MILWAUKEE -- Luke Fischer had a massive grin on his face when he entered the media room at the Al McGuire Center on Monday.
Three hundred and fifty-eight days after he played his last collegiate basketball game, Fischer's wait is finally about to be over. The 6-foot-11 sophomore center will make his Marquette debut Tuesday when the Golden Eagles host Arizona State at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
"I've been waiting for this day for a long time," Fischer said. "It is kind of surreal that it has final come.
"It hasn't really hit me yet, but I'm sure once the jersey comes (Tuesday) and the lights are on, I'm sure everything will come back."
Fischer was just 6-3 and playing junior varsity for Germantown (Wis.) High School as a freshman. He grew five inches before his sophomore season and spurted up to 6-10 his junior year.
He helped lead Germantown to a 56-0 record and two state championships during his final two prep seasons, earning Wisconsin's Mr. Basketball honors after averaging 21.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game as a senior.
Fischer carried the expectations of being a consensus top-100 recruit -- ranked as high as No. 34 overall in the class of 2013 by ESPN -- to Indiana University.
It took Fischer just 13 games with the Hoosiers before deciding Indiana "wasn't the right fit" for him. Wanting to be closer to home, Fischer narrowed down his transfer options to Creighton, Marquette and UW-Milwaukee before selecting the Golden Eagles.
He officially enrolled at Marquette last January and approached the two semesters he had to sit out as an unofficial redshirt year.
"I think my presence in the post has gotten a lot better," Fischer said of his biggest improvement since transferring to Marquette. "Our new staff has taught me a lot of new things about being a post player and some new moves. Hopefully I'll be able to go through with all those in the game and get those to work."
Fischer will be asked to contribute immediately, partially because of Marquette's short-handed and undersized roster, but also due to how his unique skillset can help the Golden Eagles on both ends of the court.
Marquette has been using 6-8 junior Steve Taylor Jr. at center and 6-6 senior Juan Anderson at power forward. Fischer's presence should allow both to play back at their more natural positions.
"I think you'll see all sorts of combinations," Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski said. "You'll see Luke play with Juan, Luke play with Steve. There's 80 minutes of frontcourt time, and we have three guys. None of them are going to play 40 minutes. They'll all play together at some point.
"I think all three of them can be good. In some respects for Steve now, being able to play at the power forward -- which is probably a more natural position for him -- maybe that breathes some new life into him. Steve's done pretty well, and maybe this can help him do even better."
At 6-11, Fischer can score with his back to the basket, but he also can step out and hit a 15-foot jump shot. His presence should also help the Golden Eagles improve upon their Big East-worst -8.7 rebounding margin and dismal 1.8 blocks per game.
"I think I can help with the spacing," Fischer said. "If I get the ball down low and somebody comes to double team me, it is an easy kick out to the perimeter. If they don't you just attack the basket. It opens up everything for the offense. It just isn't about me scoring, it is about helping everyone else out."
Fischer hasn't been the only one counting down the days until he was eligible, as the entire Marquette program was anxious to get its only true center on the court. Wojciechowski is hoping Fischer can overcome some of the jitters he will have, especially with such an anticipated debut.
Luke Fischer will make his Marquette debut when the Golden Eagles host Arizona State on Tuesday.
"I'm hoping when he hits the floor he's not over-eager," Wojciechowski said. "I was talking to (FOX Sports 1 analyst) Bill Raftery and I was trying to explain to him that Luke hasn't played in over a year and a half because he didn't play that much at Indiana.
"He's going to have to work through some of the timing, some of the rust that's there. You can practice as hard as he does, but game situations are just different, and I'm hoping that he'll make a quick transition. But we're certainly excited that he's going to be with us finally."
Despite all the buildup, Fischer is trying not to put too much pressure on himself. It would be unfair to expect someone who hasn't played in nearly a full calendar year and has just 13 games of college basketball experience to immediately jump in and be a difference maker.
"I know my teammates will have my back," Fischer said. "I don't really have to worry about all that stuff. Mistakes are going to happen, everybody knows that. I just need to know my teammates are going to be there for me and I'm going to be there for them."
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