Freshman Basketball Standout at Duke Will Transfer to Harvard in September

Harvard's blossoming basketball program will be further enhanced by the transfer from Dake in September of one of the nation's best freshmen-Jim Fitzsimmons.

Fitzsimmons, who was the leading scorer for Duke's undefeated freshmen, left school after successfully completing the first semester. He had been averaging 19 points per game.

Hal Smith, a member of the Harvard freshman team and co-captain with Fitzsimmons last year at Fairfield Prep in Connecticut, said that varsity coach Bob Harrison told him yesterday that Fitzsimmous almost came to Harvard in the first place, but at the last moment chose Duke instead. As is often the case, the final decision involved a financial consideration. "Duke was giving him a free ride, and Harvard wasn't," Harvard guard Dale Dover explained.

Worse and Worse

But Fitzsimmons began to regret his decision during the fall. "I played some basketball with him over Christmas vacation, and he told me then that he was unhappy about the school in general," Smith said. "He wasn't definite about leaving then, bat when he got back, it got worse and worse." he added.

The sports editor of the Dake Chronicle, Robert Heller, was told by Duke coach Bucky Waters that Fitzsimmons left for personal reasons. Waters said that Fitzsimmons, who lives in Milford, Conn., wanted to be nearer home.

"He wasn't enjoying basketball there." Smith said. "All he did at Duke was play basketball," Smith was a bit reluctant to elaborate further on Fitzsimmons's reasons for transferring, but said that one of the features he likes about Harvard is the fact that the stress isn't on athletics-a reason frequently cited by athletes who decide to come here.

Will Lose a Year

Because he is a transfer student, Fitzsimmons will lose a year of eligibility, and apparently will not play until he becomes a junior in the fall of 1972.

Fitzsimmons's primary attribute is his outside shooting ability. "We'll never see another zone defense with Fitzsimmons," said Harvard's Director of Sports Information, Baaron Pittenger.