The Bulldogs Basketball Hour With Paul Loeffler, Coach Vance Walberg & Guard Brian Amuneke

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
On the Bulldog Sports Network from Learfield. Welcome to the
Bulldog Basketball Hour, brought to you by Table Mountain Casino Resorts,
Lucky Days and Epic Nights, bud Late, easy to drink,
easy to enjoy and buy, Pepsi, official soft drink of
Fresno State Athletics. Live from Crowing Wolf Taproom in Clovis.

(00:24):
Jeers your host, the Voice of the Bulldogs, Paul Leffler.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Well, good evening from Crowing Wolf tap Room in Clovis.
It's cool outside, but nice and cozy inside. Boy, we
needed that rain today here in the valley. I think
it's taken a pause for now, at least here in Clovis.
Made for a beautiful sunset. And I'll tell you when
I was walking up to Crowing Wolf today, the first
thing that assaulted my senses was the fantastic smells coming

(00:51):
from that parking lot. Got some great food trucks here tonight.
Ninety nine Craft Pizzas here with their unique Detroit style
deep dish. And if you liked ty food like I do,
the Penta Zapp truck is here. They had I don't
know about ten or twelve different items, including the pork
belly Basil. I wonder how spicy they can make that. Anyway,
if you like ty food or pizza, you want to

(01:13):
come inside get whatever you want to drink from Crowing Wolf.
We're gonna be here till seven o'clock talking Bulldog basketball.
If you don't have tickets for tomorrow night's game yet,
we might be able to help you with that as well.
Coach Vans Wahlberg is here. In a little while, we're
going to talk to his freshman who's coming on strong,
Brian am Unique. He scored in double digits for the
last five games. We'll be talking to Brian in the
second half of the show. We've got coach Wahlberg here now,

(01:34):
and coach. Fans who have been paying attention can see
that the team is improving. You're getting closer. Got a
lot of close games, a lot of down to the
wire games, and I know that's not what you're gunning for.
You want to win those close games. What have you
seen from your team the last three weeks here where
all of a sudden the games are a lot closer

(01:56):
and they're winnable.

Speaker 3 (01:58):
I've just seen a team that had an opportunity, you know,
five of the last seven games under a minute to go,
we have had the lead or been tied and we
only won one of them, which means a couple problems.
Either the head coach is screwing up not doing his job,
which is probably part of it, okay.

Speaker 4 (02:19):
And then I talked to.

Speaker 3 (02:20):
Zay On today, our point guard, to me, your point
guard's got to take control of the game at the end.

Speaker 4 (02:26):
He's got to run the ship and do the different things.

Speaker 3 (02:29):
And sometimes Zeon stays back on that, and I'm going
to challenge him to make the place to be able
to go get that ball, get fouled, make whatever play
needs to be played, run whatever play needs to be ran,
and then execute it.

Speaker 4 (02:43):
But we got to get better that way. Again.

Speaker 3 (02:45):
You know, we put ourselves in the position to win,
but you got to win them.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
And at the end of the first overtime it looked
like that's exactly what was about to happen. You guys
had the ball at the end of regulation tide and
then at the end of the overtime tide and Zay
created what looked like a pretty good shot. They tried
to go in and just didn't. How long did that
shot feel to you? Like? How long was that ball
in the air in your situational awareness.

Speaker 3 (03:12):
I feel, and I say this all the times, I
feel for the kids. I mean, they work hard, they
give you what you're asking for, but it's like anything else,
you got to earn it, and we have not earned
those wins.

Speaker 2 (03:22):
Well, you'll get another chance tomorrow. And I had save
mart Center, big opportunity for the Bulldogs. Fresno State, if
the season ended today, would be the ten seed and
they'd be trying to win to set up a matchup
with the two seed. And right now the two seed
would be Utah State, who's ten and two in conference play,
twenty and three. Overall, the Aggies are having a great year,

(03:44):
but you should put a scare into them. In Logan,
that was the game where you guys were up at halftime.
You led by as many as seventeen in the first half,
close game. In the second half, they ended up winning
by five. You guys hadn't shifted to your zone yet,
but you sure carved up their zone that.

Speaker 3 (04:02):
We did, and honestly, we went back and looked at
the game. We actually put the zone on two times
in that game. Is the first time we tried it,
and they hit a three and they got a layup
off of it. So they were two for two. That
five points in that game against US so in two
possessions and two possessions. So the zone was not very
good that game. But again you're looking at I think

(04:24):
we probably spend an hour, maybe an hour hour and
a half on his z own total, and there's a
lot of little things. If you don't do right, you're
going to leave a lot of people open. And the
kids had a chance to see that today in their
film session to see how far we'd come with the
zone for us offensively, you know, it's not too often
you get Utah State out of their zone, and we

(04:46):
actually made them go to man in that second half.

Speaker 4 (04:49):
Again hopefully that we can move the ball well enough.

Speaker 3 (04:52):
The big key for there against their zone offenses to
keep moving because it's a true matchup and they're going
to release you out a certain point. Then we got
to be able to find that point and then come
back and find the open gaps.

Speaker 2 (05:05):
And your team did a really good job in that
first meeting of doing that, especially in the first half,
and we saw some guys really build some confidence, played loose,
played free, put a scare into an almost sold out
crowd in one of the toughest to play places to
play in the conference, and you just mentioned something that
you know, you played so well against the zone they
were forced to switch to man at one point. And

(05:27):
since you brought that up, it was actually a question
I had in mind to talk to you about tonight.
You brought up the close games. You know how five
of the last seven games you've been in position to
win tied her ahead in the final minute, and I
was kind of wondering the other night. You know, hindsight
is always twenty twenty. But afterwards, as I was going
through what happened to that double overtime wild one against

(05:47):
San Jose State, I had the thought, I wonder what
would have happened if, after playing zone the entire game,
Presno State comes out in a possession of man out
of one of those timeouts when San Jose State's got
to play drawn up zone. Are those things you think
about in those huddles or is that something that keeps
you up at night afterwards the way it did for me?

Speaker 4 (06:07):
Thanks, Paul, I appreciate that.

Speaker 5 (06:12):
No.

