Buried in the deepest recess of the latest, desperate edition of Knowlton Notes is this nugget: "On the menās basketball front, we havenāt met expectations so far this year and nobody is more frustrated than Coach Fox and I. Our student-athletes continue to battle and work hard every single day." Sound familiar? If you've ever written Knowlton, it's a repeated talking point. I'd also like to know what said "expectations" actually are.
Teams have learned that Cal can be had with smaller, quicker players playing aggressively. The thing is, the players that Cal is missing are better, but not *that* much better. I donāt see Celestine saving the day.
Are we going to win any games this year? Of course, not with plays like whatever that long inbound was. But just in general, I don't know if we have a single win on the schedule.
btw - in several years, Iāve yet to see a ref call the foot fault on the free throw shooter. Canāt touch inside the key until the ball hits the rim. Happens a lot.
Bill Vinovich was the lead official tonight. He was the ref in the ā19 Niners Super Bowl loss that didnāt call a single holding call on KC despite Bosa getting mugged all f-ing night.
Bad charge call on Brown. The man was not set, although Brown did lower his shoulder. Weāve seen that sort of offensive foul from Cal way too often this season.
Some interesting factoids about Texas State HC Terrence Johnson:
Has only been head coach for 2 full seasons
In those 2 seasons, he has 39 total wins, back to back Sun Belt regular season champions, lead the Bobcats to their first ever NIT berth, is 2 time SBC coach of the year, and was the first ever coach to lead the Bobcats to back to back conference regular season titles.
A great resume for such a short time for the 43 year old HC
Bob, you do understand the concept and dynamic of the āinterimā coach? Iām not being snarky or sarcasticā¦but Fox can and should be fired mid-season and replaced with a guy that will simply coach out the remaining games, allowing your buddy Knowlton to rely on a search firm to pick a permanent coach from a larger pool after the season.
Jimmy: Wait until mid-season? Hell, he should be fired NOW, as in TONIGHT! Holy cow has Cal Basketball become an embarrassment. We are 0-5 and haven't even started Pac-12 play. What do they have to lose by firing Fox and bringing in somebody new? I know that this may seem far-fetched but Cal Basketball may very well finish the season 0-30.
By mid-season, I meant in-season, my friend. I agree - I think he should be termed out now, but clearly incompetent Knowlton is going to give him until he has Clayton and Celestine back.
I think Fox should have been replaced after last season, as the program has actually regressed. But it was never a realistic option. If Fox continues to lose games, he will likely be replaced mid season.
The schedule gets harderā¦even if they do improve, which is unlikely, it probably wonāt result in wins. Youāre looking at a 7 win season, at best.
Buried in the deepest recess of the latest, desperate edition of Knowlton Notes is this nugget: "On the menās basketball front, we havenāt met expectations so far this year and nobody is more frustrated than Coach Fox and I. Our student-athletes continue to battle and work hard every single day." Sound familiar? If you've ever written Knowlton, it's a repeated talking point. I'd also like to know what said "expectations" actually are.
Teams have learned that Cal can be had with smaller, quicker players playing aggressively. The thing is, the players that Cal is missing are better, but not *that* much better. I donāt see Celestine saving the day.
Are we going to win any games this year? Of course, not with plays like whatever that long inbound was. But just in general, I don't know if we have a single win on the schedule.
That play was what you run when thereās 1.8 seconds left, not 7.8.
Precisely. The team just seems so unprepared.
Cal 0-5 59-55
WTF was that play, Mark?
7.8 seconds left and you try a full court pass? Turnover of course.
Baffling play.
Both teams shooting about 80% free throws late in the game.
0:07.8 Cal down 58-55
:19 Cal down 56-53
0:19 Cal down 54-53
0:26 Cal down 54-51
0:27 Cal down 53-51
2:00 Cal down 53-49.
btw - in several years, Iāve yet to see a ref call the foot fault on the free throw shooter. Canāt touch inside the key until the ball hits the rim. Happens a lot.
