Fresno State Athletics
The Tradition Continues
3/8/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 8, 2000
The Tradition Continues
by Abby Wigstrom
In 1984 the Fresno State
Bulldogs introduced one of the Northwest's best-kept secrets to NCAA Division I basketball.
He was marked as a "sleeper" in high school, a self-admitted "late-bloomer" who was not heavily recruited.
He spent his first two years of college basketball at Eastern Montana, a Division II program, where he grew mentally and physically into an athlete that would help the Bulldogs to their ninth NCAA appearance and a 25-8 season finish in his first year on the Bulldogs' court.
The junior transfer redshirted his first year at Fresno State watching legendary coach Boyd Grant lead the squad to an National Invitational Tournament championship while grooming the 6-foot-8-inch center that Boyd and fanatic Red Wavers would never forget.
Coming to Fresno State for "its tradition of excellence in basketball," the stage was already set for the left-handed Spokane, Wash. native Scott Barnes to storm the court. Barnes' tenacious defense and heads-up play under the basket would manifest into a stellar junior year. Setting a then-Fresno State school record for most blocks in a season (48), scoring nearly 11 points a game (10.7) while averaging of nearly six rebounds per game (5.9) and being featured in USA Today for his move to Division I basketball, his achievements were noted by all alike on the hardwood.
Culminating an already phenomenal 1984 season, Fresno State defeated UNLV for the PCAA championship and earned a berth to the NCAA's with Barnes starting at center. The Bulldogs fell to Louisiana Tech 66-56 in the first round of the playoffs but the excitement and energy of that time still lingers in the minds of fans and the memory of the team itself remains untarnished almost 16 years later.
"As a team, our intensity was unmatched," Barnes said. "We had good athletes but that's not why we won. We won because of our level of intensity, loyalty and genuine concern for one another. That let us beat teams with more talent."
Barnes remembers clearly the night the 1984 Bulldogs defeated Houston 68-61 in the Chaminade Classic in Honolulu, Hawai'i- he guarded All- American Akeem Olajuwan (now Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets) holding the seven-footer to only 12 points. The Bulldogs then won the PCAA championship over UNLV for the automatic berth to the NCAA playoffs. He also remembers, with less enthusiasm, losing to Louisiana Tech in the first round of the NCAA's while guarding Karl Malone (Utah Jazz).
In his senior year Barnes helped the Bulldogs to a quarterfinal finish in the NIT falling to Santa Clara in triple-overtime.
Barnes' success and notoriety with the Bulldogs ignited from his talent on the court but his memory in is etched in the minds of fans and coaches alike, not for his crowd-pleasing maneuvers on the court, but for his unmatchable character and work ethic.
"He is first class," former Bulldogs' head coach Boyd Grant said. "Scott is very goal oriented and is such a good person. I knew he would be a success- you just know when you work with people everyday. Scott was extremely easy to coach, he had integrity and was the kind of player you always wish your son will turn out like."
If Barnes was the son of Grant, he certainly would be proud. After Barnes graduated from Fresno State and played his final game with the Bulldogs, he was scheduled to attend tryouts for the Los Angeles Clippers but a knee injury and surgery cut his shot at the NBA short. He traveled overseas for a second attempt at a basketball career but returned after re-injuring the knee. Barnes had a one-year stint as the general manager of the Fresno Flames (a former team in the World Basketball League). He then worked his way into the university athletic administration market where he has just recently found a home as the athletic director of Eastern Washington, a Division I university in the Big Sky conference located in Cheney, Wash. He married Fresno State graduate and standout Bulldog track and field high jumper Jody Mariscal-Barnes and has two children, Isaac, who is two-years-old and Milanna, who is four-years-old.
Although Grant is now in Idaho working part time as athletic director at Southern Idaho College and Barnes being located in Washington, the two continue to stay in contact to this day. Their coach/player relationship has evolved into a friendship of two caring colleagues.
"Playing for Boyd was both very difficult and rewarding," Barnes said of his two-year coach. "He taught me work ethic, how to perform under pressure- I always had a great respect and value for what he was teaching me as an individual. Later in life I realize that these things were very valuable."
