What a joke Xavier. Hiring Miller is such a cheap, unethical thing to do. That's exactly the sort of move I never want to see Cal do. I don't dispute the guy can coach, but Spain was good at Inquisitions...
The Wyking-to-Fox transition was kind of our first meaningful insight into Knowlton's ability to handle the big stuff and it left me concerned. The way he's handling communication with the media right now is . . . not helping.
Contrast it with Scott Stricklin's decisive and impressive handling of the Gators sudden swap of Mike White for Todd Golden in Gainesville. That's leadership.
Regardless of who was responsible, Florida's HC this time last week was Mike White...he surprised a lot of people and took the Georgia job after Crean was fired...Todd Golden is now HC in Florida. Call it what you want.
Graduation rate!! WTF in college basketball. I think it is terrible, but isn't 30% way above average in winning NCAA programs? Aren't the very good players just 2 and done, at best? Also the Pac 12 network is hiding our visibility as a conference. If we put our games on KQED we would get more viewers!!
The grad rates are totally & completely misleading...kids leaving for the NBA or transferring really damage it...Jaylen Brown's 1 and done hurts...transfers kill it...Charlie Moore/Conor Vanover/Darius McNeill/Justice Sueing/Matt Bradley transferring ALL hurt....a lot...
Yes, you want to graduate your players, but in this era of the transfer portal, it's misleading.
He also mentions APR from 8-9 years ago… that’s a VERY selective time point and asking a coach who was hired 3 years ago to take on the Apr/graduation rate of players that were either graduating when he arrived or had left prior to his arrival seems…. I’m trying to figure out what’s more confusing an AD telling a coach he has to fix the graduation rates from years past that are out of his control or a coach that heard that and said sure that is 100% my problem to take on.
Assuming both Knowlton and Fox are smart & reasonable men, I doubt Knowlton asked Fox to correct something that he has absolutely no control over. I read it to mean that _his_ recruits are the ones that will determine academic success or not.
Its a good point. It’s a better metric in longer developing and larger roster sizes like football. You don’t have one and dones in football. And you see a lot of guys finish out 4 years before transferring. So unless they’re playing as a true freshman, guys are usually already here 2/3 years in terms of classes before they play. That’s a bigger tell. Vs a 13scholarship roster where 1 departure is 7% of your scholarship size.
Agreed. In MBB, this statistic is kind of a non sequitur and given the fungibility of players transferring to and from different schools, one should not expect a 100% APR. If indeed it is 100%, that even might be indicative of a problem with the program as less talented players stick around for four years. If we recruited at a higher level the APR would not be 100 or even close to that.
I'm inclined to think this is actual progress, however small. My reading has been that until this past week Knowlton has been in a vacuum and has only had to listen to Fox and a few donors. Cal basketball has been such a non-concern for fans that most have simply checked out. We don't even play any games on TV that aren't buried on the Pac-12 network. We are underground. I think he's finally starting to get the temperature. I don't see a point in waiting to turn the page, but alas Fox finally appears like he'll be on watch.
I don't disagree. I've been as critical of Knowlton as anyone. I'm only trying to find a silver lining here. A couple of weeks ago he's signaling that he's maybe signing Fox to an extension. This is really the first time there's even been a hint or trace of anything from him that indicates things need to start to moving forward. It's unfortunate that it takes this outpouring and that it will still come too late, but it is what it is I guess. Looks like Gates may be going to Mizzou now, and I'm fairly positive I'll never get over passing on him for Fox.
Totally agree with both...the fact that there's even the discussion and Knowlton is answering questions after 3 seasons is progress...almost like the dreaded "vote of confidence."
The fact that it might have taken emails from the fan base when the damn stadium is pretty much empty is an issue...you'd hope your AD can read the room.
Sure, tho I'm quite interested in seeing how Fox could possibly get this team to 16-16, given that right now, our roster is set and there are multiple holes...we have no scholarships.
Maybe we'll land an impact kid using his COVID year like Andre Kelly figures to do, but Fox hasn't shown the ability to land a game changer that elevates the play of others.
“Obviously, I’m very cognizant of fans wanting to see better,”
Good, I hope that means the loud fan complaints are at least registering. I highly encourage everyone to keep at it and not let up.
I'll be honest, I don't put a ton of weight into much of anything Knowlton is saying, but I guess it's good that he's acknowledging reality and is at least saying some of the right things. Lip service is at least better than outright denial.
I don't think GPA comparisons would wash. Comparing a Cal player's GPA in engineering vs another school's player in communications would be a grossly unfair way to evaluate a team's academic performance.
Meanwhile, Sean Miller is back at Xavier. They'll likely be in the Elite 8 before Cal even sniffs a top half finish in the P12...
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/33548495/xavier-expected-hire-sean-miller-coach-return-one-year-away-sport-sources-say
What a joke Xavier. Hiring Miller is such a cheap, unethical thing to do. That's exactly the sort of move I never want to see Cal do. I don't dispute the guy can coach, but Spain was good at Inquisitions...
