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Fish: Center 13.2 points, 7.9 rebounds
sure if he'd even contrib¬
ute at the high school
level. Schools like Young
Harris and Georgia
College and State
University have expressed
particular interest.
“He's spoiled us in a
lot of ways," coach Steve
Barnes said. “Our guys
will get beat off the drib¬
ble and sometimes you
don’t realize you’re not
playing really good
defense because he’s
back there, and he gets a
block. He makes up for
others’ mistakes, which
has just been awesome.
“He's protecting the
fort, and it’s kind of a
safe place."
Notable accolades for
a guy that occupied a
folding chair for most of
his middle school basket¬
ball career.
“Fish," as he’s known
around Central, rarely
saw the floor in seventh
FROM 1B
Towson suffer 41 consecutive losses
December. “He under¬
stands how- much work
it’s going to take to be
successful.”
That’s debatable.
Towson has managed to
string together 16 straight
losing seasons. They’re
the only team in the
nation that returned just
one letterman this season,
and forward Erique
Gumbs averaged a w hop¬
ping 3.6 points per game
last season.
Reality set in early.
“We lost to a Division II
team in the exhibition
season in Virginia State
that’s 2-14," Skerry told
Andy Katz of ESPN. “I
NFL
Like Welker, Cruz found a way to NFL
Undrafted WRs share similar story
By Kimberley A. Martin
Newsday
INDIANAPOLIS —
Victor Cruz arrived in
town not with a chip on
his shoulder, but with a
camera ready to capture
every moment.
Two years after being
snubbed by the NFL
combine selection com¬
mittee, the Giants slot
receiver returned to its
host city of Indianapolis
with much bigger
dreams in mind.
“I’d rather be here for
the Super Bowl now
than the combine,” Cruz
said with a smile.
He expressed neither
disappointment nor
frustration about being
overlooked by scouts
and NFL teams in col¬
lege. Admittedly, he
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | forsythnews. com
and eighth grade. He
stood less than six feet
tall until his final year
before high school.
Then, he started grow¬
ing. And growing.
“Near the end of my
eighth grade year, I went
from about 5-11 to about
6-3," Fishier said. “1 had
to learn to be comfort¬
able with myself, obvi¬
ously, as 1 kept growing
a lot"
It didn’t happen over¬
night. Fishier wasn’t a
member of Central’s var¬
sity lineup until last year,
and even then his height
was his most eye-pop¬
ping statistic.
But a commitment to
improving his coordina¬
tion and conditioning has
allowed him to come into
his own this season.
After scoring 4.9
points per game a year
ago, he ranked second on
the team behind Custer
knew then that we were
in for a grind."
The grind began
instantly. The Tigers
opened the season in
Lawrence, Kan., and were
promptly obliterated by
the Jayhawks, 100-54. A
respectable 64-47 loss to
Michigan preceded an
87-41 blowout loss to
Belmont.
The highlight came on
Nove. 26, a 66-46 loss at
home to Oregon State.
The game was attend¬
ed by the First Family,
as Michelle Obama’s
brother, Craig
Robinson, coaches the
Beavers.
wasn’t the biggest guy
at 6-foot, 204 pounds,
and he didn't have “off
the-wall” statistics at
UMass. He always
knew he’d have to fight
for his time to shine.
But Cruz isn’t the
only “hidden gem” to
get lost in the shuffle of
pro evaluations and
assessments. His
Patriots counterpart,
Wes Welker, went
undrafted in 2004 and
later was released by
the San Diego Chargers
after the first game of
the season. After a two
year stint in Miami, he
was traded in 2007 to
New England, where he
has established himself
as one of the premier
receivers in the game.
“He’s a guy that I’ve
looked at growing up,”
with 13.2 heading into
Tuesday’s matchup with
South Forsyth. His
rebounding numbers are
also way up — 7.9
boards a game as
opposed to 4.2 last year.
Central’s offense
revolves around him.
When he’s not executing
a drop-step for an effort¬
less lay-in or banking
home the soft hook shot
he spent his summer per¬
fecting, Fishler’s draw¬
ing defenders and dish¬
ing the ball to an open
teammate.
“We said from the start
[of the season], when we
come down, the No. 1
option is Fish,” Barnes
said. “No. 2 is Fish, No.
3, look into Fish, No. 4
— and we get to about
10 and then we want to
look for something else.”
Fishier may be even
more effective on defense.
Before Tuesday, he'd
Towson tied
Sacramento State’s
record in fine fashion on
Jan. 4. Their 34th
straight loss, 60-27 to
Drexel, set a school
Division I record for
fewest points scored.
Undaunted, the record
was never in doubt on
Jan. 7, as the Tigers were
thrashed by Old
Dominion 75-38.
Loss number 37 came
in Atlanta to Georgia
State, 57-42. The
Panthers’ uninspired per¬
formance prompted coach
Ron Hunter to tell the
AJC, “First time in 20
years I had to coach
said Cruz, who ended
the regular season with
33 fewer receiving
yards (1,536) and the
same amount of touch
downs (nine) as Welker,
“You always watch the
best in the league and
he’s definitely one of
the best at his craft and
at his position. He’s
definitely a guy that I
take a few things from,
and you add it to your
game.”
