Fresno State Athletics
Dogs Fly First with Sunbirds
11/4/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 4, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - Head Coach Steve Cleveland enters his fifth year at the helm of his hometown Bulldogs and opens with a single exhibition game against crosstown NAIA rival Fresno Pacific University. The Bulldogs return six letterwinners from last season and welcome seven newcomers to a talented roster poised with athleticism, dedication and size to make a run for the program's sixth appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
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George, Seay Earn Preseason All-WAC Honors
Sophomore Paul George and senior Sylvester Seay were honored by the Western Athletic Conference coaches as preseason second-team All-WAC selections. Fresno State was one of three conference schools to have two student-athletes selected to preseason All-WAC honors. The coaches also tabbed the Bulldogs to finish sixth while the media predicted a seventh-place finish for the upcoming 2009-10 campaign.
SI Lists George as West's "Most Entertaining Player"
Sports Illustrated named Fresno State sophomore Paul George as the most entertaining player in the West region and the eighth most entertaining player in the nation on their list of the "Top 16 Most Entertaining Players in College Basketball." George (Palmdale, Calif.) is the only Western Athletic Conference player on the list of 16 and ranked one spot ahead of the lone Pacific-10 player, Isaiah Thomas of Washington. George caught the attention of SI.com's Luke Winn with his dunking ability and aggressive mindset.
Golubovic Looks For Back-to-Back Academic All-District Honors
Junior forward Nedeljko Golubovic earned the Bulldogs' first Academic All-District honors in February 2009. As a key veteran on a stacked team, Golubovic returns as one of three starters. Golubovic is a strong athlete with a competitive fire and an intelligent mindset on the floor, who also excels in the classroom. On the hardwood, Golubovic averaged 7.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game last season and holds over a 3.8 cumulative grade point average through his first four semesters at Fresno State.
Come See Dogs Fly
With the Fresno State men's basketball team expected to breakout and compete for a WAC championship with exciting offensive sets and strong defensive pressure, Bulldog fans can see their Dogs fly and season ticket packages are available for every budget. The prime lower bowl seating can be purchased through the Bulldog Foundation at (559) 244-5600 or by visiting www.bulldogfoundation.org. Season tickets in the upper bowl of the pristine 15,596-seat Save Mart Center are also on sale now and can be purchased for $189 through the Bulldog Ticket Office at (559) 278-DOGS. All season ticket packages include a general admission ticket for the Dec. 1 home game at Selland Arena as the Dogs turn back the clock to honor legendary coach Boyd Grant.
Slate Place Emphasis on Competition, Rivalries and Tradition
The 2009-10 Fresno State men's basketball schedule features 17 home games, including dates with a 2009 National Invitational Tournament (NIT) Semifinalist and NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago. The season and home opener is set for Friday, Nov. 13 against San Francisco State. Other nonconference contests include: Northern Arizona, Seattle University, San Diego State, Santa Clara, Pacific, San Diego, Pepperdine, BYU, UC Davis, North Dakota State, Montana, Oregon State, Colorado State, Cal State Bakersfield and participation in the ESPNU BracketBusters event. The WAC slate starts at home against Boise State on Saturday, Jan. 2. The 2010 WAC Tournament will again be held in Reno, Nev. from March 11-13, 2010.
Dogs Defend Home Court with Record Crowds
Since moving to one of the finest on-campus college arenas in the nation, the Frenso State men's basketball has defended its doghouse with over a 65% winning percentage and paced the Western Athletic Conference in community support with roughly 10,000 fans per game. The largest crowd came on Dec. 19, 2009 in a Winter Whiteout against Stanford when 15,423 fans filled the stands. The arena hosted the 2004 WAC Tournament and later hosted the first and seconds rounds of the 2005 NCAA Women's Basketball Touranment and served as one of four regional sites for the 2007 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. The $100 million facility is the largest privately funded project in the history of the Californai State University system.
Official Sports Report Arrives Daily in Your Inbox
Fresno State Athletics, through our partnership with mulitmedia rights holder Learfield Sports, produces a daily "Official Sports Report (OSR)" e-mail with exclusive featured articles and behind-the-scenes Bulldog access. The e-mail highlights every Fresno State sports team, provides unique information on upcoming events, links to national and local Bulldog coverage, breaking news alerts and quick viewing of all archived articles. To start getting your free daily OSR, visit www.officialsportsreport.com.
Bulldog Sports Network Shown on National and Local Airwaves
Every Fresno State basketball game is aired live throughout the San Joaquin Valley on KMJ 580 AM. Paul Loeffler enters his second season as the play-by-play announcer for Bulldog men's basketball team along with veteran analyst Randy Rosenbloom adding the color commentary throughout the season. On the television dial, Ralph returns to call the play-by-play with legendary coach Bob Donewald on KAIL (Comcast Cable 13 and Dish & DirecTV channel 53) for a combination of non-conference and WAC road games. Fresno State will also continue to play on the ESPN Family of Networks at least three times including an ESPNU game on Feb. 27, 2010 against San Jose State.
"We Are Your Team" - Be at the Save Mart Center for the Men's Basketball team's first regular season home game of the 2009-10 season on Friday, November 13, against San Francisco State at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased through the Save Mart Center Box Office, by calling 559-485-TIXS or through ticketmaster.com.
