According to a BI headline both Rodney Brown and Devin Curtis have reaffirmed their commitment. Because it's April 1 and I can't read the actual article take it with a grain of salt even though this would represent the first joke in BI history.
Both players still have Cal in their IG bios and Brown RT'd Madsen's hiring.
Utah Valley wasn't really a weak program since they had 25 wins the year before he took over. He turned around his own tenure after a down first season which is still a positive imo.
Other than that 100% agree with your checklist. Optimism is always dangerous but it feels like we're catching a rising star.
It's Noice to have some positive buzz around Cal MBB for a change! The Worthy call, live on the set, is priceless! Hopefully, this will carry over to recruits and the portal! Also, great to see Shareef give an endorsement to MM! #GoBears
There is a great sound bite from Shaq talking about his relationship with Mark Madsen including how much he appreciated Madsen’s authenticity to himself. Worth the few minutes and exciting to think these are the types of people who support him.
I've always liked Shaq, but that whole bit really made me admire him. The way he looked out for Madsen. Plus, it must have been a hoot for Madsen getting fixed up by Shaq. I loved what Shaq said, that Mark Madsen was "the purest gut that I met in the NBA."
This comes as zero surprise. He's a personable, quality human being with strong ties to both the college and NBA games. Let's get that NIL funded so he can recruit at the highest levels.
Sort of interesting that AAR when to South Florida, eh? Anybody have info on this?
My guess is that he (and/or his wife) wanted to be closer to Atlanta (Tampa is an easy flight). But USF is a curious choice. Actually sort of a sleeping giant in that it is the only public university in the rapidly growing Tampa Bay area, but there is little tradition there. Cal has had its problems in the recent era, but it still is a much more prestigious job than USF.
I don't get it either. USF has put the mid in mid-major for most of their existence. Even if shown an "offer he can't refuse" I still would expect he'd be offered interviews at better places in the near future.
There are whispers that he had the backing of some folks that are more donors to the Olympic sports...whether they will contribute to the MBB NIL is the question.
We were always going to have two types of a Coach: One that flounders for 3 years and we end up firing or one that rebuilds the program above .500 with an NIT bid or hope for the NCAA tourney shot, but then leaves for a better job after 3-4 years.
I think Madsen is the latter, but that’s ok.
He’ll set the foundation that will make Cal more attractive for a new Coach, thus broadening the list.
Our new AD will just have to make another good hire when that time arrives.
Well Knowlton is not very popular right now, but he seems to lean towards high character individuals, which I can respect. Now if we can just help put the other ingredients in place to start winning again!
Despite his role in the McKeever fiasco, I agree that Knowlton's hires have been high character people. Mark Fox is a high character guy, just not a good enough basketball coach.
Mark Fox took the blame plenty of times, but maybe not for the real reasons they were losing (.I.e. recruiting and his inflexible system). Coaching press conferences are stupid. If you discuss player flaws you are seen as throwing your guys under the bus. Yet you are expected to be responsible even in situations that coaches cannot control. It's easy to sit behind your TV and pretend you know the answers, but that's just fantasy.
Mark Fox is not a bad guy. He inherited a bad situation that he failed to resolve, and it snowballed. He was the wrong guy at the wrong time.
I have direct reports, and they're not always perfect. When I'm in manager meetings, it's expected I take responsibility for their fuck ups. In the end, it is my job to make sure everyone is performing as consistently as possible. Mark Fox was making exponentially more than I do, and so I have little pity for situations out of his control. In the end, he gets paid for everything to roll up to him.
What is the proof that Mark Fox is a high character guy. Seemed like a whiny baby who couldn't coach the sport he is paid to, and would then blame his players or injuries for his lack of success. Seems like a loser with low character to me.
Being utterly incompetent as a basketball coach isn't a character flaw but it's 100% grounds for termination as a basketball coach. Keep in mind how low the bar can be when it comes to coaches.
I don't think Fox handled the struggle well at all but he ran a scandal-free albeit poorly-coached program with players who seem like decent human beings....that had an embarrassingly bad W/L record. He's not remotely in the same moral universe as the low-character guys on this list.
Avoiding scandals doesn't make you a high-character guy. The term high-character guy is pretty vague, but one attribute I would think a person would have to have to be considered one is the ability to uplift those around them. My general understanding from watching him coach was that Mark Fox did not uplift his player. Obviously that can be hard with a losing record but he seemed to be angry and with excuses sitting in his back pocket, instead of trying to teach and coach his players. Coaches are educators, and he seemed to be a pretty poor one.
I think we just have different definitions/bars/cutoffs but agree that Fox was absolutely not effective as a coach or a motivator. You can trust your kids with him as long as he's not trying to teach them basketball.
According to a BI headline both Rodney Brown and Devin Curtis have reaffirmed their commitment. Because it's April 1 and I can't read the actual article take it with a grain of salt even though this would represent the first joke in BI history.
Both players still have Cal in their IG bios and Brown RT'd Madsen's hiring.
Seems like a good hire.
Gets the most out of his players - check
Turned a weak program around - check
No red flags - check
Connections to NBA legends - check
Understands the school culture - probably close enough
Recruiting - unproven but maybe the NBA connections will help?
Utah Valley wasn't really a weak program since they had 25 wins the year before he took over. He turned around his own tenure after a down first season which is still a positive imo.
Other than that 100% agree with your checklist. Optimism is always dangerous but it feels like we're catching a rising star.
