And it's not as if he's a glory hound.
"I used to be in front of the camera," Fleet said. "But that was a while back. It's more important for me to be behind the scenes, so we can have a successful show. I kind of monitor everything.
"I'm the president of WestNet. There are lots of kids who want to anchor. But then you have your kids who are shy. I like guiding them in jobs like cameraman, technician, audio person, so they can find roles they enjoy, while making the show really good."
Did someone say show? Fleet put one on last night.
In what was certainly the final meeting between West and visiting Monsignor Bonner, also doomed to be shuttered, Fleet hustled and bounced for eight points, 13 rebounds and seven blocked shots as the Burrs claimed a Catholic League win, 49-41.
West, then located four blocks away at 49th and Chestnut (it's now at 45th), was one of the CL's original hoops members for the 1919-20 season. Bonner, briefly known as Archbishop Prendergast, signed up for the 1955-56 campaign and went 0-13, a record this squad is in danger of matching.
Before the game, West's Mary DeMasi, who shares athletic director duties with football coach Brian Fluck, made a brief speech and asked all in attendance to offer a round of applause to acknowledge "the feelings of sadness being experienced by everyone at both schools."
"It's been emotional around here. It was especially bad when we first heard the news," Fleet said. "But like coach [Guy Moore] keeps telling us, we just have to play through it.
"Fortunately, I'm going to be able to graduate from West. My heart goes out to the younger guys and their families, because they'll have to look for someplace else."
As recently as 4 years ago, Fleet barely knew West existed. He's a South Philly guy (Newkirk Street, near 28th and Wharton) and his grade school was St. Gabriel.
