"The coaching aspect plays a small role, the recruiting aspect plays a huge role," said Tessler. "You have to get players. And I've been fortunate enough to have some very good players come play for me."
The streak started in 2006 at Reedley College, with the last 55 wins coming at FCC. But the humble Tessler insists there's no formula or secret to his success. To him, it's simple.
"Team first," Tessler said. "Hard work. And understand what the goal is each and every year so we don't have individual goals. Everything has been a team goal."
"There's no secret," said sophomore guard Jazmine Simpson. "We just play harder than everyone. He gets all of us – a group of girls to just play hard. That's all it is.
"When you get a group of girls that is talented to play hard, that's all it is. There's no secret."
The 70-game winning streak is impressive, but what makes it even more special is the fact that Coach Tessler uses predominantly local players, including every player on this year's roster. That homegrown formula is an integral part of his biggest goal of all: Winning a state championship at FCC.
"I think it would be quite an accomplishment and kind of a nice little feather in everyone's cap in the San Joaquin Valley," Tessler admitted, "if we could take home a state championship with all local players"
"Out of as many girls as he could have picked, he picked us," said sophomore point guard DeVaughna Jenkins. "And him being such a great coach, that's like the highest compliment you could get. So it's great."
Any Rams fans worried Tessler's success will take him to the next level of coaching can rest easy. The southern California native says Fresno is his home.
"This is where I want to be," Tessler said. "I think this is the best job. It's the job I've wanted. I love community college basketball. It's where I think I can do the best. So I think they're going to have me here for quite some time. I'm not looking anywhere else."
