Derek Fisher - Before the Lakers
Derek's touched a lot of people in his life and NBA career. It's no accident that he became a leader in the locker room, on the court and in the boardroom. He's one of the most impressive young men that I've interviewed in my 11 years as a scout and front office executive in the NBA for the Chicago Bulls.
Some who read this blog may know little about Derek. Derek is a native of Little Rock, Arkansas. Attended High School and College in Little Rock. Charles Ripley, Derek's High School Coach at Parkview Arts and Science Magnet High School had a profound influence on his life. Derek's half-brother (same mother) Duane Washington preceded him in the NBA. Derek had a feel for the challenges of the NBA because of trials and tribulations of his brother. Duane was suspended by the NBA for two years for violating the NBA's substance abuse agreement.
Derek wasn't always a Laker. They parted ways in 2004 and he ended up playing with Golden State and the Utah Jazz before rejoining the Lakers in 2007. Thirteen of his sixteen years in the NBA, have been spent wearing the Purple and Gold. Derek's stats as a Laker are modest: 915 games, 592 starts, 7.9 points & 2.9 assists per game. Career 40 percent shooter from the field and 37.5 percent from three-point line. Stats can't totally measure the contribution of a player like Derek Fisher. Fisher was a part of 5 championships with the Lakers organization and is acknowledged by his peers and coaches to be a key team leader on those championship teams.
Derek Fisher will never be considered as one of the greatest Lakers, but he may well be the classiest Laker of all-time. Most organizations in the NBA would retire the jersey of a player who has contributed so much to their success over a thirteen year period. The Lakers standards for retiring a player's jersey is very high. Seven players have had their jersey retired by the Lakers and they have all been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. While I don't expect the Lakers to extend this honor to Derek, they should consider it.
Derek Fisher Before He Became A Laker
Sharing my college scouting report and impressions of an interview with Derek Fisher that I helped conduct. Remarkably, nobody in our organization saw Derek
play while he was at Arkansas Little-Rock. First time I saw Derek play was at
post season all-star tournament {Portsmouth Invitational Tournament} in Portsmouth,VA in April of 1996. He played well
in Portsmouth, but was not extended an invitation to the the Desert Classic in Phoenix, which featured higher caliber players. However, a player pulled out of Phoenix and Derek was a last minute replacement. Derek played his first game in Phoenix without the benefit of practice and continued to shine. Derek became the 1st round pick {24th} of the LA Lakers in
1996 because of his play in Post Season All-Star games. He did it the old fashioned way, by not being afraid to showcase his talents in an all-star venue. Derek is a class
act. One of the most impressive interviews I participated in during my NBA career.
Want to know more about him. Will watch tape. Physically developed. Structurally strong. Has been lifting
weights since high school. Strong legs and butt. Big hands. Big body for a point guard. Will be able to defend against bigger guards. Left handed. Possible late 1st round pick--high upside. Good speed with the dribble. Like his ability to turn the corner and get his own shot. Able to rise up and over other point guards off the dribble--gets good lift and has very good leg strength. Shoots best off the dribble. Does a good job of utilizing screens and popping jump shot. Plays bigger than size. Good 1 on 1 skills. Sees the floor on the move. Vision is good in the open court. Has the ability to get all the way to the basket in the open court. Shows deep shooting range--career 38% from the 3 pt. line. Needs to develop more consistency in spot shooting ability. strength of game is currently off the dribble. Can get too infatuated with one-on-one play, but I like his offensive aggressiveness.
Late addition to Phoenix, but I was impressed that he was able to make a contribution in the first game
without the benefit of practice. Not intimidated at all by the All-Star format. Able to get a clean look at the basket in bailout/red zone situations. Sets decent picks. Has a physicalness to his game and tough mentality
that I like. Performance fell off a little in last game of the Desert Classic. Didn't do a good job of getting his team into their offense in the third quarter. Like him on the defensive end. He will compete. Great defensive stance. Gets his arms out. Quick hands. Low center of gravity. Strong and quick enough to prevent his man from turning the corner. Good on the ball defender and good awareness off the ball. Will double down to attempt strip and recovers quickly. Good explosiveness in claiming rebound--will be an excellent rebounder for a lead guard. Strength and quickness to handle small and mid size point guards. Has a stopper's mentality--takes pride in his defense.
