College hoops are back at Fresno State, and between having a new head coach, Vance Walberg, an exciting brand of offense and 14 new players, there is a lot to be excited about.
The program will look to turn over a new leaf after going 23-41 the last two seasons under Justin Hutson, who parted ways with the team in March, following Fresno State being eliminated in the Mountain West Conference (MWC) tournament.
Here are three reasons why you should watch Fresno State basketball this season.
Vance Walberg
Walberg is coming in with lots of energy in the season and experience under his belt, but that doesn’t mean winning will be an easy feat.
The two biggest tasks that Walberg will face will be getting the Red Wave to buy in and getting his new squad to buy into a team-first approach that complements his play style.
The Bulldogs averaged just 3,471 fans per game across 16 contests last season, ninth most in the conference. Plenty of fans stopped paying attention due to the lack of winning and, quite frankly, an uninteresting team.
Walberg’s style of offense could certainly help in that department.
The “dribble-drive” offense
While at Clovis West, Walberg innovated the world-renowned Attack-Attack-Skip-Attack-Attack (AASAA) offense, well known as the “dribble drive motion.”
In this offense, he would put four players on the perimeter as one player attacked the basket. The offensive post player would open space by moving to the weak side of the lane. Meanwhile, the other three perimeter players would rotate accordingly. If that particular dribble-drive play failed, the next ball handler would just dribble and drive again.
Following the Red & White scrimmage on Sunday, Nov. 3 on Sunday, at the Save Mart Center, Walberg said that he was ecstatic that senior guard Jalen Weaver was returning to the team. He is one of two players left from the Hutson era.
“Jalen is actually a perfect fit for what I do,” Walberg said.
One area where they would like for him to improve is his shooting from beyond the arc. Weaver shot just 26.5% on three-pointers during the 2023-24 season.
“If [Jalen] can just be 33% in the boat, it opens up his driving game, which I think he’s really good at. And just honestly, he’s the type of kid I want. Big, strong guards that like to get back and defend the heck out of the ball,” Walberg said.
Weaver was one of three Bulldogs to play in all 33 games a year ago while averaging 7.4 points per game (PPG) and 2.4 rebounds per game (RPG).
The other returner, junior forward Pierre Geneste Jr. is also due for an upgraded role this season after playing just 69 total minutes last season.
He said at practice on Wednesday, Nov. 6, that adapting to the new offense was challenging at first, but he’s excited for the new opportunities that will come with it.
“I don’t really dribble or shoot, so [Walberg] just wanted me to run the floor, which I already got, like, as a natural talent,” Geneste Jr. said.
They aren’t the only players on the team to look out for.
The fresh wave of talent
As mentioned earlier, the Bulldogs brought in 14 new players to complete this season. In addition to Weaver, Walberg indicated that sophomore point guard Zaon Collins, freshman forward Elijah Price and junior guard Amar Augillard all figure to start regularly.
All three of these players should be able to make a high impact on the offensive end while playing tough defense.
If the Bulldogs are going to be successful this season, Collins in particular will need to play at an elite level.
He was a highly ranked recruit out of Bishop Gorman High School, where he was a part of three consecutive state titles. After dealing with legal issues, Collins played at Salt Lake Community College last season, where he led his team to a 30-4 record as the starting point guard, leading the Bruins in assists (148) and steals (56).
While some would argue that the addition of Collins is desperate, I would say getting a fresh start could spark some motivation in him to play his best.
Collins has the explosiveness and passing ability to fit seamlessly in Walberg’s offense as the floor general. If he can shoot the three at a high-clip, he should be the team’s best player.
Augillard is coming off an impressive season in which he was named 2024 National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Player of the Year after averaging 22.7 points per game.
A true three-level scorer, Augillard is a threat to make a play from wherever he is on the floor, with or without the ball in his hands.
His play led Triton College to a 34-3 record and an appearance in the NJCAA DI national championship game.
Price is back in California after transferring from Drake University, where he redshirted last season. Price averaged a double-double with 16 PPG and 11 RPG during his senior year of high school at St. Anthony’s in Long Beach.
He is athletic and lanky at 6’9” with the ability to space the floor. His size should allow to impact the game in a lot of facets.
Despite dealing with injuries at the moment, 7’1” junior center Mor Seck and sophomore guard David “DJ” Douglas Jr., who Walberg described as the team’s best shooter, are expected to play critical roles as well. The latter is expected to return soon.
Walberg says that depth will be critical to winning.
“If we’re gonna be successful, we’re gonna have to have nine to 10 impact players,” Walberg said.
Price echoed his coach’s statement, citing the well-rounded versatility of his teammates.
“We just got a lot of pieces. We got a lot of guys that can do pretty much everything on the court, pass, shooting, dribble, defend,” Price said.
What are the expectations?
With the Bulldogs having won just 23 games over the previous two seasons, expectations should be tempered; however, Walberg didn’t come to Fresno State to simply meet expectations.
“Anybody knows me, I love winning. To me, winning is the best drug there is around. When you lose, your body feels like you know what, but when you win, it’s just so much different,” Walberg said.
Walberg told Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports in October that a “.500 record” is a reasonable expectation.
The MWC preseason polls have the Bulldogs picked to finish 10th out of 11 teams in the conference.
I personally think they’re much better than that. Challenging for the MWC title in year one of the Walberg era might be difficult.
But the Bulldogs should be a tough competitor and winning 20 games is an attainable goal. They should finish among the top five to seven teams in a very tough conference.
“We’re coming for blood,” Geneste says.
“Al” Things Considered
The last several years of Fresno State basketball have been hevel, a Hebrew word that suggests smoke or vapor: something that is insubstantial and transient. In other words, apathetic.
That will all change now.
It is difficult to gauge expectations for a team that has been practicing officially for less than two months with so many new faces but one thing you can expect is for the team to play fast-paced, hard-nosed basketball and give fans something to cheer for.