Speaker 3 (06:13):
Even after the game, a couple of players said, Coach,
maybe we should have went to his zone a couple
of possessions. I really felt, you know, even when they
hit that one to three, we were up seven with
a minute twenty to go. They took a long three
missed it. But again we have box out responsibilities. I
won't say who missed this box out responsibility, but that's

(06:34):
how simple the game is. You do that one box out,
we get the ball up seven with a minute twenty
to go, and the game's over. In my mind, it's
doing those different things. I thought in the zone we
were at least making them take a lot of time.

Speaker 4 (06:47):
You were, and the man, what scared me with them.

Speaker 3 (06:51):
Is that they're really good on just getting to the
rack really fast. They're very good at attacking the rack,
especially with the Duja and the Davis, and I didn't
want to give him a quick sco is, hoping it
bide some time.

Speaker 4 (07:04):
But like you said, I screwed up.

Speaker 2 (07:07):
I didn't say that, coach. I said. It kept me
up at night thinking. Man, the only reason I thought
about it because your zone's been really effective, right and
for most of that game until overtime, it was very
effective even at limiting the threes. They had single digit
threes going into overtime, they just caught fire and ot.
But I was just thinking about it from a psychological standpoint,
if you come out of a timeout, you know, trying

(07:29):
to come from behind, and all of a sudden what
you expected is different, and then they're mentally processing you.
Guys have the unlimited possibilities, I know in your chess matches,
and probably half of it sounds perfect and half of
it sounds insane.

Speaker 4 (07:42):
It all depends on which half when the ball goes in.
I think I took a look.

Speaker 3 (07:47):
I think teams in overtime and the last man the
game overtime this year is shooting like sixty nine from
the three on us. I mean, no matter what, even
if you leave somebody opening the him, most of the
times I'm not going to shoot seventy percent from it free.
It's just it's just one of those crazy times, crazy
years where we can't get a darn thing to go away.

Speaker 2 (08:08):
But again, you know, we got to earn it, and
you and I have both seen enough, and not just
in basketball, in every sport. When a team goes through
a stretch like that where it feels like nothing will
go their way, a lot of times there ends up
being some kind of breakthrough. Now, you would have wished
it came a few weeks ago, and it almost did,

(08:30):
but it could still come to where this team all
of a sudden is winning those close games and letting
instead of letting them slip away. Have you been on
some teams like that where at one point they finally
got so sick of things going the way they were
that they almost willed their way to a breakthrough.

Speaker 3 (08:47):
No, I mean, honest, most of the teams that I've
been on that I've been coached, and again it's just
high school, junior cosge majority of and we've been pretty
darn successful, you know, So going through something like that,
this is definitely, I'll tell you, tough on the body.

Speaker 4 (09:03):
You talk about sleep.

Speaker 3 (09:04):
I think that night after the sans A State game,
it was probably about quarter or four when I got
to sleep.

Speaker 4 (09:10):
It's just, you know, it is what it is. As
a coach. You know, you go through every fricking play
in your head.

Speaker 3 (09:16):
You know, could have done this, should have done that,
you know, should have made this up here, should have
run this, bob. You go through all those for us.
It's a process, it really is, you know. Like I
said earlier, I think we're like the seventh youngest team
in Division One, and you can see that a lot
of times out there with the kind of rookie mistakes
that we make.

Speaker 2 (09:39):
You are starting to get some real contributions from freshmen.
In fact, you have two of the top four freshmen
in the league from a scoring standpoint in Elijah Price
and Brian am Unique, Who's going to join us here
in a little bit. Brian'll be here for the second
half of the show. He finally turned eighteen, so he's
not old enough to do it. A lot of the
folks here crowing for doing here, but he can order

(10:02):
some great Thai food or pizza out in the parking
lot tonight. We've got the Penta Zapp food truck in
ninety nine Craft Pizza here. Both of those young men
are coming on strong. Brian's been able to shoot that three.
We're seeing him attack the basket. We saw him get
four steals, you know, being aggressive on the perimeter in
this last game against San Jose State and Elijah Price.

(10:22):
I mean, he's been a rebounding machine all year, but
it seems like this zone has really unlocked him as
a top notch rim protector in this league. And his
foul shooting. I mean, from the first half of the
season to now night and day at the line.

Speaker 4 (10:36):
Tremendous, and it's helped his confidence. I think the biggest thing.

Speaker 3 (10:39):
Right, People don't realize what the zone has done for
us when we go man and man you'll check go
back and check the early games. Eliza's in foul trouble
every game he gets stuck guarding a six ' ten,
two hundred and sixty pound kin or a seven foot
or whatever else. So this has really helped keeping him
out of foul trouble, which obviously helps us.

Speaker 4 (11:00):
Meet him on the floor.

Speaker 3 (11:01):
And then he made a change, you know, about three
and a half four weeks ago, it made a little
change to his free throw shooting. You know, we're to
start where to start this shot and so forth, and
his confidence is just rose. I haven't looked, but I've
bet he's seventy five to eighty percent in the last
six seven games shooting a free throw. And you know,
earlier in the year, you know, we were he was

(11:22):
scratching about you know, fifty percent.

Speaker 4 (11:24):
So it's a big difference, plus his confidence.

Speaker 2 (11:26):
For that, I like how you snuck your wife's name
in there too. He said. His percentage is we'll just
say it really rose the.

Speaker 4 (11:36):
Yeah she didn't catch it.

Speaker 2 (11:39):
She did now she's used to it well. And speaking
of coach, and she's not your only family member who's
here tonight. I imagine you just mentioned that you've never
really had a season like this or experienced some of
the things you're facing this year. I imagine you've relied
on your family a lot during this stretch.

Speaker 3 (11:58):
I do you know, I have three of my four
kids live in town, and Mike, you know, I just
get opportunity to see them and then be at the games,
and then just seeing my grandkids at the games.

Speaker 4 (12:09):
It's it's, you know, that's what life's about. You know.

Speaker 3 (12:12):
It's a lot nice to seeing them when you win.
I'm not gonna lie, but at least you get.

