Mad Dog seems to be uniquely qualified to restore Cal Basketball to the top level where it belongs. A tremendous hire, could not be more excited. We all need to give Mad Dog the support he needs.
I watched it all live and liked what I heard. It's so true that we should celebrate the past greats of the program, and I think Madsen will welcome those guys to come around and say Hello. We are indeed a sleeping giant. As we enumerate here, there is every reason to think we can be and sustain a top program.
Did anyone else pay special attention to how many guys on the SDSU team are not just from CA, but from NorCal? There is no lack of talent in the state, or even north of Fresno.
Coach Madsen spoke several times about wanting to play an uptempo style, believing it aids in recruiting. “Very few players want to play slow,” he added.
Excellent and uplifting. I do recall, however, receiving a football fundraising letter some years back describing his reason for coming to Cal as being that, “Cal is a sleeping giant.” So said Sonny Dykes.
He was a great hire. He got the program back on track academically and brought in high level talent that led to a bunch of guys on NFL rosters. He couldn’t find a DC the same way Wilcox can’t find an OC but at least Dykes had legit talent he could recruit.
Like Bear19 said, family circumstances made it tough to be so far west for him. But I’m not going to say he was sleeping on the job when he consistently out recruited our current staff.
Maybe it was more Kate Dykes than Sonny. They had a young family with daddy working all the time. She probably wanted to be closer to home. I could see it.
I think we can reasonably be optimistic that the offense is about to wake up. Getting a top OL coach should prove vital as well as the more obvious effect of the new/returning OC. Getting key defensive lineman back, as well as some key portal transfers should help reverse the defense’s downward drift. This year’s schedule is kind of a bear, but expect to see the giant waking up.
I remember giant ground sloths at the La Brea tar pits, maybe that's apt. Also, there was the giant short-faced Bear (now extinct) which was bigger than a Grizzly.
Didn't Dykes need to be reminded to say "Go Bears" at the end of his presser? F that guy, always & forever.
Madsen sounded light years ahead of Fox. Can't let my hopes get too high because the rebuild is massive. But there's reason for optimism at least. Excited to see his staff & the players he brings in. Speaking of the latter, isn't Madsen still buddies w/ Robert Horry? My HS won the CA Open Div title w/ Horry's son, a 6-2 jr., but that team also has 3 kids 6-8 or taller. In high school. Unfair. Bring em all.
TCU isn't remotely a sleeping giant. They are David who can occasionally punch above their weight against the Goliaths. Cal is a sleeping giant in terms of potential given our size, location, alumni base and global recognition. That we have been weak for some time doesn't change that we are a globally significant institution.
Go Bears! I suppose it's a matter for polite disagreement then. To think Cal doesn't have "giant" status is hard for me to fathom. But we surely agree it is sleeping or as someone said, comatose! There is no question in my mind that with the right coaches and a winning record, we will see football and basketball achieve high levels of fan support, NIL capabilities, and national recognition. We have institutional challenges, but nothing so unusual despite our worries, and nothing we can't overcome.
Apr 4, 2023Liked by Piotr Le, Ben, BentPawn, TD_24
I wrote this in the Write For California discord (for subscribers!) - but I'll cut and paste here - this was before I got a chance to watch the presser.
"Cal fans are easy to flatter - in hindsight it’s fascinating that Fox couldn’t even get that part of the PR piece right. Tell us about the special nature of the Bay Area, talk about Pete Newell/Kidd/KJ/Powe/Reef/ the Jerome Randle team. Oakland basketball. This is the easiest part of the job and Fox couldn’t even accomplish that"
Coach Madsen got this going already. It's the easiest thing to do in the world of Cal basketball and Fox never really did it.
Curious why Ryan Anderson is always overlooked in the quick listings of recent Cal greats? I loved that guy's game. I know it is impossible to list them all in a line, but we need to be listing Ryan more.
well I was just sitting in a fast food booth typing at the time - but to be clear, all those guys I listed are either Pac-10 POYs or have their jersey retired. . . and I missed Jorge first. Ryan was an excellent Cal player - but I'm not sure he was transcendent - but the real point is that there's a deep and excellent Cal basketball history - and it's not only back to our championship team either.
Can't that be said for most of them? But, yes, I do recall fantasizing how great it would have been if Ryan were on those 2008/2009 teams. The three point skills on hand would have been ridiculous.
Well, while you may not be wrong about us being easy to flatter, an objective listen to the presser tells me Madsen said all the right things and said them well.....REALLY well. I'm excited about his desire to win and be a successful coach.
One thing I liked was him talking about a time he thought he was going to play at Cal. I'm fine with him playing for 'Furd as long as he's excited and dedicated to being at Cal. He has a prior connection to loving the program, which helps me love having him here.
The turnaround has to be fast...no slow rebuild BS that Fox was pushing. Gotta make a big splash fast. Gotta pull a Cuonzo class.
Mad Dog seems to be uniquely qualified to restore Cal Basketball to the top level where it belongs. A tremendous hire, could not be more excited. We all need to give Mad Dog the support he needs.
It feels weird to be excited about Cal basketball again, but here I am.
I watched it all live and liked what I heard. It's so true that we should celebrate the past greats of the program, and I think Madsen will welcome those guys to come around and say Hello. We are indeed a sleeping giant. As we enumerate here, there is every reason to think we can be and sustain a top program.
