Fresno State Athletics
The Prestige Factor
12/6/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 6, 2011
Related Preview
• GAME 9 PREVIEW: Fresno State at Colorado
BOULDER, Colo. --- Prestige is largely based on respect and the standing you hold in the eyes of others - especially your peers.
It's who you choose to be around on a daily basis and how well you turn a vision into reality.
For first-year Bulldogs head coach Rodney Terry, he relishes having high expectations and emphatically demands hard work, accountability and excellence - in all facets of life.
"We have great pride in what we do and how we do it," Terry said. "We want to compete against the best competition that we can and expect to win. We developed a tough non-conference schedule to get ready for conference play and look forward to competing in great environments."
It's that mentality that is getting noticed by Bulldog fans that can respect a group of young men that leave everything on the floor every night and embrace the opportunity to compete against top schools.
Fresno State (4-4) has already went on the road to Stanford for the NIT Season Tip Off and delivered what Coach Terry called their best inspired performance against a quality opponent despite falling late to the Cardinal in the second half. The 'Dogs then rallied for a solid win over SMU and delivered two more fearless rallies that came up painfully just short the following week in the NIT Consolation.
That Bulldogs channeled their frustration and regrouped for back-to-back 30-point home victories, including an 82-52 win over the Pacific-12's Utah Utes - which marked Fresno State's largest win over a current Pac-12 school and kept the 'Dogs undefeated (3-0) at home this year.
With two games against Pac-12 teams under their belt, the 'Dogs will now have to buckle down back on the road for two more against the Pac-12 starting Wednesday night (6 p.m. PT/KMJ 580 AM) in Boulder, Colo. Fresno State will also visit Arizona State on Dec. 21 for its fifth game against a Pac-12 team, the most between the 'Dogs and the conference in program history.
The Buffs pose a stiff, but exciting challenge for Terry and the Bulldogs. CU has already knocked off the Georgia and Air Force and rank in the country's top 50 in 3-point shooting (39%).
Meanwhile, Fresno State's Kevin Olekaibe is the nation's fourth-leading sophomore scorer (21.0 ppg) and puts his ten-game double-digit scoring streak on the line. But for Olekaibe, the streak is not even on his radar and remains focused on whatever it takes to get a win.
"My teammates have done a great job of finding me when I can score, but our defense is what we take pride in," Olekaibe said. "We know what we have to do and look forward to every test."
Their heart and moxy will be tested. Their engagement and execution must be in prime form. But to be the best, the Bulldogs are surrounding themselves with quality opponents to help spark the turnaround.
While there has to be a balance between high expectations and patience, the only way to take the next step is to run the program at a high level - day in and day out - which is the only way Terry's DNA functions.
Respect, standing and the resulting regard will simply be by-products of the hard work, accountability and overall excellence.
"Our Town. Your Team!" - Fresno State heads back on the road to play the Pacific-12's Colorado and Utah this week before returning to the San Joaquin Valley for a Dec. 17 home game against Cal Poly. To secure single-game tickets, you can visit Ticketmaster online, through ticketmaster.com, call 1-800-745-3000 or visit the Save Mart Center Box Office between 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Monday-Friday) or two hours prior to tip off on gamedays. Make sure to also like Fresno State Athletics on Facebook and follow @FSAthletics on Twitter for the latest updates from the 'Dogs.
