Nick you have out done yourself. I rank this article as best of the year. It has been an absolute joy watching Jaylon Tyson lead this team to where Cal Home games, at least for me are can’t miss for anything!
What I find most impressive was wading into where Jaylon fits in the pantheon of our legends, heroes and icons. It’s is tricky business and folks can be easily triggered if their personal favorites are not as close to the throne as would like or even remember.
So why is Jaylon Brown missing? Though his time at Cal was memorable and his nba career has evolved into something incredible, he was a a bull in a China shop. There was no subtly to his game. Yes it can be argued the season JB stopped by was a success but it was a wobbly group that flamed out of the first round of Big Dance.
Nick’s list of players includes several of my favorites, thank you for bringing Jorge into the discussion.
So where am I going with this diatribe? I will get to the point. I put Jaylon Tyson on the throne between Jason Kidd and Kevin Johnson. I have a simple criteria for this very subjective list. It is the anticipation of going to a game prepared to see something never seen before (Kidd) or sheer artistry to control that games narrative (Kidd & KJ). Of course each had amazing players around them to allowing them to shine.
Two more talking points then I’ll shut up.
Mad Dog bleeds Blue and Gold. He is where he wants to be. How he ended up down on the Farm is a travesty that doesn’t deserve mention. I think WSU has to worry more about Kyle Smith being poached by the Cardinal.
Lastly, the lingering discussion about Cal and the Big Dance. Historically Cal’s overall record kills the deal. A W over a SDS, Butler or Old Miss would have gotten us on the bubble but it is what it is.
That said it’s a brave new world where far too often it’s all about the money. If we can steal two out of three on the road and make it at least to a thrilling semifinal or final loss maybe the selection committee gets a memo that the Golden Bears are ratings gold. This occurring must realistically be called magical thinking. Other than that best we can hope for….NIT or that bastard child the CBI. The silver lining of landing in either of these two is we will get a home game or two.
I love Jaylen Brown, and he’s certainly among the most talented players to play at Haas, but he was probably the 3rd best player on the team in terms of on court production for Cal in his only season in Berkeley because of how raw he was
Just one quibble: that loss to Pacific (nearing the worst of teh worst in Net rankings) means that we'd need a lot more than just a win over xx team to even see the bottom of the bubble.
I liked very much the comments by Westside Bear. To put Jason up with Kidd and Johnson is really insightful! I think Jason belongs there. I have not been to a Cal BB game this year but I am thinking about going to Vegas or Stanford. We should beat the hell out of the furd!
It’s very entertaining to watch him play for sure. He’s definitely more in the Kidd category in terms of us not knowing what he’s going to show in a game. All the ways that he’s able to score and set up teammates is amazing. Kidd was the same, but heavier on the playmaking and passing. Oh, the passing!! He was tops in entertainment value and in the old 6600-seat capacity Haas at full throat was incredible! At the other end of the spectrum are the physical specimens such as Leon Powe, Ivan Rabb, Jaylon Brown and Shareef to name a few recent Bears that brought in the fans.
A thoughtful, and heartfelt reflection, filled with optimism and hope. The Bears have followed the prescription thus far, winning three games in a row. Now the task becomes more difficult. It will take perfect games at Colorado and Utah to be in those contests to the finish. The growth of bench performers has been a demonstration that coaching has improved this team. The Bears will have to be competitive from the outset as they were with Oregon, avoid turnovers, hit their free-throws, and play the kind of defense that has secured the last three wins. Now I want to turn to another issue.
Cal Marketing and the Impact on Cal Spirit
1. The constant interruption of the game with canned music, especially interrupting the Cal Band is a clear indication that those in charge have no connection to Cal. They interrupt "The Big C March" without allowing the students and the band to give the "grrrrh" cheer, they interrupt "Sons of California before the band and yell leaders can do the "California" spell out. They also have no concept of when to use canned music after a big play and time out. It's disgusting.