IMPRESSIONS OF INTERVIEW:
Born and raised in Little Rock, Ark. 21 yrs. old (8/9/74). Two parent household. Dad works for the postal service and mom works for a bank. Younger brother is 19 and married. Half brother (same mother) is Duane Washington of Middle Tenn. State. Has an understanding of the pro lifestyle due to Duane's trials and tribulations. Started playing when he was 5. Involved with AAU ball since he was 10. Played AAU ball with
the likes of Corliss Williamson and Marcus Brown. H.S. basketball program was highly organized. Emphasized the word "program" to us. Fundamentals, lifting and conditioning were emphasized. Coached by Charles Ripley who is now at Western Arkansas J.C. All 5 starters attended Division I programs. 3 yr. record was 86-12. Won state AAAA Championship in senior year. Played off guard spot in high school, but had as many assists as the pt. guard. Participated in soccer, baseball and football until he was in high school. Dedicated to conditioning his body--will get up at 6:00am to work out. Like his pedigree. Lightly recruited. Almost attended Liberty U. Raised in the baptist church and is active in FCA and bible study groups. I like his makeup. Presents self well. Has a professional attitude. Mature. Fractured his ring finger on right hand during junior year and only missed 2 games. Showed toughness in playing through pain in 6 games. Considers self to be unselfish and a team player. Penetrator. Stopper--always checked best guard. Preferred Coach Platt off the court because was a father figure. Prefers Coach Sanderson on court because of his on the floor coaching and style of play. Likes uptempo, but feels he is adept at playing any style of ball. Works hard on individual skills in spring and summer. Solid philosophy in talking about determination--"it's not what happens to you, it's how you handle it." Has evolved as a player. Has surpassed his high school teammates. Was able to get a lot of time at Little Rock. Started 104 of 112 games in career. Feels he has been a leader since freshman year. Feels he needs to better recognize when individual opportunities present themselves out of the normal flow of the offense. To sacrifice is the inherent trait that he believes all point guards share: CAREER STATS: 112 g, 32.3 min, 41% FG, 38% 3-pt, 75% FT, 12.4 pts, 4.4 reb, 4.2 a, 2.4 TO, 1.7 st.
LINKS TO ARTICLES WRITTEN AFTER FISHER WAS TRADED BY LAKERS:
GREAT INSIGHT. Thanks for writing this.
ReplyDeleteDid you know in high school that Derek strongly considered playing for your father?
If so, I thought you'd mention that!
From Fisher's autobiography: http://bit.ly/SwD2PC
Evin,
DeleteThanks for highlighting the mention of my father in Derek's autobiography. Dad could have benefited greatly from having a player like Derek in the latter stages of his career. Here's the excerpt from Derek's autobiography, "Character Driven - Life, Lessons, and Basketball:"
"I also considered some of the historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). I even wrote to the legendary Clarence "Big House" Gaines, who ran the program at Winston-Salem State University. I told him how much I admired him, and his program, gave him the rundown of my accomplishments, and told him that I would love to hear from him. WSSU was the first HBCU to win a NCAA National Championship in Division II (actually it was the College Division), when its basketball team, led by future first round pick Earl 'The Pearl' Monroe, won it all in 1967."
"I'm sure that Coach Gaines (who passes away in 2005) got lots of calls and letters similar to mine, but I was still disappointed that I never received any kind of response. Small schools appealed to me; WSSU was a Division II school with an enrollment of less than five thousand students. That would have suited me academically and socially, but something told me that it would be better to hold out for those Division I schools."
Glad you posted that, Clarence. Very informative for the reader. I'm curious - did you read Fish's entire autobiography? In it, he discusses his UALR Coach Platt (mentioned as the father figure in the scouting report) but he is presented FAR from being a father figure in the book!
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http://books.google.ca/books?id=tTOrRdTXNlQC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=sarcastic&f=false