So I couldn’t stay away though I was only able to catch the first half. Some observations: it was great having a live band in action. With classes done and students on winter break it was a expectedly thin crowd. (For Oregon State there was a decent student turnout). There was a Mike man that gave it a go. He did not have a very responsive crowd in the early going but I bet when the team started rolling in the 2nd half the noise level rose a bit.
You can see coach is trying to balance developing the next generation with not letting games slip away. UoP played some nice D in the first half. A sign of good coaching is when adjustments made at halftime have desired results.
We have a real shot at finishing middle of the pack if the impact from injuries/Covid are minimal.
This team is plucky -- we might not have any major superstars, but we go 10-deep and any one of them are capable of going off. It was Shepherd against Or. State and Dartmouth; AK against Santa Clara; and last night it was Grant with Celestine having a breakout game. Meanwhile, guys like Makale, Alijiki and Obinna are instant energy and can spark them at any time. We might not win the conference, but this team is going to surprise some people.
Andre will be the biggest loss...they don’t have anyone that can replace him, at least right now...thought maybe Thorpe can be the guy, tho losing this year really stunts his development. Maybe 1 of the FR bigs will be ready to make an impact right out of the gates. Fingers crossed.
Grant’s shooting is replaceable, and he doesn’t help much with D, so while it’ll leave a hole, there are pieces that can fill in. Shepherd’s inefficient, ball dominant volume scoring will also be replaceable. Barring unexpected transfers, Fox has 2 scholarships available...transfer portal??
Hopefully Kuany spends the summer playing ball and shooting 500 jumpers a day. Also, if Lars can develop a little jump hook, he may be able to give them 5 ppg next year, which would really be something and is doable given his improvement at the stripe.
But look for C, A & A to be the backbone of next year’s squad...Alajiki could be a breakout player and all P12 by his senior year...he should be getting more minutes this year. Celestine is solid and can improve too. That’ll be the big question for the coaching staff...can they develop these kids?
I am encouraged by 8-5 heading into January, tho...that is sign of progress. After that ugly UCSD game, they’ve shown that can beat the teams they should, which hasn’t been the case the past 4 years,
Kelly will certainly be the biggest loss and hardest to replace. His post footwork and scoring has been there since he was a freshman, but he’s refined his game, added a mid range and now only has good weight
Love his game
But Grant will also be very difficult to replace as a stretch four that makes every team better. He’s also improved his defense and rebounding
But he’s not a stretch 4...he’s a 6’9” SG - he can’t guard bigs, and isn’t quick enough to guard wings...he gets 90% of his points from outside the key...he’s not a PF.
He is rebounding better this year than his previous seasons...but his production will actually be easier to replace than AK.
Again, agree Kelly will be the hardest to replace. I watched part of the reply of a 2015 game which was on the Pac12 network. We had a young team then (Wallace, Bird, Matthew, Singer were sophs). That team had a senior Kravish who single handily kept the Bears a contender from his freshmen year. Kelly is a little like that.
Regarding Grant, I guess we don't agree about his value. He is a 6-9 PF shooting 39% from three. That alone will be difficult to replace regardless of position. Add his 7.6 rebounds, another number that is hard to replace, regardless of position, and you've got a valuable player. He is also a solid post defender, although there will be some tough pac12 matchups that will likely be tough for him (but also tough for most PFs)
Cal's women's team was in action earlier this week ending their non conference schedule with a 73-55 win over St. Mary's Tuesday at Haas. The Bears will enter Pac 12 play (Dec, 31 at WSU) with a record of 9-2. Also this week guard Jayda Curry was named Pac 12 freshmen of the week for the fourth time in six weeks. Curry is the Bears leading scorer averaging 20.1 points a game. The Bears next home game is Friday January 7, vs. Oregon State.
Amazing how Charmin has coached up this team. Great to see healthy bodies out there and a deeper bench. Hopefully Daniels and Michelle keep improving. Daniels had a great game against St. Mary's. Go Bears!!
The difference in having a full guard rotation (McIntosh, Green, Curry and Cocker) vs poor Lei having the carry the entire guard load by herself last year really makes a difference. Now all of those 5 star bigs can get the ball without being swarmed. and Lutje Schipholt has been a revelation
Glad to see such positive momentum for Cal BB. The WBB team looks SUPER exciting with a FOY candidate in Jayda Curry. Pac12 play for both teams will be where the rubber meets the road; let's step on the gas!
That’s a great song and I like the idea… but not quite understanding it…. Perhaps you should get some friends together and do a sample tape…. Might work at FB games too
So I couldn’t stay away though I was only able to catch the first half. Some observations: it was great having a live band in action. With classes done and students on winter break it was a expectedly thin crowd. (For Oregon State there was a decent student turnout). There was a Mike man that gave it a go. He did not have a very responsive crowd in the early going but I bet when the team started rolling in the 2nd half the noise level rose a bit.