2. The insipid marketing games they impose on us preclude the student spirit groups from building support for the team. Yell leaders barely have time to lead cheers.
3. The yell leaders do not know or have not been instructed how to teach the students how and when to cheer. They do not clap when the band plays Cal spirit songs, they do not know the "grrrh" chant, or the "California" spell out, and at the Senior's farewell, did not even stand until prompted to cheer for these student athletes who made this season so enjoyable.
4. It would be good if Alums and students filled Maples Pavilion for the final game of the season to support the team, but will athletics encourage it? Well see.
This is probably another article entirely, but my take on micmen/rally com/spirit/etc. is that Cal being largely bad at major sports + the pandemic combined to kill a lot of student institutional knowledge/culture, and it's going to take some time and athletic success for that to get rebuilt.
Nick, first of all, I really have enjoyed and appreciated your post-game articles this year. Thank you! I think your theory on this topic is spot on. And now that we have a program worth cheering for again, I would love an article in the off-season that explores the unique/quirky/fun things the Bench used to do but stopped doing during those dark years. Maybe an article like that can help inspire students to bring back or adapt some of our cheers and traditions. Or create new ones in the same spirit. Everything Nadesan mentioned resonates. I can think of more examples, even simple things like “Defense, Bears, Defense!” were absent and replaced by more generic cheers this year. Students have every right to change and add cheers/traditions, but what we had in the not-so-distant past were tried-and-true traditions that helped unify the whole crowd and strengthen our homecourt advantage. Would love to see some of that come back as we enter the ACC.
Nick I think you (and Nick P) have hit the proverbial nail on the head.
What now can be referred to as the dark ages(wyking/fox era) and end times(Covid), several generations of students didn’t get to experience the home court
Vibe that evolved over the years.
Please dive into this area with an article after we finish off the upcoming games. Thx
Weird, the headline on Tyson, instead of the whole team. The team does have chance in the Tournament - they've beaten every team except Arizona, so they CAN do it again. Which is exciting, after last year. But each one of them will have to be on. And each one of them can - has - delivered. That's a wonderful thing.
His teammates do not begrudge the spotlight on him. Every postgame interview with Jaylon I’ve caught he is all about his guys beside him. How he got those 27 points is the real story. They didn’t come on high volume shot count or option 1 ISOs instead there were cheeky inside offensive rebounds and scoring the basket or ballsy drives attacking the heart of the defense. Equally huge was stripping Dante and taking it to the rack. Daggers all of them.
Happy days are here again...The after game interviews were the most revealing of the year, with both the players and Madsen commenting on a pivotal meeting back at the start of the Pac12 season. And I wish the media would ask Celestine more about his ability to clutch up in tight situations. The guy has ice in his veins and has played critical roles in several of our recent wins. He's so quiet, I have to admire that.
Terence & I exchanged some posts in another thread the other day, but Celestine, Newell, Rodney, plus Larson/Okafor/Curtis, is a real solid nucleus to build around. With the portal, you’re not too far away from contention with a couple more solid additions.
I think it’s all up in the air with Covid + transfer rules and Daws and Cone being 24 and 25; I think this is the last year we see all these super super seniors.
Ya, that was what I was wondering…plus I think he participated in SR day yesterday so not sure if he’ll be back…then again, in portal era you can’t be sure anyone will be back I guess.
We are sure a fun team to watch. We have become so much more formidable since we've jelled, everyone's found their roles, and executed at key times. I don't know why we need to fall behind in order to tap into our signature scrappiness but that's us! Curious to see how we do against Colorado (which seems to have figured things out) at altitude and a very good Utah.
Conference tournaments are unpredictable so we can catch someone napping. It's HIGHLY unlikely we run the slate but maybe we'll see early-round upsets and get good match ups.
Given Haase at ‘Furd is all but fired after this year, what keeps Madsen from bolting for the very deep pockets of the Cardinal? An extension? Another angle is the fact he’s from the East Bay. Then, of course, there’s also the culture he’s already set in motion at Cal. He may want to build on this rather than starting anew across the bay. Let’s hope that’s the case.
