11/09/2005
By BRIAN PORTER , Staff writer

PLANO - Fulce and Durr become the second members of their immediate families to sign athletic National Letters of Intent from Plano. The NCAA early signing period closes Nov. 16.

Zastoupil will attend Army, following Plano's Katie Palesky and Ryan Brence from the 2004 class and Morgan Peterson from the 2005 class to West Point, N.Y.

The senior post is awaiting a military appointment to Army, but made his decision clear. In one of the more memorable signing day presentations, Zastoupil autographed a picture of Stewie Griffin, the Family Guy character destined for world domination.

"There were so many benefits to Army," Zastoupil said. "With what they presented, they were looking out for me." Zastoupil's decision carries a five-year commitment following his education at West Point and two years of active reserve duty.

Fulce was the first of two Plano athletes to chose Texas A&M and becomes the third member of a renowned Plano basketball family to sign a National Letter of Intent. His sister, Jessica, led the Plano girls basketball program to a state tournament appearance and signed with Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Their cousin, Jimmy King Jr., was 1991 Mr. Basketball in Texas, and signed with Michigan as a member of the 'Fab 5' freshman class.

"This feels like a fresh start for me to get better," Fulce said. "Growing up, I always wanted to follow in Jimmy's footsteps. As I got older, I wanted to make my own mark. That's what I'm doing. A&M is a place I can leave my mark."

Fulce is a four-year letterwinner at Plano. Durr is also earning her fourth letter with the girls basketball program and chose Texas Woman's University.

"I'm real excited to have the opportunity to play college basketball," Durr said. "I had offers from Big 12 schools. I think smaller schools were the place for me. My personality better fits that environment."

Jessica's brother, Chris, was a first-team all-district selection at Plano and signed with Southwestern Oklahoma State University. The natural defensive end is blossoming as a tight end, having nine receptions in nine games this season. The first three seasons of Jessica's career at Plano have been memorable. She helped Plano to a regional tournament appearance as a freshman and back to the playoffs as a sophomore. Despite missing the playoffs as a junior, she helped coach Lynn Meger to her 300th career victory.

"I think we have a real good opportunity to make the playoffs again," Durr said. "That's our goal." Fulce and Zastoupil are a pair of the reasons expectations are high for Plano, ranked No. 18 in the preseason TABC Class 5A state poll.

"We're supposed to be good," Zastoupil said. "It's been a lot of fun playing with these guys for the past six years. It's pretty cool to see all of us as seniors still working together the way we do." Fulce was an impact player in high school and figures to be again at A&M.

"I think we'll surprise a lot of teams at A&M," Fulce said. "We could shock a lot of teams. I'm grateful just to attend a school like A&M".