The correct answer for the next coach is Joe Pasternack. Although the Pathetic 12 soon to be Pathetic 10 is the worst P5 conference, it is still a step up from the one bid league that is the Big West where the only way you can make the tournament is winning the conference tournament. Cal could also triple his current salary. The question is, does he want to take what is viewed by many as one of the worst P5 jobs in the country (terrible AD and Chancellor, does not have its own practice facility) or what to see what happens at LSU after next season since he is a Louisiana native and has coaching experience in that region. The program and this university in the sports that matter to most (CFB and CBB) are such an embarrassment. I would not be caught dead wearing any Cal BB or FB gear.
It would be an unmitigated disaster given his total lack of coaching experience (and presumed disinterest in that career path) but who wouldn't be curious about a Coach Boomtho experiment?
“Let me say full stop that I could never be a head coach — any level. Leading young men is a special job outside of the lines that I give a lot of coaches credit for. I could 100% teach it on a one on one basis utilizing what I learned from Pete Newell and my updates to the game.“
You don’t sound like a grumpy old man…you sound like a legitimate, knowledgeable fan that can recognize the stubborn Fox does NOTHING different. My guess is he doesn’t really know HOW to coach anything different, which both data and the eye test tells us is likely the case, because this is basically what he’s done for 17 years…
As you said, the small lineup gave them a spark, yet it was nowhere to be found. Fox can’t gameplan for schitt.
If you can’t score and can’t play defense, you get a 3 win season. Does anyone care at Cal? The Chancellor the AD? Wait, they have injuries, should have 5 wins..
Stan Johnson and Joe Pasternack are also sufficient.
We’ll see if Knowlton can get it done…fear the uncertainty of the P12 and Cal’s struggles will deter a lot of candidates…Mark Fox has acknowledged he was told there was a lot of work to do thanks to the previous head coach - he then proceeded to set fire to the program. Still can’t believe it’s in even worse shape than 4 years ago….how TF is that even possible.
and half of our professional sports athletes would never receive an offer to coach at Cal. There is no way that Cal could hire this guy. The powers-that-be would never allow it.
I’m still not 100% convinced Knowlton is actually going to fire him because he really could be that overmatched of an AD. Dude kind of lives in a fantasy land and may excuse away all of this bullschitt. I mean, I hope the donors cough up the $900K-ish buyout…but the current leadership does not get the benefit of the doubt considering how poorly they’ve handled pretty much every big decision so far.
Some questions:
1. If, as expected, Fox does get to ride off into the sunset having pocketed nearly $8.0M from the University of California, how quickly does it come following the end of Cal’s season? Does Knowlton take decisive action in accordance with some sort of a plan? Hopefully so.
2. Does DeJuan Clayton appeal for an 8th season and play somewhere?
Knowlton should at least be threatening donors with another year of Fox unless they cough up this year. "Hey, the cupboard is bare but I'll fire him tomorrow if it were paid for."
The firing should be very soon, though many of the best candidates would likely be in the Tourney. Might have to wait a bit to even interview.
2. He's going to collect Social Security by the time he graduates. Can he even transfer again?
3. I haven't looked what transfer options Askew or anyone else may have. But I mostly worry about underclassmen deciding that they've wasted enough valuable development time.
It will be interesting how quickly it comes. It seemed obvious that Wyking would be let go after that second season, and yet it took weeks and we would have lost out on candidates in that span if JK had any vision (by all accounts he didn't even have an informal list once the search began). I assume that had to waiting for donors to cave to get him money to do it. Fox's buyout is not nearly as prohibitive as Wyking's was, so this should be more expedient at least in theory.
1. If I was a donor, I'd push back and say 'it was your incompetence that has some a high buyout number. I'll contribute but only if you to take a salary haircut to contribute for your stupidity.'
I believe Askew would have a tough time transferring UNLESS he has managed to graduate in 3 years.
He played as a FR at Kentucky during the COVID ‘20-‘21 season, and then transferred to Texas for his SO year ‘21-‘22. He then transferred to Cal for his JR year (‘22-‘23), but needed to apply for a waiver to do so, which was granted. He will be a senior next year in ‘23-‘24.
The NCAA has taken steps to try and curtail the massive player movement, at least in the areas they can control. The articles I read on ESPN and CBS (also, apologies for not linking) alluded to the fact that it’s gonna be tougher to transfer multiple times, so were I a betting man, I would wager Askew is probably here for his SR year…he may be eligible to grad transfer tho in ‘24-‘25…
My point was a bit more subtle in that the details don't really matter here. It's actually WORSE if they go ahead and marry since God knows what will happen between these two in the future. I think it's reasonable to say there's no evidence he's a classic bullying abuser (I'm specifically not judging the rightness or wrongness of his actions here at all). But there's some volatility there that I don't think is worth gambling on.
