Hopefully, Fox is not the only person that is fired. Knowlton needs to be fired also. If the school were to hire an AD that is as good as its academic reputation I believe that would give fans hope of turning this around. Too bad the basketball program is and has been pathetic the past few years and the football team has been average in its best years and downright embarrassing in its worst years during Wilcox's tenure. If this were not the case Cal would be joining UCLA and USC in the Big 10. I'd say the women's basketball coach should be fired also and Wilcox unless he has a winning season should not return for the 2024 season. Cal is too good of a University to be this pathetic in the two sports that matter most at the D1 level.
I think recruiting a new AD to Cal might be more difficult than a basketball coach. Being AD at Alabama, Texas A&M, Ohio St, etc must be a dream job. The leadership, administration, faculty, alumni and students are all 100% dialed in on the (over) importance of the athletics program. Coming to Cal, you know every day will be a battle, with only snippets of support here & there. Other schools know how tough the job is at Cal, Penn St hired Sandy Barbour after she was fired! Someone who's really good fails at Cal and is considered a wild success at an athletics-positive university. See the problem?
Sandy's crimes were less than Knowlton's and she actually presided over a ton of success (hired Monty and kept Tedford happy and well resourced) unlike Knowlton. She whiffed on Sonny (although he's making a case that "it's not me, it's you") and she got hit with poor luck/timing regarding the stadium project (I give her a pass). Even Knowlton's gold-flaked wraparound porch is starting to burn (McKeever).
They'll be fine when Durant gets back. I trust Milwaukee and Boston more obviously, but I trust the Nets more than the Sixers, for instance, regardless of the disparity in seeding.
I don't think it will happen, though it should. However, having to let go of his only major hire in combination with the McKeever situation certainly has to put him on watch. Still he's curiously locked up for longer than a tenured professor or supreme court justice and I think the grid club folks like having him in their pocket.
I've been isolating Kuany watching the last couple games. He is often out of position or does not get to his defensive spot quick enough. I think coaching him as a stretch-4, where he can use his length to react quickly, was not the right choice. He's got the foot speed to play more pressure on the ball, almost like a 2 or 3. See how he drew a couple charges last night where he moved laterally fast enough so the ballhandler could not get around him and instead ran into him.
I also have kept an eye on Kuany, and his moments of brilliance can be spectacular, but I often see him standing still in bad positions watching shots go up ('ball watching' as my son's coach says) rather than crashing the boards or sprinting back on defense. He kind of tunes out at inopportune moments. I love his movement when he draws the charge, but conversely he flops too often (which doesn't get called enough). If he were a freshman instead of a senior, I'd say he has a great future at the D-1 level.
Teams have picked on Kuany because of his tentative nature on defense. He does not commit on defensive action on screens and picks, and stays too far back. I compare how we defend to how Colorado was instantly trapping the ball handler on the high screens. Worlds of difference.
Oh no doubt, BP…and he’s clearly a nice, sweet dude…you can tell just by watching him on the court.
But you can’t teach his combination of height, length, athleticism, foot speed and outside shooting…just seems a real waste of what could’ve been…a total whiff by the coaching staff.
He started playing basketball too late. He absolutely has the tools.
First thing I would’ve done as a HC is get him in the weight room and send him to the equivalent of the Pete Newell Big Man’s Camp to learn big man fundamentals.
Joel Brown was subbed out at 5:20, for Wrenn. Wrenn did fine (2 assists, 1 TO), but it was a very helter skelter few minutes, and we had a chance to make it an interesting ending.
Joel was subbed back in at 1:51. He missed that entire stretch where having your senior leader on the floor could've made a difference. Maybe he was gassed in the altitude and simply could not enter earlier. but I still think it was a mistake to not call a TO, give Joel an extra minute or so, and try to get him back in when it got interesting around the 3:30 mark.
But we all know Fox's substitution patterns are questionable at best.
"If Mark Fox is done trying to win games as a Cal coach, I’m not sure why I should spend time writing about each game, and I’m not sure why Cal fans should try to tune in to watch."
You can always cover the women's team. There's no quit in them or their coach.
It needs to come the day after the season ends, but even though his fate is sealed I’m not super hopeful. The Wyking firing took a couple of weeks of waiting.
I'd be embarrassed and maybe upset for us if I didn't feel such an enormous sense of relief that this tenure is finally, maybe coming to an end. Wasted years.
