advertisement

Top basketball players of the century: Girls No. 7, Maggie Fontana of Fremd

Editor's Note: The Daily Herald is counting down the Top Ten boys and girls basketball players of the century in our coverage area. We continue today with No. 7 — Johnny Moran of Jacobs and Maggie Fontana of Fremd

Anyone who watched what was once dubbed the 'The Maggie Magic Show' at Fremd High School will find this hard to believe.

“I didn't even think I'd be on the varsity as a freshman,” said Maggie Fontana Weber, the all-time leading scorer in Mid-Suburban League girls basketball history with 2,528 points (not to mention 1,198 rebounds).

“I thought I'd be on the freshmen team. Luckily Plod (hall of fame coach Carol Plodzien) gave me the opportunity and it worked out well.”

'Well' is an understatement in its finest form.

It worked out spectacularly as IBCA hall of famer Fontana broke nine school records by the time she graduated and led the Vikings to three supersectionals in her four years.

“I'd like to have a film of her playing and show it to my girls,” said Streamwood coach George Rosner back in 2002. “You could almost show it to anyone and say, 'This is how you play the game.'”

Fontana also played it with class and a smile.

“She was more concerned about her teammates than her own honors,” Plodzien said back then. “She was grateful to just be a part of the team. She never stops caring about others on or off the court either with a smile, a pat on the back, some encouraging words or just friendship.”

Today, Plodzien is an assistant for her former player and Maine East coach Nicole Rinaldi.

“Maggie was just a great team player who kept working to improve her game,” Plodzien said this week. “She was a kid who would go to the gym and take 500 shots on the weekend. She just wanted to give her best all the time and she did.”

And in volleyball, too, where she was an all-area performer for coach Curt Pinley.

A 5-foot-9 outside hitter, Fontana led the Vikings in kills, digs and serving as a senior.

“I definitely had college coaches looking at Maggie,” Pinley said back then of the 2001 Daily Herald Female Athlete of the Year for the Northwest suburbs. “I remember when I first was applying for the position at Fremd, I started trying to track down Maggie in the hallways just to make sure she was going to continue playing volleyball for her junior and senior years.”

Fontana and her husband Joe live in Clifton Heights, N.Y., with their three daughters Kailey (9), Alexis (7) and Addison (3). They met at the College of Holy Cross where Maggie scored more than 1,000 points while studying sociology.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.