Speaker 2 (12:17):
To see them, hey man, And we'll see them tomorrow
night at mart Center, seven o'clock tip against Utah State.
If you don't have your tickets yet, go Bulldogs dot
com or come see us at Crowing Wolf. We might
just have one for you. Food trucks tonight ninety nine
crabt Pizza or Thaie Food with Penta Zapp if you
want to get your spice on. Come join us crowing
Wolf right off a Herndred and one sixty eight here
till seven o'clock on the Bulldog Sports Network from their field.

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Speaker 2 (15:43):
Oh duojay trying to answer fadeaway jumper in the paint
draws back I n No tipped out of there by
price and just here tremble as it for Fresno. Steed
ahead to Weaver. He wants a transition three left wing.

Speaker 5 (15:53):
And he got it.

Speaker 2 (15:54):
Jalen Weaver with fourteen and Fresno State is back in
front forty eight, forty five.

Speaker 14 (16:00):
Nice transition shot by we He hands and Feeto together
knocks it down.

Speaker 2 (16:07):
Well. If you were at the Save Mart Center the
other night, you saw Newsey a double overtime thriller against
San Jose State. Bulldogs have had three overtime games in
conference play already. They also almost ended up in overtime
and logan when they battled Utah State. The rematch at
the Save Mart Center is tomorrow night, seven o'clock. The
Aggies are second in the conference at ten and two

(16:29):
in Mountain West play overall, they've already won twenty games.
They're twenty and three. They're having a great year. But
the Bulldogs put a real scare into them at the
Spectrum on their home floor, and we'll be ready for
the rematch tomorrow night at seven o'clock. We've got Vance
Wahlberg here. His freshman Brian m Unique is on his
way and where are we We're Crow and Wolf. Of
course you can come inside get whatever you want to drink.

(16:50):
They even sell Bobby Salazar's chips and salsa in here
and out in the parking lot. Tonight Thai food from
the pent to zapp truck. It smells really good. You
can smell that basil and that and the pizza smells
really good too, from ninety nine Craft Pizza. So come
join us. Having to make it a night here talking
Bulldog basketball. We might even have some Professido State basketball
tickets for you, coach, as you come down the home stretch.

(17:13):
Eight games left in conference, then the Mountain West Tournament.
We're seeing a little you know what, We've seen changes
all year long with the roster and guys in, guys out.
There are some guys that are earning a little more trust,
it seems like, and playing a few more minutes. What
have the most encouraging developments in your mind been just

(17:34):
in the last week or two.

Speaker 4 (17:35):
Well, you talked about Brian Imanique again.

Speaker 3 (17:39):
You know, he was supposed to be a red shirt
freshman with all the injuries and so forth. You know,
we asked Brian, I told him, I said, look, I'm
gonna promise you ten minutes a game by the end
of the year. I'll guarantee you you're can average of
these ten minutes a game. I'm not gonna promise it
any more than that. You're gonna have to earn that.
And I believe last game he played forty one minutes indeed,

(18:00):
so a little bit more.

Speaker 4 (18:01):
Than I expected or whatever. You know.

Speaker 3 (18:03):
But again, he's just one of those freshmen. He's I
don't think he realizes how good he can be. There's
some little things we got to work on with him,
but he's got the athletic ability, he's got a great attitude.

Speaker 4 (18:16):
He's in the gym all the time.

Speaker 3 (18:17):
He's with the coaches assistant coaches, trying to get better.
And that's all we ask. And I guarantee you you're
going to see a big jump with him from this
year to next year when he really understands a little
bit more. They're a good thing about Brian. You know,
he came in. We didn't get him till August. He
didn't come in for the summer. He was one sixty
seven when he came in. I think he's up to

(18:38):
one eighty six right now. So just having that strength
and having that, you know, be able to eat a
little bit better, and having.

Speaker 4 (18:45):
You know, our strength coach Charles work with him and
so forth.

Speaker 3 (18:48):
You can see the difference in his body and you're
going to see him get a lot better.

Speaker 2 (18:52):
Well, if he tries some of that pork belly basil
they're advertising at the tie truck here tonight, he might
be one ninety by tomorrow night at seven.

Speaker 4 (19:00):
That wouldn't hurt. That would hurt as lungs.

Speaker 2 (19:04):
It settles, well, he'll be back seven o'clock tomorrow night.
Fresno State and Utah State. Let's talk about that opponent
a little bit. I know you went back and watched
the tape of the first game. You've also seen what
they've done since. They had a game that was pretty
close against New Mexico until the Lobos put the pedal
to the medal in the second half and pulled away.

(19:26):
Other than that, it's been a long time since they've
dropped the game. What makes Utah State this year so tough.

Speaker 4 (19:33):
They're just so balanced.

Speaker 3 (19:34):
They got seven eight, you know, nine players that can
come in and shoot the ball, and they just they
moved the ball well.

Speaker 4 (19:41):
They're very well coached. I mean, I still go back.

Speaker 3 (19:44):
And you know, we got to open jen and had
open three with about a minute twenty to go, we
were down four, missed it. We got the rebounds here,
had about an eight foot or missed it. You know
that we had a foul and that loosened by five
or six and it was probably at that point the
best game we played all year. I thought we did
a lot of good things. But you know, Ian Martine,

(20:05):
the Martinez kid is a heck of a player. Falls
love comes in and I mean he starts obviously, but
I mean he just what scares me with him the
most is their bob execution out of bounds plays.

Speaker 4 (20:17):
Execution is phenomenal.

Speaker 3 (20:18):
You look at them, they're averaging three or four scores
every game, and when you play close games, those are
the things you got to be able to do.

Speaker 4 (20:24):
They execute so well.

Speaker 2 (20:27):
And when they get those they're usually pretty easy looks.

Speaker 3 (20:30):
Yes, very easy looks, and they got guys, I can
finish that, which makes a big difference too.

Speaker 2 (20:36):
You're coming off a game against San Jose State. It
was really physical. The officials let it go in both directions.
A lot of contacts and things that might be called
in other games.

Speaker 4 (20:45):
Weren't.

Speaker 2 (20:46):
Maybe that's an advantage for your team playing a little shorthanded,
you don't have to worry about someone fouling out. But
thinking back to that Utah State game when they finally
kind of pushed in front of the end, it seemed
like their bodies kind of wore you guys down a
little bit. They do have some false loves. Very physical player.
I was impressed the first time I'd seen Acano in person.

