Feb. 13, 2003

In a moment made possible by much ado, D.J. Munir clasped hands with Nick Macarchuck near midcourt.

The junior guard and his coach posed for a photograph on the occasion of Munir reaching 1,000 points in his basketball career at Stony Brook University. It came in a stunning 35-point performance Tuesday night as SBU beat first-place Boston University.

"It took an awful lot for that to happen," Macarchuck said of the moment, recalling the events that delayed and nearly denied Munir's milestone.

Less than a month earlier, Munir's career at Stony Brook appeared over - by Munir's own choice. He had gone through the motions in an 81-66 loss, SBU's six straight defeat, at Boston University on Jan. 15. The combination of losing and Munir's perception of a diminished role brought him close to quitting.

"I'm not going to lie, it ran through my mind," Munir said. "I was worried that people were thinking, 'Oh, D.J. is having a bad year.'"

Munir was upset that he lost his point guard position to freshman Bobby Santiago. "He thought that I let him down," Macarchuk said. "He thought that I took something away from him that was rightfully his."

Munir's take was that he was out of position at shooting guard and therefore the team was out of sync.

"It was rough," he said. "I didn't think I was really playing as good a part in the team's success as I could, and we were losing."

Munir skipped the next two practices after the loss at BU and was suspended for the home game against Albany on Jan. 19. Munir, alone in his dorm room, watched the game on television.

That became his epiphany.

"That was the worst I ever felt," he said. "Those were my teammates going out without me. That really made me feel bad and want to come back and play the best basketball I could play."

Munir, along with his parents and godfather, met with Macarchuk to clear the air. Macarchuk, as much philosopher as coach, talked big picture. "When you are 35 you are going to look back at these days," he told Munir. "Let's get this thing going."

Assistant coach Nick Macarchuk III, who found Munir at Bishop Hendricken High School in Providence, also intervened, saying, "I talked to him as a friend. I said in my own way, 'D.J., it's time to grow up a little bit.'"

The team still had to pass judgment on Munir. "I had a thought in my mind, maybe they wouldn't accept me back, maybe they thought I was turning my back on the team," he said.

Teammate Cori Spencer, who was in prep school with Munir at Bridgton Academy (Maine), said there was no doubt the team wanted him. "There was a little tough love," he said, "but we always definitely wanted him back."

Munir, who leads the team in scoring with 16 points a game, said his issue was never about scoring points. He led the team with 17.2 last season but was so depressed by the 6-22 record that he stopped going to class and paid the price by becoming ineligible for the first seven games this season.

"At the end of the day I could score all the points I want, but if we are losing, nobody cares about you," he said. "But if we win, everybody is going to get the recognition."