REPORT: Utah Valley head coach Mark Madsen emerging as a leading candidate for Cal men's basketball head coaching job
Stanford gets Troy Taylor, so naturally its possible we just get Mark Madsen
Just when you thought the chaos was over, another name has entered the fold for Cal Men’s Basketball’s coaching search. Mark Madsen. Jon Rothstein of CBS is reporting that Madsen has become a leading candidate to fill the vacancy for the Bears. Madsen is currently the head coach of the Utah Valley Wolverines, where he is in the NIT semifinals as it stands.
Sources: Utah Valley's Mark Madsen has emerged as a leading candidate for the head coaching vacancy at Cal.
Madsen has won a combined 48 games in the past two seasons at Utah Valley.
Madsen has 2 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) regular season titles to his name as head coach of the Wolverines. His teams are known for being unselfish with the basketball and he has West Coast roots. Those roots? As a player, he played for Stanford so that throws a small storyline into all of this.
Cal fans what are your thoughts should Madsen become the man for the job?
As a Lakers fan, I'm all for this. He was a great role player, who besides his Cardinal roots, was a dude who knew how to execute.
So, Mad Dog is personable, can coach, brings energy and NBA experience as a player. These are all good things…kids will like him, IF he actively recruits.
Is he bolting for Stanford, BYU or the NBA? It’s a concern. Can he rebuild Cal? Who knows….he’s got 4 guys on the UVU roster that would start for Cal…will some or all follow him, a must if a HC is gonna turn Cal around quickly?
AAR and Pasternack both had tangible NIL funding possibilities…will donors support Madsen? In news that should surprise no one because it was something Faraudo suggested in a recent article, Mike Montgomery has become Knowlton’s main advisor, way more so than Shareef or Jaylen…this makes little sense and is worrisome because Monty hated to recruit and is openly hostile towards the NIL and transfer portal, which are the only ways Cal can really turn things around because MM is likely not here for the long haul.
Not the worst hire, but not the best, and figures to do little to energize the fan base and program.