Diamondbacks’ Coleman gets assist from father Marcus Fizer

Desert Oasis assistant boys basketball coach Marcus Fizer could barely contain himself last week watching national power Bishop Gorman dissect the Diamondbacks in a nonconference home game.

The former Iowa State star and fourth overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft wanted so badly to jump in and show the teenagers a thing or two. And he certainly could have, given that he's "not officially" retired from the game.

But Fizer, 37, knows it's not his turn anymore. Today, his role is to be Dad and coach to his 17-year-old son, Aamondae Coleman, who is becoming a notable player in his own right.

"He's turning eyes," Fizer said. "He was turning eyes last year, but he's really gotten the attention of people now. We're trying to keep him grounded and let him know how much more he still has to progress. We'll see what happens. …

"Honestly, as a senior in high school, he does a lot more than what I did. He shoots way better. I was a little bit bigger. I was 6 (feet) 6 (inches) and ended up at about 6-8½, so we're still looking forward to him growing a little bit more."

Coleman, a 6-foot-5-inch, 190-pound forward at Desert Oasis, is the oldest son of Fizer and one of Southern Nevada's top players. He is averaging 25.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals.

"I'm just trying to play well," Coleman said. "Play my hardest all the time and hopefully colleges will look at me. But I want us to go far as a team and get a home playoff game."

Against Gorman last week, Coleman scored 30 points on 11-of-19 shooting while being matched up against Zach Collins — a 6-11 Gonzaga commit. Despite his team losing 98-73, Coleman delivered a performance that grabbed the attention of everyone in attendance, including 15th-year Gaels coach Grant Rice.

"You may have lost, but that's a highlight game for him," Rice told Desert Oasis coach Ryan Fretz during postgame handshakes.

It wasn't the first time Coleman showed his talent.

Coleman, a three-year varsity player, isn't the menacing force and dominating post player that Fizer was in college or his 16-year professional career. But he's found his own niche as a versatile big while taking dad's advice.

"One thing he's taught me is to keep a killer instinct," Coleman said. "Sometimes I'll let up. One time I knocked somebody over in practice who wasn't on our (intrasquad) team, and I tried to help him up. He was like, 'Why are you helping him up? He's not on your team.' He says I can be friends with people off the court, but on the court, you've got to be mean."

That mentality has served Coleman well these past few years. After averaging 15.5 points and 10.3 rebounds last season and being named to the All-Northwest League first team, Coleman started to receive interest from Air Force, Cal State Bakersfield, Utah Valley and Valparaiso. Now, it's only a matter of time before the list expands.

But that success didn't come as easily in middle school or during his freshman year of high school in Louisiana.

"People would tell me, 'You're nowhere as good as your dad. I can't believe he's your dad,'" Coleman said.

Those talks have been muted since he changed schools in 2013. Coleman, who has his mother's last name, got a chance to prove himself before anyone found out about his famous dad, who played in 289 NBA games in six seasons before having a 10-year overseas career.

Fizer was playing in South America and the Middle East when Coleman started at Desert Oasis.

He was the program's most improved player in his first season and is now the undisputed leader of a team with high playoff aspirations.

"He was just so raw when he came here, but he was a sponge," Fretz said. "He was our most improved player that year as a sophomore. He listened and learned so much. I've never had a player improve so much. … He definitely ranks up there with the best players I've ever coached."

Fizer, who last played professionally in Uruguay this year, has embraced the new chapter of his life as coach. He hopes to share everything he's learned — the good and the bad — to all of his players, particularly to the son he had when he was a freshman at Iowa State.

"Being that young and super athletic, and being a high draft pick, I thought I had all the answers," Fizer said. "Those guys (Chicago Bulls veteran teammates Antonio Davis, Charles Oakley, Scottie Pippen) would come in and work out and have to go to the training room. I could be out all night and come in and not get taped and jump out of the gym. … By the time I started to wake up and figure it out, I started having injuries and things like that."

Fizer might not have had the NBA career many envisioned when he left college, but he managed to put together a respectable career and gain one big fan along the way.

A fan who hopes to be better than his idol one day.

"I'm nowhere as good as he was, but I hope to be," Coleman said. "I strive to be better than him one day. I want to make a name for my own self. I don't want to be known as Marcus Fizer's son my whole life."

Contact reporter Ashton Ferguson at aferguson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0430. Follow him on Twitter: @af_ferguson.