(21:07):
He was really tough to get leverage on.

Speaker 3 (21:09):
Oconno's tough and I can't remember his name. The blonde
center they backup center, Templin, Yeah.

Speaker 4 (21:16):
Templin, yep. Templin's about six eight guy.

Speaker 3 (21:19):
He just came in and just he had eighteen points
and ten rebounds against us, and just he physically just
you know, beat us up there. And then Drake the
point guard came off the bench and had I believe
eleven points eleven assists against us, and he's been playing
really well shooting the ball. They just got, you know,
both those guys eighteen and ten, eleven, eleven and they

(21:39):
both come off the bench and just so see the
depth that they have.

Speaker 2 (21:43):
Well, we'll see what the Bulldogs can do about that
Tomorrow night. At seven o'clock will be the tip off
at the Save Mart Center six thirty our pregame show
with my good friend coach Mark H. Jones. Hopeful to
see you there at the Save Mart Center. And that's
something that has been a silver lining coach and a
challenging is to see the fans continue to show up
to see familiar faces come back former Bulldogs in the house.

(22:07):
Saw a few of them the other night. We actually
had Julian Lewis back from the Mountain West championship team
of twenty sixteen. Even saw the Wonderdog Rex other in
the house the other day. Did any of his energy
rub off on the bulldog bench over there? That guy
might be the most energetic person I've ever met in
my line.

Speaker 3 (22:23):
Nah, Actually, I need to get on my bench a
little bit more, to be honest with I need them
to be a little bit more enthusiastic. No, But overall,
like I said, you know there, you watch the kids,
they're they're they're they're put himself.

Speaker 4 (22:36):
In that position, they're just right there.

Speaker 3 (22:38):
Just got to turn that little button where we just
find a way to execute and make it a sense
of urgency all the time on each of those plays
a lot of times they don't realize what happens. But
what hurts us in the first half, it's going to
hurt us in the second half. You can't give up
an easy bucketeer or a non box out there and
give up two or four points and then we're always
fighting and scrapping trying to come behind.

Speaker 2 (23:01):
It's time for another break. If you've got a question
for Coach Wahlberg, you can send it our way on
Twitter or what we call the x app. Now use
that hashtag. Ask fs Brian am Unique on his way.
We'll hear from him too. Here till seven o'clock. If
you need some Bulldog Basketball tickets, let us know. Great
food out in the parking lot tonight with ninety nine
Craft Pizza and the Penta Zapp tie truck and inside

(23:22):
whatever you want to drink from Crowing woolf Here till
seven o'clock the Bulldog Basketball Hour on the Bulldog Sports Network.
From their fields here in the heart of California.

Speaker 10 (23:31):
Traditions are as deeply rooted as the abundant fields that
drape our valley. They link us across generations.

Speaker 2 (23:38):
They make us who we are.

Speaker 10 (23:40):
So what does it mean when traditions unite when a
beacon of hope meets a source of pride. When you
combine a place that's full of life with people who
can save the life, we call it a victory for
our Valley, for our kids, for generations to come. Valley
Children's official healthcare partner of the Fresno State Bulldogs.

Speaker 15 (24:02):
It's a busy time of the year and if you're
got taking kids from school to practice, you probably have
a long to do list when you get home. Let
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Proud Dogs with it in the half court price up,
top shot block and single digits. Call its no look
on fast feed a Cowford who hammers it home with
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(26:50):
team could be fun to watch when they've got it
going and they were going all the way to double
overtime last game, but trying to punch back through to
the wind column and what better way to do it
than to knock off one of the conference championship contenders.
UTAs State will be here at the same March Center
tomorrow night at seven o'clock. Six point thirty will be
our pregame show. We have Coach Vance Wahlberg here at
Crow and Wolf right off of Herndon and one sixty eight.

(27:12):
Just follow your nose because the food trucks tonight are
very aromatic. We've got the ninety nine Craft Pizzas here,
the Thaie Food from pent to zapp Boy, they've got
garlic chicken, they've got the pork belly Basil. They've got
a bunch of good smelling stuff and I'm sure good
tasting items tonight as well. And then whatever you want
to cool off your palette inside a Crow and Wolf.

(27:33):
We're here till seven o'clock, like I said, and might
even have some Bulldog basketball tickets for you in a moment.
Brian m Unique, the Bulldog freshman who's really caught fire
the last couple of weeks, he's gonna come join us.
We've got a few more minutes with Coach Wahlberg before that,
so if you have a question, you can cend it
our way on the x app with the hashtag ask fs.

(27:53):
You know, I wish that the ratio of minutes played
two minutes talked about in our interviews were a little
different for Pierre Jeanneste Junior. But the saga of his
hand injury is something that's been going for a while,
and it sounds like today there's a new chapter that

(28:15):
and you even ran into Pierre this morning. I understand.

Speaker 3 (28:18):
I did some old uncoordinated guy broke a finger playing
pick a ball, and so I'm in the doctor's office
and then my appointment was eight o'clock this morning, Peeze
was eight thirty. So when I got done, I went
back to school and then Rachel took Pete down there,
our trainer took p and then we found out that

(28:40):
he can play without the splint now, so instead of
having one hand and.

Speaker 4 (28:44):
One claw, you know, hopefully we'll have two hands now.

Speaker 19 (28:48):
You know.

Speaker 4 (28:48):
The fingers a little nasty, but that's what happens when
you play basketball. You jam and you you know, and
so forth.

Speaker 3 (28:54):
But he's got a pin in there, so it'd be
a little bit taped, I think, more for a but
he'll be hopefully he'll be ready to.

Speaker 4 (29:02):
Go and catch it with both hands.

Speaker 5 (29:04):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (29:05):
Our friend coach Q had a line the other night
that he'd never seen a seven finger dunk before.

Speaker 4 (29:10):
Yeah, that is definitely the truth.

Speaker 2 (29:12):
If you watch Pete, well, hopefully all ten fingers will
be moving and gripping and maybe more importantly, rim protecting
and rebounding, so the Bulldogs will be a little closer
to full strength than they have been with Pierre Jeneste Junior.
No hint, no longer having to employ the claw, as
coach Wahlberg called it. And I want to exercise a

(29:35):
little mercy here, coach. But pickleball injury? Does that mean
pickleball really is a sport? For those who question it's authenticity.

