The California Golden Bears had a remarkable one season return to respectability under Mark Madsen, but the specter of another major rebuild is on the horizon. Cal will lose nearly all of their impact transfers (Fardaws Aimaq, Jalen Cone, Keonte Kennedy), as their eligibility is out.
The hopes that Jaylon Tyson would return are also rapidly dwindling, although the reasons are quite good for Cal’s star player. Tyson’s outstanding Pac-12 campaign has shot him into the first round of NBA mock draft boards. That would be the first time since Jaylen Brown a Cal Bear was taken in the first round of the draft.
Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report has this analysis:
Jaylon Tyson has become one of the draft's most advanced on-ball forwards with handles and footwork for self-creation into drives, jumpers and floaters. Tyson's shotmaking off his own dribble and post moves have powered his scoring production. He just hasn't been as efficient off the ball, and some teams may question how he'll adjust and fit after this year's 30.2 usage percentage.
Pro comparison: Caleb Martin
Sam Vecenie of the Athletic has also been a believer ($), continuously ranking Tyson in the late first round this year.
Positive thoughts were also echoed in John Hollinger’s Athletic piece ($), with some favorable comparisons to Jared Dudley.
An NBA scout made an interesting and promising comparison for Tyson to Jeff Faraudo:
An NBA scout who has watched Cal play multiple times this season, believes Tyson’s versatility could make him a first-round pick.
“To me, he’s a complete player — he does everything. He plays on both ends of the floor and plays hard,” the scout said last week. “He’s a Swiss Army knife. He’s kind of like their Draymond Green — he defends, he rebounds, he can handle the ball, he can make plays for other people.”
It is not quite a consensus opinion, as ESPN hasn’t quite been ready to place Tyson on their draft boards yet, but his stock is definitely on the rise, based on their February scouting ($):
Tyson's versatility, production and positional size contribute to his NBA appeal. He has been inconsistent nightly, which is probably to be expected given the amount of defensive attention he draws, but the flashes of three-level scoring ability, playmaking and occasionally solid defense are intriguing. He can be streaky shooting jumpers and doesn't have elite quickness or explosiveness, relying more on change of pace and direction to keep defenders off balance.
Sports Illustrated also puts Tyson’s stock in the late first round.
There are definite hurdles for Tyson to overcome. For one, he’s an upperclassmen, and NBA teams are very cautious with drafting players with extra college miles on them. Thus, the scouts could force him through more hoops for him to prove he’s the guy they want.
But Tyson has proven he’s more than ready. His efforts have lifted Cal up all year, and he definitely has the tenacity to get even better.
The scout comments about him seem a little off to me but I have casually watched all season and not specifically scouted him for the NBA.
1. The high usage rate wasn’t by design - Askew was supposed to be our starting point guard - I don’t think Tyson on a healthy team takes up 30 percent of our possessions. He’s a good not great ball handler. He’s a good not great ball passer. But he was the best remaining player for a lot of roles on our team and he stepped up to make it happen.
2. Maybe he’s got the Draymond Green versatility gene in that he can do many jobs on a basketball floor but Draymond is a defensive genius and a plus plus point forward - even at Michigan State this was pretty apparent. Jaylon can do all those things but I don’t think at Draymond’s skill level. But then again Draymond ended up as a second round pick - Tyson is way more athletic and a much better scorer - but I think a guy like a Jae’sean Tate or Kata Bates-Diop
Well should Tyson go in the first round, MM can go to recruits and tell them "Come to Cal, I'll prepare you for the NBA...perhaps even the 1st round." Not a bad sales pitch, eh?