Sure
there are the five straight sectional titles, but West Side
coach Rod Fisher's lasting legacy will be his uncanny ability to
land his players in college programs.
This one was an easy sales job, though. The recruiters came
to him -- and kept coming.
Fisher doesn't have to cringe every time the phone rings any
longer. Prized player Kimberly Smith has verbally committed to
Miami of Ohio.
"I'm glad it's over. I was getting all these phone calls
every day, like I didn't have anything else to do between
volleyball wrapping up and basketball starting at the same
time," Fisher joked. "There were two or three days in
a row where the most important thing on my mind wasn't whether
Kim had made her decision. After a while, there was really
nothing I could tell her."
Smith averaged 10.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game last
season for West Side, which won its own demanding sectional.
The 5-foot-10 post player had her short list down to two
schools, Miami and Evansville. She said her first choice was
Wisconsin, but she became "shaky" about the Badgers'
interest after they canceled a planned home visit.
She said she was uncertain of her status in Madison and opted
to go with the sure thing.
"It wasn't anything where I liked Miami over Evansville.
I liked both of the schools about the same," Smith said.
"I just went with a gut feeling. That's basically how I
decided.
"I didn't know if I should wait, wait until the late
signing or wait to see if some other schools call me. I didn't
know what to do. There's pros and cons both ways."
The Miami program seems to be on the way up. The RedHawks
were 16-12 last season, an improvement over an 11-15 campaign in
1998-99.
Miami is coached by Maria Fantanarosa, who is entering her
third year at the helm. Smith was primarily recruited by
assistant Jennifer Jacoby, a Rossville, Ind., native and former
Indiana Miss Basketball.
Smith said she still has lingering doubts about her decision
to commit before the high school season, but after sleeping on
things for a night, per Fisher's advice, she decided it was
something she needed to get out of the way.
"I still don't know if I should have waited," Smith
said. "It's never gonna be 100 percent sure if you're doing
the right thing. You kind of get tired, but I probably would
have had some other opportunities. I just went ahead and made my
decision early. They told me I was the one they really wanted.
They didn't cancel the visit. I felt good about that and I felt
good about Evansville.
"The coach at Evansville (assistant Bobbie Kelsey) would
call every week, so it was pretty tough. I knew both schools
wanted me to be in their program."
* Jeff Carroll can be reached at jeffcar@howpubs.com or at
(219) 933-3373.
