Colony grad hard at work on the court, in the community

WASILLA — Damien Fulp has been nothing if not patient in his basketball career.

As a high school athlete, Fulp was twice named Northern Lights Conference MVP and led Colony to third place at the Alaska School Activities Association 4A State Basketball Championships as an upperclassman. He was selected first-team all-state in the spring of 2014, and as a senior averaged 18.8 points per game. That year, he accepted a scholarship to the University of Alaska Anchorage and signed with the Seawolves basketball team.

Colony High School boys’ basketball head coach Tom Berg, who was named head coach for Fulp’s first high school season, saw his potential from day one.

“It was pretty obvious early on that he was an elite shooter,” Berg said.

As a freshman, like most boys, Fulp still had some growing to do. But he didn’t just sit around and wait for his physical body to mature, hoping that would eventually be enough.

He trained.

“He was willing to work on his weaknesses every year to the point where, in his senior season, he didn’t have a whole lot of ’em,” Berg said.

Going into his freshman year of college, however, Fulp knew he’d be back at the bottom of the food chain. He accepted UAA coach Rusty Osborne’s decision to redshirt him with a grace Berg said not all incoming college freshman have.

“I just think he’s been unbelievably positive and understood what the redshirt year was,” Berg said.

Osborne agreed. Fulp had stepped into a lineup full of standout upperclassmen, and would have had a hard time competing for playing time with seniors like point guard Travis Thompson, who was named to the Capital One Academic All-America team last year, Osborne said.

But with a year of hard, focused practice, by the end of his first season with the Seawolves, Fulp gained 25 pounds of muscle and a confidence that mirrored his potential. He was able “to just concentrate on getting better and not performing in games and impressing coaches,” that year, and was better for it, Osborne said.

“Damien has done everything we’ve asked him to do and he’s a great role model not only for Anchorage but a lot of kids in the Valley as well,” he said.

Part of Fulp’s being a role model has to do with the three-part team philosophy, Osborne said: academics, athletics, and community service. And community service that engages local youth (in Anchorage and sometimes the Valley) is even more important for college athletes entering the adult world.

“I think it’s our duty to do that,” Osborne said.

But Fulp said his involvement in his communities is not just about duty — he enjoys it. He worked with youth at basketball camps in his hometown of Chevak and in Palmer at the MTA Sports Center this summer, and has coached competitive spring leagues and high school teams in the past.

He has also read to students with his teammates at local elementary schools, but it’s through basketball that he feels he can best connect with young students.

“My experience playing basketball has brought me to the realization that I can help kids just with playing and being that role model for them on the court,” Fulp said. “For me to just come back (to Palmer) and help these kids out, it’s huge for me.”

Fulp is one of just two Alaskans on the UAA men’s basketball team this year. After completing a degree in physical education, Fulp said he hopes to play professional ball overseas for a few years, then become a coach.

Coach Osborne said he sees some playing time for Fulp this season, and progressively more in the years to come.

“We’re excited about Damien’s future,” he said.

Contact reporter Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.