WILLIAMSBURG (WAVY) – At 39 years old, Dane Fischer accepted his very first head coaching assignment, when he became the 31st head man in William & Mary history.
At his introductory press conference last April, Fischer said there was “no reason this program is not going to hang a banner…and go to its first NCAA tournament.”
It’s hard to imagine even he expected such a start in his first year at the helm.
The Tribe (11-5, 3-0 in the Colonial Athletic Association) is off to a 3-0 conference start for just the fifth time in program history. They’re the first team in the history of the conference to earn three straight wins on the road to open league play.
“To have the results we have is great, but there’s also a lot of basketball ahead of us,” said Fischer, who took over for Tony Shaver after a 16-year run.
It’s even more impressive given his program lost five players to transfer over the off-season.
“I wouldn’t say it’s surprising,” said senior forward Andy Van Vliet. “It was fun because a lot of people wrote us off from the beginning, (and) didn’t know what we had on our roster.”
That’s true, for the most part. Just about everyone in the conference knew about the William & Mary returner wearing the no. 13 jersey. Nathan Knight returned after trying his luck with the NBA draft.
Now in his senior season, Knight’s 20 points per game is fourth in the CAA. He’s been named the conference player of the week three times this season (six in his career), and has 12 double-doubles for the season. That’s more than any other player in division I basketball.
“His versatility is off the charts,” said Fischer.
The big question that’s hovered over this program for the past 83 years…can it finally break through and erase the title as one of only four original NCAA programs never to have made the “Big Dance?”
“Nice as it is to have a 3-0 start, I think it’s important we stay down to earth,” said Van Vliet. “We want to win the conference tournament, and go to the tournament.”