The Patriots’ second
ary, a unit that often
was criticized this sea
son for its inconsistency
(albeit because of inju
ry), has spent many
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blocked at least four shots
in every game this season
(8.3 per game), and his 19
against Rome on Jan. 14
set a state record accord¬
ing to prepcountry.com.
He’s also recorded four
triple-doubles.
Knowing he presents a
mismatch for nearly
every opponent. Fishier
doesn't venture far from
the basket. Instead, he
baits teams into working
the ball into the paint.
Whether that's via the
drive or the entry pass,
he's almost never out of
position to at least alter
a shot’s trajectory.
Usually, though, he
swats it away.
“I’m just going to
block his shot,” Fishier
said when asked about
his thought process as
an offensive player
enters his realm. “I just
know that he’s stupid for
trying to shoot over me."
effort. It’s no fun when
you have to coach effort.”
It’s no fun coaching an
untalented bunch, either.
Towson shot 25 percent
(12 for 48) from the floor
in that game. Earlier, they
lost to UMBC 62-58 by
missing 17 of 25 free
throws. Truly The Gang
That Couldn’t Shoot
Straight.
“At times,” Skerry told
the New York Times, "I
feel like this team is in
the middle of a forest,
and the only way we’re
going to find our way out
is if the forest bums
down.”
No wonder. Before
hours game-planning
for Cruz a player
who “can do it all,”
safety Patrick Chung
said.
“He’s quick, he's
good off the line, he’s
good into his routes, he
can catch the ball, he
can uncover, he's physi¬
cal. he can break tackles
— he’s like the com¬
plete receiver,” Chung
said.
And to think few NFL
scouts thought Cruz, was
even worth their time.
He said 15 to 20 scouts
came to his pro days at
UMass and Boston
College, but that was
only because of offen¬
sive lineman Vladimir
Ducasse, a standout at
UMass.
WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 1.2012
Such a statement may
seem boastful, but it
stands in stark contrast
to Fishler’s off-court
demeanor. The mild
mannered senior isn’t
the most talkative, but
his friendliness is recog¬
nized by the entire
school.
“He’s not selfish,"
Barnes said. “He’s just
the ultimate guy.
Everybody loves him."
Fishler’s membership
in Central’s winter
homecoming court drew
a thunderous cheer at
halftime on Jan. 13
against Lambert. After
being escorted by his
mother during the cere¬
mony, he scored nine
points in the second half
of a 61-54 Bulldogs vic¬
tory.
Just another step on a
long — and tall bas
ketball journey.
“He’s really grown a
Saturday’s game, out of
344 schools, Towson
ranked 344th in scoring,
344th in assists, and
343rd in field goal per¬
centage. They turned the
ball over on a whopping
30 percent of their pos¬
sessions, also a national
worst.
Somehow, Skerry got
his team to buy into his
mantra of “guarding and
grinding." They’ve kept
working, and, finally,
crawled out from under
The Streak.
“I’ve been here for the
w hole thing,” Gumbs told
towsontigers.com. The
only player w ith a hand in
“I almost call him
every month just to
thank him for having
such a great career at
UMass,” Cruz said of
Ducasse, now with the
Jets.
But when asked if he
and Welker’s journeys
are proof of the limita¬
tions of the NFL’s draft
system, Cruz said,
“There are so many
guys out there. So many
guys that you essentially
take a chance on. And
some guys just slip
under the radar. And
once those hidden gems
get figured out and
somebody sees them and
they get their opportuni¬
ty, if they make the best
out of it, then it’s a great
opportunity.”
lot, said Fishler’s
younger brother, Austin
Fishier.
The Central sopho¬
more would know. After
missing the cut during
freshman tryouts,
Barnes asked Austin
(who stands more than a
foot shorter than
Andrew) to join the var¬
sity team as its manager.
He enthusiastically
accepted and has been
on the sidelines for all
of his older brother’s
games.
“It’s awkward but fun
at the same time, hanging
out with the team and
hanging out with him,"
said Austin Fishier,
known in the Dawgs’
locker room as “Little
Fish" or "Nemo".
“They’ve come a long
way.”
Follow Phil Ervin on Twitter
@PhilErvin_.FCN
all 41 losses continued:
“It was actually pretty
emotional. I’ve been wait¬
ing for a long time. We
came out there and stuck
to our principles and got
it.
“It feels good!” Skerry
added. “We’re going to
have a lot of them here. It
says a lot about these
guys."
Maybe one day they’ll
even reach Waddell’s goal
and become the epicenter
of basketball in
Baltimore.
But first things first.
Hofstra awaits
Wednesday night. Anyone
for two in a row?
FROM 1B
Briefs
Annual dues are
$30, and a monthly
fishing tournament is
held the last
Saturday of each
month. For more
information, contact
Woody Malone at
(770) 634-6539.
Elite LAX Camp
The Elite Lax
Camp will feature
coaches and players
from two of the Top
D-1 Collegiate pro¬
grams: Johns
Hopkins and Hofstra.
The camp will be
held June 14-16th at
South Forsyth High
School. For more
information and to
register online, visit:
www.southforsythla
crosse.com.