Fresno State Athletics
Steve Cleveland Press Conference Quotes
10/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 12, 2005
Fresno State Head Coach Steve Cleveland:
General
"I'm personally excited to be back where I grew up and started my coaching career. The opportunity to come back to Fresno and be part of that program has meant a lot to me as I began in this business."
"We have five young men plus a recruit that returns to the university and we brought in three or four players in the spring. We have nine players on scholarship this year. We have a couple of transfers sitting out. Several of the young men returning saw significant playing time last year."
On Team
"Ja'Vance has the most experience out of the returnees. I really appreciate his leadership and how he's progressed over the last five to six months. He is buying into what we want to do. Donovan Morris, Dwight O'Neil and Kevin Bell also had significant playing experience in the league. Probably our most significant addition to the team is Quinton Hosley. He was a Junior College All-American out of Iowa who sat a year and came back. He's a 6-7 forward that will have an immediate impact on the league. He's an extremely competitive young man who competes on every possession."
"Some of the concerns we might have is post presence. Hector Hernandez had an emergency appendectomy when playing for the Mexican Junior National Team over the summer. He's still recovering. He is cleared for practice but he still has three holes in his stomach that are still open and trying to get it to heal from within has been a long process. We're hopeful that he'll make the transition from four to five. He put on 40 pounds over the summer and is trying to get it back after the operation. Hector and Renato Cesar, a junior college post player from Arizona Western, will play minutes in the post. Depth in the post will be something we'll have to deal with and have to address. In general, we'll have to address depth on the team overall. When you go through a season with injuries, sicknesses and ups and downs you need that depth. Right now that's probably one of my biggest concerns."
"As far as the work ethic, the attitude and the approach from the team I couldn't be more pleased. They've really demonstrated the ability and want to do it the right way. They've been very perceptive to the things we've taught."
"We're excited about the season. I don't think there's too much about this league that I don't know but one thing is for sure that there are a lot of great coaches in the WAC. That bodes for a difficult conference season but I'm excited to be back in the WAC. This is where I started my college career because BYU was part of this league. I'm excited to be here."
On Ja'Vance Coleman
"Ja'Vance will be used in different ways with Quinton (Hosley) joining us. Ja'Vance is extremely strong and attacks off the dribble very well. We'll be looking to him as a leader and we'll want him to exhibit leadership roles by being one of the hardest workers on the team. I do think he is an underrated defensive player. Ja'Vance will be used a lot in different capacities."
Hawaii Head Coach Riley Wallace on Fresno State
"They're the sleeper of this conference. They have a good returning player in Ja'Vance Coleman, Donovan Morris killed us last season and they have a nice group coming in. They have a new coach who is bringing a lot of new energy and passion to the program. I just think they're going to be a dangerous team."
