This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The BYU basketball team is getting some much-needed 3-point shooting help, but coach Dave Rose won't be able to enjoy his latest addition until the 2014-15 season. Chase Fischer, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard from Ripley, West Virginia, who played the last two seasons at Wake Forest, announced Friday night that he is transferring to BYU. Fischer will have to sit out the 2013-14 season, due to NCAA transfer rules, and will have two seasons to play two for the Cougars. Fischer's tie to BYU is assistant coach Mark Pope, who recruited him to Wake Forest when Pope was on that ACC school's coaching staff. According to the Charleston (W.V.) Daily Mail newspaper, Fischer had narrowed his choices to Ball State, Florida Gulf Coast, Valparaiso, Wofford and BYU. He made visits recently to Valpo and BYU. "It was kind of an unknown for me at first, being far away," Fischer told the Daily Mail, speaking about BYU. "But I have a lot of respect for the school and I love their style of play. They play super fast, shoot a lot of 3s ... It fits my game perfectly."Fischer was a first-team Parade All-American at WV's Ripley High School, but was not nearly as prolific a scorer at Wake Forest. He averaged 6.3 points and 2.2 rebounds a game for the Demon Deacons as a freshman, while averaging 26.1 minutes per game. But his playing time was cut considerably last year as a sophomore. He averaged just 14.2 minutes per game, and is scoring average dropped to 4.5 ppg. Wake Forest won just 13 games each of the last two seasons. "BYU is a nationally recognized program, but, more importantly, I wanted to go some place I think I fit in," Fischer told the Daily Mail. Fischer shot 36 percent from 3-point range in his two-year career at Wake, but in 2012-13 he shot 42 percent from beyond the arc, a sizeable improvement. The Cougars shot just over 33 percent as a team from long range last year. Fischer's expected signing leaves BYU with two available scholarships for next season; Openings were created in the last few weeks when guard Raul Delgado announced he was transferring to D-II Metro State and forward/center Ian Harward announced he was giving up basketball due to a lingering back injury. BYU will most likely get a commitment and subsequent signature from one more player before the spring basketball signing period ends next Wednesday.