Even with a stand-up coach at the helm, Fresno State basketball still has troubles

I have to wonder if men’s basketball coach Steve Cleveland is also a garbage man for the Bulldogs.
No matter how much trash he collects and throws out, he still gets more waste dumped right in front of him.

The trash that Cleveland is now dealing with is the garbage bag labeled “off the court conduct.” This can be attributed to a young man on his roster getting in trouble with the law this past weekend.

The young man is senior guard Dwight O’Neil, and he happens to be one of the more experienced players on the team, supposedly the leader on and off the court.

In no way am I going to bash and disparage O’Neil, especially with his uncle’s death this past week. But any man who drives with a suspended license, has a warrant out for his arrest issued back in November 2008, fails to do what the courts ask and doesn’t pay the fine has no one to blame but himself.

Yet O’Neil was in trouble with his team before the arrest. He displayed bad behavior toward his teammates and coaches after a loss to Nevada recently, which led to him watching the Louisiana Tech game in his jeans and letterman’s jacket.

Bryan Cole / The Collegian

His arrest causes him to join the likes of Ja’Vance Coleman, Bryan Harvey and Rekalin Sims as players who have gotten in trouble under Cleveland.

This has to be frustrating for Cleveland, because in real life, he is one of the most genuine, insightful and articulate people you’ll ever talk to. He is a man that rarely displays a temper, will never throw tantrums like a Bobby Knight, or perform crazy antics as if he’s Tennessee Volunteer men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl.

Cleveland was given the task of cleaning up a mess left by Ray Lopes and Jerry Tarkanian four years ago, and it was the kind of mess that would stink up any basketball program.

He had to deal with preventing recruiting violations and improper benefits, getting his players to improve their grades and keeping them away from trouble off the court, all while trying to get the Bulldogs to win a Western Athletic Conference title in the mean time.

He has already improved the Academic Progress Rate (APR), in which six of his players graduated in 2008. That’s the most in recent memory for the men’s basketball program.

However, some true Fresno State basketball fans may say that no matter how clean the basketball program gets, you have to wonder who will track the mud in next.

It’s like every year the men’s basketball program has some form of controversy to grab the attention of the Central Valley. The only basketball news you’ll ever get out of Fresno State is a lucky win, a heart-breaking loss or a player running into trouble.

This season, Cleveland has had close but heartbreaking losses, a young and inexperienced team with more freshmen than upper-classmen and now an off the court issue with one of his older players.

As quiet and calm as Cleveland seems, we have to wonder if he’ll go off when the next trash bag comes his way.