A Change of Course : A fear of water forced Aisha Savage out of P.E. and into the Fremont basketball program. Now, she’s leaving opponents high and dry.

A childhood accident nearly cost Fremont High’s Aisha Savage her life when a brother pushed her into a swimming pool.

“Everybody in my family can swim except me,” Savage said. “They thought it was funny. I almost drowned.”

The incident left her frightened of water and scared of competition. It took a second intentional push to get Savage moving in the right direction, to conquer her fears and become one of the city’s top-flight point guards--a driving force behind her school’s success this season. Savage carried her fear of water and sports to high school where she faced another decision: Either participate or receive a failing grade in a physical education class.

During a sophomore class, Savage refused to set foot in the swimming pool for nearly two weeks. She dressed for class, but sat in the bleachers watching her classmates swim while her instructor tried to coax her in.

The exasperated teacher finally said Savage should transfer to another class--which turned out to be basketball.

“We did volleyball, a little wrestling and basketball before we switched to swimming,” Savage said. “I would have stayed in the regular PE class, but I wanted to get out of swimming. All I wanted was a passing grade.”

In her new class, Savage earned a passing mark. More importantly, she caught the attention of Taylor, who calls her the best player he has coached in 13 years.

“She was a reluctant participant at first but she was good and we made her stay,” Fremont Coach Mat Taylor said. “Rarely have I seen a player who could match her talent or work habits. She never gives up. She’s a student-athlete. Aisha is everything.”

She is averaging 14.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists. Friday night she 11 points, including three three-point baskets, seven rebounds, seven assists and six steals to lift the Pathfinders to a 54-47 victory over Wilson in the first round of the 3-A playoffs Friday night.

“If we need a bucket, she can get it,” junior forward Florastine Hillis said. “She can drive or shoot the three-point shot. To me, she is the key out there.”

Although her immediate goal is to win a championship ring, her big payoff may be a collegiate athletic scholarship and a chance to achieve something no one else in her family has ever done. Raised by her mother and the youngest of four children, Savage hopes to become the first in her family to attend college.

“As long as I go to college, it doesn’t matter whether it’s to play basketball or not,” said Savage, an aspiring computer engineer who has a 3.0 grade point average in high school.

Savage, 18, has been recruited by Pepperdine, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal Poly Pomona, University of Redlands and University of La Verne.

In her first season of organized basketball, Savage led the junior varsity team in scoring. She was elevated to the varsity as a junior where she averaged 14 points and earned All-Eastern League honors.

This summer, Savage played on City Force, an Amateur Athletic Union traveling team that included Hillis, Kristi Lattin and Naila Moseley of Crenshaw; Jamie Kogan and Korey Kobata of Marshall; Ruby Maciel of South Gate; and Washington’s Kanisha Best.

The team advanced to the championship of the Basketball Congress International tournaments in Tempe, Ariz., St. Paul, Minn., Norco and Harbor College.

“She has a good attitude and makes good decisions,” City Force Coach Phil Chase said. “She knows when to shoot and when to pass. Physically, the most important thing is she is real quick.”

Fremont lost its first three games when Savage injured a knee in the season opener. She has also been hampered by sprains to both ankles and a nagging shoulder injury.

After a 4-8 start, Fremont won six of nine games with Savage in the lineup. She had 27 points and 11 rebounds in a Southeastern Conference victory over Bell and scored 25 in two other games.

“The goal is not to get hurt again,” Savage said. “Everybody is coming together. We want to win a few games and see how far we can go. We didn’t even know we were going to make it to the playoffs. I’m just glad to be here.”