Cal Men's Basketball 2024-2025 Roster Overview

This team is deep; how will they mesh? Plus a few Media Day notes.

Andrej Stojakovic and Mady Sissoko at ACC Media Day. Image courtesy ACC Network

Mark Madsen’s first order of business when he took over the helm last year was to infuse the roster with talent to complete in the PAC-12. Though Mark Fox’s rosters were filled with excellent individuals who represented Cal very well, as a composite they were behind their league peers in overall basketball talent.

Madsen’s first recruiting class was anchored by Fardaws Aimaq, which led to Jaylon Tyson, Jalen Cone, Keonte Kennedy and others to join and instantly elevate the overall team talent. Aimaq, Cone and Kennedy had one year of eligibility, and Tyson developed into an NBA prospect and left with one year of eligibility remaining. At the end of the year, other rotation players Rodney Brown Jr., Jalen Celestine, Grant Newell, Monty Bowser, ND Okafor, and Devin Askew transferred to other schools. All told, Coach Madsen and staff had eleven scholarship slots to fill for the 2024-25 season.

Here’s an eligibility breakdown of the incoming eleven players.

It’s an impossible task to predict roster turnover due to the power of NIL brokering and the transfer portal. But, it is heartening to know that only three players will be out of eligibility at this year’s end. With the sophomore/freshman triumvirate of Stojakovic, Mahoney and Wilkinson, three foundational players have the potential to have a large impact over multiple seasons. Adding to the eleven incoming players above, returnees Devin Curtis (Sophomore) and Gus Larson(Junior) played meaningful minutes last year, and add additional big man depth to an already crowded bench.

How will Coach Madsen and staff distribute the 200 game minutes across 13 players?

Let’s look at the position groups, organized by role more than pure position.

Guard

• Jovan Blacksher, Jr.

  • Grad, 5’ 11”, All-WAC 1st Team 2021-22, knee injury in 2023 limited his PT in 2023-24

• Christian Tucker

  • Senior, 6’ 3”, started all 32 games last year for UT-San Antonio. Averaged 11.3 points and 5.4 assists per game (assists were 34th nationally)

• Jeremiah Wilkinson

  • Freshman, 6’ 1”, 33.2 points per game as a HS senior. Same AAU program as Jaylen Brown

• Dejuan Campbell

  • Junior, 6’ 2”, averaged 11.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists for Western Carolina last season

Blacksher has been the talk of the early practices. He was all-world WAC in 2021-22, and appears to be fully healed from a serious knee injury that slowed him down the past couple season. He’s a score-first PG with fearless range. Tucker is a nice complement, a pass-first PG who has shown the ability to get to the rim.

Wilkinson is a building block for the next several seasons. I expect him to be bought on slowly, with an eye towards the future. Campbell is also getting rave reviews, but I’m not sure how he fits in to this rotation. He’s not a true PG, and he is undersized compared his fellow off-guards. He may be a defensive specialist who gets selective playing time.

Guard/Forward

• Andrej Stojakovic

  • Sophomore, 6’ 7”, averaged 7.8 points and 3.4 rebounds for Stanford last year. McDonald’s All-American coming out of High School

• Rytis Petraitis

  • Junior, 6’ 7”, led Air Force in 5 statistical categories last season, notably in points (15.7), rebounds (6.3) & assists (3.7).

• Joshua Ola-Joseph

  • Junior, 6’ 7”, 7.5 points per game and 2.2 rebounds last season for Minnesota

• Spencer Mahoney

  • Redshirt Freshman, 6’ 9”, 4-star ESPN PF recruit out of High School, did not play any minutes in his one year with Washington State.

Stojakovic is the prize in the incoming class. The Sacramento area product chose staying in Northern California over transferring to Kentucky, Michigan and other top-tier basketball schools. For Stanford last year, he averaged 7.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in just over 22 minutes per game. I expect Madsen to give him heavy minutes and allow him to play through rough patches in order to develop his overall game.

Petraitis is a swiss-army knife of a player, filling up multiple statistical categories. He is capable of scoring, averaging nearly 16 points last year and topping 25 points on 4 occasions. I expect in Coach Madsen’s rotations he will be used at all positions, playing inside in small lineups and point forward in certain situations.