Did anyone else pay special attention to how many guys on the SDSU team are not just from CA, but from NorCal? There is no lack of talent in the state, or even north of Fresno.
One guy from Marin, one guy from Oakland.
And unlike football, basketball is a sport where we can compete at the top regardless of conference revenue.
And not just NorCal, but from Cal!
Take that Mark Fox.
Coach Madsen spoke several times about wanting to play an uptempo style, believing it aids in recruiting. “Very few players want to play slow,” he added.
Excellent and uplifting. I do recall, however, receiving a football fundraising letter some years back describing his reason for coming to Cal as being that, “Cal is a sleeping giant.” So said Sonny Dykes.
Dykes was asleep alright. It was obvious he did not want to be at Cal, was using Cal to get back to Texas. Should have NEVER been hired.
He was a great hire. He got the program back on track academically and brought in high level talent that led to a bunch of guys on NFL rosters. He couldn’t find a DC the same way Wilcox can’t find an OC but at least Dykes had legit talent he could recruit.
Like Bear19 said, family circumstances made it tough to be so far west for him. But I’m not going to say he was sleeping on the job when he consistently out recruited our current staff.
Maybe it was more Kate Dykes than Sonny. They had a young family with daddy working all the time. She probably wanted to be closer to home. I could see it.
And the lilliputians are the Cal administration, tying down the coach.
In both football and basketball, we are a sleeping giant, and we always will be!
I think we can reasonably be optimistic that the offense is about to wake up. Getting a top OL coach should prove vital as well as the more obvious effect of the new/returning OC. Getting key defensive lineman back, as well as some key portal transfers should help reverse the defense’s downward drift. This year’s schedule is kind of a bear, but expect to see the giant waking up.
A comatose giant may be more apt.
I remember giant ground sloths at the La Brea tar pits, maybe that's apt. Also, there was the giant short-faced Bear (now extinct) which was bigger than a Grizzly.
Didn't Dykes need to be reminded to say "Go Bears" at the end of his presser? F that guy, always & forever.
Madsen sounded light years ahead of Fox. Can't let my hopes get too high because the rebuild is massive. But there's reason for optimism at least. Excited to see his staff & the players he brings in. Speaking of the latter, isn't Madsen still buddies w/ Robert Horry? My HS won the CA Open Div title w/ Horry's son, a 6-2 jr., but that team also has 3 kids 6-8 or taller. In high school. Unfair. Bring em all.
https://thumbs.gfycat.com/ImmaterialFlimsyKitfox-size_restricted.gif
TCU isn't remotely a sleeping giant. They are David who can occasionally punch above their weight against the Goliaths. Cal is a sleeping giant in terms of potential given our size, location, alumni base and global recognition. That we have been weak for some time doesn't change that we are a globally significant institution.
But we've been sleeping 😴 for so long that I don't know if we are still Giant when we wake up.
You don't see evidence of Cal being a global brand in a massive media market with a huge alumni base? Did you attend Cal?
Go Bears! I suppose it's a matter for polite disagreement then. To think Cal doesn't have "giant" status is hard for me to fathom. But we surely agree it is sleeping or as someone said, comatose! There is no question in my mind that with the right coaches and a winning record, we will see football and basketball achieve high levels of fan support, NIL capabilities, and national recognition. We have institutional challenges, but nothing so unusual despite our worries, and nothing we can't overcome.
Consider the sunshine pumped!
I wrote this in the Write For California discord (for subscribers!) - but I'll cut and paste here - this was before I got a chance to watch the presser.
"Cal fans are easy to flatter - in hindsight it’s fascinating that Fox couldn’t even get that part of the PR piece right. Tell us about the special nature of the Bay Area, talk about Pete Newell/Kidd/KJ/Powe/Reef/ the Jerome Randle team. Oakland basketball. This is the easiest part of the job and Fox couldn’t even accomplish that"
Coach Madsen got this going already. It's the easiest thing to do in the world of Cal basketball and Fox never really did it.
Curious why Ryan Anderson is always overlooked in the quick listings of recent Cal greats? I loved that guy's game. I know it is impossible to list them all in a line, but we need to be listing Ryan more.
Allen Crabbe gets missed a lot too
well I was just sitting in a fast food booth typing at the time - but to be clear, all those guys I listed are either Pac-10 POYs or have their jersey retired. . . and I missed Jorge first. Ryan was an excellent Cal player - but I'm not sure he was transcendent - but the real point is that there's a deep and excellent Cal basketball history - and it's not only back to our championship team either.
And what about ED GRAY! What scoring!
Probably because he left. Had he stayed, that would have been a devastating lineup.
Can't that be said for most of them? But, yes, I do recall fantasizing how great it would have been if Ryan were on those 2008/2009 teams. The three point skills on hand would have been ridiculous.
Oh, my bad. For some reason, I remembered him transferring to a different school instead of going to the NBA early.
Well, while you may not be wrong about us being easy to flatter, an objective listen to the presser tells me Madsen said all the right things and said them well.....REALLY well. I'm excited about his desire to win and be a successful coach.
One thing I liked was him talking about a time he thought he was going to play at Cal. I'm fine with him playing for 'Furd as long as he's excited and dedicated to being at Cal. He has a prior connection to loving the program, which helps me love having him here.
He better be
Well, can’t really do worse….
Bob,
Why come into an article, and then post a link to another article covering the same event, without any commentary or feedback?
So you're Bob?