Shantay Leggins. He also played for Cal and has done well in his coaching career. Dennis Gates. Missouri was smart for hiring him, long term,also a former Cal player. Anwar McQueen. That's my short list, there is a longer one . Fire Fox now, he seems to master the buyout game, but not the D-1 coaching game.
I'm glad you mentioned the laughing part, because it's quite an indictment to accuse a coach of giving up. Seeing Fox pacing the sideline in the waning minutes, I'm sure his blood pressure wasn't 110/70. He chose not to foul, not because he's quitting, but because it's usually a stupid strategy. 19 times out of a 20 it turns a 6 point loss into a 14 point loss. It's apparent his philosophy has been to play it straight up in the last stages. I'd assume that's because he's seen too many close games turn into blowouts from putting the other team at the line. Cal had CU at 54 for 4 of the last 5 minutes. If Newell had made his shots down the stretch, making it 51-54 with 1 1/2 mins to go, anything could have happened. If you can't score, fouling won't matter.
Did you miss the part where Colorado is among the worst FT teams in the nation? And the part where we only got 4 possessions in final whatever minutes? Come on now. It's way too late to be playing devil's advocate for Fox.
I guess that "quiet quitting" is the polite way of saying "I just don't give a f@#$ anymore". If that is the case, then Fox has been "quiet quitting" since he was hired. Any ideas for good coaching candidates? Whoever they are, they will have to love a challenge because Cal Basketball has hit absolute rock bottom. I guess that the good news is that there is nowhere to go but up.
Certainly, it was too much to ask to sweep anyone this season. Now I'm walking around thinking, "I believe you have my stapler."
Hopefully, Fox is not the only person that is fired. Knowlton needs to be fired also. If the school were to hire an AD that is as good as its academic reputation I believe that would give fans hope of turning this around. Too bad the basketball program is and has been pathetic the past few years and the football team has been average in its best years and downright embarrassing in its worst years during Wilcox's tenure. If this were not the case Cal would be joining UCLA and USC in the Big 10. I'd say the women's basketball coach should be fired also and Wilcox unless he has a winning season should not return for the 2024 season. Cal is too good of a University to be this pathetic in the two sports that matter most at the D1 level.
I think recruiting a new AD to Cal might be more difficult than a basketball coach. Being AD at Alabama, Texas A&M, Ohio St, etc must be a dream job. The leadership, administration, faculty, alumni and students are all 100% dialed in on the (over) importance of the athletics program. Coming to Cal, you know every day will be a battle, with only snippets of support here & there. Other schools know how tough the job is at Cal, Penn St hired Sandy Barbour after she was fired! Someone who's really good fails at Cal and is considered a wild success at an athletics-positive university. See the problem?
Sandy's crimes were less than Knowlton's and she actually presided over a ton of success (hired Monty and kept Tedford happy and well resourced) unlike Knowlton. She whiffed on Sonny (although he's making a case that "it's not me, it's you") and she got hit with poor luck/timing regarding the stadium project (I give her a pass). Even Knowlton's gold-flaked wraparound porch is starting to burn (McKeever).
Would Sean Marks come on board? All meetings would be at Henry's.
He might have taken our bait a couple of months back, but the Nets are back from the dead.
well about the Nets.......
Whoah, never mind! Just checked in at ESPN.
They'll be fine when Durant gets back. I trust Milwaukee and Boston more obviously, but I trust the Nets more than the Sixers, for instance, regardless of the disparity in seeding.
I don't think it will happen, though it should. However, having to let go of his only major hire in combination with the McKeever situation certainly has to put him on watch. Still he's curiously locked up for longer than a tenured professor or supreme court justice and I think the grid club folks like having him in their pocket.
Fantastic points, Nick! Thank you.
Sure seems like Fox is just playing out the string. I bet Kuany could be a decent ball player with more competent leadership and tutelage.
I've been isolating Kuany watching the last couple games. He is often out of position or does not get to his defensive spot quick enough. I think coaching him as a stretch-4, where he can use his length to react quickly, was not the right choice. He's got the foot speed to play more pressure on the ball, almost like a 2 or 3. See how he drew a couple charges last night where he moved laterally fast enough so the ballhandler could not get around him and instead ran into him.
But he’s absolutely not a stretch 4, BP. He does nothing in the low post or down on the block…because he clearly hadn’t been coached to do so.
He’s a 6’10” 2-guard, and the entire team is out of position on D, unfortunately.
