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No. 94 Terry Rupp

Terry Rupp was a baseball and basketball star at Jesuit and the University of Tampa, where he now coaches the baseball team. Tribune file photo
Terry Rupp: Jesuit '84 Highlights: Basketball/baseball star at Jesuit High School and the University of Tampa. Scored a school-record 1,705 points at Jesuit, breaking Lou Piniella's record. Averaged 31 points and 15 rebounds as a senior, when Jesuit won the Class 3A state title. ... Was a Class 3A All-State first-team selection, Parade Magazine honorable mention All-American and the Tribune's Hillsborough County athlete of the year. ... Played at Davidson College as a freshman, then transferred to UT, where he played both sports. ... Still holds the UT basketball records for career free-throw percentage (.825) and single-season free-throw percentage (.862). Ranks fourth in rebounds (769) and eighth in points (1,206). ... A second-team All-Sunshine State Conference selection in basketball and baseball. ... Taken in the 16th round by the San Diego Padres in the 1989 amateur draft. ... Played two seasons, then returned to UT as basketball assistant and Jesuit as freshman coach (35-0). ... Voted into the Jesuit High School Athletic Hall of Fame. Today: Rupp is entering his fifth season as baseball coach at the University of Tampa. He's 170-68, including an NCAA Division II national title and national coach of the year honors in 1998. Last June, he married Jill Godfrey, who is the manager of ESPN Regional, the marketing arm for University of South Florida athletics.

Terry Rupp stories? There are dozens. They are hard to believe.

They are all true.

Jesuit High's basketball team had a practice-ending tradition in the 1980s. If everyone made a free throw, the players could skip suicide running drills. The Tigers were 11-for-11 on this day, leaving Rupp to finish. He grabbed the ball and slammed it off the backboard. ""We haven't worked hard enough today,'' he growled.

Coach John Szponar shrugged. "Nobody challenged Terry,'' he said. "They just started running.''

Here's another. Rupp had 38 points against No. 1-ranked Lakewood in 1984, but Jesuit lost at the buzzer. In a rage, he punched a swinging door. Unfortunately, it was backed by a cement wall. He broke his left hand. With Rupp out of the lineup, the Tigers lost and lost. Finally, he had enough. He went to the garage and tried to remove his cast with a hacksaw before his parents interceded.

The cast was removed two weeks early. Jesuit was 12-12. With Rupp back, the Tigers went on a 10-game winning streak and captured the Class 3A state title as an unranked team.

One more. In 1983, Gene Huey, Nebraska's chief football recruiter, was pursuing Jesuit blue-chip offensive tackle John Fruhmorgen. Huey attended the Jesuit basketball game and witnessed Rupp's aggression and athletic ability. The next day, Huey offered Rupp a football scholarship to Nebraska. Rupp hadn't played football since youth leagues.

Baseball became Rupp's long-range athletic ticket. He played two seasons in the San Diego Padres' organization, then was a minor-league coach for the New York Yankees. In 1996, Rupp returned to his alma mater, the University of Tampa, as baseball coach.

"Through my whole career, I always felt indestructible,'' he said. "I believed that. Then one day ... wham! Cancer.''

It's the same Terry Rupp, but one who has somewhat mellowed. Doctors found a brain tumor in 1997. Following surgery, he returned to coach baseball, against medical advice. The Spartans won the '98 Division II national championship.

Last season, the Spartans struggled. So did Rupp. His MRI results were spotty. He underwent seven weeks of radiation treatment, often making him groggy and nauseous. His hair fell out. "People were asking for my autograph,'' he said. "They thought I was Bull on 'Night Court.' ''

Rupp, 33, said he's much better now. Looks like he has won again. His tests are clean. He's looking forward to the season, perhaps another national title. He's newly married and enjoying each day.

"When you have health problems, things change,'' Rupp said. "You re-evaluate and maybe appreciate the little things more. Nothing came easy for me. That's why I always worked so hard.

"Athletics consumed me in high school and college. People probably thought I was a maniac. I mostly haven't changed, but now I can step back and appreciate the other things in life.''

Up next, No. 93: King's Roberta Albers Speer, a national golf phenom at age 14, now teaches the game to other world-class players.