Men's Basketball
- Title:
- Men's Basketball Head Coach
- Email:
- roterry@csufresno.edu
- Phone:
- 559-278-2748
Last Updated: May 23, 2017
Rodney Terry is entering his seventh season as the 18th head coach in Fresno State men's basketball history and led the Bulldogs during their transition into the Mountain West - one of the nation's most competitive conferences. Â Terry was hired on April 7, 2011.
Terry has guided Fresno State to postseason appearances in three of the last four seasons, including a NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016 and NIT appearance in 2017.  Fresno State is one of eight teams on the West Coast to play in either the NCAA or NIT in each of the last two seasons.  Under Terry's direction, Fresno State has also won 20 or more games in three of the past four seasons and the Bulldogs have increased their conference win total in four of the last five seasons.
During the 2015-16 season, Terry led the Bulldogs to the 2016 Mountain West Championship title and a 2016 NCAA Tournament appearance.  With a 13-5 record in league play, the 'Dogs finished second in conference, which gave the Bulldogs their highest seed for a conference tournament since 2001 and guided the program back to the NCAA Tournament for the 1st time since 2001.  Fresno State won 25 games, which is the third most wins in a single season in school history, including wins in nine of its last 10 games and 11 of its last 12.
Fresno State then-senior guard Marvelle Harris was named the 2015-16 MW Preseason and Postseason Player of the Year. Fresno State also finished the season in the Top 5 nationally in turnover margin and went 6-0 in games decided by a single possession
Known as an outstanding recruiting and bench coach, Terry's resume includes coaching two national players of the year and 12 appearances in the NCAA tournament.
"This program will never be about me - it will always be about our student-athletes," Terry said. "Everything that you do - on and off the floor - prepares you for the postseason. We want our guys to be the complete package. When they come here, we expect them to earn a quality education and receive a degree in four years. They are going to grow as young men in a diverse setting socially, but they must be ready to do what it takes to compete at the highest level on the basketball floor."
In 2014-15, Terry continued its ascension in conference with 10 league wins and posted wins over four of the 68 teams that reached the NCAA Tournament (Boise State, San Diego State, UC Irvine and Wyoming). With the win over then-No. 25 San Diego State, Terry guided the Bulldogs to the program's first victory over a team ranked in the Top 25 since 2002. The 10 conference wins marked the third-straight season that Terry led the 'Dogs to more league victories than the previous season. He also coached junior guard Marvelle Harris to first-team All-Mountain West and All-Defensive team honors. Harris was the first Bulldog to earn first-team all-conference accolades since 2008.
In 2013-14, Terry led the Bulldog to the program's first 20-win season and postseason appearance in seven years with Fresno State reaching the finals of the 16-team College Basketball Invitational. He coached freshman guard/forward Paul Watson to Mountain West Freshman of the Year honors, along with two other all-conference selections in senior guard Tyler Johnson and sophomore guard Marvelle Harris. In league play, he led Fresno State to a fifth-place finish and orchestrated the best turnaround in conference history by guiding the Bulldogs to a 9-9 record in MW play after starting the league slate 1-7. No MW team that had started that 1-7 or 0-8 had ever won more than a total of four conference games. The Bulldogs closed the regular season by winning eight of their last ten games.
During the 2012-13 season, Fresno State scored a historic sweep of UNLV, including the program's first-ever road win over the Rebels, and handed Wyoming its second loss of the year after the Cowboys started 14-1. As a league, the MW earned the NCAA's best Ratings Performance Index and had five NCAA Tournament teams. In his first season at Fresno State in 2011-12, the Bulldogs ranked third in the state of California in attendance playing in the 15,596-seat Save Mart Center to finish ahead of the Pac-12's Stanford, UCLA and USC. Terry instilled a relentless work ethic and passion in the Bulldogs' culture. He guided Fresno State to a series of fearless rallies highlighted by a road win at the Pac-12's Arizona State and a neutral site NIT Season Tip Off win over SMU.
In his first season at Fresno State, the Bulldogs ranked third in the state of California in attendance playing in the 15,596-seat Save Mart Center to finish ahead of the Pac-12's UCLA, USC and Stanford.
Terry instilled a relentless work ethic and passion in the Bulldogs' culture. He guided Fresno State to a series of fearless rallies highlighted by wins on the road at the Pac-12's Arizona State and a neutral site NIT Season Tip Off battle against SMU.
Prior to joining the Bulldog family, Terry was a central architect on Rick Barnes' staff at Texas for nine seasons and led the Longhorns to the NCAA Tournament in each of his nine seasons in Austin, including a trip to the Final Four in 2003, the Elite Eight in both 2006 and 2008 and four Sweet Sixteen showings. Overall, the Longhorns posted a 232-80 (.744) record and produced 20-win seasons in all nine seasons of Terry's tenure. Â The 232 wins marked the most number of victories in a nine-year period in UT history.
During this stretch, a total of 10 McDonald's All-Americans made their way to the UT campus (Brad Buckman, 2002; LaMarcus Aldridge, 2004; Daniel Gibson, 2004; Mike Williams, 2004; D.J. Augustin, 2006; Kevin Durant, 2006; Jai Lucas, 2007; Avery Bradley, 2009; Cory Joseph, 2010; Tristan Thompson, 2010). Terry also ran point on the recruitment of 2011 UT signee Myck Kabongo, who competed in the 2011 McDonald's All-American Game.
