|
|
|
As a high school athlete, it’s always rewarding to receive recognition from the collegiate ranks for your career accomplishments. But how often does a young man become recruited for his basketball potential as opposed to what he has already accomplished even before he begins his sophomore season? Even more astonishing, by a Division-I program?
This may be a common occurrence for big basketball states like North Carolina or Indiana, but here in West Virginia to have that kind of stability for your future can be a giant step to a much more successful long-term career in basketball and in life.
In the case of Ripley High sophomore Chase Fischer, he has become an early commit to the Marshall Thundering Herd basketball program this past June after completing just his freshman year of high school under head coach Craig Harmon.
“I had developed a good relationship with the coaches down there (Marshall),” Fischer described his steps to committing early. “I participated in their summer camp, and I guess they really liked what they saw from me.”
While Fischer admits he’s never really followed Marshall basketball intently until now, he’s becoming a big fan of what second-year head coach Donnie Jones is building in Huntington.
“I think Marshall is a rising power and I definitely want to be a part of it,” Fischer said. “Coach Jones came to me and liked what I could bring and said I could see time as a freshman. That was certainly a selling point.”
Now with his college career set as a sophomore, the young point/shooting guard is ready to focus on the season and help lead his team along side big brother, Noah.
A dynamic shooter himself, Noah returns for his senior year as the two will help push Ripley deep into the playoffs.
“We have a good chemistry together,” Chase said of Noah and himself. “We’re both very competitive and we can always seem to find each other on the court.”
That kind of chemistry is what can help fuel the team down the stretch and something Chase feels his squad began to lack once they hit the midway point of their schedule last season.
“I think we hit our stride early and we became too comfortable and just lost our fire,” he said. “Our chemistry just fell apart.”
The Vikings went on to finish the season 15-10 after a 12-4 start, but Fischer believes there is a formula this year that won’t duplicate last season’s downturn.
As a high school athlete, it’s always rewarding to receive recognition from the collegiate ranks for your career accomplishments. But how often does a young man become recruited for his basketball potential as opposed to what he has already accomplished even before he begins his sophomore season? Even more astonishing, by a Division-I program?
This may be a common occurrence for big basketball states like North Carolina or Indiana, but here in West Virginia to have that kind of stability for your future can be a giant step to a much more successful long-term career in basketball and in life.
In the case of Ripley High sophomore Chase Fischer, he has become an early commit to the Marshall Thundering Herd basketball program this past June after completing just his freshman year of high school under head coach Craig Harmon.
“I had developed a good relationship with the coaches down there (Marshall),” Fischer described his steps to committing early. “I participated in their summer camp, and I guess they really liked what they saw from me.”
While Fischer admits he’s never really followed Marshall basketball intently until now, he’s becoming a big fan of what second-year head coach Donnie Jones is building in Huntington.
“I think Marshall is a rising power and I definitely want to be a part of it,” Fischer said. “Coach Jones came to me and liked what I could bring and said I could see time as a freshman. That was certainly a selling point.”
Now with his college career set as a sophomore, the young point/shooting guard is ready to focus on the season and help lead his team along side big brother, Noah.
A dynamic shooter himself, Noah returns for his senior year as the two will help push Ripley deep into the playoffs.
“We have a good chemistry together,” Chase said of Noah and himself. “We’re both very competitive and we can always seem to find each other on the court.”
That kind of chemistry is what can help fuel the team down the stretch and something Chase feels his squad began to lack once they hit the midway point of their schedule last season.
“I think we hit our stride early and we became too comfortable and just lost our fire,” he said. “Our chemistry just fell apart.”
The Vikings went on to finish the season 15-10 after a 12-4 start, but Fischer believes there is a formula this year that won’t duplicate last season’s downturn.
“We’ve worked out together all summer and developed an even stronger chemistry,“ he says. “We’re a very tight-knit group, and I don’t see us repeating last year’s fall off.”
A confident young man, Fischer has even set a high standard for himself and his team, not just this season, but for his future.
“First, I want this team to reach the regionals and beyond,” he said, “and I would like to beat Ohio in our tournament.” Ripley will be traveling to Dayton in mid January to participate in the national ‘Flyin’ to the Hoops’ tournament. A very prestigious event, the contest will feature some of the top high school teams and players from across the country. As far as the more distant future, Fischer entertains the idea of professional basketball.
“To play in the professional leagues is a goal of mine,” the 6’4” guard proclaims. “If I could make the NBA, that’d be great, but I would like to try the European league as well.”
And why not? With the recent success of former Huntington High standout O.J. Mayo, now playing for the Memphis Grizzlies, and Jason Williams, former DuPont High alum, who recently ended a 10-year NBA career, the possibility for a small town WV boy making good can become a strong realization especially to coach Harmon.
“Chase is blessed with God-given talent and ability you can’t teach,” Harmon said of his second-year starter. “If he keeps working hard and improving his game, he can be the best player ever out of Jackson County. He’s the best shooter I’ve ever seen.
“I had coaches from Ohio State, Cincinnati, Michigan, and Davidson contact me after watching him play in AAU this summer,” Harmon continued in praising Fischer.
“I consider myself lucky to have such fine kids like Chase. He’s humble, he listens, and he’s always looking to get better.”
With his career in place and the confidence of his coach and teammates to help guide him, Fischer has himself set in place for a long road of success.
The journey has already begun as the Vikings tipped off their season opener at home against Parkersburg last night, a game that Chase has been looking forward to since last season.
