Good roster catch-up! Yeah, there is reason for some cautious optimism around shooting, pg play on both ends, and ACC experience being improved. That could go a long way, even without star/shot volume guys like Wilkinson and Stojakovic.
Team defense - we'll have to see.
Re Point Guard - I'd be surprised if Dorsey was in the pg mix. He doesn't sound like that kind of player at the ACC level. I'm looking forward to his defensive presence, but CAA Defensive POY doesn't equate to "all world".
You didn't list Carr, who will be an option behind Pippen and Ames should one of them not be available. Looks like an upgrade over the likes of Pavlovic and Tucker, and maybe he will be more than that.
Ames is a proven producer in the ACC and has experience, so thought he would be in line for starting PG. If Pippen is the current frontrunner that is great news for PG depth.
Good stuff! We must start keeping players, rather than reforming every year. As the analysis points out, it takes time to gel. While other teams are fine-tuning things, we are still getting to know each other. GO BEARS!
Exactly, Finn. It is essential for a program like Cal where, absent a roster of NBA/pro talent, you have to build chemistry and develop guys to maximize potential. Unlike FB, MBB’s NIL has been woefully lacking and simply not competitive with other similar programs. We just don’t have the donors, largely (still) because of the disastrous Knowlton/Mark Fox exacta.
The effect of the House settlement remains to be seen, however until the program takes a step in the right direction, starts generating some excitement and fills Haas, tough to see anything substantively changing with player retention, as MBB guys are consistently more interested in the money than anything else (ie Andrei).
Loosing the two best players from last years team, is brutal. Where is the scoring going to come from? The team had no outside shooting and the defense was really bad last year. If you can’t score and can’t play defense that is a recipe for disaster. Just like football, high hopes have been dashed because of the transfer portal. I’m predicting a bottom five team, hope I’m wrong.
Stoj and Wilk were more volume shooters than percentage shooters. We added multiple percentage upgrades across all positions, but will need to see how if it translates to better scoring.
The gain in backcourt size will improve our defense. Makes ball pressure more effective and should improve our defensive switching.
I have a feeling Stoj is going to take a step back with Illinois this year. His offensive improvements last year came at the expense of offensive flow for everyone else. He was exactly what we needed, since we didn't have any real PGs (similar to Tyson the year before), but I think there's still questions about how he's able to function in an actual team dynamic. (Edit: I also just mean offensively, he will always be a plus defender IMHO).
I'm higher on this team this year specifically because of our upgrades in guards, even if we lost Stoj and Jeremiah. We can't be undersized in the ACC.
Good roster catch-up! Yeah, there is reason for some cautious optimism around shooting, pg play on both ends, and ACC experience being improved. That could go a long way, even without star/shot volume guys like Wilkinson and Stojakovic.
Team defense - we'll have to see.
Re Point Guard - I'd be surprised if Dorsey was in the pg mix. He doesn't sound like that kind of player at the ACC level. I'm looking forward to his defensive presence, but CAA Defensive POY doesn't equate to "all world".
You didn't list Carr, who will be an option behind Pippen and Ames should one of them not be available. Looks like an upgrade over the likes of Pavlovic and Tucker, and maybe he will be more than that.
Ames is a proven producer in the ACC and has experience, so thought he would be in line for starting PG. If Pippen is the current frontrunner that is great news for PG depth.
Good stuff! We must start keeping players, rather than reforming every year. As the analysis points out, it takes time to gel. While other teams are fine-tuning things, we are still getting to know each other. GO BEARS!
Exactly, Finn. It is essential for a program like Cal where, absent a roster of NBA/pro talent, you have to build chemistry and develop guys to maximize potential. Unlike FB, MBB’s NIL has been woefully lacking and simply not competitive with other similar programs. We just don’t have the donors, largely (still) because of the disastrous Knowlton/Mark Fox exacta.
The effect of the House settlement remains to be seen, however until the program takes a step in the right direction, starts generating some excitement and fills Haas, tough to see anything substantively changing with player retention, as MBB guys are consistently more interested in the money than anything else (ie Andrei).
I think this roster is super intriguing. Not a lot of proven P5 ballers but signs of talent up and down the roster. This team could surprise.
Loosing the two best players from last years team, is brutal. Where is the scoring going to come from? The team had no outside shooting and the defense was really bad last year. If you can’t score and can’t play defense that is a recipe for disaster. Just like football, high hopes have been dashed because of the transfer portal. I’m predicting a bottom five team, hope I’m wrong.
Stoj and Wilk were more volume shooters than percentage shooters. We added multiple percentage upgrades across all positions, but will need to see how if it translates to better scoring.
The gain in backcourt size will improve our defense. Makes ball pressure more effective and should improve our defensive switching.
I have a feeling Stoj is going to take a step back with Illinois this year. His offensive improvements last year came at the expense of offensive flow for everyone else. He was exactly what we needed, since we didn't have any real PGs (similar to Tyson the year before), but I think there's still questions about how he's able to function in an actual team dynamic. (Edit: I also just mean offensively, he will always be a plus defender IMHO).
I'm higher on this team this year specifically because of our upgrades in guards, even if we lost Stoj and Jeremiah. We can't be undersized in the ACC.
Good point. Also, he didn't play as well after his injury.
Stoj went to Illinois, not Indiana.
Nice work, BP. Thanks buddy.