Joshua Ola-Joseph is the player I’m keeping my eye on.

Watch the first couple minutes of this youtube overview of Ola-Joseph’s skillset. Then, compare his body control to this clip of Jaylon Tyson from last year.

Their pre-Cal splits are similar on a per minute basis, as well. From Tyson’s 2022-23 Texas Tech season, and Ola-Joseph’s 2023-24 Minnesota season;

While I am not ready to say that Ola-Joseph will develop into a 1st round NBA draft prospect, his body and play style are highly reminiscent of Tyson. Tyson excelled by playing much longer than his 6’ 6” frame would suggest. He had incredible body control to adjust the tempo of his drives, and find the right angle to finish near the basket. While players like Stojakovic and Petraitis may be better pure scorers, I think Ola-Joseph has shown more of an ability to probe and attack on dribble penetration from outside.

Spencer Mahoney is an unknown quantity. His Red Rocks Academy High School tape shows excellent shooting skills. His WSU practice footage showcases his range, and a willingness to go inside and use his height to go over his defender. I haven’t heard much chatter on him coming out of early practice sessions. Still, 6’ 9” players with that shooting range are rare. Like Wilkinson, he may be eased into the rotation and viewed as a multi-year foundational player.

Forward/Center

• Mady Sissoko

  • Senior, 6’ 9”, averaged 3.3 points and 5.1 rebounds for Michigan State, shooting 58.3% from the floor.

• BJ Omot

  • Junior, 6’ 8”, All-Summit 1st Team last season, averaged 16.7 point and 4.2 rebounds for North Dakota

• Lee Dort

  • Junior, averaged 1.7 points, 2.1 rebounds and .7 blocks in just under 7 minutes a game

• Devin Curtis

  • Sophomore, appeared in 16 games for Cal last season.

• Gus Larson

  • Redshirt Junior, appeared in 28 games last season.

Mady Sissoko does not shoot much, averaging less than three attempts per game as a starter. He is a defensive-minded interior force who warps the space around him. He displays excellent footwork and has a strong grasp of interior help defense. I am dreaming of Christian Tucker and Sissoko pick-and-roll highlights in the upcoming season’s video breakdowns.

When interior scoring is needed, BJ Omot will most likely be called upon. The All-Summit League transfer from North Dakota has an offensive game very similar to Fardaws Aimaq. They both initiate from the top and look to use their size to get to the rim. Omot is not as strong as Fardaws was, but is more decisive and has a better touch.

In 2020, Lee Dort had offers from Cal, Arizona, Auburn and a handful of other P5 schools before signing with Vanderbilt. The 4-star prospect played sparingly as a freshman, averaging just under 7 minutes a game across 17 games. Legal issues (since cleared) limited him to one game his sophomore season. After coach Jerry Stackhouse was fired at the end of the season, Dort entered the transfer portal, and was Madsen’s first signing in the offseason. Dort and Devin Curtis are the closest this roster has to pure centers. He is a mobile force inside and is an instinctive shot blocker. I see him playing a larger role in half court sets then in the transition-oriented approach that Madsen displayed last year.

Devin Curtis was originally slated to redshirt last year. A mid-December injury to fellow big man ND Okafor forced Curtis into the rotation. He played sparingly, and while he displayed signs of potential, Curtis needed to bulk up and develop his footwork a bit more. Early video from fall practices have shown an improvement on both fronts. Curtis added some bulk and is more stout in the paint. He also appears a bit more nimble, not planting his feet and ready to slide and adjust. As with other underclassmen, I expect him to be bought along slowly and have limited playing time this season, but am hopeful he continues to develop over the next few seasons.

Gus Larson appeared in 28 games for Cal last season, averaging one made basket and a rebound in just over 7 minutes a game. His game is more of a stretch forward role, using his good shooting touch to pull is defender from the basket. He made 4-of-9 three-point attempts last year. With the influx of new players, I don’t expect Gus to get much playing time, but he can be called on to play 5-10 solid all-around minutes a game if need be.

