After a frustrating period of 11 consecutive losing seasons, the renaissance of Cal State Fullerton men's basketball began during the decade of the mid-to-late 2000's under the leadership of head coach, Bob Burton, and continues to this day under the dedicated tutelage of Dedrique Taylor, who will be entering his 11th season at the helm of the Titan program.
One of the keys to Fullerton's turnaround was Scott Cutley's highly impactful two seasons at CSUF. Cutley would be named a 2007-08 Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American, and Big West Conference Co-Player of the Year after helping the Titans to their best season in 30 years.
Nicknamed "Big Red," Cutley was a standout player at four-time L.A. city champion, and two-time state champion, Westchester High School, along with Titan, Bobby Brown. Cutley played at Kent State for two seasons before transferring to the Titans under Burton.
Brown, however, was the major catalyst for Cutley to come to Cal State Fullerton. "I wanted to play with one of my best friends, Bobby Brown," Scott explained. "We played at Westchester together, and basically grew up together. I saw how much success he was having at Fullerton, with them coming off an NIT run and beating Oregon St. and USF. I recognized the momentum they were gaining, and wanted to try and do something special playing with one of my closest friends.
"There were other factors into me transferring home as well," Cutley continued. "The coach that recruited me who I was close with was moving on to Syracuse (Rob Murphy), and my closest friend on the team, Melchie Johnson, whose wedding I was in, was transferring to IPFW (Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne). With those things going on and seeing an opportunity to come home and win, I decided to make the change."
Cutley credits teammate Brown for forming the nucleus of the successful Titan squad: "He basically recruited all of us to come (to Fullerton). Myself, Frank Robinson, Ray Reed, Marcus Crenshaw, and Josh Akognon, all came because he reached out and explained to us that we could do something special here (at CSUF), and we did."
In the pre-transfer portal days, Burton was unique among college coaches in that he built his program with a foundational core of transfer-students, called "bounce-backs" in those days. There was a stigma then surrounding student-athletes who wanted to transfer for whatever their personal reasons. Some coaches feared that they might be malcontents, or even trouble-makers, and would often shy away from them. Burton chose to judge each student-athlete as an individual.
Due to transfer rules in effect then, "Red" had to sit out as a redshirt during the 2005-06 season, before emerging on the west coast basketball scene with a force in 2006-07. Cutley was named to the First Team, All-Big West, and helped the Titans to an impressive 20-10 record in his junior season.
Recognized for his strong leadership abilities, Cutley was selected a team captain for both of his seasons wearing the Fullerton navy-blue and orange. "I think the leadership skills I brought was in being an extension of the coach on the floor, and by being a vocal leader that led by doing all the little things that make good teams into great teams. I tried to be the one who took charges, dove on the floor for the loose ball… Things like that I felt were important to show that all I cared about was winning, and I believe that bled into the fabric of what our team was about."
Former Titan interim head coach, Andy Newman, had this to say about Cutley: "Scott was like a coach on the floor for us as a player. He was such an incredibly difficult player for other teams to guard because he saw the floor so well, and knew what was going to happen before anyone did.
"There were times where we would just throw him the ball in the mid-post, and just let him back guys down until the defense came to double (then he would dish to the open man). He was so good at creating shots for his teammates that way."
2007-08 was a banner year for Cal State Fullerton's men's basketball. The senior-led squad of Cutley, Reed, Robinson, Crenshaw, Marcus Morgan, K.K. Alexander, Andrew Green, and junior sharpshooter, Josh Akognon, took the Fullerton team to a 24-9 record, and their first Big West Tournament championship, and NCAA Tournament appearance in 30 years. Cutley added, "The sad part was that (Brown) was one year separated from that goal, having graduated after the 2006-07 season. However, going to the NCAA Tournament will always be one of my proudest moments at Fullerton.
"All of my teammates were one of a kind at CSUF, so just to single one out during my time there wouldn't be fair. As for my coaches, I loved all of them, and each one had a special part in making me the basketball player I was. Jason Levy, Marlon Morton, Andy Newman, and of course, coach Bob Burton, all played key parts in our team's success and my individual success at CSUF. As for administrators, Brian Quinn, the A.D. at the time, was such a big supporter of the team and was always around for a quick basketball conversation or just to check in on players and make sure that we were O.K. on and off the court. I knew of Quinn prior to CSUF due to the fact that he worked at LMU for a long time, and so did my mother. I always appreciated when he saw my mom at the games he would go out of his way to say hello, and to check in on her."
Scott eagerly summed up his CSUF experience: "It was a great one. When I first transferred from Kent St., people thought I was crazy because I had some early success at Kent. St. and was able to play major minutes as an underclassman. But I had to follow my gut, and it was telling me that Fullerton was the place for me. And looking back on it, I couldn't be happier with my decision. I reunited with old friends and made some new ones. I was able to accomplish in my senior season the ultimate goal which was to go to the NCAA Tournament. Something that as a kid I had dreamed about doing. I can remember faking sick as a youngster just so I could stay home from school to watch the NCAA Tournament, thinking one day I'm going to play in it. I accomplished that at CSUF, and for that, I will be forever grateful to my teammates and the university."
Cutley played professionally for 13 seasons throughout South America, winning championships in Argentina and Paraguay, and was named league MVP in Chile.
After his playing career ended, Scott returned to CSUF as a graduate assistant to Coach Taylor during the 2021-22 season, which saw the Titans finish 21-11, with a Big West Tournament championship, and Coach Taylor's second appearance in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.
Cutley joined Andy Newman's staff at Cal State San Bernardino for the 2022-23 season, where the Coyotes recorded 31 victories and advanced to the Final Four of the D-2 NCAA Tournament.
Cutley, and former Titan Bobby Brown, have joined Coach Newman's inaugural staff at CSUN for the 2023-24 season. Coach Newman added, "I'm really lucky to have him on my staff as he works hard at making these guys as good as he was."
As a former Big West Player of the Year and All-American, Cutley's #2 jersey hangs proudly in historic Titan Gym, and his name is prominently listed on the Men's Basketball Honor Board positioned in the gym entrance.
Honors
· B.A., Communications – Cal State Fullerton - 2008
· AP All-American, Honorable Mention – 2007-08
· Big West Conference Co-Player of the Year – 2007-08
· All-Big West Conference, First Team – 2006-07, 2007-08
· NCAA Tournament Appearance – 2007-08
· Big West Tournament Champion – 2007-08
CSUF Career Stats
· Scoring Avg. – 15.1 points
· Points Scored – 844
· Rebounding Avg. – 8.4 (#6 all-time)
· Total Rebounds – 470
· Double-Doubles – 20 (#4 all-time)
· W/L Record – 44-19
