Post by mhbruin on Jul 19, 2021 9:48:00 GMT -8
CHANGES
First up are the last place California Golden Bears. In the 2020 season, they managed 7 conference wins. In 2021, they only won 3 conference games. It wasn't easy being a worse team than the Washington Huskies, but the Bad Team Bears did it!
California finished ahead of Kent State in KenPom. However, they were worse than Akron and South Dakota State.
The good news is they get almost everyone back. The bad news is that they get almost everyone back from the worst team in the league. And that "almost"? They lose their best player.
GRADUATING
Ryan Betley will not return and is taking time off from basketball. He would have been a 5th-year senior. Could he take a year or two off and then use his extra year of eligibility? I don't know.
IN THE DRAFT
You have to be kidding.
TRANSFERRING OUT
Bradley did not seem to be happy for most of last season. Matt Bradley was their leading scorer and second-leading rebounder.
Bradley was a second-team all-Pac-12 selection each of the past two years. He was third in the conference in scoring. CBS Sports ranked him No. 3 in the nation among transfers who have decided on new schools. He was just behind Remy Martin.
RETURNING
Cal's season really is hanging on two hopes:
Their only 4-star, is Bowser. They had high hopes for him, but he was hurt much of his first freshman season. In limited play, he only shot 32% from the floor, but he did have a good 2.0 A/TO ratio. However, he wasn't exactly a hot commodity out of HS with offers from places like CSUN and Hoffstra.
Mark Fox apparently didn't get the memo. The rest of college coaches with a need for talent have been hitting the transfer portal hard.
He managed to find one player who looks like he will mostly use up their last scholarship. He already had a PG who wasn't much of a scorer in Joel Brown.
Jordan Shepherd led a mediocre Charlotte team in assists and steals. However, he's listed as a PG but he had a poor 1.1 A/TO margin.
Maybe he's a shooting guard. He's a 29% three-point shooter. A shooting guard who can't shoot?
He originally committed to Oklahoma. In his second season, he played 11 minutes a game as a sub and scored 2 points per game, so he moved on to Charlotte. I see nothing to suggest he's a Pac-12 level player.
Shepherd does give them another fifth-year senior.
CONCLUSION
What do you get when you return almost everyone from a terrible team. You get a more experienced terrible team.
Last season I predicted, "Bradley will keep them out of last place." He didn't. Now Coach Mark Fox has lost Bradley, and there doesn't seem to be much help on the way.
Coach Wooden said, "I'd rather have a lot of talent and a little experience than a lot of experience and a little talent." Coach Fox has a lot of experience and a little talent on this roster. This is the formula for a bad season.
Everyone predicts the Bear will finish last in the Pac-12. Coach Fox's stay in Berkley may be a short and unhappy one.
First up are the last place California Golden Bears. In the 2020 season, they managed 7 conference wins. In 2021, they only won 3 conference games. It wasn't easy being a worse team than the Washington Huskies, but the Bad Team Bears did it!
California finished ahead of Kent State in KenPom. However, they were worse than Akron and South Dakota State.
The good news is they get almost everyone back. The bad news is that they get almost everyone back from the worst team in the league. And that "almost"? They lose their best player.
GRADUATING
| Player | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Ryan Betley | 27 | 9 | 3 | 1 |
Ryan Betley will not return and is taking time off from basketball. He would have been a 5th-year senior. Could he take a year or two off and then use his extra year of eligibility? I don't know.
IN THE DRAFT
You have to be kidding.
TRANSFERRING OUT
| Player | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Destination |
| Matt Bradley | 30 | 18 | 5 | 2 | San Diego State |
Bradley did not seem to be happy for most of last season. Matt Bradley was their leading scorer and second-leading rebounder.
Bradley was a second-team all-Pac-12 selection each of the past two years. He was third in the conference in scoring. CBS Sports ranked him No. 3 in the nation among transfers who have decided on new schools. He was just behind Remy Martin.
RETURNING
| Player | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Class | Recruiting Stars | Recruiting Rank |
| Grant Anticevich | 30 | 9 | 5 | 2 | Sr 5 | 3 | 320 |
| Joel Brown | 26 | 5 | 3 | 3 | Jr | 3 | 191 |
| Andre Kelly | 26 | 10 | 6 | 1 | Jr | 3 | 272 |
| Makale Foreman | 21 | 7 | 1 | 2 | Sr 5 | Unranked | |
| Jarred Hyder | 16 | 5 | 1 | 2 | Jr | Unranked | |
| Lars Thiemann | 13 | 3 | 3 | 0 | Jr | Unranked | |
| Jalen Celestine | 13 | 3 | 2 | 1 | So | 3 | 402 |
| Kuany Kuany | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | Jr | 3 | 354 |
| Monty Bowser | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | So | 4 | 116 |
- Recruiting rankings out of don't mean anything. On paper this team looks devoid of talent. They have no top 100 players and only one 4-star.
