Fresno hoops teams are quick starters

Bulldogs, Sunbirds have goals in mind for opener.

Published online on Monday, Nov. 02, 2009

Fresno State coach Steve Cleveland wants his players to rebound, defend well and win.

Fresno Pacific coach Jim Saia wants a win too, but really he's just happy to have some players healthy.

The Sunbirds -- the preseason No. 3 NAIA team in the nation -- have suffered injury after illness.

The team, which began practice Sept. 24, has had six different players out because of injuries and even had the entire team flushed out of practice for a week with the flu, Saia said.

"It's just a case of bad luck," said Saia, possibly an understatement.

Yet he and his Sunbirds head to the Save Mart Center on Wednesday night hoping to put up a good fight in their exhibition against Fresno State from NCAA Division I-A.

"I'm very appreciative of him," Saia said of Cleveland, whom he called a great friend. "He doesn't have to play me. He does it for the community."

"We hope to give them a battle," Saia added. "It's no knock on Fresno State because we have good players. This isn't the Fresno Pacific of old. There's a different level of talent here."

The defending Golden State Athletic Conference champs may have suffered some injuries, but they still have D-I talent on their team -- a team that made the NAIA tournament last season and finished No. 13 in the nation.

Take guard James Lewis.

The NAIA All-American and GSAC Player of the Year scored 19 points per game last season and is one of seven returners. He scored 15 in last year's cross-town exhibition, which the Bulldogs won 97-88.

Cleveland called Lewis a versatile and special player who could play and start at any of the Western Athletic Conference or Mountain West Conference schools and at most PAC-10 schools.

"He can make contested shots, but I think first and foremost you can't lose him in transition," Cleveland said. "You better not lose track of him because he's a guy who can score very quickly in bunches."

Forward Todd Brown (13.7 ppg, 4.7 rebounds per game) also returns for the Sunbirds and is said by both coaches to be "the heart and soul" of the Fresno Pacific team. He scored 17 against the Bulldogs last year.

Coming to play for the Bulldogs will be a player that Sports Illustrated rated as one of the most entertaining in college basketball: Paul George.

George bounced onto the national scene with a posterizing dunk of a Saint Mary's player last fall and stayed on it by averaging 14.3 points, a team-high 6.2 rebounds, and a team-high 1.7 steals. His 44.6% shooting on 3-pointers (63 of 141) ranks third best in Bulldogs history.

George (who scored 28 against the Sunbirds last year) will be accompanied by senior Sylvester Seay -- the top returning scorer with 15.3 ppg and 5.8 rpg -- and former Edison high star Greg Smith.

"Beyond winning and losing, I'd like to see us really take a step forward defensively and in rebounding," Cleveland said. "I'd like to see us clearly continue to improve our execution offensively and play with a great deal of confidence. I think all those things will manifest themselves as we prepare for league."

Women set to battle

Fresno State features a familiar cast of players that won two straight Western Athletic Conference women's basketball championships.

The entire Bulldogs starting lineup is back to face Fresno Pacific at the Save Mart Center. Fresno State has won the last five exhibitions by an average of 28.6 points.

All-WAC guard Jaleesa Ross heads a 3-point attack that led the nation last season. Coach Adrian Wiggins is looking for a more uptempo style to take advantage of transition openings for his perimeter shooters.

Newcomers to watch are Australians Rosie Moult, a 6-foot guard/forward, and guard Ali Drennan, and freshmen Jeanna Furst, a 6-3 center, and 5-5 guard Taylor Thompson, a 3-point specialist.

Fresno Pacific returns four of its six top players from a 13-15 team that upset three NAIA ranked opponents last season.

Jessica Torrecillas, a 6-foot junior, led the Sunbirds with a 13.2 scoring average and grabbed 5.4 rebounds per game. Guards Jessica Mazza, Allison Patterson and Shirin Turujman also were among the starting five.