Fresno Pacific basketball has enjoyed the most successful three-year stint in its history, going 70-29 with two national tournament appearances in the last three seasons.

Throughout that time, working behind the scenes to help turn FPU into a perennial contender was Chris Wright. Wright spent four seasons as an assistant under former coach Jim Saia, who left to start the basketball program at Cal State San Marcos. During that span Wright was responsible for bringing in much of the talent that propelled FPU to the top.

Now at 28, Wright will get his chance at the helm. Maintaining a similar level of success in 2010-11 won't be easy as the team loses 94 percent of its scoring and 91 percent of its rebounding from last season.

Gone are former GSAC player of the year James Lewis, NAIA All-American Todd Brown, three other starters and many other contributors who brought the team to national prominence.

The only returning player from last year's team is senior forward Jordan Wild, who averaged 5.3 points per game as a key reserve. He'll be joined by senior point guard Adam Kado, who redshirted last year and was the backup point guard on the 08-09 GSAC championship team.

Wright is glad to have the two seniors, for what they'll bring to the team on and off the court.

“Jordan Wild has contributed on three very good teams,” said Wright. “Now it's in large part his team and Adam Kado's team. A lot of your season hinges on leadership and what kind of influences those guys are on the floor. They know how to encourage people when it gets tough.”

Kado hit some big shots for the team two years ago, and poured in 27 points in a huge win at Azusa Pacific.

“He has the heart of a lion,” said Wright. “No one spends more time in the gym, no one I've ever coached. He has a toughness to him. He's a winner.”

The question now is: can they stay at the new standard that has been set? The answer to that question rests largely on the shoulders of a 10-man recruiting class which Wright calls, in terms of pure talent and potential, the best class FPU has ever brought in.

It starts in the frontcourt with forward/center Jerante Morgan, a senior transfer from Texas A&M International. Morgan is an inside presence that can also shoot and be a force on the defensive end. He's established himself as a leader early on, being named team captain along with Wild and Kado.

Wright solidified the frontcourt with 6'7” forward Casper Hesseldal, the best player on a very good junior college team (Northwest College, Wyoming). Originally from Denmark, Hesseldal gives the Sunbirds a versatile, athletic forward who can both handle the ball on the perimeter and go to work inside.

Wright also brought in some top-level talent at the guard positions, signing five players who will see significant time right away.

Point guard Kenny Bradford was one of the top players in the San Diego area at Cuyamaca College. He gives the Sunbirds a player with tremendous skill level that will split time with, and play alongside, Kado in the backcourt. Wright calls Bradford the “complete package” offensively.

Shooting guard Matt Christman joins the team from Foothill College where he was a big part of a deep run in the state playoffs. A top-notch shooter, Wright calls Christman the kind of “glue-guy” that every team needs: a smart player that will make everyone around him better.

Looking to light up the scoreboard will be 6'5” junior Deshaun Legree, who put up big numbers at Contra Costa College last season.

“He's a guy that can flat out score,” says Wright. “He shoots the heck out of it, can put it on the floor and finishes.”

Lastly, Wright signed two athletic guards from out of state that will play a crucial role this season.

Brandon Rowe arrives from Northwest Shoals College in Alabama. A player with tremendous athleticism, Rowe will contribute in a variety of ways.

Junior guard Rickey Vick joins FPU from Hesston College in Kansas. Vick can drive and get to the basket, rebound well from the guard position and is physically very strong, making him a tough defender and a difficult player to defend.

Also joining the team is forward Antwann Rosario-Dawson (Hartnell College), guard Vince Bautista (Gavilan College) and center Tyler Goslinga (Ripon Christian HS). Goslinga is the lone freshman in the group and averaged 20.4 points and 11 rebounds per game as a high school senior.

Coming together as a group

With 10 new players come the obvious challenges of learning to play together as a unit.

“There has been a lot of growth that's taken place,” said Wright. “It's been fun to see our guys grow the way they have. There has to be a huge learning curve though, with 10 new guys, it's natural”

Wright is confident that when the inevitable tough moments come, they will be able to withstand them as a group.

“There's going to be some struggles. We're not going to be as good as we can be early on, it's just impossible,” he said.  “And as a first-time head coach, there's going to be a learning curve for me as well. I'm excited about it though and as long as we continue to get better I think we'll be very pleased with the results.”

This year the Sunbirds may not have the luxury of an instant-offense player like Lewis, who was drafted into the NBDL, but the team looks to be more well-rounded and feature a balanced attack. The scoring could come from a lot of different places and even the coaching staff is unsure at this point where most of the offense will come from.

“Ten of our guys I think could average close to double digits,” said Wright. “A lot of different guys could score 20 on any given night. There aren't one or two guys to game-plan around.”

Because of the team's athleticism and versatility, Wright will have all kinds of options when it comes to putting different lineups on the court. The Sunbirds will be able to adapt to whatever style another team is throwing at them.

“I think we'll present matchup problems in a lot of different ways,” said Wright. “We may be a little smaller but I think we're a lot more skilled. That's going to present a lot of tough covers for other teams.”

The rest of the league has its doubts that the Sunbirds will be able to maintain a similar level of success, as FPU is picked to finish 6th in the GSAC. Though that isn't necessarily a vote of no confidence against the Sunbirds as the GSAC figures to be as strong as it has ever been, especially at the top.

Azusa Pacific brings back four starters from its national runner-up team and is #1 in the NAIA preseason poll. Concordia is stacked as well, with a roster that includes returning GSAC player of the year Justin Johnson and Villanova transfer Taylor King.

Westmont and Biola are also considered to be among the conference's best and Point Loma Nazarene returns a core of players that have developed together. Those five teams are picked ahead of the Sunbirds. 

But the teams behind may be just as good; Cal Baptist and The Master's each bring in talented recruiting classes that could jolt them well into the upper half. Vanguard, San Diego Christian and Hope International are picked at the bottom of the conference, but are not to be taken lightly.

Vanguard brought in a young coaching staff to turn things around and Hope International adds some talent to their roster. San Diego Christian, though they finished near the bottom last season, had victories over FPU and GSAC champ Concordia; a testament to how strong the league is as a whole.

“Whoever finishes 8th will be a very good basketball team,” says Wright. “To be honest, this could be as good as the league's been top-to-bottom since I've been here.”

Sunbird fans can take comfort in the fact that, the year FPU won the conference title they were picked to finish seventh in the preseason conference poll.

The non-conference schedule will also be a grind and includes games against a UC-Santa Barbara team that returns all five starters after going to the NCAA Tournament, and a nationally-ranked BYU squad. FPU also squares off against Mountain State, who spent most of last season at #1 in the NAIA.

The Sunbirds open the league schedule with, on paper, the toughest conference game of the year: a road game at #1 Azusa Pacific.

“We'll know a lot about this basketball team by the end of November,” said Wright. “We're not expecting to struggle, but even if we don't get the results we want early, we have so many new guys and we'll have a lot of time to build on things and get things corrected.”

As Wright prepares for a grueling league schedule and the development of a host of young players, he's keeping it all in perspective that he has the opportunity to be a head coach at 28 years old.

“It's a dream come true to become a head coach,” he said. “It's a real blessing. Leading young men and being able to set the tone for this program, that's what I enjoy.”