By PAUL GOTHAM
Jeff Fitch didn’t land the job from his first interview coming out of college.
That second work opportunity, though. That one stuck.
And more than five decades later, the Fitch name, now continued with his son Scott, has been on the sidelines for Red Raider basketball.
Fairport Central School District honored the family during a pre-game ceremony in December when it rededicated the court this past season.
“It’s a family thing, so it’s pretty cool,” Jeff Fitch said. “We’ve been at it together for 56 years together now.”
Hired for the 1968-69 season, Fitch spent the next 33 years at the helm until he retired in 2001. His Fairport teams won 459 games and 12 league titles. That final year he was on the sidelines the gym was dedicated as “Jeff Fitch Court.”
“I sorta got wind that the ex-players were trying to get that through because they knew I was getting ready to retire. I certainly knew about it before it actually happened, but I was very surprised there were enough of them still around and willing to push for it. A lot of times that doesn’t happen until you’re dead and gone. It was pretty cool to say the least.
“You don’t go into coaching thinking they’re going to name the court after you. It’s quite a surprise, but there are a lot of things when I first started coaching that I didn’t realize like the relationships you have for a lifetime with a lot of the kids you coach. That’s as much a surprise to me as anything else. I didn’t even think about that going into it. That’s one of those surprises in life that come back and hit you right square in the eyes after it’s all said and done.”
His son, Scott, took the reins from there and has guided Fairport basketball since then.
As part of the recent gymnasium renovation, the name on the hardwood was modified slightly to recognize the two generations of leadership.
“They dedicated it the first time. This time we changed it to the Coach Fitch Court instead of the Jeff Fitch Court. I think that was appropriate.
“It’s more of a family thing, and Scottie certainly deserves recognition even though that wasn’t the primary reason they named the court in 2001. Nobody knew the future. It just worked out. So many times, it doesn’t in life. This is just something that has perpetuated itself. It’s been very gratifying for me. It’s been a lot of fun.”
The elder Fitch played his high school basketball at Middlesex Valley, a school district which later combined with neighboring Gorham to form what is now known as Marcus Whitman Central Schools.
He continued his athletic and academic careers at East Texas State University, what is now known as Texas A&M University-Commerce where he became three-time NAIA All-American including First Team his senior year.
As a freshman, he converted 108 of 113 free throws and led the nation with a 95.6 percentage. During his junior season, he connected 186 times from the charity stripe – which still ranks among the top five in school history.
He was a three-time All-Lone Star Conference honoree and was named league MVP his senior year. Later he was part of a team that played an exhibition game at Canandaigua Academy against the Soviet Union in 1971. He was selected in the 1968 draft by the Dallas Chaparrals (now known as the San Antonio Spurs) of the American Basketball Association (ABA).
In the spring semester of his senior year of college (1968), he returned to Upstate New York and interviewed for the head coaching position at Gates Chili High School.
He didn’t get the job, but the Fairport spot had opened when Jack Quiggle left to become head coach of Finger Lakes Community College men’s basketball.
“When I was up here, they pretty much told me that the powers that be wanted somebody with experience (for the Gates job). It didn’t look really good, but in the meantime, my cousin Wilson Fitch at Eastridge called me and said he thought the Fairport job was open. I called and got an interview at Fairport at the same time.”
It’s hard to imagine the Fitch name not being associated with Fairport basketball.
“It’s crazy isn’t it? It’s one of those things that happened. Pretty crazy. My wife’s from Texas, so I probably would have stayed down there.”
Fitch’s teams went on to make six sectional championship game appearances and claimed the 1975 Class AAA title with a 49-46 victory over Webster Thomas.
“Fairport, when I got here, was a pretty small school. It was just starting to come into being. Rush-Henrietta was the biggest. The Webster schools were coming into being. It just exploded at that time.”
He was named to the Section V Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002 and New York State Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023.
Scott Fitch, who played at Fairport in the late 80s, took the head coaching ranks from his dad for the 2001-2002 season and has led Fairport to three sectional titles and a state championship appearance in 2017.
“It’s truly special,” he said of being able to continue the family line. ”For me, the ceremony was really special because you’ve got ex-players in the gym and then we all went out after that to celebrate him. I don’t think there is any greater tribute as a coach then to having your players around you and sharing stories and hearing the impact you had on their lives. That’s what that night offered for him.
“The naming of the court is such a nice tribute to him. Every time he walks in the gym, he’s reminded of the legacy that he left. Not only on the school, but the people he was able to touch.”
A two-time First Team NCAA Division III All-American selection at SUNY Geneseo, the younger Fitch garnered National Player of the Year honors in 1994.
He has been a coach with USA Basketball since 2017 and was part of the staff that led the U16 team to a gold medal finish in the 2017 FIBA Americas. Fitch also served as an assistant with 2018 U17 United States squad that took gold in the FIBA World Cup. He was head coach for the 2019 USA Nike Hoop Summit – a team that included Rochester native, Isaiah Stewart and was part of the staff that led the U16 team to a gold medal last year. He was in Turkey as an assistant coach with the U17 national team this summer and helped bring home another gold medal.
Jeff Fitch has remained a part of the Fairport basketball program throughout Scott’s tenure as a program advisor.
“We’ve done it all together and I still go to all the practices, so I’m with him with all his kids now,” Jeff said. “It’s definitely a shared love that we’ve had for the program. Scottie certainly has kept it going. It’s just fun to see all the kids come back.”
Two of the best coaches ever in Sec 5. Great people also.