I tend to hold recanting of allegations to the same truth standard of the accusations themselves (basically credible enough to investigate but not enough to believe without evidence). Yet the fact is some stuff went down that would be unimaginable in any remotely healthy relationship. I don't think he's unhireable and, quite possibly, even later hireable by Cal if he demonstrates stability in his personal life. But right now I wouldn't touch this situation with a 100 foot pole.
If they're turning into an episode of "Cops" now, they'll fight even worse when they're married. If they don't get married then he may end up in a low-drama relationship that doesn't escalate to violence. And if it does escalate, then maybe he's the problem after all. It's not reverse logic. It's trying to predict future scandals based on risk factors.
Again, it's not a judgment on him since I don't have enough info. And I also believe people can change (Kobe Bryant being one example). It's a judgment on him being in a volatile relationship. Same reason I wanted the Dodgers to bench then cut that sick puppy Bauer loose (who I WILL definitively judge as a dirtbag).
Chris Beard. Chris Mack. I’d prefer to stay away from an ethics view of any coaches that have had any sort of issues on their resume. Particularly if it was reasons for termination at their prior job.
My brother in Oski, I would soon rather give Mark Fox a lifetime contract than go with Chris "choked her from behind, bit her and hit her when the two got in an argument. " Beard.
How about Theo Robertson?
The correct answer for the next coach is Joe Pasternack. Although the Pathetic 12 soon to be Pathetic 10 is the worst P5 conference, it is still a step up from the one bid league that is the Big West where the only way you can make the tournament is winning the conference tournament. Cal could also triple his current salary. The question is, does he want to take what is viewed by many as one of the worst P5 jobs in the country (terrible AD and Chancellor, does not have its own practice facility) or what to see what happens at LSU after next season since he is a Louisiana native and has coaching experience in that region. The program and this university in the sports that matter to most (CFB and CBB) are such an embarrassment. I would not be caught dead wearing any Cal BB or FB gear.
Abandon all hope, ye who enter.
Coach Rod Benson.
It would be an unmitigated disaster given his total lack of coaching experience (and presumed disinterest in that career path) but who wouldn't be curious about a Coach Boomtho experiment?
This is from BoomTho himself when I asked.
“Let me say full stop that I could never be a head coach — any level. Leading young men is a special job outside of the lines that I give a lot of coaches credit for. I could 100% teach it on a one on one basis utilizing what I learned from Pete Newell and my updates to the game.“
Love that guy. Hate that he is so capable of self-reflection. Never too much Rod Benson.
Good thing we have UCLA on Saturday.
Will we break 45?
Probably. They’ll be playing their scrubs for a good portion of the 2nd since they’ll be trucking us and it’s senior night.
Good point.
Start the Bench Seniors and Scout team, and we have a chance.
Would we? I certainly wouldn’t put money on it.
I've been saying it for years now: Joe Pasternack for Cal's next coach
Understands the UC system: check
Understands the Pac-12: check
Understands Cal: check
Proven Winner at UCSB: check
HC experience: check
Russell Turner would also be a great option. He coached for Monty
Kicked Jorge Guiterriez: Check
Nice article, BP.
You don’t sound like a grumpy old man…you sound like a legitimate, knowledgeable fan that can recognize the stubborn Fox does NOTHING different. My guess is he doesn’t really know HOW to coach anything different, which both data and the eye test tells us is likely the case, because this is basically what he’s done for 17 years…
As you said, the small lineup gave them a spark, yet it was nowhere to be found. Fox can’t gameplan for schitt.
Thanks you Jimmy. This is the only comment actually talking about the article itself :-)
If you can’t score and can’t play defense, you get a 3 win season. Does anyone care at Cal? The Chancellor the AD? Wait, they have injuries, should have 5 wins..
Ryan Odom
Chris Acker
Don’t know much about him.
SDSU AC
This is the correct answer.
Stan Johnson and Joe Pasternack are also sufficient.
We’ll see if Knowlton can get it done…fear the uncertainty of the P12 and Cal’s struggles will deter a lot of candidates…Mark Fox has acknowledged he was told there was a lot of work to do thanks to the previous head coach - he then proceeded to set fire to the program. Still can’t believe it’s in even worse shape than 4 years ago….how TF is that even possible.
Sigh.
Most of us prefer basketball coaches that don’t come with domestic violence allegations.
and half of our professional sports athletes would never receive an offer to coach at Cal. There is no way that Cal could hire this guy. The powers-that-be would never allow it.
The buyout’s not prohibitive…a few wealthy boosters can handle it pretty easily, if they are so inclined.
THAT’S the question, tho.
Might not be any boosters with open pockets left if Fox stays another season.
Perhaps the boosters need to buyout JK first.
I’m still not 100% convinced Knowlton is actually going to fire him because he really could be that overmatched of an AD. Dude kind of lives in a fantasy land and may excuse away all of this bullschitt. I mean, I hope the donors cough up the $900K-ish buyout…but the current leadership does not get the benefit of the doubt considering how poorly they’ve handled pretty much every big decision so far.
