West Virginia Country Boy Attitude
In sports, an edge can be good. All the greatest athletes I’ve known had one and usually the greater the player the greater the edge.
I’m not about to say that Chase Fischer is going to be a great player. But he does have the edge of one.
“Chase has this West Virginia country boy mentality where he doesn’t care who you are, he’s just going to go as hard as he can,’’ sophomore Travis McKie said recently. “He has that edge. He’s definitely not going to be afraid of anything.’‘
So where, Adam Smith of the Burlington Times-News asked, has McKie seen that edge?
“Off the court, on the court,’’ McKie said. “Just everything about him.
“He always talks. He’s always in your head. An when he’s on the court, if he gets his feet set, it’s going in. So we definitely have confidence in him and I hope he does that throughout the season.’‘
My early impression is that of the three freshmen, Fischer will have the greatest immediate impact for Wake Forest basketball.
I might revise that when point guard Anthony Fields is totally cleared for his rehabilitation for a broken wrist, though I have to say he’s been going surprisingly hard in practice. He’s quick, but he’s small and point guard is an exceedingly hard position for a newbie to play.
At this point, I like Daniel Green better for who he is than what he can do on the court. He listens, works hard and clearly wants to be a good college player. But going into his first season, he appears too underdeveloped physically to be able to take care of himself in ACC lane warfare. Also his shot is unorthodox; he slings it from high and over his head. I know Wake needs as much help as it can get inside, especially with Ty Walker suspended for the first semester, but I’ll be surprised if Green lends all that much.
But, again, based on early observations, I think Fischer will play out of the gates and might possibly play a lot. His high school credentials from Ripley High School in West Virginia were certainly impressive when he averaged 37 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.5 assists as a senior and was named both West Virginia’s Player of the Year and a Parade All-American. And a guy doesn’t make 141 3-pointers in 24 games, as Fischer did last season, without feeling pretty good about his ability to shoot the basketball.
He’s not as athletic as many of the players he’ll face, but I’ve seen plenty of players overcome that before.
“I’m a great shooter—that’s one thing—with a high I.Q.,’’ Fischer told me. “And I can bring great chemistry among the team, and I think that’s what we need.
“I think we’re all working hard and we can all bring something to the table to make something special.’‘
Does he see himself as strictly a wing guard, or can he fill in at the point if necessary?
“Oh I can definitely handle the ball but I don’t think I’ll be a primary point guard,’’ Fischer said. “I don’t think that’s what I’ll be seen as.
“But yeah, I can definitely handle the ball, make moves off the dribble and create for other guys. That’s definitely in my game.’‘