Bryan Harvey resurfaces

First Louisville, then Fresno State and now California State University East Bay in Hayward, CA (San Francisco Bay Area) for Bryan Harvey. CSUEB is a NAIA member.

Per Coach Will Biggs, Harvey is described as "a transfer from Fresno State, will contribute in the backcourt...Bryan is a good scorer and outstanding passer...He could play point guard."

Player academics

The academic status of various players in the WAC has been in the news of late but the focus of this post is Fresno State.

Coach Steve Cleveland just announced that Bryan Harvey, a transfer from Louisville, is academically ineligible for the spring semester -- a situation that certainly impairs the Bulldogs chances of making a move up in the WAC and being one of the teams challenging for the top spot.

Earlier this season, Kentucky transfer Rekalin Sims was also suspended due to a less-than-attentive approach to his schoolwork. Sims eventually was dropped from the team over a legal matter.

Freshman center Brandon Webster missed time earlier when he wasn't hitting the books as much as he needed.

In June 2007, it was announced that Kevin Galloway was leaving the Fresno State program due to academics. He was a transfer from USC and is now at the College of Southern Idaho.

We are always on the lookout for patterns and such and, while unsure if the classroom woes at FSU qualify, three of the players who have fallen short with their academics are transfers from other four year Division One programs.

What is really curious is that these young men apparently performed adequately in the classroom while sitting out the mandated season as a transfer but tailed off soon thereafter. One would think finally getting back on the court would be an even greater incentive and one to hold on to than the promise of eventually being able to play.

Fresno State loses another player

Coach Steve Cleveland has just lost another player with the academic ineligibility of Bryan Harvey. The Fresno bench contains no replacement close to being equal to Harvey so the continuing absence of Dwight O'Neil due to a broken wrist hurts even more now.

Men's player benched for season
Academic ineligibility sidelines Fresno State hoopster Harvey
Gary Estwick
The Fresno Bee
1/16/08

Fresno State sophomore Bryan Harvey is academically ineligible for the spring semester and will miss the rest of the 2007-08 season, men's basketball coach Steve Cleveland said Wednesday night.

Harvey, a Louisville transfer, did not travel to San Jose for tonight's Western Athletic Conference game against the Spartans.

Cleveland said he will not decide who will replace Harvey in the starting lineup until today's 10 a.m. walk-through.

"In the end, a student-athlete has to be accountable for his performance in the classroom, as well as on the floor," Cleveland said. "He did not demonstrate the [academic] performance that was needed. As a result, the consequences are pretty significant to him and this program, but there has to be accountability here."

Harvey averaged 10.6 points and five rebounds in 17 games. He becomes the third Fresno State starter to be rendered inactive this season, all for different reasons...

Go here for the remainder.

We were hoping this game would provide an RPI boost...

It was fairly close at times due to a couple of homecourt rallies but the outcome of last night's St. Mary-s - Fresno State game did not give a boost to the Bulldog or WAC RPIs.

Fresno Sate's lack of an inside offensive game and defense continues to haunt Coach Steve Cleveland.

Past no blast for men's basketball
Fresno State catch that got away returns, helps Saint Mary's to victory
Gary Estwick
The Fresno Bee
1/08/08

Diamon Simpson returned to the Save Mart Center on Tuesday night, his first time back since committing to Fresno State as a high school senior.

Simpson never made it here during the fall of 2005, choosing to back out after recruiting violations ended Ray Lopes' coaching tenure. So his 17-point, six-rebound performance in Saint Mary's 77-68 win over Fresno State allowed the crowd of 9,610 fans to wonder what kind of contribution he could have made in the Valley.

He accomplished enough in the nonconference game to impress Fresno State coach Steve Cleveland, who took over for Lopes after Simpson, a former Bay Area prep standout, turned his interest to Saint Mary's.

"He's just so bouncy," Cleveland said. "He's around the rim. He can take it from 12, 14 feet and put it on the floor."

Simpson's effort spoiled a late Fresno State rally and Bryan Harvey's 20-point performance, temporarily ending what has been a trying season offensively for the Louisville transfer. Harvey's totals were both game and season highs...

Go here for the remainder.

A preview of Fresno State men's basketball 2007-2008

Here's our latest on the 2007-2008 version of Fresno State.

Coach Steve Cleveland will have a veteran team in 2007-2008 but an untested one.

Why the oxymoron?

Let's explain.

Quinton Hosley and Dominic McGuire, plus don't forget Ja'Vance Coleman despite all his difficulties, have all left the Central Valley -- Hosley and McGuire took superb athleticism and count-on-it production with them.

But Kevin Bell, Dwight O'Neill, Eddie Miller, Alex Blair, Shawn Taylor and Hector Hernandez remain and will be joined by 'newcomers' Rekalin Sims and Bryan Harvey. Newly signed freshmen Nedeljko Golubovic and Brandon Webster are now also in the mix.

Bell will end up a rarity next season -- a four-year player for Fresno State. O'Neill redshirted last year and will be a junior. Eddie Miller and Alex Blair came in from junior colleges last season. Taylor also transferred in from a community college. Hernandez will partner with Bell as another peculiarity -- a four-year Bulldog.

