stop. He sees advantages to his height.
“I am who I am,’’ he said. “God made me a 7-footer for a reason. Maybe not even for a reason. But since I’m a 7-footer, I might as well go out and make a lot of money because I think I can do that.’’
Schintzius’ outlook changed when he met Los Angeles Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar during an all-star tour. Schnitzels played some one-on-one with him and got some free advice also.
“He told me his life was pretty much the same as mine,’’ Schintzius said. “But he had to take all the flak as a tall, skinny black man in the 1960’s. He had it worse. I could sympathize with him. Now, like he did, I’ve decided I want to do something with my life.’’
At first, Schintzius thought his future was in baseball. He was a superb pitcher at East Point Little League, but he constantly faced jeering crowds. Schintzius was around 6-9 as a 15-year-old. Opposing teams and parents would try to rattle him. It became unbearable.
“People treated him very cruel,’’ Linda Schintzius said. “Not just the kids. The adults were worse. They would say things that were just uncalled for.
“He couldn’t handle this. You can’t expect a teenage boy to handle it. He thought, ‘There must be something wrong with me. Why are all these people treating me like this?’ He became very defensive, which is only natural.’’
Soon, though, he discovered that basketball was his sport. His obvious goal is a National Basketball Association career.
Although he could enter the draft early, he says he plans to play his two remaining seasons at UF. His brother Travis, a senior at Bloomingdale High School, has signed a scholarship with the Gators. The possibility of having his brother for a teammate is enticement enough for a senior season.
The NBA is difficult to ignore, though. Schintzius says he sometimes thinks about signing a big basketball contract. Several agents have already contacted the Schintzius family, expressing their interest in representing Dwayne. The response? Send us some literature. Don’t call us, we’ll call you.
The private war
But Schintzius admittedly has a way to go before he’s ready for the NBA. He sees great potential for his future. Not just as a player, but as a person.
Still, he must deal with what his mother calls “his private war.’’ Schintzius must truly live on a day-to-day basis. Different days bring different situations.
“Dwayne has always been moody,’’ Linda Schintzius said. “When he’s down, he brings everybody else down. When he’s up, he can bring everybody up. His eyes will sparkly when he’s up. But you never know. He can be a sheer joy to be around or he can make you miserable.’’
Schintzius’ father, Ken, a sergeant with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, has also seen those mood swings first-hand.
“If he gets up on the wrong side of the bed, the whole day is shot for everybody,’’ Ken said. “If he’s in a good mood, he’ll laugh and joke. Sometimes, I’m glad he’s home. Sometimes, I wish he’d stay in Gainesville and drive Sloan crazy.’’
Sloan and Schintzius have had plenty of personality conflicts in two seasons. But Sloan says their relationship has never been stronger.
“I think I was too hard on him as a freshman,’’ Sloan said. “Now I’m having more appreciation for how difficult is is for him. Basically, Dwayne Schintzius is a nice person, but …’’
Sloan lowered his voice to a whisper.
“… He just needs some friends.’’
That is, true friends.
“I’ve got friends who really like me for being Dwayne Schintzius,’’ he said. “I’ve got some friends who like me for being Dwayne Schintzius, the basketball player, the center. Then I’ve got some people who dislike me. Those are the people I don’t associate with. I don’t need that in my life.’’
There is one special friend. Her name is Lynn Avery. She’s a UF sophomore and a member of the “Gator Gals,’’ who help with basketball and recruiting duties. During the suspension, Schintzius said Avery helped him deal with the frustration.
“She understands me,’’ Schintzius said. “I think her and my mom are a lot alike. Both of them have put up with me for so long. I spent most of my waking hours with Lynn. We talk, go to movies, study, walk around campus, just everything. She doesn’t let me go into my shell.’’
Further evidence of Schintzius’ personal development came when he recently declared his major — speech.
“I’ve learned to get in front of people,’’ Schintzius said. “I’ve been going to schools and talking to kids. I spoke in front of our (UF basketball) camp. Just being in front of people in general is going to help me deal with things.’’
Sloan already sees a marked improvement in Schintzius’ life.
“Dwayne is looking for peace within himself, some contentment,’’ Sloan said. “Our people can help him. If they’ll accept him and appreciate him, that would mean so much to him. After everything he has been through in his life, a little positive reinforcement goes a long way.’’
