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SALT LAKE CITY — Chase Fischer has been around the country in the past four years.
But the Ripley, West Virginia, native who went from Wake Forest to BYU in four years of college hoops came home for an afternoon to work out with the Utah Jazz.
“The altitude didn’t get me at all,” Fischer joked with the media after the workout, which included Utah’s Brandon Taylor and Washington’s Dejounte Murray. “It was good competition. It was a good pace; I thought it was a good workout.”
Fischer wasn’t brought in as a top-tier NBA draft lottery prospect. But the 6-foot-3 shooter who averaged 15.8 points per game on 41 percent shooting in two seasons in Provo is confident he’ll have a professional career ahead of him — even though he is unlikely to hear his name on NBA draft night.
He mentioned making a roster for the NBA summer league “the best-case scenario,” but also said he’s heard from teams in Europe to continue to play basketball.
“Hopefully I can get a couple more workouts with some teams,” said Fischer, whose Jazz tryout was the first of the pre-draft season. “But if I don’t get any more workouts or summer league, I’ll probably go to Europe and play. My agents have been talking to some teams over there. I think my game translates really well to the game over there.”
Known as an occasional streaky shooter in college, Fischer was also a light’s-out shooter during his best stretches with BYU after following former Wake Forest assistant Mark Pope to Utah County. The current Utah Valley head coach would put Fischer through a drill similar to the 100 3-pointer drill the Jazz employ in most of their pre-draft workouts, and Fischer responded by nailing 215 3-pointers at BYU.
An All-West Coast Conference first-team selection as a senior, Fischer ranked in the top-10 nationally in 3-pointers attempted and made, and led the league with 112 3-pointers to pour in 673 points in 2015-16.
Good shooting is always desirable in basketball, and Fischer tried to show that he can fill that void for any team that picks him up — plus bring a few extra skills to the table.
“It’s what I do, and people know that,” Fischer said of his shot. “I wanted to show that there is more to my game than just shooting.
“I really competed in one-on-one, played hard on D, showed I had a little off the dribble — and I wanted to make shots, too.”
Fischer got a kick out of seeing former rival Taylor in the same Jazz pre-draft uniform, and it immediately put him at ease in the familiar environs of the Zions Bank Basketball Center.
The cooled-off rivalry was reciprocated by Taylor, as well.
“Those guys are good, even (Murray) from Washington,” Taylor said. “He has a bright future. Chase is one hell of a shooter, and he showed that today.”
If I don’t get any more workouts or summer league, I’ll probably go to Europe and play. My agents have been talking to some teams over there. I think my game translates really well to the game over there.
–Former BYU guard Chase Fischer
Playing in front of the Jazz was a dream, even for Taylor, a Los Angeles native who grew up a Laker fan. The Ute point guard attended several Jazz games during his four-year college career, and felt a special affinity for a certain Utah wing who has become one of the faces of the young franchise.
“I went to a couple of games, especially when the Lakers came," Taylor said. "I watched (the Jazz) closely, watched the guards, and I’m a big fan of Gordon Hayward. He’s a tremendous player.”
Fischer was also greeted at the practice facility by BYU head coach Dave Rose and assistant Tim LaComb, who made the trip a few miles down the road after spending the morning co-hosting at a local radio station.
Watching @C_Fischerr get his workout with the @utahjazz. One of the best guys I've worked with. — Tim LaComb (@tlacomb) June 8, 2016
“It’s cool to have your coach from college here, to know that he believes in you and is supporting you,” Fischer said. “Ever since I got to BYU, coach Rose has given me a lot of opportunities and he’s been great to me. I always knew I wanted to be a professional basketball player on some level, and he’s helped me out and always given me some encouragement.”
Fischer keeps in regular contact with good friends from BYU who have been through “the grind” of the pre-draft season: Tyler Haws recently returned from his first season playing in Spain, and the two are planning to work together in the upcoming days. Likewise, Kyle Collinsworth — who has taken draft trips from Las Vegas to Toronto — regularly talks with his classmate from BYU.
“It’s a game of recovery for him, getting to the next workout and being a professional,” Fischer said of the former Provo High standout. “That’s just who Kyle is: he’s very professional, takes (basketball) very seriously, and he’ll be a great fit for a lot of teams. He’s a great player.”
Fischer is adapting to the profession of basketball — whether that profession takes him to the United States or overseas.
“Once you’re done with college, it was a job enough (then),” he said. “But now it’s about being a professional.
“It’s your job, so you have to take it really seriously. I’ve always taken basketball seriously with my body and nutrition.”