Bill Vinovich was the lead official tonight. He was the ref in the ā19 Niners Super Bowl loss that didnāt call a single holding call on KC despite Bosa getting mugged all f-ing night.
coasting to retirement...
And just that quick we give up a wide-open three.
5:00 Cal down 48-45
I love seeing the flop calls. Itās about time.
Askew going one on four for the offensive foul. Inexcusable.
Bad charge call on Brown. The man was not set, although Brown did lower his shoulder. Weāve seen that sort of offensive foul from Cal way too often this season.
Braun must be the most positive man on the planet. If you only listened to him, but didnāt watch the game you think that Cal was up by 20.
12:00 to go Cal down 40-31
Itās nights like tonight that Iām thankful I donāt get the Pac-12 network.
Alajiki still working hard, nice move to the rim.
Too bad we still canāt guard the three.
And a nice step back three by Askew.
Nice feed to Lars
Believe me, I am anxious to make a positive remark here, but these guys are the gang that canāt shoot straight.
Another lazy pass by Askew resulting in a turnover.
Askew swatted for the second time
Alajikiās wide open shot was super closeā¦ To the rim.
Love watching the ball bounce off of Lars.
Askew just hammered the guy. Bad no call.
Lyndon B!
Anwanyuās backā¦would say heās been hurt but guaranteed Fox wouldāve mentioned it before.
Play FASTER Bears.
Time to be a masochist: https://twitter.com/WriteForCalLive follow along with yours truly here
Cal should be playing the type of defense that Texas State is playing.
Big Game magic will rub off on this game.
Cal 60 - Texas State 54
Some interesting factoids about Texas State HC Terrence Johnson:
Has only been head coach for 2 full seasons
In those 2 seasons, he has 39 total wins, back to back Sun Belt regular season champions, lead the Bobcats to their first ever NIT berth, is 2 time SBC coach of the year, and was the first ever coach to lead the Bobcats to back to back conference regular season titles.
A great resume for such a short time for the 43 year old HC
Bob, you do understand the concept and dynamic of the āinterimā coach? Iām not being snarky or sarcasticā¦but Fox can and should be fired mid-season and replaced with a guy that will simply coach out the remaining games, allowing your buddy Knowlton to rely on a search firm to pick a permanent coach from a larger pool after the season.
Jimmy: Wait until mid-season? Hell, he should be fired NOW, as in TONIGHT! Holy cow has Cal Basketball become an embarrassment. We are 0-5 and haven't even started Pac-12 play. What do they have to lose by firing Fox and bringing in somebody new? I know that this may seem far-fetched but Cal Basketball may very well finish the season 0-30.
By mid-season, I meant in-season, my friend. I agree - I think he should be termed out now, but clearly incompetent Knowlton is going to give him until he has Clayton and Celestine back.
I think Fox should have been replaced after last season, as the program has actually regressed. But it was never a realistic option. If Fox continues to lose games, he will likely be replaced mid season.
So then whatās the alternative? Keep Fox for years? Thatās not an optionā¦if they lose tonight, theyāre easily 0-8 to start.
This is not rushing things, Bobā¦not sure what more you need to see, unless youāre buying Foxās weak excuse regarding injuries.
An underachieving, retread coach is on his way to an unprecedented, ignominious start to his 4th season. 4 seasons are an eternity in college hoops.
All the announcers have been commenting on the fact that Celestine and Clayton are out. Fox makes a point to mention it as an excuse.
Must we?
Texas St forwards average 5' 6". Could be a matchup problem for the Bears...
Maybe for a coaching staff that knows anything about offense and how to take advantage of mismatches. This staff has no clue how to do that tho, OoT.
No comment
Guess the attendance. I'll go with 46 ppl.
Take the Bobcats with points and maybe on the ML as well
Spread is down to basically a pick āemā¦Cal by 1, ML is even money.
The schedule gets harderā¦even if they do improve, which is unlikely, it probably wonāt result in wins. Youāre looking at a 7 win season, at best.
Gross.
I thought 56 pts was a little ambitious for us. Turns out I was correct.