Despite a class that numbered only two, the 2010 UT freshman class of Joseph and Thompson was ranked as the No. 8 recruiting class in the country by ESPN. Texas' three-man freshman class in 2009 was ranked No. 3 nationally by Rivals.com and No. 4 by ESPNU. UT's seven-man freshman class in 2006 was tabbed the No. 3 recruiting class in the nation by both Rivals.com and Scout.com. Texas' five-man freshman class in 2004 featured three McDonald's All-Americans (Aldridge, Gibson and Williams) and was tabbed the No. 1 class in the nation by Clark Francis' Hoop Scoop.
During his last six seasons with the Longhorns, Texas tallied a combined 161-54 (.749) record, setting the mark for most wins at UT in a six-year period. During the 2010-11 season, the Longhorns recorded a 28-8 mark, the third-most wins in a single season in school history, and advanced to the NCAA Third Round. UT's No. 8 spot in the final AP poll marked the third-highest ranking in the final AP poll in school history.
Texas climbed to the top of both major national polls (Associated Press, ESPN/USA Today Coaches) on Jan. 11, 2010, marking the first time in program history that the Horns had been the top-ranked team in the nation in either major poll. Texas held the top spot in both polls for a two-week stretch. UT set a school record for most wins in a season (31-7) in 2007-08. While using a starting rotation of four freshmen and a sophomore in 2006-07, the Horns posted a 25-10 mark and advanced to the NCAA Second Round. In 2005-06, Texas registered a 30-7 record and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight.
Texas is the only school in the country that can claim two National Player of the Year award winners since 2003, T.J. Ford (2003) and Kevin Durant (2007). UT has had three consensus first-team All-Americans during Terry's time as an assistant (T.J. Ford in 2003, Kevin Durant in 2007 and D.J. Augustin in 2008), and Augustin claimed the Bob Cousy Award as the nation's top point guard in 2008.
A total of 13 players who were coached by Terry at Texas have been drafted, including the nine first-round selections and five lottery picks in T.J. Ford, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Durant, D.J. Augustin and Tristan Thompson. Both Aldridge (2006) and Durant (2007) were selected as the No. 2 overall picks in their respective drafts. In fact, UT?became the first school to have a Top Two pick in consecutive NBA Drafts since DePaul in 1981-82.
When Augustin was selected as the No. 9 pick by the Charlotte Bobcats in the 2008 NBA Draft, it completed quite a three-year run for the Longhorns at the Draft. Texas was the only school in the nation to have a Top 10 pick in the 2006, 2007 and 2008 NBA Drafts. In fact, UT became just the fourth school since 1985 (when the current draft lottery system was implemented) to produce a lottery pick in three consecutive years. Georgia Tech (1989-91), Duke (1992-95) and Connecticut (2004-06) previously accomplished the feat. Additionally, Texas had a total of three players selected during both the 2010 and 2012 NBA Drafts.
In the classroom, Texas had four players earn a spot on the 2011 Academic All-Big 12 Conference Men's Basketball Team. This marked the fourth straight year that the Horns led the league in Academic All-Big 12 honors in the sport of men's basketball. UT had six players earn the accolade in both 2008 and 2009 and five players claim a spot in 2010.
Terry joined Barnes' staff on June 11, 2002. For seven weeks prior to coming to Texas, Terry served on Jerry Wainwright's staff at the University of Richmond after spending the previous four seasons under Wainwright at UNC-Wilmington.
While at UNC-Wilmington, Terry was instrumental in helping the program produce three postseason appearances in his four seasons. The Seahawks advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 1999-2000 and 2001-02 and reached the Postseason NIT in 2000-01. During his final year with the Seahawks (2001-02), UNCW posted a 23-10 overall mark, setting a school record for victories in a season. The Seahawks also collected their first NCAA Tournament win in school history, upsetting USC 98-89 in overtime in a First Round game.
UNCW registered a record of 71-51 (.582) during Terry's four seasons. In his second year, Terry helped the Seahawks land a Top 30 recruiting class according to Hoop Scoop. In 2001-02, Terry was named the co-mid/low-major Assistant Coach of the Year by TheInsiderHoops.com, sharing the honor with Valparaiso's Scott Drew (now the head coach at Baylor).
Prior to joining the staff at UNCW, Terry served two years as an assistant coach at Baylor (1996-98). He spent one season (1995-96) as the varsity coach at Angleton (Texas) High School and two years as the head coach at Somerville (Texas) High School. Terry posted a 15-13 mark at Angleton and a 49-21 overall record at Somerville, where he led the school to the Class 2A state semifinals in 1993-94. He also worked for two years (1991-93) as an assistant coach at Austin Bowie (Texas) High School.
Terry started his coaching career as an assistant coach at his alma mater, St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas. He worked for one season (1990-91) at St. Edward's before moving on to his post at Bowie High.
Terry graduated from St. Edward's University in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in business administration and a minor in physical education. During his collegiate career, he was a three-year starter at point guard and a three-time Academic All-Big State Conference selection. The Hilltoppers won the Big State Conference title during his freshman season in 1986-87, and he also served as team captain during his junior and senior campaigns.
Terry resides in Fresno, Calif. He is a native of Angelton, Texas, and was born on March 27, 1968.
