Coach Cleveland’s thoughts on the ‘Dogs
Steve Cleveland enters his fourth season as head coach of the Fresno State Bulldogs. At the basketball media day last month, we found he is excited about his new team that features many new faces but with that comes uncertainty for Coach Cleveland. Practice is something he very much enjoys, with a young group eager to learn, also very competitive, with so much playing time up in the air. The non-conference will be a trial by fire for this young team but will force them to grow up soon; this early part of the season has Cleveland a little wary.
Coach Cleveland also reflects upon his decision to take transfers in his early seasons, but with an inability to attract freshman to Fresno in his early seasons, the JC and D1 ranks were his only way of getting competitive early. Cleveland believes this freshman class sets the tone for the new era in Fresno State Basketball. He believes the program will return to normalcy in 12-18 months and there will be no scholarship restrictions or reduced practice time. He also hints at his fall class for 2009-10 – headlined by four-star Greg Smith – that will be a very good class with high quality players, and stated there will be one more spring commit for that class.
Impact Players
With so much unknown coming into this season, lets take a look at what we think will be players and attributes that we do know.
Dwight O’Neil returns for his fifth season, coming off an unfortunate wrist injury he suffered last season. O’Neil is in very good shape and ready to be a driving force and leader for this Bulldogs team. Expect O’ Neil to be in the 10-12 points per game range and possible towards 14 if he can improve on his 3-point range and consistency from behind the arc. When asked about personal goals, Dwight focused on one, which he stated firmly as “stay healthy.”
We will consider transfer forward Sylvester Seay from Arizona State as a known quantity even though he has not played in nearly two seasons. Seay is long and lean and brings effort to the table along with adequate post moves. He is athletic and active on the boards, he also has an ability to step out and make shots from the perimeter. Look for Seay to remind some of former ‘Dog Dominic McGuire though he won't block shots at Dom’s rate but should be better with his back to the basket. Expect Seay to average in the 10-12 point range and he must average 8-10 rebounds for a very small team like the Bulldogs.
Ned Golubovic returns for his sophomore season coming off a freshman season which he got valuable playing experience and a summer back home in Serbia where he has improved his game. “Goobs” will be a very versatile player for the ‘Dogs and will be counted upon heavily to provide leadership and scoring punch for the ‘Dogs. His shooting has improved and his versatility with his back to the basket and shooting range to 3 will be highly important to the Dogs. He must improve his ability on the boards. Golubovic is a player we could see averaging 10-16 points a game depending on how involved he is in the offense and if he shoots in the high 30 to low 40% range from 3.
Paul George is a true freshman who originally committed to Pepperdine but has landed in Fresno, where a Bulldog fan base will be very thrilled that he became a Bulldog. George is a great athlete who shows great versatility and does a little bit of everything well. He will get major minutes in our opinion, while he may struggle at times; he is a very hard worker who will never lack effort. George compares his game to Rudy Gay, and he used the word “smooth” to describe his overall game. We see solid minutes out of George and 6-8 points per game along with inspired defense and a spectacular play per outing.
What we don’t know
A lot!
There are so many unknowns with these young Bulldogs we could write pages. Let’s begin with the point guard position. Three unproven players will vie for this spot including Jordan Ambers, Myles Green, and Bryce Cartwright. We don’t believe there is a clear leader here, and we think minutes will be spread around until someone emerges from the group. Also, expect to see O’Neil in the mix at the point in certain situations and potentially freshman Brandon Sperling, who will provide the height mismatch from there with his length.
Who will score?
Listed above are four players expected to be anywhere from 8-15 combined points per game. Who else will be a viable scoring option?
Can Sperling make an impact?
He does have 3-point range but is it game ready is the question.
Will sophomore center Brandon Webster provide something off the bench?
He won’t play extended minutes due to his inability to reach great playing shape but his size along should provide three or four buckets per game. The key will be his willingness to fight on the inside and make an effort on the offensive end.
How will this team hold up? How will they respond to early adversity? The first thing fans will notice is that this team is very thin outside of a few players. Expect more experienced and bigger teams to push them around at all positions and have a decided physical advantage. The most important thing for this team to do is to play hard and just maximize effort on both ends of the floor, and most importantly play with maximum energy.
What to expect on both ends of the floor
Coach Cleveland has stated he wants to make a concerted effort to dump the ball into the post and play through the pivot. Although the ‘Dogs do not feature a dominate post presence, expect to see Golubovic, Seay, Webster, and to some extent George and O’Neil posting up. The pick and pop will be utilized with both Golubovic and Seay who feature solid mid-range games. These will be two areas of high importance on the offensive end. This is not a great 3-point shooting team as it sets right now. Therefore, they must show versatility on the offensive end. It will be interesting to see just how much Coach Cleveland chooses to push the tempo since this team will feature young athletes on the wings in Mychal Ladd, George, and Sperling.
Another thing to see is if Cleveland decides to pressure teams in situations. Will he be willing to play some scramble basketball with a young team and extend full court? Will they pressure and trap in the half-court? If the offense is struggling this may be a way to spark this team and get them some easy baskets to get them going. It may take a mix and match of defenses for this team to be able to be competitive at times.
BB.C projected lineups (can vary depending on opponent)
Starters
PG Jordan Ambers
W Dwight O’Neil
W Paul George
P Nedeljko Golubovic
P Sylvester Seay
Reserves
PG Bryce Cartwright/Myles Green
W Mychal Ladd
W Brandon Sperling
P Brian Seals
P Brandon Webster
Final Thoughts
To reiterate again, there are many unknowns with this team and it may take time for this team to establish itself and define roles. They must establish an early identity as a scrapping team that works hard every possession. For a team like this to have moderate success, they must be on the floor for lose balls and outworking their opponents along with an enthusiasm that others will have a difficulty matching.
One of the most important attributes for this team is the availability of playing time for many and roles for the taking. This will keep practice intensity up and make for everyone pushing for time and overall play improving along with individuals.
If the Bulldogs can play .500 basketball, it can go a long way in rebuilding a winning mentality and set the stage for an even bigger 2009-10 season with the influx of young talent that should end up in Fresno, as long as commitments are honored by those young men.
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