Speaker 4 (29:43):
Pickleball is definitely a sport.

Speaker 3 (29:44):
Now you got to learn how to move right and
not run into the side fence, which I did.

Speaker 4 (29:50):
But no, it's a great sport.

Speaker 3 (29:52):
Honestly, it's it doesn't matter what age, it's a phenomenal sport.

Speaker 4 (29:56):
I think anybody can pick it up real quick. Yea,
I love it.

Speaker 3 (30:01):
It's something that I'll play a lot, hopefully for a
long time if I don't kill myself.

Speaker 2 (30:06):
Well, at least if you hit it on the foul fence,
you weren't in the kitchen, right, because that's the cardinal
sent a pickleball.

Speaker 4 (30:13):
That's exactly right.

Speaker 3 (30:15):
But I'll tell you well, I'm never in the kitchen,
whether it's here playing pickball and my wife.

Speaker 4 (30:20):
My wife handles that.

Speaker 2 (30:22):
And she doesn't have to tonight because we're a crowing
wolf and she's enjoying some pizza from ninety nine Craft.
How's that pizza? Two thumbs up, two thumbs up on
the ninety nine Craft pizza. Tonight, Thai food here as
well with Pentaz app and we're talking bulldog basketball till
seven o'clock with coach Wahlberg. So Pierre Jinneste Junior can
finally play with all ten fingers with both hands with
no bandages and hopefully make a difference against Utah State, which,

(30:47):
as we were talking about, has some size. They bring
the seven foot of Isaac Johnson off the bench a lot,
but they've got Gataretze who's got size. You talked about Templan,
who was a rebounding machine against you. What role do
you you see Pierre really playing in that matchup tomorrow night.

Speaker 3 (31:02):
Well, the thing that two things Pee really helps us with.
You know, I think his biggest strength is his attitude.
You know, if he plays hard and plays his tail off,
just the energy he can bring at times just elevates
everybody else's energy and.

Speaker 4 (31:16):
Then him running the floor just opens up so many things.

Speaker 3 (31:19):
If he can sprint that floor for us, it lets
the all go up the sidelines a lot quicker. If
a big doesn't sprint the floor, then you got two
or three people running the same area, the same line,
and it really hurts. So P sprinting the floor really
makes things. You know, this last game, going back and
watching the film with the players, the three times P
really ran the floor, I think we got a three,

(31:41):
we got a kick ahead, miss the three, then a kickhead,
and we got a layup just because of his effort
of running the floor.

Speaker 4 (31:48):
And I think that's so critical.

Speaker 2 (31:51):
We talked a little bit about Brian m Unique a
while ago. He just walked in. We're going to talk
to him in a few minutes, but I'll give you
a chance to say a couple more words about him
in a moment. I'm just thinking, and I need to
follow up one more time on this whole pickleball discussion,
since it really is a sport by virtue of the
injury that you're not cleared from yet. That hasn't affected

(32:11):
you scribbling on the whiteboard or anything. Hasn't.

Speaker 3 (32:13):
No, No, I take the little brace that they give
me during the you know, during the when I do
on anything on the computer or anything on the board,
I'll take that off.

Speaker 4 (32:24):
Then I'll put it back on. It's just you know,
you just move on, you keep going.

Speaker 2 (32:28):
I hope the doctors aren't listening. I hope they didn't.
Just hear you say that.

Speaker 3 (32:32):
They told me today, just make sure you don't take
it off anytime. Sure, no problem, I'll handle that.

Speaker 5 (32:39):
Uh well.

Speaker 2 (32:41):
The question I wanted to ask you pickleball related is
if you think about your entire roster of basketball players,
the athleticism, the length, the you know, the mental acuity,
who do you think would be your best pickleball player
among your basketball guys.

Speaker 3 (32:58):
We had a walk on Ben Gil from Centennial Bakersfield,
and ripping says, coach, I can whoop you. So when
the season's over, we're gonna go out. We're gonna play
a little pickle ball and we'll see what it's like.

Speaker 2 (33:10):
As long as the doctor clears you.

Speaker 4 (33:12):
Yes, as long as that doctor clears me.

Speaker 2 (33:14):
Just checking before we talk about Brian and let you
enjoy that pizza with your wife and your family.

Speaker 20 (33:20):
Here.

Speaker 2 (33:22):
Zeyon Collins, you talked earlier about you know, the end
of ball games and putting a little more responsibility on
his shoulders. We have seen, especially in this last game
against San Jose State, that when he wants to take
over a game and really look to score, he's capable
of doing that. Is that something you'd like to see
in other parts of the game and not just crunch down.

Speaker 4 (33:43):
Definitely.

Speaker 3 (33:44):
Again, well, I don't think a lot of people realize
Zayon and Junior Cars last year average six points a game.

Speaker 4 (33:51):
He was a he's a pass first.

Speaker 3 (33:52):
Card scoring for him, he has more fun trying to
set people up and gain them open.

Speaker 4 (33:59):
You know, if we had a little bit better for
her shooting, I think two things would happen.

Speaker 3 (34:04):
One, obviously we'd be a hot better, but two, when
he drives, it'll open up his lanes a lot more.
And for us to be successful, he's got to look
to score. I mean, him and Alex are probably two
of our better scores, and they have to have that
mindset of I got to score, open things up.

Speaker 4 (34:21):
It's not to me.

Speaker 3 (34:22):
Sometimes it's being selfish not looking to score, and he's
got to figure that out well.

Speaker 2 (34:28):
And one guy who has been shooting it very well
from the perimeter is here Weathers. Tonight, your freshman Brian
m Unique. He went three for five from downtown and
had a career high nineteen points in this last game
against San Jose State. Maybe able to set a new
career high tomorrow night against Utah State. You said earlier
that he may not realize yet how good he really

(34:49):
can be these last eight games of the regular season.
What are you most hoping to see from Brian and
what's given you the most encouragement so far watching his development?

Speaker 3 (35:01):
We talk all the time, and Brian knows this. You know,
if he can have that sense of urgency that we
talk about all the time.

