Cal basketball updates: Mark Madsen gets Shaq congrats, 2023 signees reaffirm commitment
Good vibes this week for the California Golden Bears program.
Some quick weekend Cal basketball news and notes.
Mark Madsen introduced his family to the Cal community!
After a huge set of kudos from basketball luminaries, the literal biggest one out there came out and gave praise to Madsen getting his new gig. Shaquille O’Neal also went online and congratulated his old Laker teammate.
“First of all, want to say congratulations on being named the new head coach. Always knew you had it in ya, even though you weren’t that good of a player. All you used to do is just foul and beat me up in practice, but that’s neither here nor there.”
On the Cal recruiting front, 2023 signee Rodney Brown reaffirmed their commitment to the Bears.
Devin Curtis also appears to be excited about the hire as well. Both Brown and Curtis arriving this fall will add some needed skill on the perimeter and size inside.
It’s likely Madsen will turn to the portal next. Who can he convince among Joel Brown, Kuany Kuany, Sam Alajiki and Lars Thiemann to return to the Bears? Or will Madsen look for immediate help from elsewhere in hopes of a talent infusion?
Madsen will be introduced to the Cal community as their new head coach on Monday, April 3 at 1 p.m.
Do appreciate how that pic is going to make furdies throw up a little each time they see it…
Why in the world would he convince any of those players to return? I appreciate the hard work they put in, they are Cal Bears, but several things:
1. They chose to move on (or at least enter the portal), *before* finding out who the new coach was going to be. What does this say about them?
2. Only Alijiki (fixed) hasn't graduated, the other 3 are graduating, so in order for them to remain at Cal, they actually have to get *admitted* to grad school. In case people haven't noticed (or remembered), Cal is literally one of the most difficult grad schools to get into. It's a primary reason Cal doesn't get a lot of grad transfers, even though there's now a certificate program.
3. These players are all replaceable. They only help with depth, but sometimes it's better to move on from players who were part of a team that put together the worst 4 year run in school history. Madsen should go get his players and get better players, I can't think of any reason to be "faithful" to these guys. I appreciate their hard work, and Fox clearly was a major contributing factor to the lack of their success, but a clean split is best for all parties.