https://naviga.triblive.com/sports/emotional-sendoff-on-senior-night-nothing-short-of-a-dream-for-pitts-aidan-fisch/
Emotional sendoff on senior night 'nothing short of a dream' for Pitt's Aidan Fisch
Since the moment he arrived on campus in Oakland, Aidan Fisch dreamed of wearing a Pitt uniform and contributing to a winning team.
His contributions began early on as a team manager for the men’s basketball team.
Flash ahead to Saturday night, and Fisch was pinching himself as he scored the final basket as Pitt slammed Syracuse, 99-82, at Petersen Events Center.
The Franklin Regional alum and Panthers senior, who made the team as a walk-on in 2020, had a sellout crowd chanting his name late in a victory that improved Pitt’s record to 21-8 overall and lifted the team into first place by themselves in the ACC.
Coach Jeff Capel lauded Fisch with the game ball afterward, with both men showing tearful emotion.
The Panthers’ 12th man made garbage time feel like overtime.
With 14 seconds remaining, the 6-foot-6 Fisch drove the lane and scored on a left-handed layup from high off the glass. It didn’t mean much to the outcome, but the play received the loudest cheer on senior night.
Can’t even put into words how thankful I am that @jeffcapel gave me a chance. Hail to Pitt.???? https://t.co/10hRCtrs2J— Aidan Fisch (@fischtank13) February 26, 2023
Fisch was pulled to the floor by teammates in celebration. He was the man of the hour in a lopsided win for the upstart Panthers, who are suddenly in the March Madness conversation.
“Last night was a real culmination of a lifetime of hard work and perseverance,” Fisch said Sunday. “To be able to be in front of that crowd last night was nothing short of a dream.”
The crowd went wild when Aidan Fisch scored ???? pic.twitter.com/PugNpyumUI— ACC Network (@accnetwork) February 26, 2023
Fun with Fisch & friends ???? pic.twitter.com/mdLhY6ESoO
— Pitt Panthers (@Pitt_ATHLETICS) February 26, 2023
It was Fisch’s ninth appearance of the season. He has four points in 18 minutes of action, but he has appreciated every second.
“I love this program more than anything,” he said. And his teammates have reciprocated.
Fisch did, after all, win the team’s Gold Standard Teammate of the Year award last spring.
“He has been as big a part of this turnaround as anyone,” Capel said. “He has believed. He has led. He has showed up every day.”
A number of Fisch’s former Franklin Regional teammates, and their former coach, showed their appreciation to Fisch in a group chat Sunday morning.
“So proud of him,” former Franklin Regional coach Steve Scorpion said. “He deserves all of it. He just kept working and stayed positive. It was like a fairy-tale ending. Couldn’t have happened to a better kid.”
Scorpion, a Pitt fan and the grandson of former Panthers broadcaster Dick Groat, said what might have gotten lost in the nanosecond of joy was the basket itself that Fisch made.
“That was a pretty nice move and finish as well,” Scorpion said. “Nobody mentions that cause of the moment and how awesome that was, but the move and finish was big time.”
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