I really mean no disrespect to these guys and anyone who wears the Cal jersey deserves our support, but again, Madsen talks about national championships and I don't see the sort of players capable of competing at the highest levels of the ACC or nationally in these players. We've been middling, and it seems we will remain middling. I've …
I really mean no disrespect to these guys and anyone who wears the Cal jersey deserves our support, but again, Madsen talks about national championships and I don't see the sort of players capable of competing at the highest levels of the ACC or nationally in these players. We've been middling, and it seems we will remain middling. I've been hoping for more of a splash, and perhaps that is coming. Go Bears!
'Middling' is being extremely generous: in Mad Dog's first year of conference we were dead last; this year we were 15th out of 18. A 'middling' 9th place finish would be major improvement. (And same thing should be said for football.)
He has bought in Tyson and Andrej via the portal, players who could have gone anywhere. Ames had multiple top tier options and chose Cal. There are still plenty of big names out there that they are targeting.
Dai Dai is a solid add - he’s a P5 caliber player that brings a solid stroke and can defend on the perimeter. Ilic is a skilled big, albeit at a mid-major, that can hopefully stretch the floor a bit, and he’s more skilled as a passer than our bigs last year. Dorsey should fill a role, and he along with Campbell should hopefully see fewer mpg in a depth role.
Still plenty of work if they’re gonna make a push for the Dance, and the guys that stuck around need to improve.
I respect your insights and knowledge. Even Duke has role players who were from mid major sorts of schools. But they anchor their team around three freshman super stars who are NBA lottery picks. I realize we are not likely to make it to the final four next year, but in year 3 of a rebuild I would sure like to see us make the dance and win a first round game.
It’s certainly a huge season - year 3 of a regime after the 1st and 2nd year were pretty much carbon copies, albeit with massive roster upheaval.
There’s only 2 years of data with Mark at the Power conference level, but I agree - if Cal is going to play the style of basketball that Madsen has shown in his first 24-months here, they need an influsion of talent because it’s just too tough to win in the ACC, especially some of those Quad 1 games you gotta get to dance, with a roster comprised mostly of mid-major players. Not saying that mid-major kids can’t win at this level, but you need to execute so much better on both offense and defense (ie like Loyola Chicago a few years ago) than they have. Especially on D.
These adds are solid, but the roster still needs a couple more proven talents, and some returning players to take a real step forward, to feel at all comfortable with them even making a push for the Tournament. Another legit, Sissoko-type big with athleticism and a starting caliber 2-guard would be ideal….Aidan Mahaney anyone!!!
Agreed 100%. Not even close to good enough, especially against good/elite teams.
Of the games we played v Tournament teams (Vandy, Mizzou, SDSU, Clemson, Louisville, Duke, UNC), only Missouri was really competitive and I coulda swore we basically went the entire 2H without getting a stop…need to play at least competent defense to have any chance to dance.
I do still think he would be an asset to this roster given his pedigree and experience. Storrs didn’t work out and he may be looking to rehab that image in a spot where he can be the go-to guy….with Andrej in town, not sure that’s here.
I really mean no disrespect to these guys and anyone who wears the Cal jersey deserves our support, but again, Madsen talks about national championships and I don't see the sort of players capable of competing at the highest levels of the ACC or nationally in these players. We've been middling, and it seems we will remain middling. I've been hoping for more of a splash, and perhaps that is coming. Go Bears!
'Middling' is being extremely generous: in Mad Dog's first year of conference we were dead last; this year we were 15th out of 18. A 'middling' 9th place finish would be major improvement. (And same thing should be said for football.)
He has bought in Tyson and Andrej via the portal, players who could have gone anywhere. Ames had multiple top tier options and chose Cal. There are still plenty of big names out there that they are targeting.
That's what I'm hoping. Some splashy gets.
Dai Dai is a solid add - he’s a P5 caliber player that brings a solid stroke and can defend on the perimeter. Ilic is a skilled big, albeit at a mid-major, that can hopefully stretch the floor a bit, and he’s more skilled as a passer than our bigs last year. Dorsey should fill a role, and he along with Campbell should hopefully see fewer mpg in a depth role.
Still plenty of work if they’re gonna make a push for the Dance, and the guys that stuck around need to improve.
I respect your insights and knowledge. Even Duke has role players who were from mid major sorts of schools. But they anchor their team around three freshman super stars who are NBA lottery picks. I realize we are not likely to make it to the final four next year, but in year 3 of a rebuild I would sure like to see us make the dance and win a first round game.
It’s certainly a huge season - year 3 of a regime after the 1st and 2nd year were pretty much carbon copies, albeit with massive roster upheaval.
There’s only 2 years of data with Mark at the Power conference level, but I agree - if Cal is going to play the style of basketball that Madsen has shown in his first 24-months here, they need an influsion of talent because it’s just too tough to win in the ACC, especially some of those Quad 1 games you gotta get to dance, with a roster comprised mostly of mid-major players. Not saying that mid-major kids can’t win at this level, but you need to execute so much better on both offense and defense (ie like Loyola Chicago a few years ago) than they have. Especially on D.
These adds are solid, but the roster still needs a couple more proven talents, and some returning players to take a real step forward, to feel at all comfortable with them even making a push for the Tournament. Another legit, Sissoko-type big with athleticism and a starting caliber 2-guard would be ideal….Aidan Mahaney anyone!!!
I'm a bit scared of how bad his defense has been.
Agreed 100%. Not even close to good enough, especially against good/elite teams.
Of the games we played v Tournament teams (Vandy, Mizzou, SDSU, Clemson, Louisville, Duke, UNC), only Missouri was really competitive and I coulda swore we basically went the entire 2H without getting a stop…need to play at least competent defense to have any chance to dance.
Oh, sorry. I should have been clear -- I was talking about Mahaney.
Ah, ok true that. Point taken.
I do still think he would be an asset to this roster given his pedigree and experience. Storrs didn’t work out and he may be looking to rehab that image in a spot where he can be the go-to guy….with Andrej in town, not sure that’s here.