You are dead on. I was there Saturday. The Bears did not attempt many drives and at the end of the game the threes didn’t drop. All else was really good. My friend, a Wake Forest guy, said your team’s defense is really good.
It's tough to get close and (probably) fall short. But I do try to return to what the expectations were going into the season. The men's team certainly exceeded those. It was a positive step forward.
Cal Fans: Not only have we exceeded expectations (at least 21 wins) but don't forget where we were three years ago. Fans were wearing bags over their heads at Cal Basketball games. Madsen deserves coach of the year honors for the DEEP hole that he has managed to pul us out of.
Given the severe limitations of this roster due to our lack of NIL funds (thanks Jim Knowlton) and meager bench depth, to be even in this position of NCAAT relevancy come March is fantastic. This team had a lot of holes and some key injuries. They battled.
Good analysis of our team strengths and weaknesses
Watching part of the ACC tournament the refs let the players play which is a double edge sword as we are not a physical team
Will be interesting how we do vs FSU who is on a hot streak that I assume has a lot to do with an improving defense, but we have Dort back which will help with our defense rebounding… and yes…2 point scoring
As opposed to football I know very little about basketball. That said, I’m still very encouraged about the trend line for MBB. If we get some boosts to recruiting we could see this trend continue rather than be an outlier.
We need more NIL budget to take the next step. I’m happy they overachieved given the teams glaring weaknesses (caused somewhat by lack of NIL budget). Where the whales at??
Hmm . . . Cal was 4-3 with Dort out, but 2 of those 4 wins were against BC and G. Tech, the two worst teams in the conference by a pretty wide margin. So we're 2-3 against competent teams. I'd say that we performed better than expected in the win over Miami, but worse than expected in losses to Cuse and FSU, games that Dort might've swung in our favor if he was healthy.
I am asking because we just lost of two of three against bottom dwellers, including at home against Pitt, and looked mediocre against Georgia Tech. Cause went to double overtime and had chances to win. FSU has proven t o be a very decent team
Given the major drop off in talent level/athletcism in the post without Lee, IMO no, we were not better when Dort was out....no Ewing Theory here (UNLIKE with Andrej Stojakovic). While Ilic improved offensively over the course of the season, defensively he remained a complete liability against ACC athletes in the post. It's not his fault, as the jump from Loyola-MD to the ACC is big time, but he was simply overmatched physically/athletically on the defensive end playing 30 mpg v. P4-caliber bigs. That 10-12 mpg role off the bench you could live with - more than that we were in trouble. Beyond him tho, both Mantas and Manyiel Dut were developmental bigs who had a few decent glimpses but all in all were not ready to contribute at this level.
Unfortunately, Lee had his worst game of the year by far against Wake Forest, a team that was light in the post and struggled to rebound. This really, really cost the Bears in a must-win game that was there for the taking. Picking up 3 early fouls, one 35 feet from the tin on a guard and the other on a rebound of a missed FT where he failed to box out, were devastating for Cal's chances. It was on the offensive end where he really struggled, going up soft on a dunk attempt that was blocked and missing 3 buckets from close range and a couple of FTs.
And this goes to a concern I have had with Cal's post play the past two seasons. Mady Sissoko and Lee Dort have 100% no-questions-asked played the BEST basketball of their careers in this system - the freedom MM gives these guys in the post, coupled with their athleticism, has allowed each player to put up career years, each roughly averaging 8 and 8 a game. However, in a league as tough as the ACC, with bigs as talented and athletic as any you will find, IF Cal is to take the next step in '26-'27, we need even better play, IMO. We need a big in the post with more of a back-to-the-basket game that can actually create offense beyond just alley-oop dunks and put-backs. And they are EXPENSIVE. One of the reason for Cal's consistently long scoring droughts the past 2 years is that this team is so dependent on outside shooting and ISO creation by the guards...we simply do not have a big that you can get the ball to on the block and be confident that he can win a 1-on-1 matchup against his man and get you that big bucket or get to the line. We're simply too reliant on outside shooting, and with the lack of roster depth in an NIL-driven world, the shooters wore down late. Now, is this a factor of personnel, or scheme? If scheme, then we need more offensively gifted post personnel.
The addition of a re-classifying 6'11"/7' Nicholas Mitrovic offers an intriguing wrinkle, and I am interested in seeing MM's rotation with him. He's a stretch 4 that can shoot - a player Cal has not really had since Aimaq...if they can somehow integrate a legit post presence (say Dort is granted a 5th year AND returns OR a similar type player that offers Sissoko/Dort-type athleticism but similar limitations with their back to the basket), that can continue to be a rim-protector in the post and help with clean-ups and putbacks, can MM still use Mitrovic as a 4 who can help with the boards as well, an area we struggled with ALL year. OR, is MM's scheme simply just for 1 big and 4 guard/wings that shoot? If that is the case, then we need even a more polished of a low-post game offensively from that big, IMO.
You are dead on. I was there Saturday. The Bears did not attempt many drives and at the end of the game the threes didn’t drop. All else was really good. My friend, a Wake Forest guy, said your team’s defense is really good.
Indeed. Just a little more offense please!
