I don’t understand our offense. Plant guys in the corners and then the other three run around at the top of the key. There’s little movement without the ball, few screens, and we set up the exact same thing every time.
Oh, and the inability to put the ball in the basket from point blank range.
That's my critique as well. Think back on what Monty had us doing. With Monty, we beat teams with schemes, cuts, and all manner of normal BB moves. Fox seems to only teach his guys to run around at the top of the key hoping something opens up. OR pass inside then let the big guys try to make something happen. Basketball can be so beautiful when played as an engineering diagram, and so boring when it is just what my wife calls "Dribble, dribble, shoot!".
C'mon - wasn't all this painfully clear when Cal hired Fox? Was there anything from that moment that screamed "there sure is a lot to be excited about with Cal hoops now!". Remember one of the first videos released of him talking to the team. Don't remember the context, but recall it was him doing his first Pastor Joe giving a dry sermon on Sunday to a bunch of visibly bored, disinterested players.
I remember that early promo video where he was talking to the team. What I remember is that he had this moment where he said "winning" in one of the most bizarre, cringe-inducing ways I could have imagined. A while ago I tried looking for that video again but couldn't find it. Maybe the athletic department realized how embarrassing it was and scrubbed it from the internet.
Search firms are interested in ONLY what they can sucker idiots like Knowleton to paying for. When their recommendations fail, they say, "Hey, it's not our fault Cal is too hard to admit good players." And on to the next coach valency.
What an embarrassment. I'm no mega donor, but I won't be giving anymore to the athletic dept. It doesn't matter if I give $0 or $5000 (or even $5M), we still won't have a winning season under Fox / Knowlton.
Better yet, I'm hiring a graphic artist to change my degree to "East Nowhere Jr. College Typing School" so I don't have to reveal that I actually graduated from the same school as this loser program.
Are you kidding? Lose to UC Davis? Unfreaking believeable. Fold the program now, hire an exterminator, fumigate the place, fire everyone who even mentioned this team, let alone coached them. What a disgrace.
While I admire and like Lars, he's a constant problem on offense. He turned the ball over at least 5 times, sometimes leading to breakaway scores, and he fails to dominate against smaller opponents. He should have scored 30 points, not 17, and the requiste fouls. His failure to command the post, removes the ability to have outside shots, because the rotation cannot include a post to wing pass.
The saddest thing about this loss was that it was so unsurprising. Everyone knew Fox was a dud hire when he came in . . . better than Wyking, but that's a very low bar.
I watched until halftime, and this morning saw the final score. I texted a good friend and longtime Cal hoops fan and he said ‘c**p’, and moreover that he forgot that the season had even started last night. I think like so many longtime fans of Cal sports we’ve gone through our disappointment, anger, and now ambivalence phases. Revenue sports have been run into the ground under this administration. Top athletes in these sports seeking next-level attention are keenly aware that ‘Pac-12 After Dark’ might as well be played without lights from a tv/scout perspective at Cal. Seriously talented players see bright warm lights through the portal. We still can get excellent athletes (and coaches) in non-tv sports like rugby, crew, golf, swimming, tennis, etc., but the ‘commitment to excellence’ bs for revenue sports is all talk. If there was a serious long-term effort led by someone other than our current AD staff I might continue my 35+ year donations and attendance but until then… I’m flying to Tennessee this weekend to see what a team/program that has demonstrated how to turn a program around can do. Go Vols!
Hah wow, UC Davis! We lost to UCSB last year. Maybe we lose to UCSD next year? What a sad state of affairs. Question - is there any D1 team in the Bay we are better than? My guess is Stanford, USF, St Mary’s are all better programs right now. Maybe we could beat San Jose State or Santa Clara?
sjsu is your best chance in that case followed by stanford. the wcc teams are good, for example santa clara was ahead of stanford by as much as 30 last season and won by 16
yeah they'll be dancing in the basement like usual. Jerod Haase holds them back significantly, it feels like they lose to Cal every year at some point whether its home, away, or in the P12 tournament
As much as I hate to admit it, I think they do…I’m no fan of post-March-1993-Jerod Haase’s, but Jones was a big pick up and Ingram is a baller…they got a Euro-garbage 7-footer, along with that Grade-A douchebag Keefe Jr, and a typical, absolutely punchable Stanford face in PG Lil’ Mikey O’Connell…bubble games v Bucky, SDSU, Ole Miss, Texas, and Loyola Chicago will tell the story tho.
Guess we will just have to wait and see. That's the beauty of what we do, I disagree about Stanford's talent level but they have 4-5 months to prove one of us wrong!
The women's team won, defeating SCU Northridge 85-55 at Haas.
Wonderful. That and $5.00 gets you a latte at Starbucks. Any idea how the Chess Team did?
I don’t understand our offense. Plant guys in the corners and then the other three run around at the top of the key. There’s little movement without the ball, few screens, and we set up the exact same thing every time.
Oh, and the inability to put the ball in the basket from point blank range.
It’s going to be a very long season.
POINT. BLANK. RANGE!!
At least half a dozen chippies we’re missed in 2H alone.
