Players of the men and women’s basketball teams made their season debut before the home crowd on Tuesday’s Red and White Hoops Night at the Save Mart Center.
Both teams held brief drills and scrimmages, followed by 3-point shooting and slam dunk contests. Tuesday was the first time fans got to see players from both teams in action.
“It’s an event that’s meant to be a lot of fun,” women’s basketball coach Raegan Pebley said. “This is a great time for our fans. It’s fun for our student-athletes to be able to come and have a good time shooting, competing, and getting to know our fans. You get a little of the nerves out instead of having to wait the first game day.
Pebley debuts this season as the Bulldogs’ head coach for the women’s basketball team. Coach Rodney Terry enters his second season with the Fresno State men’s basketball team.
“This is the best time of the year,” Terry said. “This is what the guys have worked for. They’ve worked all summer and spring for this time of year right now.”
Both teams will host exhibition games against Fresno Pacific, with the women’s team playing on Oct. 30 and the men’s team on Nov. 2.
Both teams will open the season on the road. The men’s team plays at No. 24 Texas, where Terry was an assistant coach for nine seasons.
The women’s team will travel to play Stanford, which was picked to win the Pac-12 women’s basketball title for the 12th consecutive time by a preseason coaches’ poll.
Both Pebley and Terry introduced their players to the home crowd. Here are some tidbits from Tuesday night:
Pebley on…
- Junior guard Ki-Ki Moore: “She’s the returning WAC player of the year and was just selected to the preseason Mountain West first team… Kiki is definitely a scorer.”
- Junior guard Taylor Thompson: “She’s little but she’s mighty. She’s got a huge heart. We’re looking for her to run the point and also the 2-guard.”
- Junior guard Bree Farley: “She’s Big Shot Bree. She’s hit some big shots for Fresno State women’s basketball in the past. We’re going to continue to look for her to do that. Utility player — she’s our queen on the chessboard. She can do a lot for us.”
- Senior captain Rosie Moult: “She’s one of the best 3-point shooters in the country. Rosie is not only a great 3-point shooter and great scorer, but she’s a great defender. Off the ball, she’s one of our best defenders. We’re going to use her a lot in our presses and our trapping defenses to try and get the game up-tempo.”
Terry on…
- Junior forward Jerry Brown: “One of our team captains this year, Jerry is a guy who has really bought into what we’re trying to do and how we’re trying to do it. Jerry is one our hardest-working players that we have on our program.”
- Junior guard Allen Huddleston: “We really want him to be a guy that gets a chance to man up our point guard position. We really expect a big year out of him. He’s a dual-threat at the point guard position.”
- Senior guard Brad Ely: “We know what he’s going to bring every day. Every day he’s going to bring unbelievable energy. He’s going to compete at the highest level.”
- Senior forward Kevin Foster: “He’s gotten in unbelievable shape this year. He’s a guy that can give us unbelievable inside presence on both ends of the floor.”
