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Chase Fieler enjoying life

When it comes down to it, things are going about as good as they could be for 2010 Parkersburg South first-team Class AAA all-state basketball player Chase Fieler.

The Florida Gulf Coast University graduate, who was part of the famed “Dunk City” 2013 squad which became the first NCAA program to reach the Sweet 16 as a No. 15 seed, is just as busy with his personal life as he is with the roundball.

On Wednesday, the ex-Patriot inked a two-year contract with BC Telenet Oostende, which competes in the top tier of the Belgian League.

“They won the championship this year, making it their sixth in a row,” Fieler said of his new team. “Hopefully, I can get two more (championships).”

Although he still hopes to one day play in the NBA, Fieler went undrafted out of FGCU and promptly won a championship in Spain with Club Ourense Balconcesto in 2014-15. He has since followed that up with two very impressive campaigns, winning back-to-back titles with Donar Groningen of the Netherlands in the Dutch Basketball League.

“It was great,” Fieler said of the experience. “They speak great English over there and that has made the experience so much easier and winning championships makes everything so much better.

“Last year, from start to finish, we just dominated the league. It really flew by and I think we won by an average of 25 points or something.”

During a 28-point blowout of Limburg United back in November, Fieler set a new FIBA Europe Cup efficiency record (46) thanks to his 24 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, four blocks and four steals performance. He averaged 15 points on nearly 69 percent shooting from the field — 39 percent from 3-point land — as well as 7.5 boards and three assists during league play.

Not only did the former Patriot standout make the all-DBL team, he was awarded the DBL Statistical Player of the Year Award and also claimed the DBL playoffs MVP.

“It’s been awesome living out a childhood dream wanting to be an athlete, playing basketball as my job and source of income,” added Fieler, who didn’t know until he was told he actually does have a Wikipedia page. “It’s great to be able to come home every summer and go back to the Elite Sports Center and help kids train and teach them things I have learned.

“Zac Grossenbacher (PHS/West Liberty University) is trying to go through the process of going overseas. Him and I have built a relationship and it’s been fun to try and come back and help him. These last few years, playing basketball as my job has been great. It’s really tough to beat. Instead of going to work at 8 a.m., I have lifting at 11 a.m. and practice at 3 p.m. and that’s it.”

The 6-foot-8 point forward said he mainly played on the perimeter this past season and only posted up when he had a size mismatch.

“Playing on the great team that I was on, we really made it easy for each other, learning the European system and learning the style of basketball and getting comfortable,” he said.

“Next year, going to a new team, they only signed two new guys and it will be a fun and interesting challenge trying to learn my new role.”

One thing is for certain, Fieler is going to be learning a “new role” real soon and that is being a husband. He’s set to marry fiancee Whitney Masters, a FGCU volleyball alum, this coming Saturday in Croton, Ohio.

“It’s outside of Columbus. It’s the halfway point between her house and mine. She’s from Muncie, Indiana,” said the soon-to-be married man.

After asking him if he was more nervous about going to his new club this fall or the wedding, Fieler replied “I’m not nervous for either, but this wedding has been nerve-racking. Basketball is my outlet. I made it through my bachelor party. That was a long trip. We did two nights in Miami and then a four-day cruise.”

Currently, Fieler said he’s been reffing at the Elite Sports Center while enjoying his time back in the Mid-Ohio Valley.

“I help them when I can and I also work out there with Bryan and Terry (Crislip). They put me through workouts and a lot of the college guys come back and that’s where I get a majority of my workouts at,” he said.

“I definitely feel blessed. The experiences I’ve been able to have in travelling and seeing the places I have and that’s not even considering the fact I’ve been on winning teams and had three championships. I’m very thankful for the opportunities I’ve been given.”

Although Fieler, who said he believes he has to report overseas at the beginning of August, understands his role with Oostende might be a reduced one minutes-wise, “it’s a better league,” he said. “I spoke with the (Donar) coach and told him I wasn’t going to come back because I wanted to challenge myself more.

“In the Dutch league in Holland, I was MVP of the finals and I felt like I had won everything I could there and I wanted to challenge myself in basketball.”

An aspect he’s going to miss from playing for Donar was the fan following he received last year. A group of fanatics started a “Fear the Beard” campaign. What started out as something innocent turned into droves of people wearing fake beards and making T-shirts.

“I really just grew it (the beard) out of laziness and didn’t want to shave,” Fieler admitted. “Then it got to the point to where everyone was saying to cut it, so I didn’t cut it in spite of it.

“I was playing well with it and it got brought up in a media session. It became a way bigger topic of discussion than it should’ve been. The fans took it and ran with it. They had a lot of fun with it.”

Whether or not his NBA dream ever comes to fruition, Fieler’s just going to keep balling and doing what he loves.

“I always aspire to play in the NBA. It’s the best league in the world with the best players,” he added. “I know there is a process. I’m also just trying to enjoy it. I think my fiancee and I already have travelled to eight or nine countries together and I’ve been to almost 20 myself.

“Getting to explore the world, I’ve delved into different cultures and I didn’t think I was going to enjoy that as much as I have. I’ve been fortunate to be in great places in Spain and Holland. I’ve enjoyed getting to see the world and getting paid to do it, for the most part.”

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com.

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