Corey Fisher

Joseph Treutlein

After steadily improving his production and efficiency numbers through all of his first three seasons in college, Corey Fisher will finally have the opportunity to be the lead guard for Villanova as a senior with Scottie Reynolds finally out of the picture. Fisher should have ample opportunity to increase both his scoring and distributing roles this year, and how he handles both should be crucial to his stock.

Since we last profiled Fisher two years ago, he's done a good job improving on his decision-making and shot selection, though neither is what would be classified as strengths still. He's prone to settling for ill-advised pull-up jumpers with a hand in his face, while he also tends to show tunnel vision on some dribble penetration opportunities, forcing the issue with the ball.

On the positive side, Fisher is a deadly shooter when spotting up or pulling up in space, showing range to the NBA three-point line and very good form when he has space. Things break down for his shot considerably when he's pulling up from isolation situations, however, as he tends to go off balance and not contain his momentum well. Given Villanova's guard-heavy, isolation-based offense, this is something Fisher gets into trouble with a decent amount, and it will be interesting to see how he adjusts this year when he's forced to shoulder even more of the shot creation burden.

In terms of attacking the basket, Fisher shows a nice first step with the ball and a very good top speed, something that is best on display in transition. In the halfcourt he has problems finishing at the rim, though he makes up for it by drawing contact well to get to the line and by relying heavily on a developing mid-range game, frequently going to runners and floaters in the lane. His accuracy needs to improve on these shots, but it's good he's adapting to that style of play now, as it will be necessary for him to have in his arsenal to make it in the NBA.

As a distributor, Fisher shows nice flashes at times, excelling mostly on simple drive-and-kicks where he displays good court vision when he wants to, while also doing a good job pushing the ball with his speed in transition. He definitely is still a shoot-first player, prone to tunnel vision at times forcing his own shot, but with his backcourt mate Scottie Reynolds no longer in the picture, it will be interesting to see how he adapts this season, needing to handle more ball distributing himself.

Defensively, Fisher is a pesky player with a strong motor and good fundamentals. He possesses good size and lateral quickness for the point guard position while playing with an aggressive mentality on and off the ball. He does a good job with positioning off the ball, staying between his man and the ball, and does a good job getting his hands up to contest both in isolations and rotating over.

Looking forward, Fisher's spot-up shooting ability, speed with the ball, and defensive tenacity are all attractive qualities from an NBA perspective, but he will likely need to prove this season he can run an offense on his own, something he should have every opportunity to do. Continuing to improve his shot selection, mid-range game, and overall point guard skills should be his top priorities.

While his minutes and production fluctuated significantly from game to game, Corey Fisher had a pretty good freshman season for Villanova, where he should get plenty of opportunities in the years to come. The 6’1 guard is a good fit in Jay Wright’s guard-heavy system, and he’ll hope to improve on the 21.9 minutes per game he saw last season. While he isn’t a full-time starter yet, Wright has shown he has no hesitancy to start multiple small guards at once, though Fisher will have to earn it, as Villanova’s entire rotation returns this season along with freshman center Maurice Sutton.

Right now, Fisher’s game is still a little rough around the edges, although it’s easy to see he definitely has a lot of talent. Fisher’s game is mostly based around his jump shot at the moment, which shows good range and form on spot-up attempts. His 33% from three-point range isn’t very impressive, but he shows the foundation that he can improve upon that in the near future. Fisher is much better on the catch-and-shoot than he is pulling up off the dribble, scoring 1.22 points per possession spotting up and 0.84 PPP pulling up, according to Synergy Sports Technology. By design in Villanova’s offense, though, Fisher pulls up noticeably more than he spots up, which is a large reason why his shooting percentages are so low across the board (35% FG, 42% eFG%, 47% TS%). To take his game to the next level, Fisher will either need to become more selective with his outside shooting or work on improving his off-the-dribble shot, which has some inconsistencies, specifically with his body control and balance, as he doesn’t always square his body and has a tendency to fade away on some shots.

Fisher is capable with his dribble-drive game as well, showing a decent first step, nice ability to change speeds, and a high top speed with the ball in his hands. He gets in the lane with ease, using strong crossover and spin moves to assist him, though he isn’t the greatest finisher once at the rim, despite good creativity. Fisher plays smaller than his listed 6’1 in the lane, not showing great elevation and struggling to score over weakside help. He relies a lot on pump fakes and up-and-under moves to compensate for his size/lack of elevation, and while he nets some impressive plays with it, he doesn’t get the job done consistently, converting for just 0.82 PPP at the basket. Fisher seems to be carrying a significant amount of extra weight on his frame—getting into better physical shape could help improve his just-average athleticism.

As a point guard, Fisher shows good court vision and has a nice skill-set for the position, possessing a strong handle as well. He plays the pick-and-roll well, moves the ball around, and is good at making dump-off passes on drives, however it’s tough to get a great feel for him as a point due to the inconsistent minutes he plays and due to Villanova’s offensive system. He tends to play the lead guard spot when he comes in off the bench, but doesn’t see a ton of playing time once in, making it difficult to evaluate his floor general skills at the moment.

Fisher does a solid job on the defensive end, showing pretty good foot speed, focus, and defensive stance, while he fights strong over screens and does a good job with the little things like keeping his hands up. Like many freshman, though, he’s prone to biting for change-of-direction fakes. He’s also a threat off the ball, making 1.1 steals in just 21.9 minutes per game.

Fisher will likely need to stay in school until he’s at least a junior or senior to develop his game enough for the NBA, because he’ll need to improve as both a scorer and a distributor to have a good chance considering his average physical tools. If he can earn more minutes in Wright’s guard-friendly offense, it could fast-track his development as a player overall, but until floor general Scottie Reynolds is out of the picture, Fisher’s development as a point guard could be stalled while they share the duties.

