Fresno State, after no summer and a COVID-19 quarantine, picked near bottom in Mountain West
Fresno State was kept off campus all summer, while other college basketball programs in the Mountain West and across the country were getting in workouts.
When they did get back there was a COVID-19 quarantine and then once practices started another, the Bulldogs going into quarantine for 14 days after two members of the program tested positive for the coronavirus. Between the two, that’s 28 days off the floor.
That no doubt will slow development of a team coming off a 11-19 season, especially with coach Justin Hutson and his staff breaking in a roster with 10 new players.
It’s not too surprising then that Fresno State was picked to finish eighth in the Mountain West in a preseason media poll released by the conference on Wednesday at the start of its virtual media days.
“When you start (talking) chemistry, they haven’t had a chance to hang out off the floor, because you’re not supposed to hang out in groups,” Hutson said. “But then chemistry on the floor is the most important. I’ve had teams that were great off the floor that weren’t great on the floor. I think them being able to sacrifice for a greater goal, I think that’s what you’re looking for as far as chemistry. That’s going to do nothing but take time.
“We’re still figuring out who’s going to play, let alone who’s going to jell together … We love our talent. We’re working hard. But chemistry is going to take a while.”
San Diego State picked to win
San Diego State received 14 of 20 first-place votes and was picked to win the conference, which in a season impacted by the coronavirus pandemic will consist of a modified 20-game schedule, with teams playing two-game series in the same week with a one-day break between games, each getting five home and five road series.
Boise State with four first-place votes was picked second followed by Utah State, UNLV and Colorado State. Nevada was picked sixth followed by New Mexico, Fresno State, Wyoming, Air Force and San Jose State.
Utah State, which beat the No. 1 seed San Diego State last season in the conference tournament, received the other two first-place votes.
Boise State guard Derrick Alston Jr. was selected as the preseason player of the year with UNLV guard David Jenkins Jr., who sat out last season after transferring from South Dakota State, as the newcomer of the year and UNLV guard Nick Blake freshman of the year.
With Alston on the preseason all-conference team are Colorado State guard Isaiah Stevens, San Diego State guard Matt Mitchell, UNLV guard Bryce Hamilton and Utah State center Neemias Queta.
Fresno State roster outlook
The Bulldogs in the third season under Hutson are behind, given the summer and quarantines at the start of practice. Hutson joked that he had a stick up his nose taking a coronavirus test more times than he has had his full time on the practice floor. But they could be undervalued, as they have been several times in the past when outplaying expectations.
In 2015-16, when they went 25-10 and won the Mountain West Tournament and the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, they were picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll. Fresno State has finished as high as second (2015-16) in the regular season, and never worse than seventh (2012-13 and 2019-20).
Hutson and his staff have reworked a backcourt that lacked consistency a year ago when the Bulldogs were ranked 10th in the Mountain West in scoring offense (69.2 ppg), ninth in field-goal percentage (41.8%) and eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio (0.97).
Fresno State brought in a graduate transfer point guard in Devin Gage from DePaul and transfer point guard Isaiah Hill from Tulsa, who will be eligible to play this season after receiving a transfer waiver from the NCAA.
The Bulldogs also added JC transfer Kyle Harding, Cal Poly transfer Junior Ballard and Texas-El Paso transfer Deon Stroud, who is awaiting a ruling on a transfer waiver.
Paul George comparison
The key returners are forward Orlando Robinson and guards Anthony Holland and Jordan Campbell. Robinson last season as a freshman led the Bulldogs with 12.2 points per game and was second on the team with 6.6 rebounds per game. He scored 20 or more points five times, just one off a program record set by the Los Angeles Clippers’ Paul George.
“It’s an honor to be in that scenario with Paul George,” Robinson said. “I wish I could have beat him, but, yeah, it’s great … feel great.”
Robinson, who is now listed at 7-feet, could be deployed alongside one of the Bulldogs’ other bigs, 7-2 Assane Diouf or 7-1 freshman Braxton Meah.
That call, Hutson said, will take some practice time to sort through.
“I think the lack of time being on the floor, it’s hard to answer those questions,” he said. “We’re happy with how hard they’re working. Assane has gotten better and Braxton is a heck of a talent. He’s an unbelievable talent. But you cant really decide if they’re good enough yet that they’re going to play alongside Orlando or are they going to play behind Orlando.
“Usually, those things that time, seeing who earns it out on the floor, how well they play together. We have a few more days to try to make sure that we’re organized enough that (we know) whether they can play behind him or alongside of him.”
This story was originally published November 11, 2020 at 9:42 AM.