Speaker 2 (35:10):
Is that why he's smiling over there when he just
said that, you know, to where.

Speaker 4 (35:13):
He understands you know, he's he's he's so raw. He
just he's like a little kid in a toy store.

Speaker 3 (35:19):
He's just looking around doing his different things, and whatever
happens happens.

Speaker 4 (35:24):
But we're at a.

Speaker 3 (35:25):
Level of division one where every play means something and
he doesn't understand that yet.

Speaker 4 (35:31):
And he's still doing a heck of a lot of
good things out there. He's got the ability to be
a very, very very good player.

Speaker 3 (35:37):
You know, my biggest complaint to him all the time
is every time you're on that floor, have that sense
of urgency. You'll catch him at time so kind of
jogg back on defense and it's like, oh God, somebody
now he's in the wrong spot and so forth.

Speaker 4 (35:50):
So that's to me, the biggest thing.

Speaker 3 (35:52):
Once he does that, he'll go to a completely different
level his athletic ability, you know. And the thing I
like is he's the best on our team by far.
He catches that ball and he's gone with it right away.
He doesn't play with the ball. He'll get it, he'll go.
He knows when to take his three. He's got a
nice shot, you know. Just every game he's getting to play,
you can just see the confidence, you know, coming.

Speaker 4 (36:14):
This continues to come to him.

Speaker 2 (36:17):
Well, we'll look forward to hearing from some of that competence.
Confidence and competence. In just a moment from Brian am Unique,
the freshman coach, thanks for hanging out, enjoy that pizza
and we'll see you tomorrow night.

Speaker 4 (36:27):
Thank you appreciate it.

Speaker 2 (36:28):
Paul Van s Wahlberg with us here at Crow and Wolf.
We're here till seven o'clock. Brian am Unique going to
join us when we return, come e dinner, have something
to drink, hang out, talk some hoops. It's the Bulldog
Basketball Hour on the Bulldog Sports Network. From their field
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Speaker 2 (39:44):
Price comes up with the offensive board Another chance for
the dogs. Am unique an open three, yes, nothing but
net for the freshman who's up to fourteen. And the
Bulldogs went in two fifty five fifty three and Bryant
can not hold back that grin? Why should he grinned too?

Speaker 4 (40:01):
If I could shoot like.

Speaker 2 (40:02):
That, wouldn't we all? And that grin is now inside
crowing wolf just off of Herndon. In one sixty eight,
Bryan m Unique, the Bulldog freshman from southern California, joining us.
We've got Thai food tonight with the pentazapp truck and
ninety nine Craft Pizza. What'd you go with tonight? Brian?

Speaker 5 (40:24):
Uh, pizza? I'm a pizza guy.

Speaker 2 (40:26):
What kind of pizza?

Speaker 5 (40:27):
Pepperoni? Double pepperoni? And then I went with like some
garlic knots?

Speaker 2 (40:31):
All right?

Speaker 5 (40:32):
All right?

Speaker 2 (40:32):
I feel you and you must be feeling good man.
For the last five games scoring double digits, we keep
having to change your career high. Now it's nineteen from
the other night. In that double overtime thriller, coach Wahlberg
was talking about when he decided that you weren't get
a red shirt after all that he promised you at
least ten minutes a game you played forty one the

(40:52):
other night in that double overtime game. How'd you feel
after that?

Speaker 23 (40:57):
I felt hurt because you know, I felt like we
should have won that game. But like after like all
the like the pain left my mind. I was just like, man,
I really just played that much in the college basketball game,
Like you know, I talked to my mom about it,
and all I remember was just that little kid back
home just like wanted to play college basketball and I
just did it. So I was kind of happy, but

(41:18):
like mixed emotions, sad and happy.

Speaker 2 (41:21):
So so you played forty one plus minutes out of fifty.
I'm just wondering, were there any moments in that game
where you kind of did a double take and looked
at the bench to see if they were subbing in
for You're like, no, I get to keep on playing.

Speaker 5 (41:35):
Uh maybe like once, you know I did.

Speaker 23 (41:38):
Once I was just like, okay, let's keep going, let's
get this dub, and then I just kept jogging right back.

Speaker 2 (41:46):
So I know some of the fans have gotten to
know you. They've certainly gotten to see that that sweet
shot with the fricked rotation on it. They've seen you
get out there defensively anticipate some passes steals in this
last game. They've seen you throw down dunks, and they
might not guess that basketball was not the first sport

(42:07):
you kind of fell in love with. Why don't you
tell everybody what your your first sport was?

Speaker 23 (42:11):
It was really soccer. I was a soccer kid because
it's a soccer family. My uncle and my dad they
all played soccer, and so that just passed down to me.
But then once I grew too tall for it, I
went onto basketball since I played basketball with my friends
a lot, and I just fell in love with it
from there.

Speaker 2 (42:30):
Do you think playing soccer, because if you're a good
soccer player, you kind of have to be ambidextrous, right,
I mean you got to be able to use both
feed Yeah. Has that helped you with basketball, being able
to go left and right or do you find yourself
still being a little dominant on the right side.

Speaker 23 (42:48):
It's definitely helped because I'm able to drive both ways.
I mean I am a little bit more dominant towards
my right. But since I was with soccer, I played
with my left foot, so it kind of helped me
driving to the now I could see.

Speaker 2 (43:01):
That, So you kick better with your left foot, yeah,
all right, that may come in handy sometimes you never know.
How's your pickleball game?

Speaker 5 (43:07):
By the way, I never played them a day in
my life.

Speaker 2 (43:11):
And you said that with a tone that suggests you're
not thinking about playing anytime soon.

Speaker 5 (43:15):
Nope, No, I mean it seems like a lovely sport,
but it's just not for me.

Speaker 2 (43:23):
The diplomacy emerges at the end there, and you said,
you come from a soccer family, your dad and your
uncle playing soccer. Both your parents came to America from Nigeria.
How much of that background is part of your identity?
How much respect does that give you for them and

(43:44):
maybe the experience they've had in your life that you
haven't had growing up in socou.

Speaker 23 (43:49):
No, this sticks with me almost every day, you know,
just living the life they didn't really have, just being
able to go to school a lot, even going to college.