Corey Fisher had an excellent game, leading his team to victory as their primary point guard, and earning himself a co-MVP award along the way by dishing out the most assists in this All-Star game’s history. Fisher played a good floor game, finding a nice balance between scoring and distributing the ball, just like he’d done in practices in the days leading up to the main event. He managed to get things done in a lot of ways on the offensive end, but where he really stood out were with his hesitation and crossover dribbles, often used in unison to get his man off balance en route to the basket. He used his crossover move in transition and the halfcourt, and usually followed it up with a lay-up at the hoop or a floater in the lane, though he wasn’t able to convert on all his shot attempts off the cross. Regardless, he showed pretty nice body control on his drives, and a nice arsenal of moves in the lane, even if he could use some work on his finishing abilities. Fisher also had a very nice up-and-under move on one drive coming off a screen, a play which he finished off nicely with a finger-roll over two defenders at the hoop.

Fisher’s three-point shot wasn’t falling here, but he converted on a decent amount of them in the practices and scrimmages leading up to the feature game, and his form is adequate. Aside from some of his fancier drives, Fisher also efficiently got to the rim on a few other drives to draw fouls and score some easy lay-ups in the halfcourt.

In terms of passing the ball, Fisher looked very good here, especially in transition, where all of the point guards seemed to thrive in this up-tempo, defense-optional setting. Fisher dished out an assortment of assists on the break, including dump offs and passes ahead for open lay-ups. In the halfcourt, he made a few nice dump offs, but looked at his best running the pick-and-roll, showing a good understanding of how to read the defense and dishing off some perfect passes to his teammates on the roll.

Fisher was definitely one of the more underrated players heading into this game, but he managed to stand out here, and Villanova should have a nice addition next season to their guard-heavy offense.

This was another pretty solid showing for Corey Fisher, finding a nice balance between his passing and scoring, doing a good job manning the floor general role for his team. He racked up his assists in many ways, throwing alley-oops in transition, playing the pick-and-roll, drive-and-dishing, and just making passes in the half-court. One especially impressive pass occurred when he had the ball on the wing and threw a hard chest pass to the low block on the opposite side of the painted area, doing so with nice precision.

In terms of scoring the ball, Fisher hit a long fade-away jumper just inside three-point range, hit a spot-up three pointer, and showed off some nice craftiness taking the ball to the hoop. On one play he changed speeds at the top of the key to get his man off balance before taking it to the hole and laying it up lefty off the glass. On another play he drove right and crossed the ball over to his left, drawing contact and the foul on the shot attempt. Fisher also had a very nice play on defense where he anticipated a pass going to his man and reached out into the passing lane, stealing the ball and taking it the length of the court for a lay-up.

Fisher had a good showing here, exhibiting his inside-out offensive game along with his ability to create for teammates, though he forced the issue a bit at times when penetrating into the defense. Fisher controlled the ball a good amount in the game, and was responsible for creating plenty of his squad’s scoring opportunities, throwing alley-oops in transition to the extremely athletic Chris Wright, making assists off pick-and-rolls, dropping the ball off in the lane on drives, and making a really nice bounce pass through the defense in the half-court to a cutter. Fisher also scored the ball himself well, hitting some right-handed floaters and a few three-pointers coming around screens.

Fisher has been a player whom many have always felt would be a perfect fit in a Nova uni, and he showed exactly why in the Roundball, dropping 16 assists in only 26 minutes of action. He looked like a Kyle Lowry clone, with his outstanding change of pace dribble moves and remarkable vision. There is no doubt in my mind that he will contribute from day one in college, as he has many of the same traits as the current Memphis Grizzlie Lowry holds. He is a fearless guard with the body of a running back, whom uses his body to get into the lane and score over bigger defenders. Given the Wildcats perimeter oriented offense, it is certainly not out of the question to imagine Fisher leaving Villanova early for the NBA draft. His tough play, outstanding court vision, and ability to score are just too much to pass on for NBA teams, and will be put on the big stage once he hit’s the hardwood in college.

Fisher got into early foul trouble and wasn’t allowed to play his style because of it. Fisher is a physical player for a point guard, stocky and tough to push around. But, this style of play rubbed his opponent the wrong way, leading to his defender taking a swing at Fisher after the two had bodied up and exchanged words during the first half of play. With four fouls over the course of the entire second half, it was difficult for Fisher to assert himself thereafter.

What Fisher did show, especially early on, is that he’s got great passing ability. Fisher uses his strength and creativity off the dribble to penetrate the lane and find teammates with exceptional looks. Fisher is the classic point who makes the difficult pass look easy. He didn’t force many passes at all and seemed to read the plays ahead of the action on the court.

Fisher’s shot was inconsistent, but he does have range out to eighteen feet. His form isn’t perfect, but his follow through is solid, so he should be able to improve his accuracy with time. Although he’s quite strong, Fisher isn’t very fast and doesn’t have anywhere near the explosive athleticism of a player like Bayless. Fisher has to rely on his ability to ball-handle and set up his defender in order to get into the lane, which is fine as pure athleticism is not the only ingredient in professional success.

Fisher has some craft shots going toward the basket. He can double-clutch, get off the floater, or make a tough bank shot going away from the basket. But, his size and lift will make any interior scoring a series of in between shots and tricks, because he won’t be able to finish over help defenders on the collegiate level. He should be a quality point in college, but needs to really maximize his physical conditioning and refine his perimeter game if he wants to entertain ideas of becoming a pro because dribbling and slick passing alone won’t get it done.