Coaches bolting is always a risk, but I think Madsen sticks around. It's sometimes risky to coach your alma mater before racking up enough experience and respect elsewhere.
I’ve been thinking about this since Madsen was mentioned as a candidate…idiot Knowlton had to have brought this possibility up in the interview process…hopefully he received assurances that Mark was committed.
Well I'm not quite a random campus person. Administrator for 34 years. Faculty member for 30 years. Former president of the Alumni Assoc, academic sponsor of the Rally Committee's class on Cal Spitit and Traditions. Former Alumni Sec. of the Order of the Golden Bear. So I have some experience with Cal Spirit.
Nadesan I stand corrected. Any chance you can reach out to the current academic sponsor to see if they can help open up lines of communication? My guess is there are lots of moving parts involved in coordinating what takes place when there are breaks in the action.
Overall I think the pieces have gelled as the season progressed. Some DJs blended seamlessly (zona, sc?) others not so much. It has been wonderful hearing the band bringing it every game.
It’s obvious to me and probably others that your heart is in the right place, but I can also understand the athletics dept’s reluctance to have some rando coming along and telling them what to do. So how to get everyone on the same page where an authentic discussion and feedback can happen is the question.
Arizona & Washington State. Utah and Colorado still have a bubble chance, but need to get a few more W's. We likely knocked Oregon out last night. We can play more spoiler in the Mountains next week.
This website should be the starting point as to how many teams each conference should get into the Dance, unless there is another website that tries to figure that out, but I don't think it exists. Then we can argue that this website is wrong in stating the Pac 12 will only get three teams in and, of course, what those three teams should be.
Haven't spent much time at all on this topiic, as I want to move onto my favorite topic, what the revised Pac whatever should consist of for football. A new article jjust came oujt on this topic. I disagree with it slightly, but I think it is a good atarting point. Lots of risk that the ACC will fold. If so, what conference is Cal going ot play in then?
As most of you might know, that is easily my most favorite topic. I've spent a lot of time on it. Much more imporrtant that who the Pac 12 gets into the Dance.
So you want to talk about a done deal? You're 6 months late, there is no Pac, sir. It's a 2-Pac right now, Cal and Stanfurd are off to the ACC and absolutely nothing is changing in the next 5 years. Come back in 5 years to discuss this topic, just let it rest if you can possibly do that. Here and on BI.
You are not up to date. Go to YouTube every day and you will find articles dealing with how some conferences may not be around for long, or drasticalluy adjusted.. Leaders in that category are the ACC and the Big 12. I willl try to comment on what has been said about the ACC tpmprrow. I have written that the Pac 2 should be transformed into new Pac 12
Got an appointment. More likely tomorrow tomorrow.
Nick you have out done yourself. I rank this article as best of the year. It has been an absolute joy watching Jaylon Tyson lead this team to where Cal Home games, at least for me are can’t miss for anything!
What I find most impressive was wading into where Jaylon fits in the pantheon of our legends, heroes and icons. It’s is tricky business and folks can be easily triggered if their personal favorites are not as close to the throne as would like or even remember.
So why is Jaylon Brown missing? Though his time at Cal was memorable and his nba career has evolved into something incredible, he was a a bull in a China shop. There was no subtly to his game. Yes it can be argued the season JB stopped by was a success but it was a wobbly group that flamed out of the first round of Big Dance.
Nick’s list of players includes several of my favorites, thank you for bringing Jorge into the discussion.
So where am I going with this diatribe? I will get to the point. I put Jaylon Tyson on the throne between Jason Kidd and Kevin Johnson. I have a simple criteria for this very subjective list. It is the anticipation of going to a game prepared to see something never seen before (Kidd) or sheer artistry to control that games narrative (Kidd & KJ). Of course each had amazing players around them to allowing them to shine.
Two more talking points then I’ll shut up.
