Fresno State Athletics
Men's Hoops Conducts First Practice of 2004-05 Season
10/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 16, 2004
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State men's basketball team kicked off the 2004-05 season on Saturday by going through the first practice of the year at the North Gym. Seven newcomers combine with three returnees to make up Ray Lopes' squad this year.
The Bulldogs will hit the court twice on Saturday, once in the morning and then again in the evening. The practice times are a bit of an abnormality for this year's squad, however. During weekdays, Fresno State will conduct practices at 6 a.m. before classes begin. It is the first time during the Ray Lopes Era that format is being utilized.
Mustafa Al-Sayyad is the top returnee for this year's Fresno State team. A 2004 WAC All-Defensive selection, the fifth-year senior averaged 8.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game last year, the latter statistic ranking fifth in the league. But the man known as "Moose" finished the 2003-04 campaign very strong, spurring high hopes entering this season. Al-Sayyad scored in double figures in each of the last five games and averaged 15.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest during that stretch.
The solid junior season caught the attention of many around the country, including the selection members of the prestigious Pete Newell Big Man Camp, in which the native of Sudan participated this summer.
Other returnees include seniors Jack Marlow and Dreike Bouldin, both of whom logged significant minutes for Fresno State last year. Bouldin will miss the first six games of this season to focus on academics.
While Lopes acknowledged Thursday at the annual WAC Media Day this will be the youngest team he's ever been around, he practically overflows with excitement over coaching this year's group.
"I really like this group of players. I like our athleticism. I like our speed," Lopes said. "We might be young, but our players are very hungry. They are hungry to learn and hungry to play hard. I think that, plus our ability to be a little more up-tempo, will hopefully translate into us being a pressure defensive team."
The Bulldogs will continue to go through practice up until the first public practice, which comes Nov. 3 when the team hosts the annual Red/White Scrimmage at the Save Mart Center. The evening begins at 6:30 p.m.
The first exhibition is Nov. 14, when Fresno State hosts CSU Monterey. The opening game of the 2004-05 season is Nov. 19 against Maryland-Eastern Shore.