I also have kept an eye on Kuany, and his moments of brilliance can be spectacular, but I often see him standing still in bad positions watching shots go up ('ball watching' as my son's coach says) rather than crashing the boards or sprinting back on defense. He kind of tunes out at inopportune moments. I love his movement when he draws the charge, but conversely he flops too often (which doesn't get called enough). If he were a freshman instead of a senior, I'd say he has a great future at the D-1 level.
Teams have picked on Kuany because of his tentative nature on defense. He does not commit on defensive action on screens and picks, and stays too far back. I compare how we defend to how Colorado was instantly trapping the ball handler on the high screens. Worlds of difference.
Oh no doubt, BP…and he’s clearly a nice, sweet dude…you can tell just by watching him on the court.
But you can’t teach his combination of height, length, athleticism, foot speed and outside shooting…just seems a real waste of what could’ve been…a total whiff by the coaching staff.
He started playing basketball too late. He absolutely has the tools.
First thing I would’ve done as a HC is get him in the weight room and send him to the equivalent of the Pete Newell Big Man’s Camp to learn big man fundamentals.
In other words, he was a project, like most of our roster.
Exactly…tho one that a better coaching staff would absolutely have done so much more with.
He was wasted by THIS stubborn and unimaginative staff tho.
Joel Brown was subbed out at 5:20, for Wrenn. Wrenn did fine (2 assists, 1 TO), but it was a very helter skelter few minutes, and we had a chance to make it an interesting ending.
Joel was subbed back in at 1:51. He missed that entire stretch where having your senior leader on the floor could've made a difference. Maybe he was gassed in the altitude and simply could not enter earlier. but I still think it was a mistake to not call a TO, give Joel an extra minute or so, and try to get him back in when it got interesting around the 3:30 mark.
But we all know Fox's substitution patterns are questionable at best.
I can't wait for Knowlton to go full glory boy when he finally fires Mark Fox.
"Only I can save you all from this terrible hire (that I made)."
Mozilla Mozilla Mozilla Mozilla Mozilla Mozilla Mozilla I'm dyin here!
"If Mark Fox is done trying to win games as a Cal coach, I’m not sure why I should spend time writing about each game, and I’m not sure why Cal fans should try to tune in to watch."
You can always cover the women's team. There's no quit in them or their coach.
Fox needs a loud firing.
It needs to come the day after the season ends, but even though his fate is sealed I’m not super hopeful. The Wyking firing took a couple of weeks of waiting.
Sigh....no words at this point
I hope he quits. ASAP
No way he quits. He'd lose his buyout. He's gotta get fired.
He is, in fact, quiet quitting.
I'd be embarrassed and maybe upset for us if I didn't feel such an enormous sense of relief that this tenure is finally, maybe coming to an end. Wasted years.
Completely 100% agree.
Shantay Leggins. He also played for Cal and has done well in his coaching career. Dennis Gates. Missouri was smart for hiring him, long term,also a former Cal player. Anwar McQueen. That's my short list, there is a longer one . Fire Fox now, he seems to master the buyout game, but not the D-1 coaching game.
I'm glad you mentioned the laughing part, because it's quite an indictment to accuse a coach of giving up. Seeing Fox pacing the sideline in the waning minutes, I'm sure his blood pressure wasn't 110/70. He chose not to foul, not because he's quitting, but because it's usually a stupid strategy. 19 times out of a 20 it turns a 6 point loss into a 14 point loss. It's apparent his philosophy has been to play it straight up in the last stages. I'd assume that's because he's seen too many close games turn into blowouts from putting the other team at the line. Cal had CU at 54 for 4 of the last 5 minutes. If Newell had made his shots down the stretch, making it 51-54 with 1 1/2 mins to go, anything could have happened. If you can't score, fouling won't matter.
"...because it's usually a stupid strategy. "
Did you miss the part where Colorado is among the worst FT teams in the nation? And the part where we only got 4 possessions in final whatever minutes? Come on now. It's way too late to be playing devil's advocate for Fox.
I guess that "quiet quitting" is the polite way of saying "I just don't give a f@#$ anymore". If that is the case, then Fox has been "quiet quitting" since he was hired. Any ideas for good coaching candidates? Whoever they are, they will have to love a challenge because Cal Basketball has hit absolute rock bottom. I guess that the good news is that there is nowhere to go but up.
As cogent, well-reasoned and thoughtful an analysis as I’ve seen on any platform of late. Well done, Mr. Kranz.