Published: February 15, 2008 09:27 pm      

BOYS BASKETBALL: Newfane MVP is Jeremy Linhart

Legally blind, mentally handicapped Newfane teenager hits the court Thursday.

NEWFANE — The boxscore read simply “Linhart 2-0-5” — nothing more than a respectable scoring output for most high school junior varsity basketball players.

But for Newfane senior Jeremy Linhart and a packed Newfane gymnasium crowd that included the infamous “Blue Zone,” the accomplishment will go down as one of the most amazing, heart-warming and inspirational efforts ever witnessed in the history of the Panthers.

“The atmosphere here was unbelievable,” said former Panthers sports great Eric Klumpp (1998), now the junior varsity boys basketball head coach at Newfane.

“Everybody was on their feet and embracing the moment. It was a sight to see — something bigger than we could have ever imagined.”

It began innocently enough in the back of Klumpp’s mind. Like most sports fans, Klumpp was fascinated by the story of Jason MacElwain of Rochester, an autistic young man who entered a varsity high school basketball game for Greece-Athena in February of 2006 and sank six 3-point baskets en route to a game-high 20 points before being carried off the court by frenzied players and fans.

Four years ago, when Ryan Linhart played JV basketball, coach Klumpp made Jeremy, Ryan’s mentally handicapped and legally blind twin, his assistant coach.

“Obviously, with his condition, he’s never been able to take part in any student athletics,” Klumpp said. “So, as a coaching staff, we wanted to find some way to repay him for being such a huge part of our program. He’s been with us every game since he and Ryan entered high school.”

Jeremy arrived at Thursday night’s JV game against visiting Royalton-Hartland in typical fashion — donning a suit and tie and eager to get to work.

“He was happy and ready to help, just like he always is,” Klumpp said.

“But just before we went to warm-ups, we said, ‘Would you like to play with us tonight?’ He smiled ear-to-ear and said he would love to, so we put the No. 50 jersey on him. It was awesome.”

The junior varsity tilt went on with the large crowd anticipating a great finish — and they got it. With about 3:50 left in the game, coach Klumpp brought Jeremy into the game to shoot two free throws.

Among the hundreds of parents watching with tears in their eyes was Newfane’s Paul Demmin, whose son, Chris Demmin, wears No. 44 on the JV Panthers team.

“That was one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Paul, who took numerous photographs of the moment.

“When Jeremy stood up and took his warm-up shirt off, the noise was deafening.”

Klumpp called a time-out after a Newfane player was fouled to allow Jeremy an opportunity to enter the game. Jeremy missed the freethrows and an ensuing field goal attempt. Then he pulled up and drained a two-point basket which once again had fans on their feet, chanting, “MVP, MVP, MVP.”

Capping the unforgettable night, Jeremy sank a 3-point basket, finishing with five points. When the final horn went off, Newfane players picked Jeremy up on their shoulders and carried him around the gym, while Jeremy raised his arms in triumph.

“His first three shots went off the rim, then he went inside the arc and hit his first shot with about 2:30 left in the game and everybody was crying. You couldn’t hear a thing in there,” Klumpp said.

Added Newfane athletics director Doug Ames, “We knew about this ahead of time, so the Blue Zone came and made signs and they gave Jeremy a long, loud standing ovation when he came into the game. Some of the kids took their shirts off and had ‘Jeremy’ written on their chests. He missed a couple of freethrows, but then he ran back and played tenacious defense. He plays better defense than his brother, Ryan,” Ames quipped.

“The Roy-Hart coach (Barry Webber), athletics director (Mark Rydza), players and fans should all be commended for the sportsmanship and character they demonstrated. And when it was all said and done, everyone mobbed Jeremy, picked him up and carried him around.”

Added Newfane varsity head coach Scott Fuller.

“My kids wanted to come out for warm-ups early because they wanted to witness this,” Fuller said.

“Jeremy’s a special kid who has a special relationship with all of our players. The kids couldn’t have been happier for him. They were flying out of the bleachers and people were crying everywhere. It couldn’t have happened to a better kid.”