Rebounding, defensive pressure and a tough attitude on the horizon for Bulldog basketball

Last season, the Fresno State men’s basketball team allowed 67.4 points per game which ranks in the middle of the pack in the Western Athletic Conference and 156 among Division I schools.

The Bulldogs struggled defensively at times under the direction of former head coach Steve Cleveland, but new Fresno State men’s basketball coach Rodney Terry hopes that he can instill a new identity to the program: defense.

“For the most part, we like to be a great man-to-man defense,” Terry said at his introductory news conference. “I just challenged the guys in there a little while ago. We want to be one of the better defensive teams in the country.”

Fresno State allowed opposing teams to score 62 or more points in 21 games last season due in part to a lack of pressure and apparent effort on the defensive end.

But with Terry leading the charge, he hopes that he will be able to establish a team that is centered on creating defensive pressure.

“We’re going to try to create an environment and mentality and an attitude that we’re going to play harder than any team in the country,” Terry said.

“We want to really pressure defensively up the floor.”

Terry will likely be without last season’s top shot-blocker and rebounder Greg Smith for next season, who declared for the NBA Draft in March. But with a plethora of players expected to return, he wants to stress to the Bulldogs on how important defense is.

“We’re going to be hard-nosed,” Terry said “We’re going to play every night. Every night we’re going to hang our hat on trying to be a really good defensive team.”

Fans shouldn’t expect immediate results from the defensive end because Terry said that it takes time for a team to evolve into a defensive-minded team.

“I’ve been around some really good defensive teams,” Terry said. “You got to build it from ground level up. It’s a mentality and it’s an attitude.”

The first-time head coach will also stress the importance of rebounding to his new players. Last season, the Bulldogs finished fifth in the WAC in offensive rebounds and seventh in defensive rebounds. Terry hopes that he’ll be able to improve the team’s rebounding skills.

“We’re going to be a team that tries to be one of the better rebounding teams in the country,” Terry said. “You can’t ever control how well your going to shoot the basketball, but you can always control your defensive effort, and you can always control the rebounds to give yourself a chance to win every night.”

While Terry’s goals on the court are now well known, he also made it a point that hitting the books will always come first for his players.

“We’re going to sell academics first,” Terry said. “You’re here to get a degree. You’re here to graduate. You’re here to be a student first, athlete second.”