George: With the new semester underway, Fresno State students are not worrying about midterms. However, the Bulldog men̢۪s basketball team is at the half-way point in the season, and has enough assignments turned in to receive its midseason report card.

Logan: Fresno State has played 18 games as of Thursday afternoon – plenty of opportunity to grade the performance of Steve Cleveland’s team. The Bulldogs were 7-11 going into their matchup with Louisiana Tech and a disappointing 0-4 in conference. The best thing this team has going for it now is its youth.

George: That youth has been a major reason the basketball team has even won seven games. With the play of Paul George, Mychal Ladd and Bryce Cartwright, the Bulldogs future looks bright. However, we are talking about the present, and right now the ̢۪Dogs are short in the experience department.

Logan: You̢۪re right. The lack of experience has cost this team games down the stretch, but with only one senior on the team this season, fans shouldn̢۪t expect miracles from the upperclassmen. I know that students really don̢۪t care to think about their spring semester grade at this point of the year, but its time to hand out grades for the men̢۪s hoops team.

George: Let̢۪s start with offense. The Bulldogs offense isn̢۪t bad, and I do see a lot of potential. But I find myself watching game after game an offense playing for 35-37 minutes staying with some of the WAC̢۪s top teams, until crunch time.

Logan: Turnovers at the worst possible times and poor free-throw shooting have been the downfall of the Bulldogs, especially in WAC play. But the offense has had a few bright spots, especially Paul George. The freshman, who will soon be known only as PG, is leading the team with 15 points per game and shooting at an unbelievable 53 percent and 48 percent from beyond the arch. Because of George and the other freshmen’s potential, we gave them a ‘B.’

Photos by Bryan Cole / The Collegian
Photo illustration by Brandon Ocegueda / The Collegian

George: Moving on, we̢۪ll switch sides of the court and talk defense. One stat that jumped out at me right away is that the Bulldogs give up more points than they get. Simply speaking, they lose more than they win. I̢۪m not in the most optimistic mood when looking at the defense, but we do lead the WAC in blocked shots.

Logan: Blocking shots is the only thing the Bulldogs do well on defense. As a team, Fresno State blocks 5.2 shots per game. But when analyzing the defense, we also looked at forced turnovers and free throws per game and couldn’t allow them to get away with anything better than a ‘C+.’ After looking at both offense and defense, we took a look at rebounding – the only stat that applies to both ends.

George: I was certain the Bulldogs get out-rebounded, but the stats prove me wrong. The rebounding margin has been near even for the Bulldogs and its opponents. With a team comfortable playing “small ballâ€Â, I think staying even on the boards is an accomplishment. However, they don’t deserve that ‘A’ due to the Bulldogs not out-rebounding anyone. Therefore, we thought a ‘B’ was fair enough.

Logan: The only group that was deserving of an ‘A’ up to this point are the newcomers. The team doesn’t have the experience that is needed to win the conference or make a run at any postseason tournament, but at least seeing PG on SportsCenter’s Top 10 was exciting. The young team is filled with potential and will only get stronger as time goes on.

George: PG not only leads the team in points, but in rebounding as well. So we̢۪ve mentioned George, Ladd and Cartwright, but what about Sylvester Seay? The Arizona State junior transfer put up 32 points last week against Utah State, while playing solid all year. Without these newcomers, I doubt the offense receives that high of a grade.

Now, there are only a few returning players to grade, senior Dwight O̢۪Neil and sophomore Ned Golubovic.

Logan: Cleveland has given O’Neil freedom to lead this season, but he has not yet established himself as ‘The Guy.’ O’Neil is a strong player, but hasn’t yet decided if he is going to play point guard or be a scorer. O’Neil’s year hasn’t been stellar, so the returning players get a ‘B-.’ The final grade on the report card is for the guys most responsible – the coaches. The coaches are the only ones who get paid and group we were most critical of.

George: Whenever you are the coach of a young team that has talent, but is currently winless in the WAC, it doesn’t bode well. While Cleveland has kept his team together and out of trouble, wins are becoming a bit more rare than they should be. That is why the coaching staff receives our lowest grade of the report card, a ‘C.’

Logan: The coach is ultimately responsible for a poor season, but there are plenty of things Cleveland̢۪s players can improve on as the season continues. The Bulldogs are not out of the WAC race at this point, but will need to turn things around immediately to save this season.
George: Hopefully final exams treat the ̢۪Dogs a little kinder.

By Logan Hopkins and George Stepanoff Jr. / The Collegian