Former 5-Star Recruit Elijah Fisher joins Pacific Tigers
Coach Dave Smart adds another impact Canadian to the roster
North American basketball fans have been hearing about the exploits of 6’6” Elijah Fisher since the age of 12 when he was impacting games with players five years old than him. His length, athleticism, scoring ability and instincts had some scouts touting him as the top North American player in the Class of 2023 as far back as 2017 and possibly the “best ever” from Canada. Much has happened since then, highlighted by Fisher being rated as a consensus five-star recruit and then reclassifying to the class of 2022.
While his first two seasons (freshman ‘22-’23 at Texas Tech and sophomore ‘23-’24 at DePaul) did not produce the type of results many expected from the newest commit to the Pacific Tigers program, Head Coach Dave Smart is nonetheless thrilled that Fisher has joined the program:
“We strongly believe Elijah has tremendous potential that can be realized in our program. With his physical tools, he has a chance to be an elite defender and be a major part of our offense. We expect him to play significant minutes and to help us a ton right away.”
Still only 20 years old, Fisher comes off a sophomore season in the Big East with the Blue Demons when he averaged 10.2 ppg (2nd on the team) and 3.8 rpg. Fisher shot 52% from the floor but just 26% from three, leading the Devils in minutes played at 31.8 per game. Fisher had a season-high 25 points in a four-point loss at Long Beach State and went a perfect 12-12 from the free throw line vs. Marquette in what was otherwise a rough season for De Paul (3-29, 0-20, losing their last 20 games in a row).
After reclassifying in early 2022 and receiving offers from 70+ schools including Kansas, Baylor, Florida, Florida State, Oregon, Missouri, Kentucky, Memphis and Louisville, Fisher signed with Texas Tech, starting his freshman season in Lubbock at the tender age of 18, playing in parts of 28 games (3.3 ppg/2.0 rpg).
Fisher then transferred to DePaul and also spent the summer of 2023 playing for Canada’s U19 national team, averaging 11.7 ppg over 7 games on a team that included 6’10” Michael Nwoko (Miami), 6’4” Xaivian Lee (Princeton) and 6’8” Jordann Dumont (Villanova).
On May 5th, 2024, Ersin Demir, aspiring NBA Draft scout, listed Fisher among his “Starting Five of favorite players left in the Portal”
G — Kadary Richmond, G — Sion James, W — Elijah Fisher, F — Ezra Ausar, F — Ven-Allen Lubin.
Fisher joins fellow Canadian 6’3” Jefferson Koulibaly, 6’4” Lamar Washington, 6’0” Donyae May and 6’9” Solomon Ominu to the growing 2024-25 Pacific Tigers roster with more announcements likely in the coming days.
Welcome Elijah!!