Fresno State Athletics
Men's Basketball Adds Loewe, Cesar to Recruiting Class
5/18/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
May 18, 2005
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State head men's basketball coach Steve Cleveland has announced the addition of two more players to his team next year. Junior college transfer Renato Cesar and Justin Loewe, who played for Texas A&M the past two years, will be members of the Fresno State roster in 2005-06.Cesar, a 6-9, 230-pound forward, comes to the Bulldogs from Arizona Western (Yuma, Ariz.) College, where he played from 2003-05. Cesar averaged 12.0 points and 7.4 rebounds last year for the Matadors, helping lead the team to a 31-3 overall record and a No. 1 national ranking.
Arizona Western won the Region 1 championship before advancing to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Tournament.
"Renato might not be the best player on our team next year, but he will definitely make our team better," Cleveland said. "He will be a huge help to us in the post, where we were a little short after the losses from last year. He knows what it's like to play at a high level with his junior college team having been ranked No. 1 during last season."
Cesar is a native of San Bernardo, Brazil. The Bulldogs now have three foreign-born players on next year's team - Cesar, James Tchana (Cameroon) and Hector Hernandez (Mexico).
Loewe is a 6-4 shooting guard who will sit out the 2005-06 campaign in accordance with NCAA transfer rules. He played in 19 games last year, averaging 2.8 minutes and 1.0 points per game.
The Caldwell, Texas, native was a standout player in high school, scoring more than 2,400 points in his prep career. Coached by his father, Dusty, at Caldwell (Texas) High School, Loewe made better than 42 percent of his attempts from three-point range and converted 86 percent of his free throw attempts. As a senior, he averaged 24.6 points and 6.9 rebounds and was rated one of Texas' top 15 players.
Loewe also lettered in track and golf at Caldwell High.
"Justin is an outstanding three-point shooter who is fundamentally sound on both ends of the court," Cleveland said. "He's a coach's son, so you know he is going to play hard and play smart."
The signings of Cesar and Loewe add to a recruiting class that already included Junior College All-Americans Quinton Hosley, a guard/forward from Lamar (Colo.) Community College, and Dekyron Nicks, a point guard from Temple (Texas) Junior College.
Fresno State returns two starters and six letterwinners from last year's 16-14 (9-9 WAC) team that finished fourth in the league standings.