- Experience matters a lot. They return a LOT of rotation players, with 7 upperclassmen
Their only 4-star, is Bowser. They had high hopes for him, but he was hurt much of his first freshman season. In limited play, he only shot 32% from the floor, but he did have a good 2.0 A/TO ratio. However, he wasn't exactly a hot commodity out of HS with offers from places like CSUN and Hoffstra.
Antecevich and Kelly made up for a lack of quickness with some solid fundamentals. They both played well last season, given their limitations.
Thiemann is a 7-footer, but not mobile.
Joel Brown isn't a bad PG. He is a decent shooter, but doesn't shoot much and has an OK 1.7 A/TO ratio.
Fresno State transfer Jarred Hyder showed some promise last season.
Thiemann is a 7-footer, but not mobile.
Joel Brown isn't a bad PG. He is a decent shooter, but doesn't shoot much and has an OK 1.7 A/TO ratio.
Fresno State transfer Jarred Hyder showed some promise last season.
Kuany Kuany as a freshman has been compared to Chris Smith as a freshman. He has potential. Cal is still waiting for the light to come on.
It's hard to see much on this roster to get excited about. This seems more like the roster of a school like CSUN than a Pac-12 school.
It's hard to see much on this roster to get excited about. This seems more like the roster of a school like CSUN than a Pac-12 school.
RECRUITS
(#65 class, #8 in Pac-12)
(#65 class, #8 in Pac-12)
| Player | Position | Recruiting Stars | Recruiting Rank | Offers |
| Marsalis Roberson | SG | 3 | 156 | Cal Poly, CSUN, Illinois-Chicago |
| Obinna Anyanwu | PF | 3 | 192 | Colorado, Georgia Tech, Miami, Oklahoma |
| Sam Alajiki | SG | Unranked | Columbia, Howard, New Mexico |
This is a pretty typical Cal recruiting class. In previous years their classes were ranked #87, #66, #44, and #55.
Anyanwu seems like the best of the bunch, with some offers from good schools.
It's a sign of how bad California's recruiting has been that this seems like a decent class. If UCLA had a recruiting class this bad, there would be an airplane flying over Pauley Pavilion with a banner behind it.
Anyanwu seems like the best of the bunch, with some offers from good schools.
It's a sign of how bad California's recruiting has been that this seems like a decent class. If UCLA had a recruiting class this bad, there would be an airplane flying over Pauley Pavilion with a banner behind it.
TRANSFERRING IN
Mark Fox apparently didn't get the memo. The rest of college coaches with a need for talent have been hitting the transfer portal hard.
He managed to find one player who looks like he will mostly use up their last scholarship. He already had a PG who wasn't much of a scorer in Joel Brown.
| Player | Size | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | From | Class | Recruiting Stars | Recruiting Rank |
| Jordan Shepherd | 6-4 190 | 35 | 12 | 4 | 3 | Charlotte | Sr 5 | 3 | 313 |
Jordan Shepherd led a mediocre Charlotte team in assists and steals. However, he's listed as a PG but he had a poor 1.1 A/TO margin.
Maybe he's a shooting guard. He's a 29% three-point shooter. A shooting guard who can't shoot?
He originally committed to Oklahoma. In his second season, he played 11 minutes a game as a sub and scored 2 points per game, so he moved on to Charlotte. I see nothing to suggest he's a Pac-12 level player.
Shepherd does give them another fifth-year senior.
CONCLUSION
What do you get when you return almost everyone from a terrible team. You get a more experienced terrible team.
Last season I predicted, "Bradley will keep them out of last place." He didn't. Now Coach Mark Fox has lost Bradley, and there doesn't seem to be much help on the way.
Coach Wooden said, "I'd rather have a lot of talent and a little experience than a lot of experience and a little talent." Coach Fox has a lot of experience and a little talent on this roster. This is the formula for a bad season.
Everyone predicts the Bear will finish last in the Pac-12. Coach Fox's stay in Berkley may be a short and unhappy one.