A perk of playing for Fresno State basketball: wearing Paul George Nike shoes

The Fresno State men’s basketball team will play in Paul George’s newest signature Nike shoe for the coming season.

Consider it a perk of playing for the Bulldogs, a program that George has remained steadfastly loyal to after playing two years of college ball at Fresno State before becoming a first-round draft pick and eventually an NBA star.

Bulldogs coach Rodney Terry made the shoe announcement to his Twitter followers last week.

George’s signature sneaker, called the Nike PG 1, comes in “University Red,” which easily matches the Bulldogs’ red, white and blue uniform color schemes.

But did you know that you, too, can now own your own pair of George’s newest shoes?

Though many stores in town aren’t carrying George’s latest shoes yet, the Foot Locker at Fashion Fair Mall confirmed the store is selling the Nike PG 1 (might be easier to ask for the Paul George red shoes).

Calls to three other shoe stores in Fresno – Footaction and Champs at Fashion Fair and the Foot Locker at Manchester Mall – confirmed they are not carrying George’s latest shoe at this moment (they do carry some of George’s older versions of his signature shoes).

Cost for the new shoes is $110.

George played for the Bulldogs during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons, which were coached then by Steve Cleveland.

Nonetheless, George has formed a close bond with Terry during his post-college years.

George’s time at Fresno State might not be well known to most basketball fans.

But many Fresno fans embraced George from the start and have continued to follow his NBA career closely.

George showcased his all-around talents with the Bulldogs then, combining his great dunking ability along with a nice outside touch.

He averaged 15.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and shot an impressive 80.3 percent from the free-throw line and 39.6 percent from behind the arc.

George has gone on to become a four-time NBA All Star and Olympic gold medalist during his first seven seasons, which were spent with the Indiana Pacers.

He was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder this offseason.

Terry, meanwhile, has continued to raise his own profile and the Bulldogs basketball program at the same time, too.

Terry spent a portion of this offseason visiting with the likes of NBA legend Pat Riley of the Miami Heat.

As well as current NBA star Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors and NBA Finals participant Tristan Thompson of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Both Durant and Thompson played college basketball at Texas, where Terry was an assistant for 10 years before becoming Fresno State coach.

This story was originally published August 24, 2017 at 11:37 PM with the headline "A perk of playing for Fresno State basketball: wearing Paul George Nike shoes."