Juan Villa / The Collegian

Bulldogs are in rebuilding mode this year with only one senior

For the men̢۪s basketball team, coming off of a 13-19 season and a first-round loss in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament, losing four starters might sound like a bad omen.

But with it comes several positives, such as playing time for newcomers, the opportunity to start fresh and a new attitude.

After finally coming off of probation, the team took a blow in August when it lost returning starter Bryan Harvey to academic ineligibility. Dwight O’Neil, who averaged 8.8 points and 3.7 rebounds last year as a forward, is the team’s only returning starter – and he is now a guard.

The team has six freshmen on the roster and eight new players overall. Highlighting the freshman class is highly recruited guard Paul George, who scored 25 points and had 10 rebounds against Saint Mary̢۪s on Monday.

George chose Fresno State over Georgetown and Penn State because he wanted to get playing time and make an immediate impact.

Mychal Ladd is another freshman who should make a difference for the Bulldogs this year. He scored 21 points against Fresno Pacific.

Another big addition to the team is junior forward Sylvester Seay, who had to sit out last year after transferring from Arizona State. His highlights for the Sun Devils include scoring 21 points with three blocks in a game against Oregon.

Fresno State will rely on Seay this season to play down in the post rather than the win position he played at Arizona State.

Providing leadership for the team is O̢۪Neil, the team̢۪s lone senior and lone returning starter. O̢۪Neil has been with the team since the 2004-05 season and has been through a lot in his days with the team, including the lingering effects of the university being placed on probation for past infractions and having to change positions in his final season with the team.

Head coach Steve Cleveland is in his third season as head coach of the team. In his postgame conference Wednesday night he sounded very optimistic about the future of men̢۪s basketball at Fresno State.

“This group of players is the foundation of this team for the next three or four years,â€Â Cleveland said.

The transition was visually apparent as well, with O̢۪Neil sitting on the coaches̢۪ right hand side and George on his left.

Cleveland seemed impressed with the newfound work ethic of the team.

“Last year we might have two or three guys staying after practice. This year we’ve got about eight guys staying for 45 minutes after practice every single time,â€Â Cleveland said, adding, “Except for Dwight [O’Neil], he has to sit down. He’s too old for this game.â€Â

Cleveland also stressed the importance of community involvement and attendance in motivating the young players, many of whom had never participated in a Division I college basketball game before Wednesday night.

Paul George said he was so nervous he made himself take a nap before the game just to pass the time.
“In high school I never saw anything like thisâ€Â George said of playing college ball for the first time.

Having strong community support will be a huge plus this year as the Bulldogs face a tough home schedule, which includes visits from Oregon State, UNLV, Nevada and defending WAC champion Boise State.

All home games are at the Save Mart Center and are free for Fresno State students.