The Rest of the Roster

Sophomore Vladimir Pavlovic appeared in 7 games last year. A dogged defender, he will be in line as the 4th PG for minutes this season.

Coach Madsen has focused on having a large walk-on program to both engage the student body and to provide ample bodies for extended drills and game sessions in practice. In addition to Gus Larson, eight other walk-on players are on the roster. Of note is sophomore Matt Desler, who was on the Academic All-Conference Honor Roll last year, and earned the team’s highest GPA. Also of note is Stephon Marbury II(son on NBA all-star of the same name) and Hugh Vandeweghe (nephew of NBA all-star Kiki Vandeweghe).

Lineup Predictions

Last year’s roster started with 11 players who all appeared to deserve playing time. In an early press conference, Coach Madsen indicated he prefers a rotation of 7 to 8 players. Long term injuries to Devin Askew and ND Okafor, plus short-term injuries to several others, had Cal going 8-deep from January onwards. At ACC Media Day a couple weeks back(more on this below), Coach Madsen talked about the advantage of depth and how last year players got worn down. I think he’ll focus on a 9-player rotation, with several players being matchup and situational substitutions.

I expect the following starting lineup on November 4th;

PG - Devon Blacksher, Jr.
G- Andrej Stojakovic
Wing - Rytis Petraitis
Wing - Joshua Ola-Joseph
C - Mady Sissoko

Blacksher Jr. has been the most impressive player of camp so far. The three guards and wings are all highly versatile and can fulfill multiple roles. Sissoko displays great mobility and provides a defensive anchor in the interior.

The coaching staff will most likely shuffle multiple players in early on. I think preference will be given to upperclassmen and Wilkinson and Mahoney may have to wait for their time. I foresee a Rodney Brown Jr. situation where their minutes will grow by end of year and we are all expecting a big leap forward in 2025-26.(Hopefully, unlike Rodney, they stay at Cal and do not enter the transfer portal).

To get to an 9-man rotation, add;
PG Christian Tucker, G DeJuan Campbell, F/C BJ Omot, F/C Lee Dort

Tucker is the facilitator at PG, while starter Blacksher is the scorer. Campbell is the 3-and-D specialist at the off-guard spot. Omot and Dort join Sissoko in the frontcourt rotation. In crunch time, expect Omot to sub in on offense and Dort to sub in on defense.

Any remaining minutes will go to;
F/C Devin Curtis, G Jeremiah Wilkinson, F Spencer Mahoney

Ideally, their roles increase as the year goes on, but whose minutes do you cut to work them into the rotation?

ACC Media Day Notes

Coach Madsen was joined by Andrej Stojakovic and Mady Sissoko at the ACC Media Day in Charlotte on October 11th. A few quotes are worth highlighting.

Madsen, when asked about style of play;

“We run a lot of NBA sets, and that’s really helped us in recruiting. Jaylon Tyson…talks about being so much further ahead with the Cavs because he understands the NBA concepts”

Madsen, when asked what he wants to improve from year one to year 2;

“At the beginning of the year, we were 1 or 2 (in number) of one possession games…we lost a bunch of them. We struggled in many of those one possession games because guys got worn down. We have more depth this season.”

Sissoko, on his foundation to help his home village in Mali;

“The people at Michigan State and the community really helped me…The foundation helped build a school in my hometown, and running water. I’m very grateful for me to be able to do something like this.”

Stojakovic, on Cal’s play style this year;

“Expect passion on both sides of the floor. We’re excited to show what we can do on the defensive end, and we believe we’re extremely versatile on the offensive end. (follow up question on “Playing with pace?”)Yes, of course.”

Stojakovic, on Coach Madsen’s demeanor;

“He comes in every day with a very positive attitude. He is very transparent with what he expects of us….the stories of him being Mad Dog early in his career, it’s nothing like it is today. He’s very calm and patient, just in general and in life.”

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I joined the psychic hoops guys a week ago to talk about Cal Hoops. They were more pessimistic about the upcoming season, while I am targeting 18 or more wins.

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The Golden Bears begin the season on Monday November 4th, hosting CSU-Bakersfield in Haas Pavilion.