Former Leilehua standout Liam Fitzgerald turns a starting role into college success

COURTESY WHITWORTH ATHLETICS
Liam Fitzgerald used his time on the bench to improve his game and it paid off with a starting role at Whitworth.

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COURTESY WHITWORTH ATHLETICS

Liam Fitzgerald used his time on the bench to improve his game and it paid off with a starting role at Whitworth.

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Before he could make an impact on the court, Liam Fitzgerald was humbled.

One of five freshmen on the Whitworth (Wash.) men’s basketball team last year, Fitzgerald and the rest of his classmates spent most of their time on the bench.

They worked out together, they hung out with each other, and they all watched the majority of the season from the sideline.

“I’m not used to coming to a school and not being the guy,” said Fitzgerald, a 2018 Leilehua alumnus. “Four other freshmen did the same thing, but we stuck together and we’re playing a bit more and it’s kind of nice.”

“Kind of nice” is a pretty big understatement considering what’s on deck for the Pirates on Saturday.

Whitworth won its first true road game ever in the NCAA Division III tournament Saturday to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2013.

The Pirates will play No. 1-ranked Swarthmore College (28-1), which advanced to the championship game last season.

Fitzgerald, a 6-foot-6 forward who played in only 13 games as a freshman, was a bench player again this year for the first 11 games.

An injury provided an opportunity for the former Mule to enter the starting rotation.

In a first-round NCAA win over LeTourneau on Friday, Fitzgerald tied a career high with 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting. He then broke that mark with 17 points in a 73-66 win over Texas-Dallas on Saturday, helping the Pirates come back from a seven-point halftime deficit to move on to the second weekend.

“It was pretty crazy. We were down eight and it was a tough road environment that was a bit different,” Fitzgerald said. “I think we kind of had confidence in ourselves to go this far. We returned a good amount of players and our sophomore group has put in a lot of work over the summer and I think we’re pretty confident in our ability as a team.”

For the season, Fitzgerald is averaging 8.1 points on 52.4% shooting from the field to go along with 6.2 rebounds per game.

In his last four games, he’s averaging 14.5 points and is 9-for-21 from the 3-point line.

“Starting kind of gives you a sense of confidence,” Fitzgerald said. “Definitely a confidence booster for sure.”