Warsaw Hoops Star's Appearance On 'Dancing' Stirs Memories
Warsaw Hoops Star's Appearance On 'Dancing' Stirs Memories
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Warsaw Hoops Star's Appearance On 'Dancing' Stirs Memories"Dancing With The Stars" is not the first television show or movie Warsaw Community High School 1987 graduate and former NBA player Rick Fox has appeared in.
But the celebrity dance contest has people talking about Fox again.
Dave Fulkerson, former Warsaw Community High School athletic director, remembers Fox well.
"The first time I saw Rick Fox was when Rhodes had him in the gym working with him," Fulkerson said in an interview Thursday morning.
Former WCHS basketball coach Al Rhodes had Fox working on his jump shot from eight to 10 feet. Fox would shoot from the left side and couldn't make it, Fulkerson said, but he could take the ball from the right side and dunk it.
Rhodes told Fulkerson that Fox had the ability to get to the next level in college and then on to the pro's because he was that good, Fulkerson recalled.
After that remark and watching him, Fulkerson thought Rhodes might be a little crazy, but Fox proved Rhodes right.
"He was an outstanding athlete," Fulkerson said.
Fox also was talked into being on the track team. Though he never did the high jump before, Fox was able to jump at 6 feet 4 inches or 5 inches, Fulkerson said.
He was a natural at athletics, Fulkerson said. He could have picked any sport and excelled. Any skills Fox had on the basketball court, Fulkerson attributed those to Rhodes' mentoring.
"Now, his dancing, I don't know if Rhodes taught him that kind of dancing," Fulkerson said.
After high school, Fox played basketball for North Carolina. He was drafted by the Boston Celtics, eventually playing on three of Los Angles Lakers' championship teams.
Fulkerson said he doesn't really stay in contact with Fox, but Fox does come back to Warsaw every now and then. And when he does, Fox always goes to the Boys & Girls Club.
"One thing about Rick is, he's never forgot about his roots," Fulkerson said.
He said Fox knows that if he never would have came to Warsaw, and was never coached by Rhodes, he would never have gotten to be where he's at today.
"He was as a good of an individual as he was a basketball player," said Fulkerson.
When Fox does come back to Warsaw, Fulkerson said Fox always makes himself available to the kids for autographs.
Fox was a freshman when Jeff Grose, who went on to be Indiana's Mr. Basketball in 1985, was a senior.
"I remember him as a kid and wanting to play ball," said Grose Thursday.
Though Grose doesn't watch "DWTS", he watched him when he played basketball in college and in the NBA. He also watches clips of Fox on "DWTS" online.
"I've been amazed watching him not only in college but also in the pro's," Grose said. ".. It's a giggle but in a neat way. It's amazing with everything he's done."
"The first thing is, I don't know about dancing, but I do know a lot about Rick," said Rhodes, who now coaches basketball at Penn High School in Mishawaka.
Rhodes said Fox has the kind of charisma that if he's going to do anything, he's going to do a good job at it. Fox went from not playing any basketball to playing ball in high school, then at North Carolina and then the NBA.
"His story with basketball is an amazing story beyond belief," Rhodes said.
Fox was always a hard worker and a great listener, said Rhodes. He assumes Fox is applying those same attributes to "DWTS".
"Everything I know about Rick is, I wouldn't bet against him," Rhodes said.
While not a big fan of the show, Rhodes said he and his wife, Kathy, try to watch Fox's part in the show as they're fans of Fox. Kathy may be a bit more fan of the dancing than Al, too, he said.
"(Rick) spent a lot of years in Warsaw. He did a great job of representing the Warsaw community when he was a student," said Rhodes.
Fox is working on his directing and acting career, Rhodes said. He said that may be one reason Fox decided to be a contestant on "DWTS".
The last time Rhodes saw Fox was about two years ago, he said. He has talked to him since, and learned that Fox wants to be an American citizen if he isn't already. Fox was born in Toronto, Canada, before his family moved to the Bahamas.
Coming back to the United States while in school, Fox stayed with the family of Gene Gossman.
"Gene Gossman's family took him in and were great role models. They did a great job of making him a better person," said Fulkerson.
Being the person he is, Rhodes said he could see Fox going into politics some day, too.
Fox's only detriment to being an actor may be the same thing that made him a great basketball player - his height, said Rhodes. Actors may not want to work beside someone who is almost seven foot tall.
Fox's dance partner on the reality dance competition is Cheryl Burke. It airs on ABC on Mondays, with the results show on Tuesdays.
Besides "DWTS", according to Internet Movie Data Base, Fox previously appeared in two episodes of "Melrose Place", one episode of "Dollhouse", two episodes of "The Game", six episodes of "Dirt", two episodes of "Ugly Betty", five episodes of "One Tree Hill", six episodes of "Love Inc.", one episode of "Kevin Hill", four episodes of "1-800-Missing", an episode of "The Fairly Odd Parents", an episode of "Street Time"and 11 episodes of "Oz" on HBO.
Fox also was in the movies "Meet the Browns", "The Collectors", "Resurrection", "He Got Game", "Blue Chips" and "Eddie".
