Fresno State coach Rodney Terry and his staff continue to recruit, looking to add a player or two in the spring national letter of intent signing period in April, and it very likely will be much different than a year ago when Terry had almost no time to evaluate and recruit players for the Bulldogs.
Hired on April 7, just before the signing period opened, Terry went out and signed center Daquan Brown and guard Larry McGaughey from junior colleges and guard Julius Bilbrew from Inglewood High.
Brown never played a game for the Bulldogs - he was suspended indefinitely before the season and transferred to Providence at the end of the semester. McGaughey was ruled academically ineligible last month and decided to leave school. Bilbrew was unable to enroll at Fresno State after running into issues with the NCAA clearinghouse, though he was planning to get an AA degree and could return.
This year, Terry and his staff have been able to assess needs, identify and evaluate recruits.
''When you come in and you've got two days to go on the road recruiting, that's not really recruiting. That's calling people and asking, 'Hey, what's out there right now for us?' '' he said.
''You're at a point where you have to fill a roster with some bodies and get some people who hopefully can come in and give us a little something. That's not having a chance to do your homework and really evaluate guys. There was no evaluating going on in that period.
''Hopefully you do your work early and you identify some guys that can really help you and you go after them and I think our staff has done a good job. Now we just have to finish strong.''
The Bulldogs signed three players in November during the early signing period - power forward Braeden Anderson from Okotoks, Alberta, Canada, center/forward Tanner Giddings from Windsor and point guard Aaron Anderson from Edmond, Okla. They also have guard Allen Huddleston sitting out this season after transferring to Fresno State from Pacific.
But the search continues. Under NCAA rules, basketball teams are allowed 13 scholarships and the Bulldogs right now have 10 for the 2012-'13 season.
''We signed three guys early. We have Allen Huddleston sitting out. That's four high-character kids who are not only good kids and good students, but have a chance to be good players for us as well,'' Terry said. ''But we're still beating the bushes, trying to get some things done.''
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