The senior Sims has been a basketball vagabond and will play his first and final season for the Bulldogs in 2007-2008. He was in over his head during his sole year at Kentucky but the WAC should be much more conducive to his level of talent.Harvey rarely saw the court while at Louisville during his frosh season before he transferred to Raisintown.

So Cleveland has seven upperclassmen out of his top ten players. However, the group offers but 13 years of D-1 experience, hence the tagline veteran but untested.

The Bulldogs were 22-10 overall last season but such is ancient history what with top talent departures so previous team numbers and stats don't offer much value.

Here's who is returning:

Kevin Bell -- point guard 5-10 165 senior. Bell has always enjoyed an excellent assist-to-turnover ratio. Last season, he was tops in the WAC in assists per game at 5.89 and assist/turnover ratio, posting a 2.54 figure. For the season, Bell tossed out 178 assists while committing 83 turnovers. But a major Achilles heel for him is his shooting -- just 39% from floor and 63% on free throws. These are not numbers coaches desire, especially the free throw number since the ball is generally in the hands of the point near game's end. But Bell's the little engine that could and does.

Dwight O'Neill -- shooting guard 6-3 180 senior. He came out of high school with the rep as a shooter but has also demonstrating prowess as a defender. He redshirted last season and will definitely be in the backcourt rotation in 2007-2008.

Eddie Miller -- shooting guard 6-3 170 senior. Signed as a long range bomber, Miller lived up to his reputation scoring 10.5 ppg. on 38% overall and 36% shooting on 3's. His biggest bugaboo is that defenders knew how and where to play him as he attempted but 28 free throws in 32 games.

Alex Blair -- power forward 6-8 220 senior. Blair was termed a defender and lived up to the analysis. He lacks offensive skills and is a backend-of-the-rotation type for the frontcourt.

James Tchana -- power forward 6-8 275 junior. He played in only six games due to injury and also should be a depth provider.

Hector Hernandez -- power forward 6-9 225 senior. A native of Chihuahua, Mexico, Hernandez scored 11.2 ppg. as a junior. He's the best Bulldog from three-pointland at 41% and can create matchup problems for defenders with his outside roaming. Similar to Eddie Miller, Hernandez earned just 32 free throws in 31 games--an amazingly low figure for a forward. He also grabbed 5.2 rpg. but is not considered an especially effective boardman.

Shawn Taylor -- center 6-10 220 senior. Taylor played as a freshmen at Alabama but then transferred to a junior college in Florida. He moved on to Louisiana Tech but never actually appeared there and finally worked his way to the Central Valley. He has yet to be more than a tall and athletic frontcourter due to a deficiency in the basketball skills necessary to produce numbers. Don't expect a big change.

Here's who has been on the sidelines:

Rekalin Sims -- power forward 6-8 230 senior. Sims is from the Bay Area but he first played a couple of seasons at a prep school in Maine, then at Salt Lake City College before signing with Kentucky. It didn't work out there and he returned to California, hitching up with Fresno and Steve Cleveland. His previous game was that of a small forward with more of a mid-range effectiveness. Whether he has expanded his repertoire will be determined this season.

Bryan Harvey -- wing 6-5 210 junior. Originally from southern California, Harvey is a bounceback from Louisville. As a prepster, he was rated No. 32 nationally by HoopScoop and 62nd by Prep Basketball Magazine. College Basketball News had him in its Top 62 high school seniors. Playing time was scarce under Rick Pitino so Harvey looked and then moved elsewhere. He looks to be the most talented player on the roster.

Here's the new kids figuratively and literally on the block:

Nedeljko Golubovic -- forward 6-8 230 freshman, HS NV. Originally out of Serbia, Cleveland descibes Golubovic this way: "He is a very versatile player, who can score inside and step outside and shoot the three. He will add depth and strength to our post players." Look for him to be in the mix for playing time but Fresno fans won't see a lot of him in the upcoming season.

Brandon Webster -- center 6-10 235 freshman HS TX. Webster was going to sign with Texas A&M until a coaching change occurred and then was headed to another D-1 school until that fell through. He possesses the frame coaches desire but will need time to adapt his game to the D-1 level of competition.

Expect Fresno State to continue the barrage from outside -- O'Neill, Miller, Hernandez and Harvey will be the launchers this time around -- as the Bulldogs fired up 200 more three-point attempts than opponents.

Cleveland's squad was out-rebounded by three a game last season. That ratio could worsen due to the departure of Hosley and McGuire unless a couple of frontcourters step up their games for 2007-2008. Taylor, Sims or the two freshmen need to demonstrate rebounding prowess in order for Cleveland's team to turn the board deficit into a positive.

Here's our estimate of the Bulldog starting five:
center - Hector Hernandez
power forward - Rekalin Sims
wing - Bryan Harvey
shooting guard - Eddie Miller or Dwight O'Neil
point - Kevin Bell

That's a solid starting five, especially offensively. Defense is the questionmark.