I would say Cal are lucky that Stanfurd stuck with Haase and didn't go after Madsen.
It's Noice to have some positive buzz around Cal MBB for a change! The Worthy call, live on the set, is priceless! Hopefully, this will carry over to recruits and the portal! Also, great to see Shareef give an endorsement to MM! #GoBears
There is a great sound bite from Shaq talking about his relationship with Mark Madsen including how much he appreciated Madsen’s authenticity to himself. Worth the few minutes and exciting to think these are the types of people who support him.
https://youtu.be/peA_3TKuUxg
I've always liked Shaq, but that whole bit really made me admire him. The way he looked out for Madsen. Plus, it must have been a hoot for Madsen getting fixed up by Shaq. I loved what Shaq said, that Mark Madsen was "the purest gut that I met in the NBA."
I should do some "editing" of Nash's statement, transfer it to another background, insert "ak_A_bear" in place of Mark's and magnet it on my fridge.
This comes as zero surprise. He's a personable, quality human being with strong ties to both the college and NBA games. Let's get that NIL funded so he can recruit at the highest levels.
www.calegends.com
Men's Basketball specific.
How come this post isn't showing up in WFC Home, just Archives?
Go Bears!!!!!
Mark may not be a Fisher for compliments but is glad the Lakers find him Worthy of the job.
If the recruits still expect Fox, it might as well be Rick Fox.
Sort of interesting that AAR when to South Florida, eh? Anybody have info on this?
My guess is that he (and/or his wife) wanted to be closer to Atlanta (Tampa is an easy flight). But USF is a curious choice. Actually sort of a sleeping giant in that it is the only public university in the rapidly growing Tampa Bay area, but there is little tradition there. Cal has had its problems in the recent era, but it still is a much more prestigious job than USF.
I don't get it either. USF has put the mid in mid-major for most of their existence. Even if shown an "offer he can't refuse" I still would expect he'd be offered interviews at better places in the near future.
I get the impression there might have been more advocacy for him behind the scenes than we realized.
There are whispers that he had the backing of some folks that are more donors to the Olympic sports...whether they will contribute to the MBB NIL is the question.
I think it will turn out to be a good hire.
We were always going to have two types of a Coach: One that flounders for 3 years and we end up firing or one that rebuilds the program above .500 with an NIT bid or hope for the NCAA tourney shot, but then leaves for a better job after 3-4 years.
I think Madsen is the latter, but that’s ok.
He’ll set the foundation that will make Cal more attractive for a new Coach, thus broadening the list.
Our new AD will just have to make another good hire when that time arrives.
Yeah maybe. Or maybe he’s like Wilcox and spurns his alma mater when they come calling so he can continue to build what he started. Time will tell….
The acclamations of his peers are indeed impressive, hopefully we can turn around the program quickly.
Well Knowlton is not very popular right now, but he seems to lean towards high character individuals, which I can respect. Now if we can just help put the other ingredients in place to start winning again!
Despite his role in the McKeever fiasco, I agree that Knowlton's hires have been high character people. Mark Fox is a high character guy, just not a good enough basketball coach.
Do high character guys blame everyone but themselves for their failure to reach expectations?
Mark Fox took the blame plenty of times, but maybe not for the real reasons they were losing (.I.e. recruiting and his inflexible system). Coaching press conferences are stupid. If you discuss player flaws you are seen as throwing your guys under the bus. Yet you are expected to be responsible even in situations that coaches cannot control. It's easy to sit behind your TV and pretend you know the answers, but that's just fantasy.
Mark Fox is not a bad guy. He inherited a bad situation that he failed to resolve, and it snowballed. He was the wrong guy at the wrong time.
hold on, as a former business owner and manger let me just sit back and laugh at this, "Mark Fox took the blame plenty of times, ...."
Hold on, I'm not done yet.....
I have direct reports, and they're not always perfect. When I'm in manager meetings, it's expected I take responsibility for their fuck ups. In the end, it is my job to make sure everyone is performing as consistently as possible. Mark Fox was making exponentially more than I do, and so I have little pity for situations out of his control. In the end, he gets paid for everything to roll up to him.
I think he's a wrong guy at all times
What is the proof that Mark Fox is a high character guy. Seemed like a whiny baby who couldn't coach the sport he is paid to, and would then blame his players or injuries for his lack of success. Seems like a loser with low character to me.
Being utterly incompetent as a basketball coach isn't a character flaw but it's 100% grounds for termination as a basketball coach. Keep in mind how low the bar can be when it comes to coaches.
I don't think Fox handled the struggle well at all but he ran a scandal-free albeit poorly-coached program with players who seem like decent human beings....that had an embarrassingly bad W/L record. He's not remotely in the same moral universe as the low-character guys on this list.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1342175-college-basketball-power-ranking-the-20-scandals-that-rocked-the-cbb-universe
Avoiding scandals doesn't make you a high-character guy. The term high-character guy is pretty vague, but one attribute I would think a person would have to have to be considered one is the ability to uplift those around them. My general understanding from watching him coach was that Mark Fox did not uplift his player. Obviously that can be hard with a losing record but he seemed to be angry and with excuses sitting in his back pocket, instead of trying to teach and coach his players. Coaches are educators, and he seemed to be a pretty poor one.
I think we just have different definitions/bars/cutoffs but agree that Fox was absolutely not effective as a coach or a motivator. You can trust your kids with him as long as he's not trying to teach them basketball.