Cal Men's Basketball: Roster Construction
Out with the old, in with the new
A few months ago, I wrote a little bit on the prior coaching staff’s roster construction and what that meant for that regime. Well now that there’s some clarity on what next years team is looking like, it’s time to take a look on just how big of a transformation this team is really undergoing.
Roster (as of 5/11 and who will get playing time)
G Devin Askew
G Jalen Celestine
G Keonte Kennedy
G Jalen Cone
G Mike Meadows
G/F Jaylon Tyson
G/F Monty Bowser
F Grant Newell
C ND Okafor
F Fardaws Aimaq
Not in the rotation:
G/F Rodney Brown
F Devin Curtis
G Josh Ragsdale
G Jack McCloskey
G Wrenn Robinson
To say this has been a total 180 would be an understatement. What was once a team full of athletic forwards is now a team full of scoring guards and a proven big man in Fardaws Aimaq. Cal will most definitely be pushing more pace next season and the spacing on the team will be miles better as well. There were not enough shooters on last years team. The additions of Kennedy, Cone, and Meadows give a nice shot in the arm for Askew and Celestine who were already on the time. Everyone needs to be respected from beyond the arc, which is inherently better compared to last season.
Stylistically, the ability to share the ball efficiently while pushing the pace seems like it will also receive an upgrade thanks to the roster construction. While I consider this chapter of Cal men’s basketball the greatest thing since sliced bread, we do have to temper our expectations a bit. The Bears can have what will probably be the biggest NCAA turnaround next season, but it still takes some time to instill a system and have a new group of players to run it effectively.
There’s now depth for the Bears. This group can reasonably compete in the top half of the Pac 12 and for those of you who care about this, do it in an aesthetically pleasing manner. I am intrigued to see who becomes the primary ball handler for Cal, as that’s one area I’m not sure I trust anyone in at the moment. You could reasonably slot in Devin Askew or Jalen Cone, and considering the upgrade in teammates there could be some benefits. However there is some volatility when it comes to that so that will be what I look forward to in how Mark Madsen divides up those responsibilities.
The roster construction and balance is better. The ability to adapt in the pursuit of winning is better. And I want to see how it all turns out. Cal fans it is that time again, to get cautiously excited about the future because I genuinely do believe in Madsen’s coaching regime. We got that new voice in Berkeley and I’ll be ready in November to cheer on these Golden Bears.
To be totally fair, NOW is the time to assess this hire as part of Knowlton's resume. I LOVE the hire and think Madsen will do well, but there are no guarantees, and I don't think it's fair to wait for year 3's win/loss record to then say he did or didn't do a good job. Given the outright giddy enthusiasm for the Madsen hire I think we need to give Knowlton something in the A range, unless there are idiosyncrasies in how he could have done it better. Then we cross our fingers and hope for the best.....and hope there was a bigger buyout if Stanfurd tries to hire him than any other school.....
That’s an incredibly solid roster, and an amazing turnaround to this point. Should at the very least play competent basketball and be completely watchable. With some luck on the injury front, a little standard FR—>SO improvement from Newell and ND, plus a rebound from Askew and Celestine, this squad could easily be in the Bubble conversation come February.
One spot available…it’ll be interesting to see who it is.