Fresno State Athletics
Men's Basketball Begins 2007-08 Season
11/9/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 9, 2007
Complete Men's Basketball Release in PDF Format
This Week in Fresno State Basketball: The Bulldogs open up the regular season on Friday, November 9 in the second game of the World Vision Classic presented by Pape. For the second straight year, Fresno State will host a three-day, four-team tournament at the Save Mart Center to open the season. This year the Bulldogs host Portland, Liberty and San Diego State. Fresno State opens on Friday night at 8 p.m. against Portland. The Bulldogs will face the Liberty Flames on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. and finish the tournament against San Diego State at 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Year Three for Cleveland: Fresno State Head Coach Steve Cleveland enters his third season with the Bulldogs. Cleveland and the Bulldogs are coming off a 22-win season, which is the most wins at Fresno State since the 1995-96 season. Cleveland led Fresno State to a third place finish in the WAC and returned to the postseason for the first time in five years. Cleveland has quickly climbed the wins chart with a 37-23 record with the Bulldogs and a remarkable 27-5 home record at the Save Mart Center. Year three should be another exciting year under Cleveland as three starters return from last season, plus a bulk of talent join this year's team.
Two Exhibition Game Wins for Bulldogs: Fresno State won both of its exhibition games earlier this week in convincing fashion. The Bulldogs beat Western Washington 97-67 on Sunday afternoon and beat Fresno Pacific 87-68 on Tuesday night at the Save Mart Center. Fresno State had five players score in double figures in both games, and as a team the Bulldogs made 18 3-pointers against Fresno Pacific. In both game Kevin Bell led the way with nine assists against Western Washington and 10 assists against Fresno Pacific. The senior point guard has been the key in getting teammates open 3-pointers.
WAC Preseason Poll: Fresno State was picked fourth in both the coaches and media preseason polls. Utah State was picked as the favorite in the coaches poll, while New Mexico State was picked as the favorite in the media poll. Nevada was picked third in both polls, while Utah State and New Mexico State flip-flopped in each poll. Kevin Bell and Hector Hernandez were each selected as preseason Second Team players by the coaches and Bell was selected to the All-WAC preseason team selected by the media.
Three Newcomers Ready to Play in 2007-08: Fresno State welcomes three players that sat out last season to this year's squad. Senior Rekalin Sims, a transfer from Kentucky, sophomore Bryan Harvey, a transfer from Louisville and junior Dwight O'Neil, who redshirted last year, are all eligible and excited to join the Bulldogs on the court this season.
Freshmen Join the Team: The Bulldogs have three freshmen joining the team in 2007-08. Brandon Webster, from Bryan, Texas, joins the Bulldogs as a 6-10, 250-pound center to go along with power forward Nedeljko Golubovic, from Serbia, who stands 6-8, 230. Freshman point guard Myles Green, from Los Angeles, brings speed and quickness to the team.
Bell Looking to Climb Record Books: Fresno State senior point guard Kevin Bell is looking to climb the record books this season in his final year in a Bulldog uniform. Bell currently ranks fifth in the record books for assists in a career. Through 84 games, Bell has 412 assists and is 186 assists away from passing Dominick Young for the all-time record. Bell has led the WAC in assists the last two season and his assist total has gone up all three years he has been here. Bell's freshman year he totaled 69 in 24 games and his sophomore season he had 165 assists in 28 games. Last year Bell recorded 178 assists in 32 games.
Seay Joins Team in 2008-09: Fresno State forward Sylvester Seay will sit out the 2007-08 season due to NCAA Division I transfer rules. Seay, who will be a junior when he is eligible in 2008-09 transferred from Arizona State, where he spent two seasons.
World Vision Classic presented by Papé Basketball Donations: The Fresno State men's basketball team, joined together with World Vision and Papé, are asking fans to bring new and gently used basketball to the tournament for underprivileged children in third world countries. With the World Vision Classic presented by Papé beginning Friday, November 9 at the Save Mart Center, all sponsors involved, along the men's basketball team, will help spread the word about this college basketball event.
Teams from around the nation will participate to raise awareness and donations for Get Kids in the Game, a program run by the charity World Vision, to support youth outreach programs and provide much-needed sports equipment. Fans attending the tournament games are asked to bring new and gently used basketball. There will be storage bins provided by Papé and World Vision at each of the entrance and there will be one big storage bin collecting all the basketballs at the end of the day.
What's Next: Fresno State hits the road for a quick one game road trip to Bakersfield, to face Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday, November 17 at 7 p.m. at Rabobank Arena. This is the first year the Roadrunners moved to the NCAA Division I level and Fresno State will be the home opener for Bakersfield.
