Playing with Intensity

By CHHUN SUN

It’s easy to detect his mood. When freshman forward Chris Berry is excited, it shows. He dives for loose balls. He fights for rebounds against players twice his size. He thumps his chest with excitement after he scores. He leaves his sweat on the basketball court, evidence his hard work was there. Even when he’s on the bench, he roots for the Fresno State men’s basketball team with screams of support.

It’s also easy to see when he’s frustrated or upset.

His face sags in disappointment when he doesn’t play hard enough.

“I think my role is to bring energy to the floor,” Berry said. “I just defend. If I want to score, I can really score, but I don’t think they want me in that position yet.”

That’s Berry, a passionate and energetic player whose emotion is undeniable.

But on this Friday morning, he’s laid back because he just woke up. He walks slowly, barely lifting his feet off the ground. His voice is rough and gravelly, like he needs t o clear his throat.

The night before, he was partying with his teammates, celebrating the team’s 89-82 win over Boise State on Jan. 13. But he’s not upset that one of his assistant coaches dragged him out of his dorm, still wearing the clothes he slept in. He just smiles and apologizes for waking up late.

That attitude alone is why teammates and coaches describe him as a “good kid.”

And that’s the same way Lopes described him.

But he’s not the kid who plays the most minutes. Or scores the most points. Or gets the most rebounds.

In fact, he only averages six points and four rebounds in 20 minutes per game. But when he steps on the floor, he gets noticed.

In high school, it was much different.

He was the star player, the one who, as a senior, led Centennial High of Compton, Calif., to a 32-3 record and the school’s first-ever Division III state championship.

“The year you leave, you know you’ve helped the school get the state championship,” Berry said. “You know they’ll get more, but to be the foundation is a really good feeling.”

His effort was not just measured on the court that year; it was also in the classroom.

To graduate and attend a four-year college, he had to be determined and focused. That meant attending night classes. That meant after getting out of school at 2:30 p.m., rushing to his assistant coach’s office to study for the SAT. Then minutes before 7 p.m., running to the gym, getting dressed and warming up for the game.

“I had to do it,” Berry said. “No one else was going to do it for me.”

Of course, he passed the SAT.

That’s Berry; he likes challenges.

School, nevertheless, will always be a challenge for Berry, even though he knows he’s capable of succeeding.

“I never have been a school guy. I never liked school,” Berry chuckled. Then he paused. “I found out it’s a lot easier to put forth the effort.”

Berry is that kid who looks to please himself, as well as his teammates.

He shows his affection by smiling, his teammates said. He’s the one who supports his teammates when he notices they are emotionally distant.

“He always has positive things to say when somebody’s down,” freshman point guard Dominique White said. “He cares about people and thinks about others more than he does himself.”

White said he and Berry connected at first, mainly because they were freshmen playing for a new team and they had the same interests, including playing video games and dancing.

But White reassured that Berry is more than just fun and games.

“On a serious tip, though,” he said, “he’s passionate about what he does.”

Just ask Lopes, who considers Berry, 18, a kid with maturity.

In the game against Hawaii in late December, Berry proved to have the poise of a veteran.

With 27 seconds left and his team down by one, Berry made two free throws to seal the 79-78 win for the Bulldogs. He did it with so much ease and confidence that Lopes still remembers the moments before he made the shots.

“In so many words, he told me to relax. We all got a chuckle,” Lopes said about the conversation they had during a timeout before the free throws.

Berry, in fact, told his coach, “Don’t worry. I’ll make the shot and we’ll all go home sleeping good.”

“That was huge,” Lopes said. “For him, as a freshman, to sink those free throws — that attributes to his mental toughness. He wasn’t worried about missing.”

Following the clutch free throws, ESPN.com recognized his play and named him a freshman to watch.

But lately, his minutes have dwindled.

Berry, who started two games, is now on the bench more than he was earlier in the season. That may be due partly to senior forward Dreike Bouldin’s return to the team after being ineligible during the fall semester.

But that’s OK with Berry. He’s learning from seniors Mustafa Al-Sayyad, Jack Marlow and Bouldin, who told him to hit the weights more often if he wants to make an impact.

“I know I’m the backseat guy now,” Berry said. “I still have a long time to come, so I’m just riding it out.”

In other words, this kid has plenty of time to grow.