Some questions:
1. If, as expected, Fox does get to ride off into the sunset having pocketed nearly $8.0M from the University of California, how quickly does it come following the end of Cal’s season? Does Knowlton take decisive action in accordance with some sort of a plan? Hopefully so.
2. Does DeJuan Clayton appeal for an 8th season and play somewhere?
3. Who enters the portal?
Knowlton should at least be threatening donors with another year of Fox unless they cough up this year. "Hey, the cupboard is bare but I'll fire him tomorrow if it were paid for."
The firing should be very soon, though many of the best candidates would likely be in the Tourney. Might have to wait a bit to even interview.
2. He's going to collect Social Security by the time he graduates. Can he even transfer again?
3. I haven't looked what transfer options Askew or anyone else may have. But I mostly worry about underclassmen deciding that they've wasted enough valuable development time.
It will be interesting how quickly it comes. It seemed obvious that Wyking would be let go after that second season, and yet it took weeks and we would have lost out on candidates in that span if JK had any vision (by all accounts he didn't even have an informal list once the search began). I assume that had to waiting for donors to cave to get him money to do it. Fox's buyout is not nearly as prohibitive as Wyking's was, so this should be more expedient at least in theory.
Florida nabbed Todd Golden basically an hour after USF lost in the Dance….an exaggeration, but close.
Knowlton needs to be prepared to move quick…not his strong suit.
Not his strong suit, but even less of a UCB strong suit.
1. If I was a donor, I'd push back and say 'it was your incompetence that has some a high buyout number. I'll contribute but only if you to take a salary haircut to contribute for your stupidity.'
That's 100% legitimate.
I believe Askew would have a tough time transferring UNLESS he has managed to graduate in 3 years.
He played as a FR at Kentucky during the COVID ‘20-‘21 season, and then transferred to Texas for his SO year ‘21-‘22. He then transferred to Cal for his JR year (‘22-‘23), but needed to apply for a waiver to do so, which was granted. He will be a senior next year in ‘23-‘24.
The NCAA has taken steps to try and curtail the massive player movement, at least in the areas they can control. The articles I read on ESPN and CBS (also, apologies for not linking) alluded to the fact that it’s gonna be tougher to transfer multiple times, so were I a betting man, I would wager Askew is probably here for his SR year…he may be eligible to grad transfer tho in ‘24-‘25…
Nah. Let someone else launder his reputation. Even with the charges dropped, there's still plenty of risk of something similar happening again.
Would much rather roll the dice on an up-and-coming coach than roll the dice on Chris Beard's personal life.
My point was a bit more subtle in that the details don't really matter here. It's actually WORSE if they go ahead and marry since God knows what will happen between these two in the future. I think it's reasonable to say there's no evidence he's a classic bullying abuser (I'm specifically not judging the rightness or wrongness of his actions here at all). But there's some volatility there that I don't think is worth gambling on.
I tend to hold recanting of allegations to the same truth standard of the accusations themselves (basically credible enough to investigate but not enough to believe without evidence). Yet the fact is some stuff went down that would be unimaginable in any remotely healthy relationship. I don't think he's unhireable and, quite possibly, even later hireable by Cal if he demonstrates stability in his personal life. But right now I wouldn't touch this situation with a 100 foot pole.
If they're turning into an episode of "Cops" now, they'll fight even worse when they're married. If they don't get married then he may end up in a low-drama relationship that doesn't escalate to violence. And if it does escalate, then maybe he's the problem after all. It's not reverse logic. It's trying to predict future scandals based on risk factors.
Again, it's not a judgment on him since I don't have enough info. And I also believe people can change (Kobe Bryant being one example). It's a judgment on him being in a volatile relationship. Same reason I wanted the Dodgers to bench then cut that sick puppy Bauer loose (who I WILL definitively judge as a dirtbag).
Hell to the fuck no. We already have enough domestic abusers in our basketball fraternity.
I would prefer another year of Fox over Chris Beard.
Yeah nope.
gonna need you to scroll down to the "Arrest and Firing" part of that Wikipedia page.
Chris Beard. Chris Mack. I’d prefer to stay away from an ethics view of any coaches that have had any sort of issues on their resume. Particularly if it was reasons for termination at their prior job.
My brother in Oski, I would soon rather give Mark Fox a lifetime contract than go with Chris "choked her from behind, bit her and hit her when the two got in an argument. " Beard.
I agree. It's a no brainer. Snd nobody could think that the Chancellor in these times would go that way.
If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it's probably a duck. Great record or not.
Unofficially, the top three picks to succeed Fox are:
1) Not Chris Beard
2) Not Chris Beard
3) and the dark horse candidate, Not Chris Beard.
Don’t melt too hard, snowflake.
Thanks for reading!