Mad Dog bleeds Blue and Gold. He is where he wants to be. How he ended up down on the Farm is a travesty that doesn’t deserve mention. I think WSU has to worry more about Kyle Smith being poached by the Cardinal.
Lastly, the lingering discussion about Cal and the Big Dance. Historically Cal’s overall record kills the deal. A W over a SDS, Butler or Old Miss would have gotten us on the bubble but it is what it is.
That said it’s a brave new world where far too often it’s all about the money. If we can steal two out of three on the road and make it at least to a thrilling semifinal or final loss maybe the selection committee gets a memo that the Golden Bears are ratings gold. This occurring must realistically be called magical thinking. Other than that best we can hope for….NIT or that bastard child the CBI. The silver lining of landing in either of these two is we will get a home game or two.
That is all.
I love Jaylen Brown, and he’s certainly among the most talented players to play at Haas, but he was probably the 3rd best player on the team in terms of on court production for Cal in his only season in Berkeley because of how raw he was
Just one quibble: that loss to Pacific (nearing the worst of teh worst in Net rankings) means that we'd need a lot more than just a win over xx team to even see the bottom of the bubble.
I liked very much the comments by Westside Bear. To put Jason up with Kidd and Johnson is really insightful! I think Jason belongs there. I have not been to a Cal BB game this year but I am thinking about going to Vegas or Stanford. We should beat the hell out of the furd!
What is the CBI?
It’s very entertaining to watch him play for sure. He’s definitely more in the Kidd category in terms of us not knowing what he’s going to show in a game. All the ways that he’s able to score and set up teammates is amazing. Kidd was the same, but heavier on the playmaking and passing. Oh, the passing!! He was tops in entertainment value and in the old 6600-seat capacity Haas at full throat was incredible! At the other end of the spectrum are the physical specimens such as Leon Powe, Ivan Rabb, Jaylon Brown and Shareef to name a few recent Bears that brought in the fans.
*Jaylon
CBI as I understand it is a pay to play bottom feeder of a tournament that many self respecting programs decline if they receive an invitation.
Kyle Smith is 100% going to get poached, but by a program with deeper pockets that cares more about basketball.
A thoughtful, and heartfelt reflection, filled with optimism and hope. The Bears have followed the prescription thus far, winning three games in a row. Now the task becomes more difficult. It will take perfect games at Colorado and Utah to be in those contests to the finish. The growth of bench performers has been a demonstration that coaching has improved this team. The Bears will have to be competitive from the outset as they were with Oregon, avoid turnovers, hit their free-throws, and play the kind of defense that has secured the last three wins. Now I want to turn to another issue.
Cal Marketing and the Impact on Cal Spirit
1. The constant interruption of the game with canned music, especially interrupting the Cal Band is a clear indication that those in charge have no connection to Cal. They interrupt "The Big C March" without allowing the students and the band to give the "grrrrh" cheer, they interrupt "Sons of California before the band and yell leaders can do the "California" spell out. They also have no concept of when to use canned music after a big play and time out. It's disgusting.
2. The insipid marketing games they impose on us preclude the student spirit groups from building support for the team. Yell leaders barely have time to lead cheers.
3. The yell leaders do not know or have not been instructed how to teach the students how and when to cheer. They do not clap when the band plays Cal spirit songs, they do not know the "grrrh" chant, or the "California" spell out, and at the Senior's farewell, did not even stand until prompted to cheer for these student athletes who made this season so enjoyable.
4. It would be good if Alums and students filled Maples Pavilion for the final game of the season to support the team, but will athletics encourage it? Well see.
This is probably another article entirely, but my take on micmen/rally com/spirit/etc. is that Cal being largely bad at major sports + the pandemic combined to kill a lot of student institutional knowledge/culture, and it's going to take some time and athletic success for that to get rebuilt.
