Radford University guard Whit Holcomb-Faye had to deal with a handful of challenges improving as a player and as a person over the course of his four-year career on the Highlander's Men's Basketball team.

One of them was overcoming the negative press and negative outlook placed upon him after a troubled 2004-2005 season when he did not finish the season because of off-the-court issues. At that point, Holcomb-Faye could have given into the criticism of his game and of himself as a person. But he refused to do so, returning to Radford for his senior season where he showed the Big South Conference that Whit Holcomb-Faye was a force to be reckoned with.

This became evident early on as the senior averaged 22 points a game in the Highlanders' first three games of the season in the NABC Classic hosted by Virginia Tech.

It was such an impressive performance that Radford Head Coach Byron Samuels, who made it clear to reporters early in the season that discussion of what had transpired in the previous season would not be discussed, told The Tartan, "I wouldn't trade Holcomb-Faye for any guard we'll face this year."

Over the next five games, Holcomb-Faye would prove to be invaluable as he helped Radford improve their record from 2-1 after the Classic to 5-2. During that stretch, the senior posted impressive performances against East Tennessee State, when he helped key a Highlander comeback with 21 points and a season-high 13 assists and North Carolina A&T, when he posted a then-season-high 34 points as Radford squeaked past the Aggies, 83-76.

The Highlanders would go 3-4 in their next seven contests before beginning conference play. After winning their conference opener on the road over the Liberty Flames, Radford returned home to face conference's preseason favorite, the Winthrop Eagles.

Against the Eagles, Holcomb-Faye sparkled as he led all scorers and set a career-high in scoring with 37 points. Despite the effort by the senior, which included a perfect 16-for-16 night from the free throw line, Radford was unable to secure a victory over Winthrop, fading late in the fourth quarter to lose, 90-75, in what was truly not a lop-sided loss.

Holcomb-Faye would average 22 points over the next three games, all Highlander victories, but would be held in check for his next four, averaging a little over 13 points a game as Radford lost three of four. Those who followed Radford, even at a minimal level, came to realize that most of the time, when Holcomb-Faye put up solid figures on the court, the Highs were generally going to end up on the right side of the win-loss column.

Such was the case in the final stretch of the season as Holcomb-Faye averaged over 28 points per game in the team's final seven contests. Of those seven, four games bore witness to 30-plus outings, including a second 37-point output against Charleston Southern February 13 and of those four games, three were Highlander victories.

The only loss where Holcomb-Faye scored 30-plus points was the Highs' final game of the season, when a 33-point outing could not help his Highlander team defeat the High Point Panthers in the first round of the Big South Conference tournament. It was a game full of drama and passion where, on multiple occasions, Holcomb-Faye could be seen turning to the crowd and building off their energy while at the same time building the energy of the already churning Dedmon Center.

The loss was a disappointing way to end a career for a player who left the university as the program's second leading scorer of all-time but it seemed that the senior was enjoying every moment he had on the court.

Nevertheless, the improvement that Holcomb-Faye displayed from his junior year to his senior year was incredible. In 2004-2005, the guard put up 15.1 points per game, grabbed 3.3 rebounds per game and dished out 3.6 assists per game. In 2005-2006, he blew away those figures, averaging 23.1 points per game, 2.9 rebounds per game (An increased presence of junior forward Chris Oliver had part to do with the decrease in that stat.), 4.0 assists per game and a career-low in assists/turnovers per game at 1.35.

Not many in the Big South expected Holcomb-Faye to return and put up the season that he did. And in the face of all that doubt and all of those negative stares, he stepped up his game and made sure that when everything was done, it would be Whit Holcomb-Faye, the Big South's 2005-2006 scoring champion and third all-time leading scorer, who would get the last laugh.