The Fresno State men’s basketball team will begin its season on the road Friday when it visits the UC Irvine Anteaters.
It is the fourth season for UC Irvine coach Russell Turner. He led the Anteaters to 21 wins last season (11 of them in the Big West Conference) en route to the conference championship game.
“We’re playing a very good opponent on their home court,” said Fresno State coach Rodney Terry. “I know Coach Turner’s really done well with the program. They played a lot faster last year. We’re going to have our work cut out for us.”
The Anteaters have a total of seven players who are 6-feet-8-inches tall or higher, including three 7-footers. One of them, freshman Mamadou Ndiaye, stands at 7-feet-6-inches tall. He had nine points, seven rebounds and five blocks in UC Irvine’s only preseason game against Chapman University.
“He is a dominating factor at times and he will be a factor other teams will have to deal with,” Turner told reporters.
Bulldogs go undefeated in exhibition play
The Bulldogs began its 2013 campaign with two exhibition victories. They defeated Cal State Stanislaus last Friday 76-71 and Dominican University on Monday 91-67.
“You play these exhibition games to get [the freshmen] up to speed,” Terry said. “The older guys are challenged sometimes, and competing at the level we want to be is often hard at times.”
Two Fresno State players ended the preseason with a double-double. Freshman guard Marvelle Harris totaled 39 points and 17 rebounds, while senior guard Tyler Johnson had 40 points and 11 rebounds.
Keep it fast
Heading into the season, faster game play and transition defense are emphases for Terry.
“Transition defense is the thing we are trying to work on early in the year,” Terry said, “because it will be something we will have to work with all year long. On Friday, we are playing a very good guard in [UC Irvine’s] Alex Young, who pushes the ball really well in transition.
“That’s one of the harder things to get good at, and it may take us a few games before we are.”
And the Bulldogs have worked on their speed. In the game against Dominican, Fresno State outscored its opponent by 20 points in the first half, and three players (Allen Huddleston, Harris and Johnson) scored double-digit points.
“We have guys who can put pressure on the basket and make shots,” Terry said. “We’ll have to continue doing that all year long.”