This week is a time of joy for the George Mason basketball family. For junior Chris Fleming, however, it’s time to lift up a heavy heart and move forward.
Nearly a month ago, on the eve of a game at Ohio, Fleming received word that a longtime friend and neighbor, Kristen Harkness, took her life. She was a freshman at Florida State.
“I found out really late at night; a buddy called me. I was shocked. She was the last person in the world you would think of something like that,” Fleming said Wednesday before practice at the University of Denver. “She had so many friends. She was captain of the cheerleading squad in high school.”
A powerfully built 6-foot-7 backup forward known for his defense, Fleming buried his grief in his game once he came out of his initial shock. He played only four minutes at Ohio, with zeros across his box score entry.
A memorial service came two weeks later, March 7, on the day the Colonial Athletic Association Conference Tournament opened in Richmond, Va. He returned four hours before tipoff, and missed the shootaround.
“When I came back and played that week, I felt like she was with me,” Fleming said. “The day of the championship game (a 60-54 win over William and Mary), I called her mom and left a message (that) I felt (Kristen) was there. Her mom left my mom a message that she was really looking forward to me playing well.”
Going into the tournament, he hadn’t played more than 14 minutes in a game this season. He turned in a career-high 20 in the championship game and scored eight points.
After the game, George Mason coach Jim Larranaga said, “Chris Fleming is my hero.”
At a news conference at the Pepsi Center on Wednesday, Larranaga said: “Chris is a special human being. One of his teammates, Dre Smith, said to Chris, ‘You should have been on the all-tournament team.’ ”
Fleming’s defense and physical play will be needed if George Mason is going to upset Notre Dame today. The Irish have a brutish front line.
Larranaga recalled Wednesday that in the league tournament opener against North Carolina-Wilmington, Fleming scored on a finger roll over Wilmington’s 6-10, 265-pound Vladimir Kuljanin.
“When they were going back down the court, Kuljanin told Chris, ‘That was a nice move’ and Chris said, ‘I copied it from you.’ ”
Fleming has reached the point in his recovery that he’ll talk about his pain. At the time, teammates knew something was bothering him, but weren’t sure what. Fleming said talking with Larranaga in the days that followed made it “a little easier to cope.”
Larranaga’s upbeat approach makes it all but impossible not to root for his team. He opened practice Wednesday with an order: “Let’s make some noise! It’s March Madness.”
Thanks in part to Chris Fleming, the Patriots have a chance to do just that.
Natalie Meisler: 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com
