Men's Basketball: 2020-21 Preview

Justin Hutson coaching practice in October 2020, while wearing a mask

Photo by: CARY EDMONDSON - FRESNO STATE

Men's Basketball: 2020-21 Preview

10/25/2020 8:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball

2020-21 Fresno State Men's Basketball - Fall Prospectus (PDF)

Fresno State's 2020-21 roster includes four returning letterwinners & 10 newcomers (six Division I transfers: five could make Fresno State debut in 2020-21).

By: Stephen Trembley / Director of New Media

2020-21 Season Preview: Fresno State Bulldogs

Preseason All-Mountain West candidate Orlando Robinson (12.2 ppg/6.6 rpg) is back for his sophomore season at Fresno State.
Fresno State's 2020-21 roster includes four returning letterwinners & 10 newcomers (six Division I transfers: five could make Fresno State debut in 2020-21).
Fresno State head coach Justin Hutson is entering his third season back home in the San Joaquin Valley.
Since joining the MW in 2012, Fresno State has won the 2016 MW tournament championship to earn the league's automatic bid into the 2016 NCAA Tournament and finished as high as second and no lower than seventh in the conference standings.

Orlando Robinson ready to build on strong freshman campaign
After starting all 30 games for the Bulldogs a season ago, Orlando Robinson has stepped into a larger leadership role for the Fresno State men's basketball team. The rising 7-foot sophomore forward and preseason All-Mountain West candidate led the 'Dogs with 12.2 points and a 49.2 percent field goal percentage (127-258), along with a Fresno State freshman season record of 6.6 rebounds per game during the 2019-20 campaign.

Robinson, who is originally from Las Vegas, had five games with at least 20 points, which was the second-most by a Fresno State freshman in the last 15 seasons and one shy of current Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George's six 20-point performances during the 2008-09 season while playing for the Bulldogs. Robinson also recorded five double-doubles last season.

20-point games by Fresno State freshmen (Last 15 Seasons)
6 - Paul George, 2008-09
5 - Orlando Robinson, 2019-20
4 - Jarred Hyder, 2019-20
4 - Kevin Olekaibe, 2010-11
3 - Greg Smith, 2009-10

Who's back?? Campbell, Diouf, Holland & Robinson
Four returning letterwinners (Jordan Campbell, Assane Diouf, Anthony Holland and Orlando Robinson) are back for their sophomore seasons at Fresno State. Campbell began his collegiate career at Oregon State and Diouf redshirted the 2018-19 season before making their Bulldog debuts last year. Holland (4.1 ppg/4.6 rpg) emerged as a critical piece of Fresno State's 2019-20 rotation, which saw the Riverside product play in 29 of the Bulldogs' 30 games - missing just a Jan. 22 road game at Colorado State due to injury. Robinson (12.2 ppg/6.6 rpg) led the team in scoring.

Fresno State played six freshmen during the 2019-20 season and led the Mountain West with those freshmen averaging a combined 101.7 minutes per game, which was nearly half of the Bulldogs' minutes per game average (49.8 percent). Fresno State's freshmen accounted for 3,050 of the team's 6,125 total minutes played (49.8 percent). Fresno State's Orlando Robinson (12.2 ppg) led the way for Fresno State's six freshmen, who had 1,002 of the Bulldogs' 2,075 points scored for an average of 33.4 points of the team's 69.2 points per game (48.3 percent). Robinson was the only Bulldog to play in all 30 games this past season. Three different freshmen scored at least 25 points in a game, including Robinson, who had 27 points in Fresno State's Dec. 28 nonconference home game against UC Riverside.

New additions: Older transfers, talented freshmen
Fresno State fields a 14-man roster for the 2020-21 season, which includes 10 new players. Of those 10 additions, five of those newcomers are Division I transfers - junior guard Junior Ballard (Cal Poly), fifth-year grad transfer guard Devin Gage (DePaul), redshirt junior guard Alec Hickman (UC Riverside), sophomore guard Isaiah Hill (Tulsa) and sophomore wing Deon Stroud (UTEP). Fresno State has one additional Division I transfer - returning now sophomore guard Jordan Campbell (Oregon State), who played in eight games for the Bulldogs last season - to feature a total of six Division I transfers on its roster. Fresno State will also infuse fifth-year senior forward Christian Gray back into its rotation. During Hutson's first season (2018-19), Gray played in 27 games and provided an important lift for the team in key games down the stretch. Both Gray and Hickman redshirted last season (2019-20) for development purposes. These newcomers are paired with sophomore guard Kyle Harding (Allan Hancock College) and three incoming freshmen Leo Colimerio (Wasatch Academy), Braxton Meah (San Joaquin Memorial HS) and Destin Whitaker (Romeoville HS) to complete the 2020-21 roster.

