Iowa’s Fleming shows grit in approach

NORTH LIBERTY - Andrew Fleming's voice was hoarse and his body on antibiotics last night. Yet the incoming Iowa freshman guard saddled up and played hard in his Prime Time League basketball game.

'I still felt like I could play,” he said. 'So if I think I can play, I'm going to go out there and play.”

There's little doubt Fleming expects to play quite a bit this year. There's no doubt that he's willing to compete to prove it. Fleming left a comfortable environment in Tennessee for the most renowned basketball academy in the country. Fleming led Enworth (Tenn.) to three straight Division II state titles. Twice he was named Tennessee's Division II-AA Mr. Basketball and was picked as the state championship MVP.

Yet when he had the opportunity to play at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., for his senior year, he jumped at the chance.

'You have to let go of your friends, your family, where you came from, your senior year and doing it for your school again,” Fleming said. 'You've got to let go of your pride and ... and you have to understand that you're not that good and you have to get better.”

At Enworth, Fleming led his region in scoring as a sophomore (20.5 ppg) and junior (19.3 ppg). After three years, Fleming scored 1,117 points and holds single-game school records for points (49) and 3-pointers (nine).

But Oak Hill was an opportunity he couldn't pass up. The academy produced NBA stars Brandon Jennings, Rajon Rondo, Josh Smith, Carmelo Anthony, Jerry Stackhouse and Jordan Adams. So Fleming moved, dealt with the loneliness and further developed into a better basketball player.

'You're out there by yourself with nine guys alone in the woods,” Fleming said. 'You're by yourself and you play basketball at 6 a.m., lift four or five times a week. You're playing basketball three times a day for multiple hours, let alone practice. We play until midnight, we do it every day to the point where it's probably too much. It got me a lot better.”

Oak Hill ended its season 47-1 and was national runner-up. Fleming hit 72 3-pointers last year at a 38-percent clip, including a team-best eight 3-pointers in a game.

Fleming, who stands 6-foot-4, committed to Iowa a year ago before he attended Oak Hill. At Iowa, he's taking two classes this summer and working out several times a day, beginning at 7 a.m. He's listed as a shooting guard, but can play some point, small forward and even defend the four in a pinch.

In six previous Prime Time League games this summer, Fleming averaged 27.6 points and four 3-pointers per game. He scored 42 points in a game last week.

'I think I'm adjusting well,” he said. 'Practice has been going well, I'm playing well. I'm playing confident, doing everything Coach wants and probably more.”

He's one of five freshmen entering Iowa this fall. He enjoys the competition, and is making new friends along the way.

'I think I'll play,” he said. 'I'm just going to keep doing what I can do to play, and I'll let the rest take care of itself.”

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