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Dedrique Taylor reflects on Cal State Fullerton’s memorable season

March 31, 2023

The moment Dedrique Taylor realized what kind of special team he had at his disposal this year came after a five-game losing streak and well in the middle of an eight-game winning streak. Both of which bear testament to the kind of basketball Nirvana he achieved as a coach this season.

It came during a game with the team that eventually ended an eight-game winning streak that brought the Titans to the cusp of their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. That UC Santa Barbara ended Cal State Fullerton’s run one game short of a return trip to the NCAA Tournament — which would have been Taylor’s third since 2018 (not counting the pandemic-ended 2020 season) — was notable only because of the opponent.

Yet the fact there are no coincidences in life wasn’t lost on Taylor. Understanding your ceaseless efforts to get your team to buy into what you’re teaching paid off with interest can transpire at any time. That it transpired against the eventual conference tournament champions came with a byproduct that Taylor said defined this year’s Titans.

“I noticed a lot of the key elements were present when we played Santa Barbara up there. We had our way with them,” Taylor said. “I could feel the energy. I could feel the togetherness of our ballclub. The pace from an offensive standpoint was really, really fast. The ball was on the floor, it went into someone’s hands and it went into the hole. We could really mess around with people. …

“Those elements: our ball movement was at a premium, our decision-making was at a premium. These guys were able to digest our scouting reports and execute the details they needed to move forward. I noticed it in that game. I’m trying to call a play and they’re already gone. They’re gone. They know the only reason I want to call a play was to ensure we’re all on the same page. But they already communicated to each other. They already knew what they wanted to do, and they would go and execute. It’s an unbelievable feeling.”

That unbelievable feeling Taylor experienced in that 74-60 victory on Feb. 20 went beyond the Xs and Os on an iPad or whiteboard. Taylor often speaks about a coach’s ability to reach his players, that elusive quality that separates the merely technically astute coaches from the truly gifted ones, with the quip that “It’s not about the Xs and Os. It’s about the Jimmies and Joes.”

This year’s Jimmies and Joes bought in. And they kept the receipts, which is why Taylor looked far beyond the 20-12 record and far beyond the eight-game winning streak that spanned 37 days between losses. On Feb. 2, Long Beach State came into Titan Gym and finished off a season sweep of the Titans with a 70-67 victory. The Titans wouldn’t lose again until March 11 in Henderson, Nev., when UCSB pulled past a tired Cal State Fullerton team in the stretch for a 72-62 victory in the Big West Tournament finale.

“I thought we got as much juice out of the peach as you could possibly get,” Taylor said. “I don’t think there was any more juice in this peach.”

The juice that came out of that peach came in a season when the Big West was as deep as it’s been in at least a decade. Five teams: CSUF, UCSB, UC Irvine, UC Riverside and Hawaii hit or surpassed the 20-win mark. Against their fellow 20-win teams, the Titans went 6-2 in the regular season. They swept a surprising UC Riverside team enjoying its best-ever Division I season and Hawaii and split with UCI and UCSB, the conference’s top two teams.

Looking at the numbers explained where Taylor’s juice came from. The Titans were third in the Big West in team defense, allowing teams 65.1 points a game. They were second in opponent 3-point percentage (31.2%).

At the same time, the Titans were second in both 3-point percentage (36.9%) and 3-pointers made (253). CSUF led the conference in turnover margin, committing 2.27 fewer turnovers than it forced from opponents. Nobody else in the Big West had more than a plus-.094 mark.

“You know all the things you’re trying to impart on your ballclub, all the little things you’re trying to accomplish? They were accomplishing it,” Taylor said. “They were not only accomplishing it, but accomplishing it together. They could make the adjustments as they saw fit.

“Literally half the time, I would sit and marvel and say, ‘Look, they did that. Look at that. That’s impressive.’ I would watch the film and say, ‘Dang. They did that?’ I was looking in astonishment at these guys and their ability to be together and their ability to accomplish things and execute the details of the game.”

Two players epitomized the lofty basketball IQ Taylor spoke about: junior guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and senior guard Tory San Antonio. They both did it in complementary ways that not only showed off their leadership skills but carried the Titans in key areas.

Wrightsell spent his first two-plus years as a complementary cog in the wheel. This year, he was the offensive hub. En route to earning First Team All-Big West honors, Wrightsell averaged 16.3 points a game (fifth in the conference). His 72 3-pointers (2.4 per game) were third and his 1.5 steals were fourth. All while playing an average of 33.2 minutes a game (eighth in the conference).

Wrightsell’s ability to score from anywhere on the court, his innate basketball sense that created scoring opportunities for the likes of transfer Max Jones, who earned all-conference honorable mention honors for his 12.2 points per game, made Wrightsell one of the most valuable players in the conference.

“He didn’t come here as a support guy. When we recruited him, we knew he could score at all three levels,” Taylor said. “Trellie has an exceptionally high basketball IQ and you could see it before this season, but this year, it was a different limelight focused on him. Last year’s team was built for older guys, and his voice wasn’t as loud as it was this year.”

Wrightsell will be back next year. So will San Antonio, who gets another year due to COVID. You won’t find San Antonio’s name prominent on any of the conference’s statistical leaderboards. He averaged 7.2 points and 4.5 rebounds this season.

But you will find it on the Big West Defensive Player of the Year trophy. San Antonio became the second CSUF player — and first since Frank Robinson in the 2007-08 season — to be named the conference’s best defensive player. Deceptively stronger than his 6-foot-3, 165-pound frame belies, San Antonio found himself guarding the conference’s best players: Player of the Year Ajay Mitchell of UCSB, Zyon Pullin of UC Riverside and D.J. Davis of UC Irvine for starters. And he often found his way into penthouse suites in their heads.

“Not only did he guard them, but he would shut them down. He looks slender and slight of frame, but physically, he was our most physical guy,” Taylor said. “He would beat guys up. … From a defensive standpoint, he was nothing short of masterful. He would physically guard the other team’s best guard. He knew their strengths and their challenges and would take away their strengths.”

Wrightsell, Jones and San Antonio are three reasons why Taylor can’t wait for next season. He’s already scouring the transfer portal, looking to get bigger with that 6-8, 6-9, 6-10 player who can score with their back to the basket on offense and be a human eraser on defense. Already, Taylor has a commitment from 6-11 Kendrick DeLuna of TMI Prep in San Antonio, who played for former CSUF star and longtime NBA player Bruce Bowen.

“I don’t like this team,” Taylor said, summing up the year. “I love this team.”

Orange County Register

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Dedrique Taylor reflects on Cal State Fullerton’s memorable season

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