31 Comments

never been a big basketball fan, but it's really hard to get invested in a sport where both short- and long-term outcomes are determined solely by whoever has the most money.

As for football, it's a game that requires teamwork and stability for success, which helps put a damper on turnover. But it's heading the same way.

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Jordan Pope is transfering thro

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Celestine wanted Pope $$$…

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I think the coaches are really the only people who might have the power to stop this insanity. If teams each year are going to be reconstructed from nothing then I am done with college hoops. Y'all greedy little bastards can go scrape money in the D-League or something where nobody gives a crap.

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Apr 2·edited Apr 2

Agreed. Fear I may already be on the way out, as I’m completely detached from March Madness this year after watching it less and less the past 5 years.

No need to watch 18 year-old knuckleheads learn as they go playing quasi-semi-pro ball on an un-even financial playing field - I’ll just watch professionals - somehow even they stick around longer. Will still support the Bears, just not sure this new reality is my speed.

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I'm die hard, as you all know. But I'm in the same position. How can I deeply support a sport that is so mercenary? I mean, what does it mean for a player X to be wearing a Cal jersey if they are here for one season? What does that say about their loyalty or commitment to the University of California, Berkeley? Do they even understand Fiat Lux? Do they know what it means to walk by Doe Library and fall in love with the person laying on the sunny grass? I can't help but find myself disengaging when there is nothing meaningful about a player wearing the blue and gold. I want to go to sleep and wake up when this madness is all over.

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Tough talk. We'll pull you back in.

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We’ll see.

The waning interest in college sports is real…which is very telling to me.

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Apr 2·edited Apr 2

I just meant that blue and gold blood runs deep. No matter how much college sports devolves, we’ll always be keeping a half-eye open on this program. But I agree this seems unsustainable—and not only for Cal— for another year or two. Something has to give, but it’s unclear where help is gonna come from with an impotent NCAA and no real possibility of any legislation.

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Apr 2·edited Apr 2

Agree…I’ll always bleed blue and gold and watch Cal…but I’ve definitely noticed that whereas I used to make a point to see quality games between non-Cal teams, I am simply not as engaged. Quittin’ drinking, and thus spending a lot less time in bars ( I mean A LOT less time), certainly contributes, but in the end, greed by ALL parties involved has simply soured the experience for me.

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Apr 2·edited Apr 2

I can see five new starters but the bench strength will not be there. How much can Cal backers contribute to the NIL before fatigue sets in?

And what about the value of a Cal degree? It seems like this selling point is losing value when money today is all that matters.

Let's face it - 90% of players will never be playing in the NBA. But the "get the money now" philosophy seems to have taken over.

Probably Madsen can come through but coaching college basketball has become a different animal.

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Just cancel the revenue sports now. I'm with those people now.

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WhAT IS HAPPENING

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I feel so bad for Coach Madsen. I thought that most players liked him, and they would stay for him. What's wrong with them deflecting from him?

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The scuttlebutt is unhappiness with (too small of a) role and NIL.

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I really don’t think this is as much a reflection on Coach Madsen and his staff as it is a sign of the lawless times now in the NIL/portal era, where there are no restrictions. Worse yet, academics are completely out the window, which puts a school like Cal in such a tough spot - that’s our main selling point, and it’s literally become a non-factor. Cal’s gonna struggle to compete when that’s the case.

Wish I knew the specific reasons as to why Celestine, Brown and Newell all thought the grass was greener elsewhere. But we’ll see.

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The academics might help attract upper classmen to transfer to Cal, but they would be done in a year or two at most.

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We need a balance of high school recruits and upper classman transfers to get our roster going. But to get there, we need some sense of stability first in order to get enough wins to recruit high school better.

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I'd imagine Cal & Furd are tough sells with all the extra travel too

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I would be interested in hearing what players had to say about this prospect. It very easily could be a deterrent.

I’d think that if the kids are making enough money, the travel is a nuisance but not really an issue. Plus, long flights provide more time for the kids to study! ;-)

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I hope this is a April fool joke

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I hope Madsen has some aces up his sleeves

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Ha, we literally need 10 of them…and there are only 4 in a deck.

This truly is unprecedented.

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Indeed. Let's not forget that the empty cupboard contributed to failures of Wyking Jones and then Mark Fox. And the cupboard is even more empty this time (like historically empty). Times are different now with the portal but filling that cabinet is going to be a monumentally difficult task.

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True, though honestly, Wyking Jones and Mark Fox contributed most to the failures of Wyking Jones and Mark Fox…the fact that neither are even in the coaching business any more is telling. Though entirely bare cupboards are never a good thing, as it kills a team’s depth.

There’s an argument to be made that simply moving on from ALL the players associated with the previous regime is just good business, especially after the disastrous 3-29.

It’s just filling this many spots is a real tall order. We paid a lot of money for Aimaq, Cone, Kennedy and Tyson, all to go 13-19…now we’re joining the ACC, where NC State is in the Final 4 after finishing 10th in the conference. In the NIL/Portal era, it’s tough to see a path to contention, at least in the short term.

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Doesn’t matter what the reasons are…just a devastating turn of events.

Have faith in Madsen and the staff, but the momentum from this past season is pretty much gone, and we’re entering the toughest conference in the country.

Not. Good.

C’mon Coach, let’s turn this around.

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This is insane. Not sure how much greener they think the grass will be.

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First significant loss of the off season.

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What the heck?

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College sports are broken…

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Fortunes can go bad really quickly but they can go good just as quickly. There are plenty of good players out there. I’m confident that what Cal has to offer both on and off the court will be attractive to enough players to load up once again. Maybe one or two who entered the portal will reconsider.

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