It was a bit infuriating that we got them in foul trouble and then stopped driving. Unfortunately, we were also in foul trouble.
It's tough to get close and (probably) fall short. But I do try to return to what the expectations were going into the season. The men's team certainly exceeded those. It was a positive step forward.
Cal Fans: Not only have we exceeded expectations (at least 21 wins) but don't forget where we were three years ago. Fans were wearing bags over their heads at Cal Basketball games. Madsen deserves coach of the year honors for the DEEP hole that he has managed to pul us out of.
Thanks Nick.
Given the severe limitations of this roster due to our lack of NIL funds (thanks Jim Knowlton) and meager bench depth, to be even in this position of NCAAT relevancy come March is fantastic. This team had a lot of holes and some key injuries. They battled.
Agreed! Cal needs to improve in the 2-point department, and I hope Cal will recruit heavily in that area soon.
Good analysis of our team strengths and weaknesses
Watching part of the ACC tournament the refs let the players play which is a double edge sword as we are not a physical team
Will be interesting how we do vs FSU who is on a hot streak that I assume has a lot to do with an improving defense, but we have Dort back which will help with our defense rebounding… and yes…2 point scoring
As opposed to football I know very little about basketball. That said, I’m still very encouraged about the trend line for MBB. If we get some boosts to recruiting we could see this trend continue rather than be an outlier.
We need more NIL budget to take the next step. I’m happy they overachieved given the teams glaring weaknesses (caused somewhat by lack of NIL budget). Where the whales at??
Love the use of T.S. Eliot here! Bears are headed in the right direction. The future looks bright.
This may be sacrilegious, but was the team better when Dort was out?
Hmm . . . Cal was 4-3 with Dort out, but 2 of those 4 wins were against BC and G. Tech, the two worst teams in the conference by a pretty wide margin. So we're 2-3 against competent teams. I'd say that we performed better than expected in the win over Miami, but worse than expected in losses to Cuse and FSU, games that Dort might've swung in our favor if he was healthy.
I am asking because we just lost of two of three against bottom dwellers, including at home against Pitt, and looked mediocre against Georgia Tech. Cause went to double overtime and had chances to win. FSU has proven t o be a very decent team
Interesting question.
Given the major drop off in talent level/athletcism in the post without Lee, IMO no, we were not better when Dort was out....no Ewing Theory here (UNLIKE with Andrej Stojakovic). While Ilic improved offensively over the course of the season, defensively he remained a complete liability against ACC athletes in the post. It's not his fault, as the jump from Loyola-MD to the ACC is big time, but he was simply overmatched physically/athletically on the defensive end playing 30 mpg v. P4-caliber bigs. That 10-12 mpg role off the bench you could live with - more than that we were in trouble. Beyond him tho, both Mantas and Manyiel Dut were developmental bigs who had a few decent glimpses but all in all were not ready to contribute at this level.
Unfortunately, Lee had his worst game of the year by far against Wake Forest, a team that was light in the post and struggled to rebound. This really, really cost the Bears in a must-win game that was there for the taking. Picking up 3 early fouls, one 35 feet from the tin on a guard and the other on a rebound of a missed FT where he failed to box out, were devastating for Cal's chances. It was on the offensive end where he really struggled, going up soft on a dunk attempt that was blocked and missing 3 buckets from close range and a couple of FTs.
And this goes to a concern I have had with Cal's post play the past two seasons. Mady Sissoko and Lee Dort have 100% no-questions-asked played the BEST basketball of their careers in this system - the freedom MM gives these guys in the post, coupled with their athleticism, has allowed each player to put up career years, each roughly averaging 8 and 8 a game. However, in a league as tough as the ACC, with bigs as talented and athletic as any you will find, IF Cal is to take the next step in '26-'27, we need even better play, IMO. We need a big in the post with more of a back-to-the-basket game that can actually create offense beyond just alley-oop dunks and put-backs. And they are EXPENSIVE. One of the reason for Cal's consistently long scoring droughts the past 2 years is that this team is so dependent on outside shooting and ISO creation by the guards...we simply do not have a big that you can get the ball to on the block and be confident that he can win a 1-on-1 matchup against his man and get you that big bucket or get to the line. We're simply too reliant on outside shooting, and with the lack of roster depth in an NIL-driven world, the shooters wore down late. Now, is this a factor of personnel, or scheme? If scheme, then we need more offensively gifted post personnel.
The addition of a re-classifying 6'11"/7' Nicholas Mitrovic offers an intriguing wrinkle, and I am interested in seeing MM's rotation with him. He's a stretch 4 that can shoot - a player Cal has not really had since Aimaq...if they can somehow integrate a legit post presence (say Dort is granted a 5th year AND returns OR a similar type player that offers Sissoko/Dort-type athleticism but similar limitations with their back to the basket), that can continue to be a rim-protector in the post and help with clean-ups and putbacks, can MM still use Mitrovic as a 4 who can help with the boards as well, an area we struggled with ALL year. OR, is MM's scheme simply just for 1 big and 4 guard/wings that shoot? If that is the case, then we need even a more polished of a low-post game offensively from that big, IMO.