You can see coach is trying to balance developing the next generation with not letting games slip away. UoP played some nice D in the first half. A sign of good coaching is when adjustments made at halftime have desired results.
We have a real shot at finishing middle of the pack if the impact from injuries/Covid are minimal.
This team is plucky -- we might not have any major superstars, but we go 10-deep and any one of them are capable of going off. It was Shepherd against Or. State and Dartmouth; AK against Santa Clara; and last night it was Grant with Celestine having a breakout game. Meanwhile, guys like Makale, Alijiki and Obinna are instant energy and can spark them at any time. We might not win the conference, but this team is going to surprise some people.
Andre will be the biggest loss...they don’t have anyone that can replace him, at least right now...thought maybe Thorpe can be the guy, tho losing this year really stunts his development. Maybe 1 of the FR bigs will be ready to make an impact right out of the gates. Fingers crossed.
Grant’s shooting is replaceable, and he doesn’t help much with D, so while it’ll leave a hole, there are pieces that can fill in. Shepherd’s inefficient, ball dominant volume scoring will also be replaceable. Barring unexpected transfers, Fox has 2 scholarships available...transfer portal??
Hopefully Kuany spends the summer playing ball and shooting 500 jumpers a day. Also, if Lars can develop a little jump hook, he may be able to give them 5 ppg next year, which would really be something and is doable given his improvement at the stripe.
But look for C, A & A to be the backbone of next year’s squad...Alajiki could be a breakout player and all P12 by his senior year...he should be getting more minutes this year. Celestine is solid and can improve too. That’ll be the big question for the coaching staff...can they develop these kids?
I am encouraged by 8-5 heading into January, tho...that is sign of progress. After that ugly UCSD game, they’ve shown that can beat the teams they should, which hasn’t been the case the past 4 years,
Kelly will certainly be the biggest loss and hardest to replace. His post footwork and scoring has been there since he was a freshman, but he’s refined his game, added a mid range and now only has good weight
Love his game
But Grant will also be very difficult to replace as a stretch four that makes every team better. He’s also improved his defense and rebounding
But he’s not a stretch 4...he’s a 6’9” SG - he can’t guard bigs, and isn’t quick enough to guard wings...he gets 90% of his points from outside the key...he’s not a PF.
He is rebounding better this year than his previous seasons...but his production will actually be easier to replace than AK.
Again, agree Kelly will be the hardest to replace. I watched part of the reply of a 2015 game which was on the Pac12 network. We had a young team then (Wallace, Bird, Matthew, Singer were sophs). That team had a senior Kravish who single handily kept the Bears a contender from his freshmen year. Kelly is a little like that.
Regarding Grant, I guess we don't agree about his value. He is a 6-9 PF shooting 39% from three. That alone will be difficult to replace regardless of position. Add his 7.6 rebounds, another number that is hard to replace, regardless of position, and you've got a valuable player. He is also a solid post defender, although there will be some tough pac12 matchups that will likely be tough for him (but also tough for most PFs)
Go Bears get to 11-5 after that Haas sweep of the LA schools...kenpom has us at #108 after yesterday's game.
That UCSD loss is probably hurting them...
Probably
Ya they probably don’t have the horses to beat any of them…so that’s 6.
But pretty much every other game they should have a shot at.
Cal's women's team was in action earlier this week ending their non conference schedule with a 73-55 win over St. Mary's Tuesday at Haas. The Bears will enter Pac 12 play (Dec, 31 at WSU) with a record of 9-2. Also this week guard Jayda Curry was named Pac 12 freshmen of the week for the fourth time in six weeks. Curry is the Bears leading scorer averaging 20.1 points a game. The Bears next home game is Friday January 7, vs. Oregon State.
Love watching this team and their improvement. Hard to believe Curry is just a freshman. Aggressive, confident player who can do it all
Amazing how Charmin has coached up this team. Great to see healthy bodies out there and a deeper bench. Hopefully Daniels and Michelle keep improving. Daniels had a great game against St. Mary's. Go Bears!!
The difference in having a full guard rotation (McIntosh, Green, Curry and Cocker) vs poor Lei having the carry the entire guard load by herself last year really makes a difference. Now all of those 5 star bigs can get the ball without being swarmed. and Lutje Schipholt has been a revelation
Glad to see such positive momentum for Cal BB. The WBB team looks SUPER exciting with a FOY candidate in Jayda Curry. Pac12 play for both teams will be where the rubber meets the road; let's step on the gas!
POY candidate! (probably not but she should make all Pac-12)
That’s a great song and I like the idea… but not quite understanding it…. Perhaps you should get some friends together and do a sample tape…. Might work at FB games too
Thanks for the videos… that song is catchy and has the right energy for a game
I think I even remember when it was played at a game because I’ve liked that song
I think it would be great to have our own Cal song, rather than use a song another college introduced like sweet caroline
Go for it Bob!