When the clock expired on Cal State Fullerton men\u2019s basketball\u2019s 2024-25 season on March 8, the energy among them felt no different than how it felt throughout their 1-19 Big West campaign \u2014 bleak.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As the door closed on his sophomore season, center Kendrick De Luna had not made a final decision on his future at CSUF.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He knew the team was holding exit meetings for their players that following week. Initially, he anticipated having his meeting with Head Coach Dedrique Taylor that upcoming Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me first thing, \u2018Before we get you here, we\u2019re going to let some of the guys go. We want to keep you.\u2019 And I was like, man, that\u2019s huge,\u201d De Luna said. \u201cThey’re showing me that they believe in me, they trust me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the midst of a squad dismantlement, that trust spoke volumes to De Luna, who would turn out to be the only returning player on the 2025-26 squad.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was no secret that CSUF needed a revolt of culture. However, it may be of some surprise as to how quickly they found it. With the help of De Luna and graduate student Landon Seaman, the Titans have found the recipe to a connected squad that also reflects on the court.<\/p>\n
Coach Taylor describes the Titans as a player-led team, having been that way from the recruiting process to now: an adjustment he endorses.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s fun to see what you dream of and what you talk about as a coach. It\u2019s fun to see it play out,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n
Upon De Luna\u2019s return, Seaman was the first new name brought in for the Titans\u2019 new squad. The forward, who had CSUF on his radar for multiple years, led the charge in the connectivity of the Titans\u2019 newest group together.<\/p>\n
It took a lot of trust from Coach Taylor to have his newest guy anchor the recruitment process.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe shift was that dude right there \u2013 Landon,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cOnce he decided that he was coming, he would ask us \u2018Who else is coming? Who else can we get?\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seaman also took initiative to bring the guys together off the court early on. He would invite his newest teammates out to hang out at the beach consistently, even taking the guys to Lake Havasu.<\/p>\n
De Luna and Seaman connected from the jump, communicating with one another about potential players given to them by Taylor to have them further research. Each player that would commit would then join them in recruiting the next guy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This recruitment process went on until their team was fully formed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the process, De Luna was there to be honest about what went wrong for the Titans\u2019 prior squad, while also providing insight on what it\u2019s like to play at CSUF as a freshman.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of them just reached out like, \u2018Hey, what was so bad about last year?\u2019 And I would tell them it was a culture thing,\u201d De Luna said. \u201cThe guys didn\u2019t mess with each other and things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a result of the 2024-25 team\u2019s lack of chemistry, the Titans\u2019 coaching staff began taking the little things into further consideration.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The team began to implement mandatory team dinners, where phones are temporarily confiscated to have the guys talk amongst one another and further relationships. They also match on and off the court in CSUF gear. De Luna noted former players wearing their own clothes was a \u201cbig thing\u201d in the past.<\/p>\n
The Titans also host \u201clabs\u201d on Wednesdays, a newer development where players are able to get things off their chest, express any displeasures or talk through any issues they are having on and off the court.<\/p>\n
Seaman and De Luna did their part in bringing this group together \u2014 a group driven by honesty in the path that Taylor created.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes that brotherhood real strong, because we\u2019re able to come to each other with anything,\u201d De Luna said.<\/p>\n
The team\u2019s newfound chemistry is evident. The Titans boast a tenacity and level of grit that is unpresent from past squads, establishing a conference-leading offense after sitting at the bottom of the charts last season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
CSUF brought in players from lower-level colleges, an opposite advancement from years\u2019 past. In doing so, there may be an underlying level of hunger from players getting their shot at the DI level.<\/p>\n
While Taylor explained that was not intentional, he did admit it played a part in gathering this team. It was just a matter of those players realizing they belong in the Big West.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey understood it, but now I think it\u2019s a barrage,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cThey think they belong, they know they belong.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Titans have shown each other what a brotherhood represents, even swarming each other in victorious postgame interviews \u2014 all while taking significant steps forward for the program\u2019s future.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the same time, Seaman has excelled in a prominent sixth man role for the Titans, averaging 12.2 points per game. He noted it is easier playing with his friends, crediting De Luna for introducing him to his first burrito.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s different playing with teammates and playing with friends,\u201d Seaman said. \u201cThese are my friends, we\u2019ve got brothers and it\u2019s a different vibe on the court.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When the clock expired on Cal State Fullerton men\u2019s basketball\u2019s 2024-25 season on March 8, the energy among…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":159845,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164,4365,3005,77813,77814,77815,77816],"class_list":["post-159844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-big-west","tag-csuf","tag-dedrique-taylor","tag-kendrick-de-luna","tag-landon-seaman","tag-team-chemistry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159844\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}