The Cal State Fullerton Titans men's basketball team is the basketball team that represents California State University, Fullerton in Fullerton, California, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Big West Conference.
History In 1978, the Fullerton men's basketball team, coached by Bobby Dye, made it to the Elite 8 in the 1978 NCAA Division I basketball tournament. They were considered the year's Cinderella story as a #7 seed (out of 8). The team defeated University of New Mexico at Tempe, AZ, and then defeated the University of San Francisco before losing to the University of Arkansas in regionals at Albuquerque, New Mexico. Fullerton was led by Greg Bunch, a CSUF Hall of Famer.
Bob Burton was head coach of the Titans men's team starting with the 2003–04 season. In 2008, the team finished the season 24-9, defeated UC Irvine 81-66 in the Big West Conference Championship. They qualified for their second NCAA tournament (first in 30 years), where they faced the (#3) Wisconsin Badgers as a #14 seed in the first round of the NCAA tournament, losing the game 71–58. After the 2013–14 season, Burton resigned on June 22, 2012 after nine seasons. His final record at Fullerton was 155–122.Coach Burton resigns , accessed June 23, 2012
During the 2012–13 season, interim head coach Andy Newman replaced Burton and guided the Titans to a 14–18 record overall and 6–12 record in the Big West Conference.
For the start of the 2013–14 season, Fullerton hired Dedrique Taylor as the team's head coach. Previously, Taylor had been an assistant under coach Herb Sendek at Arizona State University since 2006. Prior to that, Taylor also coached at the University of Nevada, Portland State, Loyola Marymount University and UC Davis. Taylor, has been long respected as one of the top recruiters in the west with strong ties to the Los Angeles area, thought to be a key component in winning at Fullerton. Taylor led the 2017–18 team to an invitation to play in the 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The team lost in the first round to Purdue.
In 2022 the Titans qualified for the NCAA tournament as a #15 seed; they lost in the first round to Duke.
Post season results
NCAA tournament results The Titans have appeared in four NCAA tournaments. Their combined record is 2–4.
1978 Regional QuarterfinalsRegional semifinalsRegional Finals New MexicoSan FranciscoArkansas W 90–85W 75–72L 58–61 2008 #14 First round #3 Wisconsin L 56–71 2018 #15 First round #2 Purdue L 48–74 2022 #15 First round #2 Duke L 61–78
NIT results The Titans have appeared in three National Invitation Tournaments (NIT). Their combined record is 2–3.
1983 First round Arizona State L 83–87 1987 First round California L 68–72 2005 Opening RoundFirst roundSecond Round Oregon StateSan FranciscoGeorgetown W 85–83W 85–69L 57–74
CIT results The Titans have appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) three times. Their combined record is 0–3.
2012 First round Loyola Marymount L 79–88 2017 First round Weber State L 76–80 2019 First round Cal State Bakersfield L 58–66
NAIA tournament results The Titans have appeared in the NAIA Tournament one time. Their combined record is 2–1.
1962 First roundSecond RoundQuarterfinals StetsonLewis & ClarkWestminster W 94–79W 97–78L 55–63
Retired numbers
Cal State Fullerton Titans retired numbers No.PlayerCareerNo. ret.Ref. 4 Rodney Anderson 1999–2000 2004 Anderson Jersey Retired in Front of Packed House at 247sports.comAmerica Falls In Love With Rodney Anderson at CSUF News 20 Leon Wood 1981–1984 LEON WOOD - OFFICIAL #40 at NBRA.net 30 Greg Bunch 1974–1978 Former Basketball Star Distinguished Alumnus at fullertontitans.com
NBA players Greg Bunch 1974–1978 1978 : 2(34) Mike Niles 1980–1981 1979 : 2(83) Leon Wood 1981–1984 1984: 1(10) Kevin Henderson 1983–1986 1986 : 3(50) Richard Morton 1983–1986 1986 : 3(50) Henry Turner 1984–1988 1988 : undrafted, debut in 1988 Cedric Ceballos 1988–1990 1990 : 4(90) Bruce Bowen 1989–1993 1993 : undrafted, debut in 1997 Pape Sow 2001–2004 2004 : 2(48) Bobby Brown 2003–2007 2007 : undrafted, debut in 2008 Josh Akognon 2007–2009 2009 : undrafted, debut in 2013
Players in international leagues
Khalil Ahmad (born 1996), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League DJ Brewton (born 2000), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League Marcio Lassiter (born 1987), Filipino-American basketball player for San Miguel Beermen in the PBA Dwight Ramos, Filipino-American professional basketball player for Levanga Hokkaido of the Japanese B.League Jackson Rowe (born 1997), Canadian basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League Kwame Vaughn (born 1990), basketball player for Maccabi Haifa in the Israeli Basketball National League
References
External links