Wounded Bulldogs bow out. Next season has promise, but will coach Terry be part of it?
Fresno State was full of possibility as it made its way through February, ripping off five victories in a row, all by double digits — something it had not done in more than 30 years.
But then point guard Jaron Hopkins injured his right foot and was lost for the season, and the Bulldogs faltered, finishing 1-3, including Thursday's 64-52 loss to San Diego State in the quarterfinal round of the Mountain West Conference men's basketball tournament.
The Bulldogs never used Hopkins’ injury as an excuse, but it had an impact, especially in the loss to the Aztecs, who had come in riding a six-game winning streak. Fresno State had difficulty matching up defensively with the Aztecs’ bigger guards and midway through the second half they turned over the ball on five straight possessions, plus six of seven and eight of 13.
"When we lost Jaron, he was playing probably as good as any guard in the league at the time," coach Rodney Terry said. "It changes your team. You have to adapt and adjust. We had to do that.
"We weren't able to play probably as fast as we were in the past. We always relied on getting some transition baskets. He was a speed guy for us, a guy of size, and he was our leading rebounder. Put all of those together, it was a major loss for us."
Hopkins, who was stationed at the end of the bench during the loss to the Aztecs, his right foot in a boot, in conference play scored 10.8 points per game, third on the team, and led the Bulldogs in rebounds (5.7 per game) and assists (3.4).
He is a senior, as are fellow guards Ray Bowles Jr., Jahmel Taylor plus center Terrell Carter II.
That’s a lot of backcourt leaving the program.
But the Bulldogs have Deshon Taylor back, will have transfers Noah Blackwell and Braxton Huggins eligible and 6-5 freshman guard Isaac Likekele coming in.
Bryson Williams, who scored 23 points in the loss to the Aztecs, will be back. Sam Bittner returns. Eric Vila, another transfer, will be eligible after sitting out this season. Terry and his staff also add 6-8 forward Efe Odigie.
"We have some really good pieces, now," Terry said. "I think we have a chance to have a really good team next year.
"Noah Blackwell is a really good player. He can handle the ball. He can shoot the ball. He can pass the ball. He's a different kind of guy that would handle the ball a little for us. I think the kid coming in as a freshman is going to be a terrific player. Isaac is a high-level player. If you really wanted to, I think you could play him at the point, too."
And Terry ...
The Bulldogs' coach has interviewed with UTEP and will listen if there are any other callers, mainly because investment in the program is an issue and it will become a much larger one for all of the Mountain West programs if Gonzaga joins the conference next season. Brigham Young also could return to the conference in the future.
Gonzaga spends $8.8 million a year on basketball and BYU is at $8.9 million; Fresno State is at $3.2 million and in the bottom third of the conference.
"I love my team. I love what we have done with this program. I think we've taken it to another level," Terry said. "Is there another level that we can go to? Yeah, there is another level, but there has to be a commitment behind the expectations."
When Terry was hired, Fresno State was in the Western Athletic Conference. It had just finished in seventh place in a bad league, had APR issues, had a depleted roster. Terry's first team had nine players, and they were competitive in just about every game in a 13-20 season, losing by four points or fewer eight times.
Taking a step up to the Mountain West, Terry improved the Bulldogs' conference record for three seasons in a row and in going 21-11 this year has had three 20-win seasons in a row and four in the past five. Fresno State this season is one of only eight teams on the West Coast to play in either the NCAA Tournament or the NIT in back-to-back seasons, and has improved its national profile.
But as Terry has pushed the Bulldogs' program forward, the Mountain West and several of its programs have continued to up the ante and the price to play could rise again.
Does Fresno State care enough to keep up?
The story, in numbers ...
Fresno State in its first 16 games against conference opponents ...
- Points: 76.1
- FG: 49.4 percent
- 3FG: 39.4 percent
- Assists: 13.6 per game
- Turnovers: 10.7 per game
Fresno State in its last three games against MW opponents without Hopkins ...
- Points: 64.0
- FG: 40.4 percent
- 3FG: 28.9 percent
- Assists: 6.7 per game
- Turnovers: 14.0 per game
This story was originally published March 9, 2018 at 2:47 PM with the headline "Wounded Bulldogs bow out. Next season has promise, but will coach Terry be part of it?."