KFDM COOP Posted April 6, 2006 Report Posted April 6, 2006 www.panews.com Central's Fisher makes most of hurricane's wrath Keith Fisher had big plans for his senior season of high school basketball, but being considered for the James Gamble Awards was never one of them. Things changed for a lot of folks last August 29, the day Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and flooded New Orleans. Since then, Fisher and his family have been making the best of a bad situation. They've fared pretty well, in fact. "Some people were unfortunate, but we came out of this thing truly blessed," said Rhonda Joseph, Fisher's mom. Fisher made a quick and successful transition from St. Augustine High in New Orleans to Central High in Beaumont, where his family has settled. "Beaumont's been good to us," Joseph said one afternoon this week as she watched her son, an all-district point guard for Beaumont Central, practice with the other Gamble Award finalists for Friday night's all-star game between the Gamble finalists and a Houston Select team. "We've made a lot of friends. We love it here." Calvin Rice, Central's coach, loved coaching Fisher. "He was one of my key players," Rice said. "The addition of him probably helped me win 10 more games than we would have without him. He's the kind of kid you like to coach. "If I could have had 15 Keith Fishers on my team, that's what I would have wanted." Fisher said he wished he could have helped Central go beyond a one-point loss to Forest Brook in the first round of the playoffs. But, overall, things have been all positive. "Even though it's been a crazy year, a lot of good stuff has happened," he said. "I adjusted well to school and things, better than I thought I would. I think I had sort of a successful year with basketball." Joseph said her extended family of 15 fled New Orleans and spent four weeks in Beaumont's Motel 6 before Hurricane Rita chased t hem to Fort Worth for a couple of weeks. Back in Beaumont, they stayed in a church shelter before finding the apartment that Fisher, his mom, dad and 7-year-old sister Mikayla live in now. The rest of the family has returned to Louisiana. "We stayed because of school," Joseph said, "and it being Keith's senior year. His school was under water, so they didn't reopen." Fisher's family lived in Luling, a New Orleans suburb on the west bank of the Mississippi River that escaped the worst of the hurricane's damage. Joseph said the family is now renting out their home to a less-fortunate neighbor. "We have plans to move back this summer, but it depends on what he does about school," she said, indicating her son. Fisher hasn't landed a college scholarship yet and his size -- he's 5 feet, 9 inches tall -- may be working against him. But everything else is working in his favor. For instance, his old high school basketball program back in New Orleans turned out several pros, including an undersized point guard named Avery Johnson. Now Johnson is the head coach of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. St. Augustine High coach Bernard Griffith, with no team to coach this year, was hired by Johnson to be an assistant with the Mavericks. Griffith has been working in his spare time on Fisher's behalf and plans to introduce Fisher to the coaches at SMU and North Texas. Also, Fisher's dad, Neal Joseph, a contractor who spends his work week on rebuilding projects in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, has put together an AAU team that includes other unsigned high school seniors and has them competing i n showcase tournaments. "I probably would have been doing the same things if I was in New Orleans, but it's easier in Texas, because Texas is so big there's a lot more going on," Fisher said. "I can get more exposure (to college coaches) than I had in Louisiana." Along with all his new friends and teammates, Fisher has kept in touch with his hometown friends by phone. And he's opted to take advantage of a special ruling that would allow him to get his high school diploma from St. Augustine High. He's going back home in June for a graduation ceremony and reunion celebration. He's not sure if he'll stay. "I wouldn't mind going to college here in Texas," he says. "Whatever works out for me."
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