George Fisher (basketball player)
{{Short description|American professional basketball coach and former professional player}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = George Fisher
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Alhambra, California
| nationality = American
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 7
| weight_lbs = 215
| high_school = Alhambra (Alhambra, California)
| college = Utah (1963–1966)
| draft_year = 1966
| draft_round = 6
| draft_pick = 51
| draft_team = New York Knicks
| career_start =
| career_end =
| career_position = Forward
| career_number =
| years1 =
| team1 =
| cyears1 = 1979–1989
| cteam1 = Élan Béarnais Orthez
| cyears2 = 1989–1990
| cteam2 = Racing Paris Basket
| cyears3 = 1991–1992
| cteam3 = Aris
| highlights =
}}
George Fisher is an American professional basketball coach and former professional player.
Career
Fisher, a 6’7’’ (2.00 m) forward,{{Cite web |date=29 May 2014 |title=George Fisher |url=https://www.thedraftreview.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7770&Itemid=33 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004122152/https://www.thedraftreview.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7770&Itemid=33 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2022-10-04 |access-date=2020-08-03 |website=The Draft Review |language=en}} played basketball and baseball at Alhambra High School in Alhambra, California. Serving as captain of the Alhambra basketball team, he was a First Team All Pacific League and an All Temple City Tournament selection in 1962.{{Cite web |title=Alhambra High School Hall of Fame – George Fisher – 1962 |url=http://ahshalloffame.com/inductees/basketball/94-george-fisher-1962 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250108172315/http://ahshalloffame.com/inductees/basketball/94-george-fisher-1962 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2025-01-08 |access-date=2020-08-03 |website=ahshalloffame.com}} Fisher attended the University of Utah, playing for the Utes from 1963 to 1966. He saw action in a total of 79 games, averaging 14.4 points per contest. His best season at the college level came in 1964–65, when he tallied 17.8 points a game. In the 1963–64 season, he led the Utes in rebounding with 8.7 boards per game.{{Cite web |title=2019-20 Men's Basketball Media Guide |url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/utahutes.com/documents/2019/11/8/2019_20_MBB_Media_Guide.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703005514/https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/utahutes.com/documents/2019/11/8/2019_20_MBB_Media_Guide.pdf |archive-date=2021-07-03 |access-date=2022-08-25 |website=University of Utah Athletics}} Fisher earned a bachelor's degree in marketing and management.{{Cite web |title=George Fisher, Real Estate Agent in Santa Barbara, Montecito, & Central Coast |url=https://www.compass.com/agents/george-fisher/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240424121518/https://www.compass.com/agents/george-fisher/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2024-04-24 |access-date=2020-09-16 |website=Compass |language=en}}
Despite having suffered a broken femur during the 1965–66 campaign,{{Cite web|date=2017-04-26|title=The 1965–66 Runnin' Utes|url=https://utahcommhistory.com/2017/04/26/the-1965-66-runnin-utes/|access-date=2020-08-03|website=Utah Communication History Encyclopedia|language=en}} he was selected by the New York Knicks in the 1966 NBA draft (sixth round, 51st overall).{{Cite web|title=1966 NBA Draft|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1966.html|access-date=2020-08-03|website=Basketball-Reference.com|language=en}} However, Fisher never played in the NBA. After the end of his college career, he coached the freshman team at the University of Utah, while recovering from his leg injury. Later, Fisher went to Milan, Italy, to play professionally{{Cite book|last=Spehr|first=Todd|title=The Mozart of Basketball: The Remarkable Life and Legacy of Dražen Petrović|publisher=Sports Publishing|year=2016|isbn=978-1613219171|location=|pages=}} and then moved to France, where he played and coached at Jœuf Homécourt Basket for eight years.{{Cite news|date=1987-02-18|title=La semaine décisive du basket-ball français Fisher-la-Science|language=fr|work=Le Monde.fr|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1987/02/18/la-semaine-decisive-du-basket-ball-francais-fisher-la-science_4027226_1819218.html|access-date=2020-08-03}}
