Chase Fischer enjoyed a breakout basketball season, leading the state in scoring for the Ripley Vikings.

But the 6-foot-4 junior credits his increased strength for the jump in his stock, which is leading him to the Atlantic Coast Conference. Fischer gave his word this week to Wake Forest.

"I've always had the skill," Fischer said. "I can better take contact, the box-and-ones I see, make difficult shots when they're contested. That's my biggest improvement."

Fischer led the state in scoring with 33.1 points per game and finished second in player-of-the-year voting to Logan's Noah Cottrill. He was a co-player of the year in the Mountain State Athletic Conference, sharing the award with South Charleston's Pierria' Henry.

He committed way back in 2008 to Marshall and coach Donnie Jones, even before his sophomore season. He started to back that up with a solid 16-and-under AAU season, first for the Ohio Basketball Club's Adidas team, then for the West Virginia Wildcats Select.

When Jones departed Marshall for Central Florida, Fischer threw his recruitment open again. Fischer said coach Tom Herrion did contact him.

But a Thundering Herd alumnus, Jeff Battle, made the right pitch. Battle, a point guard for Rick Huckabay's teams of the 1980s, was retained on the Wake staff when Jeff Bzdelik took over for Dino Gaudio in April.

"They continued to recruit me, so really, it was coach Battle," Fischer said.

With his senior year at Ripley still ahead, Fischer is playing for the West Virginia Wildcats Select 17-and-under team.

Reach Doug Smock at 304-348-5130 or dougsm...@wvgazette.com.