The Wyking-to-Fox transition was kind of our first meaningful insight into Knowlton's ability to handle the big stuff and it left me concerned. The way he's handling communication with the media right now is . . . not helping.
Agreed.
Contrast it with Scott Stricklin's decisive and impressive handling of the Gators sudden swap of Mike White for Todd Golden in Gainesville. That's leadership.
Regardless of who was responsible, Florida's HC this time last week was Mike White...he surprised a lot of people and took the Georgia job after Crean was fired...Todd Golden is now HC in Florida. Call it what you want.
My Monday article this week will address the topic
Graduation rate!! WTF in college basketball. I think it is terrible, but isn't 30% way above average in winning NCAA programs? Aren't the very good players just 2 and done, at best? Also the Pac 12 network is hiding our visibility as a conference. If we put our games on KQED we would get more viewers!!
The grad rates are totally & completely misleading...kids leaving for the NBA or transferring really damage it...Jaylen Brown's 1 and done hurts...transfers kill it...Charlie Moore/Conor Vanover/Darius McNeill/Justice Sueing/Matt Bradley transferring ALL hurt....a lot...
Yes, you want to graduate your players, but in this era of the transfer portal, it's misleading.
He also mentions APR from 8-9 years ago… that’s a VERY selective time point and asking a coach who was hired 3 years ago to take on the Apr/graduation rate of players that were either graduating when he arrived or had left prior to his arrival seems…. I’m trying to figure out what’s more confusing an AD telling a coach he has to fix the graduation rates from years past that are out of his control or a coach that heard that and said sure that is 100% my problem to take on.
Assuming both Knowlton and Fox are smart & reasonable men, I doubt Knowlton asked Fox to correct something that he has absolutely no control over. I read it to mean that _his_ recruits are the ones that will determine academic success or not.
Its a good point. It’s a better metric in longer developing and larger roster sizes like football. You don’t have one and dones in football. And you see a lot of guys finish out 4 years before transferring. So unless they’re playing as a true freshman, guys are usually already here 2/3 years in terms of classes before they play. That’s a bigger tell. Vs a 13scholarship roster where 1 departure is 7% of your scholarship size.
Agreed. In MBB, this statistic is kind of a non sequitur and given the fungibility of players transferring to and from different schools, one should not expect a 100% APR. If indeed it is 100%, that even might be indicative of a problem with the program as less talented players stick around for four years. If we recruited at a higher level the APR would not be 100 or even close to that.
I'm inclined to think this is actual progress, however small. My reading has been that until this past week Knowlton has been in a vacuum and has only had to listen to Fox and a few donors. Cal basketball has been such a non-concern for fans that most have simply checked out. We don't even play any games on TV that aren't buried on the Pac-12 network. We are underground. I think he's finally starting to get the temperature. I don't see a point in waiting to turn the page, but alas Fox finally appears like he'll be on watch.
My concern would be: IF it took fans emailing him to get a pulse on the fandom and to notice why people are upset… that’s even more concerning.
I don't disagree. I've been as critical of Knowlton as anyone. I'm only trying to find a silver lining here. A couple of weeks ago he's signaling that he's maybe signing Fox to an extension. This is really the first time there's even been a hint or trace of anything from him that indicates things need to start to moving forward. It's unfortunate that it takes this outpouring and that it will still come too late, but it is what it is I guess. Looks like Gates may be going to Mizzou now, and I'm fairly positive I'll never get over passing on him for Fox.
Kinda like how Ted Stryker’s squadron never got over that day in Macho Grande...those Gates wounds run pretty deep...
https://youtu.be/gTJmtrUD46g
Hah
Totally agree with both...the fact that there's even the discussion and Knowlton is answering questions after 3 seasons is progress...almost like the dreaded "vote of confidence."
The fact that it might have taken emails from the fan base when the damn stadium is pretty much empty is an issue...you'd hope your AD can read the room.
Thankfully no extension. But what happens if next year is like 16-16. I guess it will hinge on recruiting gains.
Hard to see that happening.
This!
Sure, tho I'm quite interested in seeing how Fox could possibly get this team to 16-16, given that right now, our roster is set and there are multiple holes...we have no scholarships.
Maybe we'll land an impact kid using his COVID year like Andre Kelly figures to do, but Fox hasn't shown the ability to land a game changer that elevates the play of others.
All I am gonna say is I am pissed. There better be as much coaching talent available next year as there was this year.
“Obviously, I’m very cognizant of fans wanting to see better,”
Good, I hope that means the loud fan complaints are at least registering. I highly encourage everyone to keep at it and not let up.
I'll be honest, I don't put a ton of weight into much of anything Knowlton is saying, but I guess it's good that he's acknowledging reality and is at least saying some of the right things. Lip service is at least better than outright denial.
I don't think GPA comparisons would wash. Comparing a Cal player's GPA in engineering vs another school's player in communications would be a grossly unfair way to evaluate a team's academic performance.