Fresno State Athletics
Men's Basketball Looks to Build Upon 1999-00 Success
9/28/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sept. 28, 2000
Gone are Courtney Alexander, 1999-2000 NCAA scoring leader, Terrance Roberson Fresno State's second leading all-time scorer, and record-setting rebounder Larry Abney, who finished fourth in the NCAA in rebounding last season. Call it a rebuilding or reloading, but Fresno State head coach Jerry Tarkanian has his work cut out for him in 2000-2001.
The loss of those three players would make most coaches lose sleep, but not Tarkanian.
"Those were three great players," said the legendary head coach who enters his 30th season as a Division I head coach. "But we have more depth and a better overall team this year. We have some very good players and are going to be able to play a lot of them. We will be a better team than we were last year. I think this is closer to the type of teams we had at (Las) Vegas. We will be able to run up and down the floor and have a lot of different guys who can score. I think we can become the 'Running 'Dogs,' something we have wanted to do since I got here but we just haven't been able to do it."
That's a bold statement from a man whose 1999-00 squad won 24 games and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1984. The Bulldogs were terrific down the stretch with wins in 12 of the last 15 games, culminating with the 2000 WAC Tournament title.
Tark returns the two most important ingredients of any basketball team - the point guard and the post. Building around those two players should be easy. Seniors Demetrius Porter and Melvin Ely are the top two players at their position in the Western Athletic Conference.
Porter, who failed to make the All-WAC team, was one of Fresno State's most valuable players last season. He led the WAC and ranked 23rd in the NCAA in assists with more than six per game, plus he ranked 23rd in the NCAA in three-point field goal percentage. He ranked in the top 15 in the WAC in every statistical category except rebounds, blocked shots and free throw percentage. Porter will be sharing time between the point and the two-guard position on offense, where the Bulldogs will be counting on his three-point marksmanship. His leadership and ability to run the break gives the Bulldogs stability. He hit 42 threes in WAC games, connecting on .494 of his attempts, the 15th best percentage in WAC history. Porter, who averaged 13.1 points per game, scored 20 or more points in eight games last season. He is already considered one of the best defensive point guards in the WAC.
"Meechie (Demetrius' nickname) has been an important part of our team," Tarkanian said. "He gives us flexibility. He's a tough player. He can handle being the point guard and distributing the basketball but he can also shoot the three. We are expecting big, big things from him."
Speaking of big things, Bulldog center Melvin Ely has developed into one of the best big men in the country. At 6-10 and 256 pounds, Ely has been one of the most dominant players in the WAC during the last two seasons. Despite playing the entire 1999-00 season with a stress fracture in his shin, Ely had an amazing season. He was named second-team All-WAC and to the All-WAC Defensive team for the second straight season. Ely expanded his offensive arsenal to the point that he ranked sixth in the NCAA in field goal percentage, making nearly 61percent of his field goal attempts. He had the fourth-best field goal percentage in league history, shooting 64percent in WAC games. He set a Fresno State single-game record for accuracy, making all 10 attempts two times during the year. He broke his own record for single season blocked shots with 92, giving him the FS career record of 183. After the season, Ely had a metal rod placed in his shin to prevent the stress fracture from recurring.
"Melvin is a great player," Tarkanian said. "He could be the best center in the country. He is very dominant at times. He had a good season last year but he played the whole year on one leg and couldn't jump, so it will be good to get him completely healthy. He is going to be our workhorse."
While Tarkanian's rebuilding plan has two solid pillars, he is expected to fill the three other holes in his starting lineup with players who did not play college basketball last season.
Chris Jefferies, a sophomore transfer from Arkansas, is expected the play at small forward replacing Roberson. Tarkanian compares Jefferies to Scottie Pippen. He has good size (6-8) and explosiveness. He has shown the ability to score in his only season of Division I basketball but his defense and athletic ability are what stands out. Jefferies started 21 games for the Razorbacks in the 1998-99 season, which finished 23-11 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. He averaged 7.7 points, fourth-best on the team, and had a career-high 23 points vs. Mississippi State. He led Arkansas with 16 points in an NCAA tournament win over Iowa.
"Chris is a player who would have really helped us last year," Tarkanian said. "He is a tremendous talent. I think he has the potential to be one of the best players in the WAC in his first year. He defends so well. He can explode offensively. We are excited about having Chris this year."
Tark is also excited about senior power forward Shannon Swillis, a transfer from USC, who, like Jefferies, sat out last season. Swillis is a blue collar power forward, much like Abney who he is replacing. Swillis led the Trojans in rebounds as a sophomore, averaging six per game and was named to the All-Pac-10 Freshman team in 1998. He has had 15 rebounds in a game.
"Shannon is not the same type of power forward as Larry Abney" Tarkanian said. "He's not a pure rebounder but he is a better scorer. We can't count on him for 11 rebounds every night, though." Abney was the only player in the WAC to average a double-double.
The only untested player is sophomore Tito Maddox, who sat out last season as an academic non-qualifier. He was one of the top point guards in the nation and was a first-team All-CIF selection averaging over 20 points and eight rebounds per game as a high school senior. Maddox, at 6-5, has good size and gives the Bulldogs a physical presence, especially running the offense at point guard. He is quick and can penetrate.
"Tito is a very talented player," Tarkanian said. "He's going to be a very good player. He is so big and so quick and will create mismatches for us. He can run the offense and run the break."
The depth will come from several players, including three veterans. Sophomore Travis DeManby, who averaged 3.8 points per game last season, continues to improve. He is a long-range shooter and smart player. Forward Andrea Bona was one of Fresno State's top defensive players last season and will fill that role again this season. Flashy guard Nick Irvin showed signs of brilliance at the point, but his lack of consistency and poor conditioning kept him from contributing more last season. He will need to improve in both areas to have playing time this season.
"Travis had a solid freshman season and he has looked good so far," Tarkanian said. "I'd say he is our most improved player. Andrea is a tough guy. He's a guy you want to go to war with. Nick was not in good shape last year and he needs to get into shape this year."
Other newcomers who are expected to contribute are junior college transfers Damon Jackson, a 6-4 guard, and forward Dennis Nathan, a 6-6, 232-pound forward. Both are expected to give Fresno State solid depth. Freshmen Nate Daniels and Mustafa Al-Sayyad are young players who will need some seasoning. Al-Sayyad is a great athlete from Sudan who has not played much basketball. He is a project player who has shown potential.
While the schedule is filled with tough opponents, the Bulldogs will be playing 18 of their 29 regular season games at Selland Arena. The only non-conference road games are against North Carolina State in the Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic, at San Francisco and Santa Clara. Three NCAA tournament teams (St. Bonaventure, Louisiana-Layafette and Samford) will play in Selland Arena, plus SEC power Georgia and UAB from Conference USA.
"We are thrilled to be playing in the Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic," Tarkanian said. "North Carolina State is a great basketball team. We have three good teams in the Hispanic Tournament and three very good teams in the Trend Homes Classic. I saw Toledo play in Hawaii last year and I thought they were one of the best teams in the tournament and they are the only team in the tournament that didn't make it to the NCAAs last year. This is a tough schedule. I'm just glad we have most of them at home."
The Bulldogs play all of their home games at Selland Arena, capacity 10,220, where they have had 35 consecutive sellouts, including every game last season.
With the excellent home schedule combined with the talent on the Bulldog roster, expectations are high that Tarkanian will mold this team into a WAC championship contender and make a sixth consecutive postseason appearance.