From 1979 to 1989, Fisher served as head coach of Élan béarnais Orthez in France. Under his guidance, Orthez won the Korać Cup in 1984.{{Cite web |title=Korac Cup 1983–84 |url=http://www.linguasport.com/baloncesto/internacional/clubes/c3/C3_84.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904201021/http://www.linguasport.com/baloncesto/internacional/clubes/c3/C3_84.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=2023-09-04 |access-date=2020-08-03 |website=www.linguasport.com}} Fisher also won two French national championships with Orthez (1986{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=L'Elan champion de France|url=https://www.larepubliquedespyrenees.fr/2011/05/10/l-elan-champion-de-france,193614.php|access-date=2020-08-03|website=larepubliquedespyrenees.fr|language=fr}} and 1987). In 1987, he guided the team to a third-place finish in the final stage of the FIBA European Champions Cup.{{Cite web |date=2022-03-15 |title=Quand Orthez était la 3e équipe d'Europe |url=https://www.basketeurope.com/livenews-fr/premium-fr/533431/quand-orthez-etait-la-3e-equipe-deurope/ |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=Basket Europe |language=fr-FR}} Over the years, his Orthez team included players like John McCullough, Paul Henderson,{{Cite web|title=Bilan saison 1980–1981|url=http://www.basketarchives.fr/1981/bilan1981.htm|access-date=2020-08-04|website=www.basketarchives.fr}} Howard Carter and Tom Scheffler.{{Cite web|title=Bilan saison 1986–1987|url=http://www.basketarchives.fr/1987/bilan1987.htm|access-date=2020-08-03|website=www.basketarchives.fr}} Fisher left Orthez in 1989. He had offers from Greece, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Real Madrid on the table, but took over the head coaching position at PSG Racing in Paris, France.{{Cite news|date=1989-09-16|title=BASKET-BALL : début du championnat de France Une SOS pour sauver le Racing Paris|language=fr|work=Le Monde.fr|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1989/09/16/basket-ball-debut-du-championnat-de-france-une-sos-pour-sauver-le-racing-paris_4130613_1819218.html|access-date=2020-08-03}} He parted ways with the club during the 1989–1990 season.{{Cite web|title=BasketNews 581|url=https://issuu.com/maxi_basketnews/docs/bn581kkkkkkkkkd-fdfdgd_g1243|access-date=2020-08-03|website=Issuu|date=5 December 2011 |language=en}} During his time in France, Fisher worked for the Banque Nationale de Paris as a consultant to Real Estate Asset Acquisition Managers in off-seasons. From 1991 to 1992, Fisher served as head coach of Aris Thessaloniki in Greece, where his team included players like Nikos Galis, Panagiotis Giannakis and Walter Berry.{{Cite web |date=1991-10-27 |title=Aris Salonica |url=https://hemeroteca-paginas.mundodeportivo.com/EMD01/HEM/1991/10/27/MD19911027-040.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241130132208/https://hemeroteca-paginas.mundodeportivo.com/EMD01/HEM/1991/10/27/MD19911027-040.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2024-11-30 |access-date=2022-08-25 |website=El Mundo Deportivo}}
Fisher moved back to California, he settled in Shell Beach and worked as a realtor. His former teammate at Utah, Bucky Buckwalter, later revealed, that Fisher made him aware of Arvydas Sabonis in the 1980s and also gave his insight on Dražen Petrović,{{Cite web |date=2013-06-07 |title=Drazen Petrovic leaves lasting legacy in NBA |url=https://www.espn.com.au/nba/story/_/id/9345747/drazen-petrovic-lasting-legacy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322234430/https://www.espn.com.au/nba/story/_/id/9345747/drazen-petrovic-lasting-legacy |url-status=dead |archive-date=2023-03-22 |access-date=2023-03-22 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}} when Buckwalter started considering foreign players as potential recruits for the Portland Trail Blazers who eventually drafted Sabonis in 1986.{{Cite web |date=2016-06-09 |title=The Storied Acquisition of Arvydas Sabonis Retold |url=https://www.blazersedge.com/2016/6/9/11896040/arvydas-sabonis-history-portland-trail-blazers-podcast |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241130131717/https://www.blazersedge.com/2016/6/9/11896040/arvydas-sabonis-history-portland-trail-blazers-podcast |url-status=dead |archive-date=2024-11-30 |access-date=2023-03-22 |website=Blazer's Edge |language=en}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, George}}
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:American expatriate basketball people in France
Category:American expatriate basketball people in Greece
Category:American men's basketball coaches
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:Basketball coaches from California
Category:New York Knicks draft picks
Category:Sportspeople from Alhambra, California
Category:Basketball players from Los Angeles County, California