Speaker 5 (43:59):
You know, it just was.

Speaker 23 (44:00):
It just lives with me every day. I think about it,
like the reason why I'm working hard is because of them,
you know. So it lives with me every day every
time I wake up.

Speaker 2 (44:11):
And you grew up in Inglewood, not too far from
Sofi Stadium now and the brand new basketball arena the
into it doom. What was it that kind of really
let the basketball spark for you?

Speaker 23 (44:28):
Well, first it was Kobe because that was the first
my player I ever watched. And then like, second is
just playing with my friends because I remember I would
play soccer and then once we finished soccer, they will
still play basketball after school and then they just would
be like, oh, they need one more so and I'm
just like okay, I'll join in. And then after like

(44:50):
a few times and then like get into some competitive
games with them. I was just like, man, this is
kind of fun, Like maybe I should switch over to this.
And then eventually it had up maybe like a year
or two after saying that, I got taller a little
ben and I stopped playing.

Speaker 2 (45:04):
So I was like, basketball it is until pickleball comes along.
Well maybe you know what if a I shouldn't say this,
but I have to. What if a pickleball company said,
you know, we've got some nil money for you, Brian,
if you come out and play an exhibition match over

(45:25):
at Sierra Sport and Racket or Copper River or something
like that, would you give it a shot.

Speaker 5 (45:29):
I can play a game. I can play a game.
I can play a game.

Speaker 2 (45:34):
Money talks Okay, glad we established that we're gonna take
a break. Come back with more from Brian m Unique,
the Bulldog freshman. He scored nineteen against San Jose State.
We'll see what he does against Utah State. The Aggie's
are here tomorrow night at seven o'clock. Go Bulldogs dot
com to get your tickets. Come join us a crowing
wolf and keep it here the Bulldog Basketball Hour on
the Bulldog Sports Network from their field.

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Speaker 9 (48:27):
At save Mart.

Speaker 18 (48:28):
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(48:49):
and pride of the Bulldog community. Go Bulldogs, Save mart Valley,
Fresh Valley made Valley proud.

Speaker 2 (48:58):
But Clendon in the corner. Now he attacked the basket
against swatted by Weaver who just hung up there and
denied it ahead to m Unique had a two hand
throw down throws Fresno State back on top. Yeah, that
was a pretty exciting sequence in the double overtime thriller
against San Jose State Bulldogs. At home again tomorrow and

(49:18):
I at seven o'clock the tip against one of the
conference contenders, Utah State. Our pregame coverage will start at
six thirty, but we've got another ten minutes here at
Crow and Wolf with Fresno State freshman Brian m Unique.
He scored double digits for the last five games, including
the career high nineteen in that double overtime game against
the Spartans, and Wahlberg has alluded to it a few

(49:41):
times that the plan for you was to red shirt
this year. In fact, you joined the program kind of late.
By the timeline wasn't till August that you came to
the program. So I'd love to hear your half of that.
You you grew up in Englewood, you ended up playing
your last couple of years out in the Inland Empire
for coach Ray Bearfet who's on the Fresno State staff. Now,

(50:02):
when did you get an inkling that you would have
this opportunity to play for Fresno State?

Speaker 23 (50:07):
Uh So, first, I think it was after senior year
I graduated, But then I played some summer ball and
then you know, by Grace, a guy you know, picked
up a few offers and you know, interest from other people.
But like my name started to blow up a little bit.
Then I see coach Ray went to Fresno State. And

(50:28):
then I remember I think I seen I think it
was Tory. I think I see Toy at one of
my games first and then and I also talked to
coach Harris, who I didn't know was going to Fresno
State at the time. It was like a surprise, but
I seen Toy at one of the games. I couldn't
miss him. But like I seen him at one of
the games for show and then so from all of that,

(50:53):
then that's why I say it really started, because I
started talking to coach Harris, and then from there talked
to coach Wahlberg and his views on me. And it
was kind of crazy because at first I still thought
to myself, you know, I was like, maybe I still
need to develop another year before going to college.

Speaker 17 (51:10):
Uh.

Speaker 23 (51:10):
But you know, God works in different ways and mysterious ways,
and now I'm here, so really glory to him and
the coaching staff for believing in me.

Speaker 4 (51:19):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (51:19):
God's plans are always better than ours, and life throws
surprises at us sometimes. So you're playing a red shirt
and what were your what was your focus when you thought, hey,
I'm not going to play any games this year. What
were the things that you were focused on basketball last year?

Speaker 9 (51:36):
Uh?

Speaker 23 (51:37):
First was a gain some weight. You know, I'm kind
of I was kind of scrawny when I first came.
Gained some weight.

Speaker 2 (51:43):
He just used the past tense there, didn't he.

Speaker 5 (51:45):
Uh, you know, gain some weight.

Speaker 23 (51:49):
And then also, you know, just really learn from the
older guys and learn from coach Wahlberg and the staff.
You know, whatever they see in my game, did I
need to add to it?

Speaker 4 (51:57):
You know?

Speaker 23 (51:57):
Plus with what are what I feel like I can add?
You know, still added onto it. And you know, just
be better as a whole basketball player, you know.

Speaker 2 (52:07):
And you said you wanted to gain weight and get stronger,
and there's always the flip side of that that sometimes
guys do that, but they might lose a little quickness
or a little bit of something that a lot of
basketball players take pride in and the hops, right, Yeah,
I mean I don't think I see a bigger smile
than if if you go up and dunck it or
you get up and block somebody shot. So how have

(52:30):
you done that? Because it sounds like you put on
close to twenty pounds.

Speaker 5 (52:34):
Yeah.

Speaker 23 (52:35):
So when I first came in, I was one sixty eight.
Right now I'm like one eighty seven eight and uh,
you know it's really coach uh not gonna uh let's Charles.
It's really Charles just you know, helping me. When I
first came I was like, Okay, what what do I
gotta do? And He's like, yeah, we're gonna get you,
like gain weight, boss, I want to like maintain your speed,

(52:57):
your quickness you had lessis So it's really him of
like what we're do in the weight room, you know,
mobility stuff, f agility like while still getting weight, you know,
I still could move fast, still could jump my highest
So it's really him and his plans that we worked
with daily.

