Amityville's Fraser optimistic about Villanova -- and his NBA dream

Jim Baumbach

March 28, 2008

So you think Villanova making the Sweet 16 as a 12 seed is an upset?

Jason Fraser laughed. No way!

Of course the former Amityville High School star is biased. These are his friends on the court. But he insisted that's not why he believed in Villanova's chances. He really expected this.

"Last week I was telling everyone I saw," Fraser said, "Villanova is going to be in the Sweet 16. Watch."

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Too bad we didn't check in with Fraser before filling out our brackets. He said he was so sure Villanova was going to the Sweet 16, he had them beating No. 4 Vanderbilt. Then the Wildcats' road to the Sweet 16 got much easier when No. 13 Siena upset Vanderbilt in the first round.

Now they face top-seeded Kansas, and Fraser isn't done with his predictions. How does the Elite Eight sound?

"This one, I'm behind the guys, I believe in them," Fraser said. "This one is going to be an upset. I'm on record."

Fraser may sound crazy, maybe just a touch, but he's not exactly blinded by the task at hand for his friends, former teammates and old coaches. Sure, Kansas will be incredibly tough to beat, but Fraser has always been an optimist.

"We have a chance against Kansas," Fraser said Wednesday night by phone. "Yes, everything has to go right for us. But it's not impossible. It's not like this is a one seed vs. the 16 seed."

Tip-off is just after 9:30 Friday night and Fraser will be parked on his couch in front of his TV in his Brentwood home, which he just moved into two weeks ago.

A 2006 graduate of Villanova, Fraser has returned to Long Island because he's still following his NBA dream. It wasn't too long ago when scouts were predicting he'd be a superstar; as a high school senior he was regularly mentioned in the same breath as Amare Stoudemire, now with the Pheonix Suns, as the best big men.

But injuries took their considerable toll on his surgically repaired knees, and Fraser is still fighting back. He is one month into a three-month rehab program with a team of doctors in the city who are helping him build strength.

Before returning to Long Island, Fraser lived with his wife, Tashay, and 2-year-old daughter, Blessing, just down the block from the Villanova campus. He has made his living as a licensed insurance broker for the past two years, and supports his family through that. But the NBA is still on his mind.

A few NBA teams have kept in contact with him, he said, and expressed interest in his progress. Last year he even played professionally in New Zealand, but as Fraser's luck would have it he broke his finger on a fluke play in practice right after a 30-something-point, 15-rebound game.

"Hey, everything happens for a reason, right?" Fraser said.

He said it seriously, with no real hint of frustration.

It would be hard for anybody in his shoes to be optimistic, given how his story has played out. He went from a NBA prospect in high school to a man of many operations. He had surgery on both knees after his freshman year to repair his ligaments and then microfracture surgery on both knees after his junior year. Mixed in there were hand injuries, a few more surgeries and a stress fracture or two in his feet.

Everything happens for a reason, he said, so I asked what that is, or if he ever wavers in doubt. "Honestly, sometimes we don't know the answer," he said. "But it is God's plan."

Fraser is very religious, and then told a story about a conversation he had with a man and his three daughters at his senior banquet. The man told Fraser about how his family learned so much from how he persevered through his injuries, never let up, kept on fighting. Fraser said he'll never forget that.

"You're going to be tested," Fraser said. "We're all tested. Every one of us, no matter what our faith is ... Problems are guaranteed in life."

So, yes, Fraser believes Villanova will beat Kansas Friday and he believes he has something to offer an NBA team.

How can you argue with him?