Spotlight: Justin Hutson, Head Coach
Justin Hutson, one of the West's best recruiters and a veteran of the Mountain West conference, is entering his third season back home in the San Joaquin Valley as Fresno State's 19th head men's basketball coach.

Hutson, a native of Bakersfield, Calif., led Fresno State to a 23-9 record during his first season with the Bulldogs to earn 2018-19 Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year honors. The national award is presented annually to the top first-time head coach in NCAA Division I college basketball.

Hutson returned to the Valley after serving as a rising Division I assistant coach for 10 seasons at San Diego State (2006-11, '13-18), two seasons at UNLV (2011-13), two seasons at Cal Poly (2004-06) and two seasons at CSU Bakersfield (1998-2000).

During the 2018-19 season, Fresno State ranked ninth nationally in 3-point field goals per game (10.7), 16th in total 3-point field goals (342) and 24th nationally in both 3-point field goal percentage defense (225-735, 30.6 percent) and 3-point field goal percentage offense (342-897, 38.1 percent). The Bulldogs' defense also led the MW in steals (228, 7.1 steals per game) and turnovers forced (13.7 per game). Three Bulldogs earned All-MW honors and senior guard/forward Sam Bittner earned the program's first Academic All-American recognition. Fresno State was also one of two MW teams to go 7-2 on the road in conference play, which tied for the second-most MW road wins by a team in the first 20 seasons of MW basketball.

Throughout the 2019-20 campaign, Hutson turned to a rotation, which featured six freshmen, who averaged a MW-leading 101.7 minutes per game and produced 33.4 points of the team's 69.2 points per game (48.3 percent of the total points). Freshman forward Orlando Robinson (12.2 ppg/6.6 rpg) led the squad in scoring.

Fresno State contending in the Mountain West
Since joining the Mountain West in 2012, Fresno State has won the 2016 Mountain West tournament championship and finished as high as second in the regular season. The Bulldogs have finished no lower than seventh in league play in its first eight seasons in the Mountain West, which includes four top four finishes in the past five seasons. Fresno State is one of four MW programs to win 65 or more MW games in the last six seasons. In the last five MW campaigns, the 'Dogs have won an average of 11 MW contests per year, including twice going 13-5 against MW opponents, including Hutson's first season at Fresno State during the 2018-19 season.

Three fifth-year seniors finish careers as key players
While the Bulldogs' freshmen earned nearly half of the minutes last season, Fresno State fifth-year seniors New Williams (11.9 ppg), Nate Grimes (11.5 ppg) and Noah Blackwell (9.9 ppg) accounted for 40.5 percent (840 points) of the Bulldogs' scoring (2,075 points). Grimes was one of three MW players to average a double-double for the year. Williams became one of four players in MW history to make 10 made 3-point field goals in a game, which tied the program's record, and Blackwell closed his four-season collegiate career with a 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio (301-141 A-TO).

Fresno State producing NBA Draft Lottery picks, pros
In the last 20 seasons, Fresno State has produced three NBA Lottery picks - Paul George (No. 10 overall in 2010), Melvin Ely (No. 12 overall in 2002) and Courtney Alexander (No. 13 overall in 2000) - while UNLV has two and San Diego State has one in that same 20-season span. Overall, Fresno State has had 31 players go on to play in the NBA, including 21 being selected in the NBA Draft with five first-round picks (four since 2000).

Most NBA Lottery Picks (Last 20 Seasons • 2000-19)
• Fresno State: 3
• UNLV: 2
• San Diego State: 1

• REFERENCE: "Fresno State"
(Never: FSU, CSUF, Fresno State University, or just simply "Fresno")

• ABBREVIATION: Fresno St. or FS

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