BEST GUY IN THE WORLD
Position: G Date of Birth: 03/10/1986 Height: 5' 9" Weight: 160 lbs College: Siena College (N.Y.) '08 Hometown: Kingston, New York
Biography:
Second-year Globetrotter Firefly Fisher is living proof that big things can come in small packages.
A native of Kingston, N.Y., Firefly grew up watching the New York Knicks, which inspired him to play basketball in his father’s driveway every chance he could. The driveway court was made of rocks, so Firefly had to become an expert ball handler.
Firefly also loved track and field, a sport he participated in until he was 13, running the 100 meters and competing in the high jump; but once he turned his focus to hoops in high school, he began to soar, once scoring 61 points in a game, earning him praise in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” section.
Firefly took his sharp-shooting talents to Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y., where he propelled the Saints to the 2007-08 MAAC regular season and postseason titles and a stunning 83-62 upset of SEC power Vanderbilt in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, a game in which he was six-for-six on three-pointers. Firefly shot a blistering 44.4 percent from three-point range that season as a senior and was a 2008 Globetrotters draftee. That has him excited to take aim at the Harlem Globetrotters’ new 4-point shot.
In the first year of his Globetrotter career, Firefly had some very unique experiences. One of his first tours was the team’s annual holiday military tour, during which Firefly and his teammates entertained U.S. troops in Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Djibouti and Qatar. Among the 14 countries Firefly visited in his first year as a Globetrotter was China, where he got to see the Great Wall of China and take his first ride ever on a camel.
A lover of music, Firefly says his favorite song to sing in the car is, “Anything I think I know the lyrics to.” He is not only a fan of the Knicks, but also the New York Yankees and New York Giants…and chicken wings.
Many of his coaches gave a young Firefly more than just on-court guidance; they made sure he was doing things right off the court as well, so he could achieve all of his goals. He shares that knowledge by mentoring kids and conducting camps in his hometown, and when his playing days are over, Firefly would enjoy becoming a teacher.
“Many kids today lack a strong male role model to lead them in the right direction,” says Firefly. He tells kids, “Have a goal in life, and do not wait for it to come to you, because opportunities don’t just happen. You have to work hard and go get it.”
Firefly’s hard work has paid off by becoming a member of a unique fraternity as a Globetrotter. “I love to perform and make people smile, and there isn’t a better way to do that than with the Harlem Globetrotters