Coming full circle: Valdosta's Delissa Kier signs with Fort Valley State
May 28—VALDOSTA — For Valdosta High center Delissa Kier, a journey that began wandering around a public park as a sixth-grader came full circle Tuesday afternoon.
Mulling several offers from a variety of schools, the 6-foot-5 rim protector ultimately chose to remain a Wildcat; signing with Fort Valley State University.
"This day is really important to me," Kier said. "I'm really happy to be here and have my support system here and my coaches. I'm just elated. ... The process, it wasn't easy. It was hard but a lot of hard work and determination got me through it."
It was in the park where Valdosta girls basketball coach E.A. Wilcox first discovered Kier six years ago.
For the veteran coach and many others in high school coaching, finding tall players to come out for the basketball team is not always easy.
"I was at a public park and Delissa was just wandering around. I had never seen her in my life," Wilcox recalled. "Me being the coach I am, when I see a tall girl, I have to know who they are. She was about 6-foot. I didn't know how old she was or where she was from. I followed her in the park and said she's going to eventually play for me. Her grandmother told me she goes to Newbern Middle School and I said, 'Oh, my God. I've got to have her on my team eventually."
Kier, who plays some power forward in addition to the center position, started slowly — averaging just 1.2 points and 1.1 rebounds in 13 games as a freshman.
Still adjusting to the pace and physicality of the game, Kier saw some steady improvements as more playing time came along. As a full-time starter her senior year, Kier broke out — averaging a
career-best 6.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and an eye-popping 2.8 blocks per game.
On Nov. 30, 2021, Kier delivered the finest game of her career. She scored a season-high 13 points with career-high 15 rebounds and eight blocks against Colquitt County — two shy of a triple-double.
A late bloomer in basketball with the added benefit of college coaching and a weight training program at her disposal, Kier believes her best basketball is yet to come.
"I feel like with me being a nice, humble athlete and my height, I will work well with the college level," Kier said. "Me being able to just pick up on things quickly and learn fast, I feel like I'll fit in. Of course, I feel like my best days are ahead of me. There's room for a lot more improvement."
From the outside, it didn't appear that Kier would ascend to the level of being a serious college prospect.
Under the tutelage of Wilcox and the VHS coaching staff, as well as the time she has put into game, Kier has proved many skeptics wrong in a relatively short amount of time.
"This is real special to me because a lot of people didn't think she could do it," Wilcox said. "I love those type of kids that prove everybody else wrong. She's one of those that proved everybody else wrong. Coming from humble beginnings — she didn't know how to play at all, had never played before — she started really late. Eighth grade was really her first time playing the game of basketball.
"To come from eighth grade to now being a senior, she had other opportunities. there were other places she could've gone but she chose Fort Valley because she felt like it was home. I'm proud of her. I'm extremely proud of the season she had. This is the cap on a lot of things the last four or five years. Now this has really come full circle."
Joined up front by junior phenom Essence Cody, Kier helped create a twin towers lineup with the 6-foot-3 Cody to make Valdosta one of the most fearsome frontcourts in the state.
Kier finished her senior season with four double-digit rebounding games and blocked a shot in all but two of the 27 games she played this season.
"Coming into Fort Valley, they're getting a steal," Wilcox said of Kier's potential. "Division I schools were like, 'We'll get her as a preferred walk-on.' Top JUCO schools in Florida — Northwest Florida, Pensacola State — Bishop State in Alabama; those are top JUCO schools in the country that wanted her on their teams. Clemson wanted her as a preferred walk-on. Southern Illinois wanted her like right now.
"Fort Valley is really getting a steal. Her impact at Fort Valley will be immediate. She will probably start for them next year, if not, her sophomore year. She'll probably lead the team in blocks and rebounds in their conference and that will be really good for her going forward. She'll get even better if they coach her hard and coach her correctly. She'll get even better every year and I think she's going to be really good."
Shane Thomas is the sports editor at the Valdosta Daily Times.