That's my critique as well. Think back on what Monty had us doing. With Monty, we beat teams with schemes, cuts, and all manner of normal BB moves. Fox seems to only teach his guys to run around at the top of the key hoping something opens up. OR pass inside then let the big guys try to make something happen. Basketball can be so beautiful when played as an engineering diagram, and so boring when it is just what my wife calls "Dribble, dribble, shoot!".
Thank you Rick.
C'mon - wasn't all this painfully clear when Cal hired Fox? Was there anything from that moment that screamed "there sure is a lot to be excited about with Cal hoops now!". Remember one of the first videos released of him talking to the team. Don't remember the context, but recall it was him doing his first Pastor Joe giving a dry sermon on Sunday to a bunch of visibly bored, disinterested players.
And that's how the team is playing. Bored, disinterested.
I remember that early promo video where he was talking to the team. What I remember is that he had this moment where he said "winning" in one of the most bizarre, cringe-inducing ways I could have imagined. A while ago I tried looking for that video again but couldn't find it. Maybe the athletic department realized how embarrassing it was and scrubbed it from the internet.
College basketball season is my favorite time of year- as long as I ignore our Bears. This isn't a hibernation, it's a 5+ year coma.
Now can we fire Fox????
Especially since Wilcox is a lock for the next few years thanks to that masterful contract extension.
Fox got an extension, too. (Cal extended all coaches for covid. Good work if you can get it.)
Just a year…that’s not as big a hurdle as the fact that Knowlton’s search firm hand picked Fox…
And certainly not as big an issue as Wilcox’s albatross of an extension that could sink the entire program.
Search firms are interested in ONLY what they can sucker idiots like Knowleton to paying for. When their recommendations fail, they say, "Hey, it's not our fault Cal is too hard to admit good players." And on to the next coach valency.
What an embarrassment. I'm no mega donor, but I won't be giving anymore to the athletic dept. It doesn't matter if I give $0 or $5000 (or even $5M), we still won't have a winning season under Fox / Knowlton.
I quit. This isn't fun anymore.
Damn, that streak went back to the days when "Tungsten Arm" O'Doyle ruled baseball.
Oh no, not again....
Cue ending, homage to Alien scene from Spaceballs….;-)
Better yet, I'm hiring a graphic artist to change my degree to "East Nowhere Jr. College Typing School" so I don't have to reveal that I actually graduated from the same school as this loser program.
Are you kidding? Lose to UC Davis? Unfreaking believeable. Fold the program now, hire an exterminator, fumigate the place, fire everyone who even mentioned this team, let alone coached them. What a disgrace.
Because Cal...
For an "UnderArmour" school, there's several Cal players in the header photo above wearing Nikes.
Are the kids even getting outfitted with gear any longer?
While I admire and like Lars, he's a constant problem on offense. He turned the ball over at least 5 times, sometimes leading to breakaway scores, and he fails to dominate against smaller opponents. He should have scored 30 points, not 17, and the requiste fouls. His failure to command the post, removes the ability to have outside shots, because the rotation cannot include a post to wing pass.
The saddest thing about this loss was that it was so unsurprising. Everyone knew Fox was a dud hire when he came in . . . better than Wyking, but that's a very low bar.
No reason to watch this season either.
I watched until halftime, and this morning saw the final score. I texted a good friend and longtime Cal hoops fan and he said ‘c**p’, and moreover that he forgot that the season had even started last night. I think like so many longtime fans of Cal sports we’ve gone through our disappointment, anger, and now ambivalence phases. Revenue sports have been run into the ground under this administration. Top athletes in these sports seeking next-level attention are keenly aware that ‘Pac-12 After Dark’ might as well be played without lights from a tv/scout perspective at Cal. Seriously talented players see bright warm lights through the portal. We still can get excellent athletes (and coaches) in non-tv sports like rugby, crew, golf, swimming, tennis, etc., but the ‘commitment to excellence’ bs for revenue sports is all talk. If there was a serious long-term effort led by someone other than our current AD staff I might continue my 35+ year donations and attendance but until then… I’m flying to Tennessee this weekend to see what a team/program that has demonstrated how to turn a program around can do. Go Vols!
Hah wow, UC Davis! We lost to UCSB last year. Maybe we lose to UCSD next year? What a sad state of affairs. Question - is there any D1 team in the Bay we are better than? My guess is Stanford, USF, St Mary’s are all better programs right now. Maybe we could beat San Jose State or Santa Clara?
sjsu is your best chance in that case followed by stanford. the wcc teams are good, for example santa clara was ahead of stanford by as much as 30 last season and won by 16
Stanfurd dances this year
yeah they'll be dancing in the basement like usual. Jerod Haase holds them back significantly, it feels like they lose to Cal every year at some point whether its home, away, or in the P12 tournament
As much as I hate to admit it, I think they do…I’m no fan of post-March-1993-Jerod Haase’s, but Jones was a big pick up and Ingram is a baller…they got a Euro-garbage 7-footer, along with that Grade-A douchebag Keefe Jr, and a typical, absolutely punchable Stanford face in PG Lil’ Mikey O’Connell…bubble games v Bucky, SDSU, Ole Miss, Texas, and Loyola Chicago will tell the story tho.
Guess we will just have to wait and see. That's the beauty of what we do, I disagree about Stanford's talent level but they have 4-5 months to prove one of us wrong!
No we lost to UCSD last year in the opener.
We lost to UCSD at home last year and are going to RIMAC this year.