Nick, first of all, I really have enjoyed and appreciated your post-game articles this year. Thank you! I think your theory on this topic is spot on. And now that we have a program worth cheering for again, I would love an article in the off-season that explores the unique/quirky/fun things the Bench used to do but stopped doing during those dark years. Maybe an article like that can help inspire students to bring back or adapt some of our cheers and traditions. Or create new ones in the same spirit. Everything Nadesan mentioned resonates. I can think of more examples, even simple things like “Defense, Bears, Defense!” were absent and replaced by more generic cheers this year. Students have every right to change and add cheers/traditions, but what we had in the not-so-distant past were tried-and-true traditions that helped unify the whole crowd and strengthen our homecourt advantage. Would love to see some of that come back as we enter the ACC.
Nick I think you (and Nick P) have hit the proverbial nail on the head.
What now can be referred to as the dark ages(wyking/fox era) and end times(Covid), several generations of students didn’t get to experience the home court
Vibe that evolved over the years.
Please dive into this area with an article after we finish off the upcoming games. Thx
what a exciting piece to read, Thank you Nick.
Weird, the headline on Tyson, instead of the whole team. The team does have chance in the Tournament - they've beaten every team except Arizona, so they CAN do it again. Which is exciting, after last year. But each one of them will have to be on. And each one of them can - has - delivered. That's a wonderful thing.
I felt like Tyson’s 27 point, zero turnover performance deserved special call out
His teammates do not begrudge the spotlight on him. Every postgame interview with Jaylon I’ve caught he is all about his guys beside him. How he got those 27 points is the real story. They didn’t come on high volume shot count or option 1 ISOs instead there were cheeky inside offensive rebounds and scoring the basket or ballsy drives attacking the heart of the defense. Equally huge was stripping Dante and taking it to the rack. Daggers all of them.
I just don't think it's good for the team to think that way.
And Utah they’ve not beaten because they’ve not played each other yet.
I think you must have made a typo in that Dante is 7'1", not 6'1". Also, you didn't mention Jaylen Brown in you list of Cal greats.
Fixed, thanks
Yeah I wouldn’t double 6’1” center Dante either
Hey I could guard that 6'1" guy
Honestly, Tyson might be one of the most complete (if not the most complete) player we have ever had.
Happy days are here again...The after game interviews were the most revealing of the year, with both the players and Madsen commenting on a pivotal meeting back at the start of the Pac12 season. And I wish the media would ask Celestine more about his ability to clutch up in tight situations. The guy has ice in his veins and has played critical roles in several of our recent wins. He's so quiet, I have to admire that.
Thanks Nick.
Terence & I exchanged some posts in another thread the other day, but Celestine, Newell, Rodney, plus Larson/Okafor/Curtis, is a real solid nucleus to build around. With the portal, you’re not too far away from contention with a couple more solid additions.
And you’d think Madsen’s ability to attract talent would be improved after what he’s demonstrated this year.
Askew too (if his body lets him)
Askew is coming back. Madsen said that earlier in the year. He was honored because by schooling years he is a senior.
But Askew was feted as a graduating senior on Senior Night. Does this happen if he’s returning?
I think it’s all up in the air with Covid + transfer rules and Daws and Cone being 24 and 25; I think this is the last year we see all these super super seniors.
Ya, that was what I was wondering…plus I think he participated in SR day yesterday so not sure if he’ll be back…then again, in portal era you can’t be sure anyone will be back I guess.
I think as of last season, Askew is out of basketball transfers - to his credit he has been extremely engaged and active in the huddles.
Burn the mountains, burn the salt lake, burn the forest (again).
Burn the slopes, burn the salt lake, burn The Trees.
Only we can start forest fires
We are sure a fun team to watch. We have become so much more formidable since we've jelled, everyone's found their roles, and executed at key times. I don't know why we need to fall behind in order to tap into our signature scrappiness but that's us! Curious to see how we do against Colorado (which seems to have figured things out) at altitude and a very good Utah.
Conference tournaments are unpredictable so we can catch someone napping. It's HIGHLY unlikely we run the slate but maybe we'll see early-round upsets and get good match ups.
