2004-05 Titan Player Journals

Jason Fisher (6-2 Jr Guard, Delavan H.S.)

Jason played in all 28 Titan varsity games in 2003-04, after starting for the JV team as a freshman.  He averaged 5.7 points, behind  33-58 (.569) shooting from 3-point range.  Jason quickly became the Titan's sparkplug off the bench and he connected on his first shot taken in 22 of his 28 appearances.

Jason hails from Delavan, Illinois, where he was a high school basketball standout.  He was named to the 2002 IBCA, Associated Press, and Chicago Sun Times Class A All-State teams.  Jason made a name for himself by winning the 2002 King of the Hill slamdunk competition in Peoria, defeating Class AA champion Dameon Mason (now at Marquette University) in the overall finals.

Entry #3 - December 9, 2004

Hey Titan fans,

I am writing to you during one of the busiest weeks of my life, and if you've attended college before you can understand where I am coming from. Yes, it's the week before final exams, which means us students are presently overwhelmed with the amount of work lying before us. However, I am looking forward to the semester's end, when I can focus solely on basketball and spending time with loved ones.

As Zach Freeman stated, our basketball season so far has gone as planned. Having six wins under our belt gives us some momentum and confidence going into the tougher part of our pre-conference schedule, which consists of teams such as Hanover and Trinity. However, my season has not totally gone as planned because, as most of you know, I broke my nose in the November 20th game versus DePauw. I am scheduled for surgery at 7:00 a.m. on December 16th, but both I and the doctor only plan for me to miss the December 18th game versus Beloit. This is great news because I am really starting to find my role on this team, and too many missed games would adversely affect this.

Although our record is perfect thus far, there are two areas that I believe we need to improve on while still in the earlier part of the season. The first is free throw shooting, and this includes myself. I noticed that after tonight's game versus Fontbonne we are shooting 65.9% from the line as a team. This needs to improve because free throws are a critical part of the game, especially when it's close. The second is, as coach continually repeats, developing a "sense of urgency" while on the floor. Sometimes I feel that we don't play with the chip on our shoulder that the #2 team in the nation should have.

On a brighter note, Cory Jones is back! It was good to see him on the floor with us once again tonight. Cory is a very vital part of this team, and we will need him most as our schedule becomes even more difficult. I would also like to comment on the "Dennis Rodman" of our team . . . yes Steve Schweer --- Mr. Hustle, Mr. Floor Burn, Mr. Intensity, Mr. Dirty Work . . . He brings an energy to the court that most coaches crave, and his play as of late has been unparalleled (although his point totals won't show it).

Finally, I would like to comment on Zach Freeman, who could easily fill many Division I teams' fifth starting spot in a second. He has thus far shown his dominance and what he is capable of doing (although I tell him to watch his head on the rim sometimes when he dunks). Having a player like him down low to offset our perimeter players is truly intimidating, especially when we are playing well.

Well, that's it for now. We won't be back at the Shirk Center for an entire month.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

J Fish #20

Entry #2 - November 8, 2004

Hello Titan fans,

With our opening tournament just 2 weeks away, I can say with great certainty that we are that much more anxious to step onto the Shirk Center floor to perform in front of you devoted fans. Opening up the season at home gives us a great opportunity to build some momentum, which is critical because we have one of the toughest pre-conference schedules in the nation. Coach Trost has always stressed the importance of winning at home because anything can happen to you on the road---with North Park being a prime example last year. But I think I can speak for the rest of the team in saying that we are ready to go!

I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel with just 4 weeks of class left in the semester. My current schedule, consisting of four 300-level courses, has been the busiest and most challenging one for me thus far in my career here at IWU, but I have handled it quite well taking one day at a time. As Steve Schweer stated in his entry, I can hardly believe that I have been a student-athlete here for almost 2 ½ years. When I was a freshman, Chris Silagi warned me that college flies by faster than you want it to. Well, I guess he was right, and I have to admit that I will cherish every college moment that I have left.

Practice has been in full swing for almost 3 weeks now, and everyone is finally getting into "basketball" shape. I thought that our performance against St. Xavier conquered the general assumption that pre-season scrimmages usually do not bring out the best in players. I felt that we held our own on both ends of the floor against a very physical team. Of course, the presence of Cory Jones would have helped out tremendously. We will miss his strength and abilities down low for as long as he is out. Until he returns, other players will have to step up in order for us to win. However, fully replacing a player as skilled as Cory is almost an impossible task at the Division III level. We may luck out, though, because he does have a twin in Chris Jones, and what better way to replace a player than with another almost identical to him.

