Fresno State basketball 2 for 2 with transfer waivers. Here’s how backcourt shapes up

Fresno State men’s basketball went 2 for 2 with NCAA transfer waivers, receiving word on Thursday that guard Deon Stroud will be eligible to play for the Bulldogs this season.

“I’m excited about that,” coach Justin Hutson said. “He’s fighting right now to get on the floor and I think he has a chance to be a really good player.

“We don’t know exactly yet who’s going to start – we haven’t had enough days in there to figure it out, but he’s definitely a player. He’s a talent. He puts the ball in the basket. He’s athletic. He knows how to defend. I’m happy to have him, I know that.”

The former San Joaquin Memorial High star, who transferred home from Texas-El Paso, is expected to be a critical piece for the Bulldogs’ remodeled backcourt that includes three other transfers in Isaiah Hill, Devin Gage and Kyle Harding as well as returners Anthony Holland and Jordan Campbell, redshirt Alec Hickman and incoming freshman Destin Whitaker.

Hill, who is from Bakersfield and transferred to Fresno State from Tulsa, received a transfer waiver from the NCAA the last week of October.

Gage is a graduate transfer from DePaul and Harding transferred to Fresno State from Hancock College in Santa Maria.

The Bulldogs are preparing to ask for a transfer waive for Junior Ballard from Cal Poly.

Fresno State, which twice has had to quarantine due to the coronavirus, opens its season Wednesday, Nov. 25 against NAIA William Jessup at the Save Mart Center.

It also will play games at Pacific on Nov. 27 and against UC Riverside on Nov. 30. The Bulldogs’ Mountain West schedule begins with a two-game series at Colorado State on Dec. 28 and Dec. 30 with the conference home series starting against Wyoming on Jan. 2 and Jan. 4.

This story was originally published November 19, 2020 at 5:17 PM.