Speaker 2 (53:14):
I got to ask you, too, uh, where the shot
came from? Because there are guys that have been playing
a lot longer than you, whose form isn't as smooth
as yours, whose rotation on their shot doesn't look as
good as yours, and whose shot doesn't go in as
much as yours. So is that something that just came
naturally to you or was there someone that helped you

(53:36):
really polish that consistency on your perimeter game.

Speaker 5 (53:39):
I'm saying it's a mix of both.

Speaker 23 (53:41):
So like it was natural because I, like I said,
I watched Kobe so and then also like watching basketball
for fun. They were like there used to be these
little YouTube videos that I used to watch like a
little kid, and so I didn't really have a hoop,
so I really had like a little mini hoop, So
I really practiced my shot on a mini hoop. And
and when I first switched over to basketball, there was

(54:03):
like a coach on my old like freshman year, my
whole high school that I worked with and then he
just was like telling me I got a good shot.
But like this is what I could tweak it about,
or I could do this and you know, get more
arc on it. So I'll just say it's like a
mix natural and like some help too.

Speaker 2 (54:21):
All right, I got to hear a little more about
this mini hoop. Now, are we talking indoors?

Speaker 5 (54:25):
Yeah, I didn't.

Speaker 23 (54:26):
I didn't really go outside a lot or like in
my garage had a little mini hoop like, so I did,
so I had to face it some certain way so
I wouldn't hit the cars like my mom and Dad's car.
So I faced it a certain way. And uh, I
just practicing the garage or like if it was too cold,
I'll just practice in the kitchen, like like get another

(54:49):
mini hoop, like a mini or mini hoop and just like.

Speaker 2 (54:52):
You know, yeah a mini or mini hoop. Yeah. Well,
so what size ball you're shooting with here?

Speaker 23 (54:58):
Uh? I mean I was small, you know, I wasn't tall.
I wasn't always tall, so I was smallest. Like a
ball felt kind of big to me, So I didn't
really like I just yeah, I think.

Speaker 2 (55:08):
We're onto something. Man, you may need to make some
YouTube videos yourself. Think of some of the military guys
I've interviewed you know, if they have a big gun,
they've got the pointer and the trainer, and one aims
it up and down, and one aims at left and right.
So you had the cars to aim you left and right.
You couldn't hit them. You had to go between them. Yeah,
and the ceiling. That's why they had to put arc
on your shot later because you had to keep it

(55:30):
under the ceiling. Yeah. Man, I think we might have
a new method of accuracy on the perimeter.

Speaker 5 (55:37):
What it So?

Speaker 2 (55:39):
You know, I asked you about what your focus was
before they said no, you're gonna play this year. What's
it been since then? And how big of a shift
have you had to make from them saying, you know,
we're gonna preserve some eligibility to get you stronger to
actually we need you right now and we think you
can help.

Speaker 23 (55:56):
Uh. So, I mean it's still the main focus. I
still every day work on trying to make sure I
get my body right. Uh, work on making sure I'm
a good teammate and you know, fitting coach Wahlberg's values.
You know, every day in practice, like every day's constantly
like a learning a day for me, or I take

(56:16):
it like that, because you know, every day I'm learning
something new I never thought or like something I can add.
So when it comes game time, I'm just I'm either
doing what, you know, what they said I should do,
or like I'm learning, I'm picking something up in the
game and I could add what I learned in practice
or what they told me and just pick it up
right away and just add it to my game.

Speaker 5 (56:34):
So just switching around, and.

Speaker 2 (56:37):
Tomorrow night, you guys get a rematch with the team
you came really close to beating on the road in
Logan and the team that's probably gonna play in the
NCAAA tournament this year. You to state what are you
most excited about with that opportunity at seven o'clock tomorrow
night at the Save Mart Center.

Speaker 23 (56:54):
Just being on the court. Yeah, just being on the
court really and got another chance to go against those
guys and play with my teammates.

Speaker 5 (57:03):
You know, it's always it's always fun for me.

Speaker 23 (57:07):
Just being out there is really just fun, you know,
even though, like you know, it's tough, we lost, but
like after every game, I'm just like, man, I just
played another game, or I just got another opportunity to
just be in the arena, Like it's just yeah, that's
really how it is for me.

Speaker 2 (57:23):
Well that's kind of what I wanted to ask you about.
But there might be a little more to it for
you because you know, from the outside people say, boy,
losses pile up, it's got to be hard. It wears
on you. I don't see any less joy in your game.
I don't see you smiling any less when you're out
there on the floor. What is it that really drives
and motivates you personally?

Speaker 23 (57:44):
It's my family, my little my my two little siblings,
my sister and my brother, my dad, my mom, and
just like just the basketball too, just like just being
able to bibble it, hold it. It's kind of like
I'm just happy. I'm like, I'm a happy person twenty
four save. You can ask coach about this, Like I
don't there's never a day. I'm never like sad or

(58:07):
like down.

Speaker 5 (58:08):
But I don't know.

Speaker 23 (58:10):
It's just something like something that was just instilled in
me from like a young age, just like be happy
or like, you know, just be chill every day, you know.
So I'll just say, it's just my family and you know,
also God, So that's what keeps me going.

Speaker 2 (58:27):
So your happiness, your joy, is not defined by your circumstances,
is what I'm hearing to say.

Speaker 23 (58:33):
No, I mean obviously, like you know, if we lose,
I'm obviously I'm sad and frustrated because you know, I
know the type of team we are, Like, we definitely
don't play like we're supposed to lose. But at the
end of the day, it's just like just the opportunity
just to play with these guys and with the coaching
staff is just like at that it overweights it.

Speaker 5 (58:52):
Well.

Speaker 2 (58:53):
I hope it all adds up to a win and
a big smile tomorrow night, Brian, Thanks for hanging out
and enjoy that pizza. Thanks for having me unique with
us here at crow and Wolf tonight, thanks to coach
Wahlberg as well. Come see us at the Saint Marts
Center tomorrow night at seven o'clock. Tipicates Utah State on
the Bulldog Sports Network from their field.

Speaker 9 (59:21):
Live from crowen Wolf tap Room in Clovis.

Speaker 1 (59:24):
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