I cannot wait to see all of you at the Shirk Center on November 19th! We will be ready!

Until then,

Jason Fisher #20

P.S. I got engaged on October 16th to Emily Sparks, a very lovely young woman that

happens to be my high school sweetheart

Entry #2 - September 23, 2004

Hello everyone-

The first four weeks of school thus far have kept me rather busy, but I have to admit that I am glad to be back on campus. With the first day of practice just three weeks away, I'm looking forward to yet another exciting year of TITAN basketball. Hopefully, we can make this year another success by advancing even farther than we did the past two years; having 8 out of our top 9 guys back from last season allows me to believe that we can do it!

Classes have been going pretty well for me and are beginning to become more enjoyable since I am taking more classes towards my major in Risk Management. This semester, I have four classes, including: Business Law I, Risk Management and Property/Liability Insurance, Life/Health/Social Insurance, and Marketing Channels. Along with going to class, I have begun my search for an internship for next summer by attending job fairs and exploring opportunities on the internet through our Career Center.

As for basketball, ever since school started back up in late August we have been both scrimmaging against each other and lifting weights 3 times per week. Games have continued to be competitive day-in and day-out, with over twenty guys fighting for roughly fourteen or fifteen varsity spots. One player that has stood out, in my mind, during these games is Zach Freeman. He is playing bigger and even stronger than he did last year, which is most likely a result of him putting on fifteen pounds of muscle over summer. Our freshman class also looks very skilled and determined, and these individuals will be good CCIW players during their 4 years here are Illinois Wesleyan.

One last note, if you have not already heard, the TITANS have been preseason ranked as #2 in the nation by Street & Smith's magazine behind UW-Stevens Point, last year's national championship winner. What an honor this is for a team like us with only one senior. I'm very happy to see us get this kind of national recognition, but as Coach Trost says, "it's not where you start, it's where you finish."

Q, thank you once again for allowing me to share my life and thoughts with all of our devoted fans and family.

Jason, #20

Entry #1 - August 10, 2004

Hello Titan Fans,

Who would have thought that a team with four underclassmen starters would have gone so far? This was probably the one question that was crossing basketball fans' minds across the nation after watching us make it to the Sweet 16 last season. People said we had "too little experience" under our belt, but we showed that ability combined with hard work can take you a long way in a hurry. And guess what, we're back!

Last season came close to a dream come true for me. We established ourselves by winning another IWU CCIW Championship and making a successful run in the NCAA tournament. All of this was an accomplishment within itself, but I think I can speak for the rest of my teammates in saying that "we were not happy where we left off." We feel like we should have won that last game, and we are even more anxious to get back on the court this coming fall because of this. My dream of winning an NCAA Championship will hopefully come true in the years to come. Ever since I became a student-athlete here at IWU in 2002 and saw that 1997 championship banner hanging high above in the Shirk Center rafters, I knew that I wanted to make it back to Salem and win another NCAA championship for ourselves, as well as for you devoted fans and family.

So, what are we doing currently to prepare for the upcoming season? We have been playing regular pick up games and lifting weights three days a week. Games have been very competitive day in and day out throughout the entire summer. Almost everyone on the team has been showing up to play, which shows that we are dedicated and determined to make next season another success. We are taking the next couple of weeks off because the gym floors are being worked on. However, once we get back to school, we will once again go full force and start our long journey to Salem.

Let the games begin! This is going to be another exciting year of Titan basketball! Expectations are extremely high since we have almost everyone back from a very successful team last year. I also have very high expectations for myself. Losing a great player in Jimmy Lehan will be a great loss for our team, but I truly believe that I can step into the starting lineup and be an impact player. In all honesty, this has been the first summer that I have ever looked forward to being over with because I am that anxious to get back on the Shirk Center floor this fall! It is scary to think about how good we could be and how far we could go this year. People are saying that the CCIW is going to be down this year outside of us due to the graduation of a plethora of good senior players. However, almost every CCIW fan knows that the conference is always tough to win.  Thus, we must not look past any team during this upcoming season if we expect to make it to where we want to be in March.   I look forward to seeing all of you once again and hope that we continue to make you proud to be a TITAN!!!

Jason Fisher

Junior, #20