Bulldogs' guard Tyler Johnson was named the team's Most Valuable Player for the 2012-13 season by the Fresno State coaching staff; roster taking shape for 2013-14 season.
Former Fresno State head men's basketball coach and player Jerry Tarkanian has earned induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2013.
Fresno State enters the 2013 Reese's Mountain West Men's Basketball Championships as the No. 7 seed and opens on Wednesday in a Quaterfinal contest versus No. 2 seed Colorado State.
Rodney Terry enters his second season as the 18th head coach in Fresno State men's basketball history and leads the Bulldogs into their first season as a member of the nationally recognized Mountain West Conference.
Known as an outstanding recruiting and bench coach, Terry's resume includes coaching two national players of the year and 11 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."
Under Terry's tutelage, 13 players in the last decade have been selected in the NBA Draft, including nine first-round selections and five lottery picks in Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge, D.J. Augustin, T.J. Ford and Tristan Thompson.
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.
His first full recruiting class is stocked with talent, including the successful recruitment of Fresno's 7-foot center Robert Upshaw, who prepped at San Joaquin Memorial, ranked as the No. 4 overall prospect in the state of California and the 55th best player in the nation in the 2012 ESPNU 100. The class also includes Aaron Anderson, Braeden Anderson, Tanner Giddings, Cezar Guerrero, Marvelle Harris, Allen Huddleston, Broderick Newbill and Blake Williams.
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.
The 232 wins mark the most number of victories in a nine-year period in school history.
During this stretch, a total of 10 McDonald's All-Americans have 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.
Under Terry's tutelage, 13 players in the last decade have been selected in the NBA Draft, including nine first-round selections and five lottery picks in Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge, D.J. Augustin, T.J. Ford and Tristan Thompson.
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.
Terry's resume includes coaching two national players of the year and 11 appearances in the NCAA tournament.
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, a native of Angelton, Texas, and born on March 27, 1968, is married to the former Amanda Brock.
