Fresno State Bulldogs will be without starting point guard Cezar Guerrero until Dec. 20 when the team takes on Pacific, because he must sit out the complete fall semester. Head coach Rodney Terry felt that the appeal from the NCAA subcommittee would allow Guerrero to be able to suit up against the Bulldogs next game against Northern Arizona.
"We're disappointed, 100 percent we're disappointed because we felt like there were mitigating circumstances that could have given us an opportunity for him to win this case," Terry told the Fresno Bee. "We would never have taken it to the appeal process if we didn't feel that way."
Guerrero was ruled ineligible by the NCAA nearly a week ago after not meeting continuing eligibility standards, but he is currently still enrolled in school and is academically eligible.
Terry is not happy about the situation and openly acknowledged that missing Guerrero is a big deal.
"I'm not going to sit here like it's not. It is," he told the paper. "We're just going to keep moving forward and try to keep him in good shape and keep him in good spirits and in the right frame of mind to stay on track with what he's doing right now and hopefully he'll come back ready to go."
Guerrero has played 38 games for Fresno State after transferring in from Oklahoma State. Last year, he was second on the team in scoring by averaging 13.1 points per game, and led the Fresno State in assists and steals.
To make matters worse for Fresno State, a hand injury to freshman guard Isaiah Bailey is keeping him sidelined for the immediate future and no timetable for his return.
At the point guard position it will be sophomore Emmanuel Owootoah in the starting role until the 11-game suspension is up for Guerrero. Junior Marvelle Harris also is an option at point guard to backup Owootah and if need be there is junior college transfer Darnell Taylor is an option.