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MW Basketball News: Terry Near Extension, Berwick Picks Rams, Fresno Nabs McDowell-White

After leading the Bulldogs to their first NCAA Tournament since 2001, Rodney Terry has signed a deal to remain at Fresno State through 2021.

By The_Coach
Joshua Dahl-USA TODAY Sports

Fresno State's Rodney Terry Nearing Contract Extension

Fresno State athletic director Jim Bartko probably said it best when discussing the need for an impending contract extension for Bulldogs' head coach Rodney Terry.

"He deserves it. He has built this thing from the ground up, and we have to do what's right."

To do what's right by Terry, the head coach who brought Fresno State from relative obscurity to the 2016 NCAA Tournament, is a tall order for a school that had it's ebbs and flows on the hardcourt. Terry inherited a 14-17 team in the Western Athletic Conference when he took over the program back in 2011 and struggled to a 24-39 record in his first two seasons for the Bulldogs. Overseeing the school's transition to the Mountain West, Terry has now won 61 games over the past three campaigns, including leading the program to it's first NCAA Tournament since 2001.

Terry's new contract extension, which is expected to be finalized by the end of the month, is part of a wide initiative of Fresno State's athletic department to upgrade the financial standing of their coaches and athletic budgets across the board. Terry's annual salary is expected to worth between $500,000 to $600,000, a marked increase from his current $411,000 salary. Bartko has also noted that this may not be the last step in the contract equation for Terry.

"He was ninth or tenth in the league and my goal is to get everybody up in the top five. We can't get him up there that fast, but we can make some strides so he's not near the bottom."

Terry seems to agree with the newfound level of support from the administration and he's generally excited about the state of the Fresno State program.

"We're happy with what we've built and how we built it and really want to be here and build on what we've done to this point." Terry said. "It's definitely a step in the right direction in terms of moving forward."

More information on this story can be found over at the Fresno Bee.

Florida State Transfer Robbie Berwick Commits To Colorado State

Trying to rebuild a roster on the fly, Colorado State's Larry Eustachy has gone to the transfer market this off-season to attempt to stitch the Rams' depth chart back together. On Saturday, he added another piece to the puzzle. Via a post on his Twitter account, Florida State guard Robbie Berwick officially announced his intention to transfer to Colorado State.

The 6' 4" guard has spent the last two seasons in Tallahassee, seeing his court time disappear completely during his sophomore campaign. As a freshman, the California native played just under 11 minutes per game for Florida State, averaging 2.4 points per game while connecting on 19 three-pointers. During his sophomore year, his court minutes seem to have gone elsewhere.

Said to have been battling a nagging injury and likely pushed out by an influx of new talent to the Seminoles roster, Berwick's full potential has clearly yet to be recognized. He's hoping Fort Collins is the perfect place to get his career on the right path. When exactly he can suit up for the Rams is now the next question.

At the moment, Berwick is applying for a medical redshirt for the 2015-2016 season, which if granted could give him the potential to be immediately eligible for the 2016-2017 season and leave him with three years of eligibility remaining. If not granted, it's likely that Berwick would have to sit out this upcoming season and return with only two years of eligibility beginning in the 2017-2018 campaign.

Fresno State Commit Upgraded To A Five-Star Recruit

A story mostly passed over when it originally broke, it seems that Fresno State may have landed a bigger talent than they realized when they signed Australian prospect William McDowell-White back on April 21. The Australian guard has been upgraded in recent weeks to a five-star recruit for the 2016 class by Scout.com, an accolade usually attributed only to McDonald's All-American selections and nominees.

After participating in the Nike Hoop Summit, where he played for the "World Team" alongside former UNLV commit Justin Jackson, McDowell-White's stock has continued to rise a rapid rate. The 6' 5" guard received offers from Arizona State, Hawai'i, Portland and Texas A&M during his recruiting process and even took visits to the Aggies and Sun Devils' campuses. However, at the end of the day, he chose to join the reigning Mountain West Tournament Champions for the 2016-2017 season.

Scout's Evan Daniels has quoted that McDowell-White is an "intriguing point guard prospect" who has "very good size for the position at 6-foot-5 and is a very good passer with an impressive feel for the game". McDowell-White's game has also been closely compared to a long line of fellow international prospects, including often being referred to as a "larger and upgraded version of (St. John's point guard) Federico Mussini".

If McDowell-White can produce in the same capacity that Mussini did during his rookie campaign for the Red Storm (10.7 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 2.2 APG), Rodney Terry may have gotten a program-changing player from the land down under. Terry is already being tasked with reworking the Bulldogs' backcourt without the school's all-time leading scorer and reigning Mountain West Player of the Year, in Marvelle Harris. It looks like he may have found himself a big part of the future in McDowell-White.

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