Given Haase at ‘Furd is all but fired after this year, what keeps Madsen from bolting for the very deep pockets of the Cardinal? An extension? Another angle is the fact he’s from the East Bay. Then, of course, there’s also the culture he’s already set in motion at Cal. He may want to build on this rather than starting anew across the bay. Let’s hope that’s the case.
Coaches bolting is always a risk, but I think Madsen sticks around. It's sometimes risky to coach your alma mater before racking up enough experience and respect elsewhere.
I really don’t see Madsen leaving. I think he likes what he is building here, and I think our administration likes it enough to support him.
I’ve been thinking about this since Madsen was mentioned as a candidate…idiot Knowlton had to have brought this possibility up in the interview process…hopefully he received assurances that Mark was committed.
The last line to this article was awesome
Well I'm not quite a random campus person. Administrator for 34 years. Faculty member for 30 years. Former president of the Alumni Assoc, academic sponsor of the Rally Committee's class on Cal Spitit and Traditions. Former Alumni Sec. of the Order of the Golden Bear. So I have some experience with Cal Spirit.
Nadesan I stand corrected. Any chance you can reach out to the current academic sponsor to see if they can help open up lines of communication? My guess is there are lots of moving parts involved in coordinating what takes place when there are breaks in the action.
Overall I think the pieces have gelled as the season progressed. Some DJs blended seamlessly (zona, sc?) others not so much. It has been wonderful hearing the band bringing it every game.
Nadesan, I wish the Athletic Department had taken you up on your offer to volunteer with the Spirit Groups. You definitely have the credentials!
I volunteered to work with the spirit groups and athletics rejected the offer.
It’s obvious to me and probably others that your heart is in the right place, but I can also understand the athletics dept’s reluctance to have some rando coming along and telling them what to do. So how to get everyone on the same page where an authentic discussion and feedback can happen is the question.
Thats all for now.
Godbears49
I never said Cal was in. What I said, or should have said, was there were several games left.
There are now three . Just looked, but have not posted, but the Pac 12 recemtly is projected to get in two aams in. A few days ago it was three.
Arizona & Washington State. Utah and Colorado still have a bubble chance, but need to get a few more W's. We likely knocked Oregon out last night. We can play more spoiler in the Mountains next week.
Calbears49,
This website should be the starting point as to how many teams each conference should get into the Dance, unless there is another website that tries to figure that out, but I don't think it exists. Then we can argue that this website is wrong in stating the Pac 12 will only get three teams in and, of course, what those three teams should be.
https://bracketologists.com/conferences/
Haven't spent much time at all on this topiic, as I want to move onto my favorite topic, what the revised Pac whatever should consist of for football. A new article jjust came oujt on this topic. I disagree with it slightly, but I think it is a good atarting point. Lots of risk that the ACC will fold. If so, what conference is Cal going ot play in then?
As most of you might know, that is easily my most favorite topic. I've spent a lot of time on it. Much more imporrtant that who the Pac 12 gets into the Dance.
So you want to talk about a done deal? You're 6 months late, there is no Pac, sir. It's a 2-Pac right now, Cal and Stanfurd are off to the ACC and absolutely nothing is changing in the next 5 years. Come back in 5 years to discuss this topic, just let it rest if you can possibly do that. Here and on BI.
Calbears49
You are not up to date. Go to YouTube every day and you will find articles dealing with how some conferences may not be around for long, or drasticalluy adjusted.. Leaders in that category are the ACC and the Big 12. I willl try to comment on what has been said about the ACC tpmprrow. I have written that the Pac 2 should be transformed into new Pac 12
Got an appointment. More likely tomorrow tomorrow.
Bob, there is another key website, and one that the ncaa uses for bubbles.
https://bballnet.com/conferences/Pac-12
Wow we're 1-6 in Quad 1 and 3 loses each in Q3 and Q4? That's bad.
yeah, the Pacific loss is about as bad a loss can get