Freshman orientation: Jason Fraser arrived at Villanova as the centerpiece of a highly touted recruiting class, but that doesn't make the adjustment to the college game any easier

Sporting News, The, Nov 25, 2002 by Mike DeCourcy

Members of the audience are shuffling toward their seats, having narrowly defeated the traffic on Seventh Avenue. They carry inside the tangible electricity of a New York Friday night. The house that once was home to Knicks Willis Reed and Patrick Ewing, that served as a temporary stage for Big East beasts Dikembe Mutombo and Derrick Coleman, is about to become the site of Jason Fraser's college debut: Madison Square Garden.

This couldn't have been more fantastic for Fraser had he dreamed it in his bedroom back home on Long Island--except for one little detail. As the public address announcer completes the presentation of the Marquette Golden Eagles and begins reciting the starters for Fraser's Villanova team, Fraser is standing next to injured senior Gary Buchanan, the two of them helping to form the tunnel of wanna-bes and walk-ons through which the starters pass.

Randy Foye, Andrew Sullivan, Ricky, Wright, Derrick Snowden and Allan Ray are introduced. Not Fraser. Anyone who thinks back on Fraser's name last year on a recruiting list, who recalls watching him in the McDonald's All-American Game, who recalls that he was the most successful big man in the prep class of 2002, has to be surprised.

Those who watched him practice the day before the Marquette game are not. The question then was not whether he would start for the Wildcats but whether the time it would take him to reassert himself as a basketball player would be measured in months or years.

It turns out to be a matter of minutes. At the 17:18 mark of the first half, Marquette has stormed to an 8-0 lead, the last of those baskets scored when Golden Eagles center Scott Merritt rebounds his miss and drops in a half-hook. Villanova coach Jay Wright paces down the sideline to where Fraser is seated.

"Let's go, Jay," is Wright's simple instruction. "Bring energy."

The sight of Fraser headed to the scorer's table leads the 'Nova portion of the crowd to applaud as much with relief as anticipation. "It was funny," the coach says. "I heard the crowd erupt like, `Here comes the savior.'"

This is how Fraser, a 6-10, 220-pound center, has been perceived. Enrolling along with Foye, Ray and small forward Curtis Sumpter, Fraser is the prize of Wright's first full class as Villanova coach. The quartet is highly ranked by recruiting analysts and enticed ESPN's Dick Vitale to project Villanova will reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999.

But his debut at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic is less about immediately elevating his chosen college than commencing his education as a player.

"It's a difficult adjustment," Fraser says. Within 28 seconds of stepping onto the Garden court, he soars, to grab a teammate's errant shot--his first Villanova rebound. His attempt at a follow rolls off the rim.

"It is Thursday afternoon, less than three hours before Memphis and Syracuse meet at the Garden to open the 2002-03 season. Fraser is sitting in the handsome locker room at the New York Athletic Club where Villanova staged an afternoon practice. He smiles often, which is surprising because the memory of another rough practice is only a few minutes old.

"Jay pays attention to detail in everything in his life, but he doesn't in basketball," Wright says. "I've got to get him to understand that every pass, every little movement, is important. I think he's been a guy that's had so much success and always found a way to get it done. But he's so smart, and he listens."

Not long ago, being taller, quicker and more intense than opponents allowed Fraser to excel. He led Amityville High to four New York state championships and two club programs to national tournament titles. Villanova had to beat out North Carolina, St. John's and Louisville to sign him.

Those credentials conjure an image of someone like Alonzo Mourning when he arrived at Georgetown in 1988 or Chris Webber when he enrolled at Michigan in 1991. Fraser is special, but different, and not as advanced. He excels as a defender but does not provoke the same terror as Mourning. He hungrily pursues rebounds but lacks Webber's physical authority. At his best, Fraser delivers charismatic, creative direction reminiscent of Shane Battier and Mateen Cleaves, but those players needed experience to find their voices.

The discomfort of the learning process for Fraser was evident in the afternoon practice, in every rebound that slipped from his fingers, every layup that failed to connect.

He is at peace with his circumstance. His relentless optimism and strong religious faith prevent his surrender. The college game has come more quickly to Ray and Foye, but instead of turning jealous, Fraser views their early success as evidence a freshman can adjust in time to matter.

"The samurai warriors, they say after every battle they get stronger. That's the same way I am," Fraser says. "The more I get beat down, the more I fail, the harder I'm going to try to succeed.

"I feel myself mentally coming into it. It could be any day now."

Under the Garden lights, Fraser plays 15 minutes without scoring. He jams a shot into the underside of the rim. He misses another field-goal attempt and two flee throws before, early in the second half, he grabs a tough offensive rebound and draws contact from Merritt. Both foul shots connect. He has scored his first points as a Villanova Wildcat.