Since we came to the ACC with our PAC-12 rival Stanford, shouldn’t we want better results because they are now our PAC-12 ally? Or at least to muzzle the dissing of our former PAC-12 conference/brethren? Just wondering…
I think Stojakovic starts but Campbell plays heavy minutes as a combo guard/wing. I think Wilkinson or if we recruit a PG, whoever wins the competition between them, plays behind Tucker.
Men's Basketball April NIL fundraiser is now at 698k, almost 200k over the 500k goal! The majority of funds have come from a handful of very generous large donations, but every bit helps! http://spot.fund/CALegendsMensBasketball
Interesting that you didn’t put Stojakovic as your starting line up… ik his freshman numbers don’t really line up but i think Madsen puts him as a starter. Too much talent to not be used and made an impact his sophomore year… kinda how JT was in his second year at tech. Plus i think one of the key reasons why Stojakovic chose cal over schools like UK and NC (besides the other factors) is prolly because he was “guaranteed” a starting position… or at least he knew he would be an impact player like JT. I hope he continues to stay with Cal and Madsen but if he doesn’t I’d be fine with him entering the draft w/o transferring out LOL
I could easily be wrong, but more relevantly I think both will get 25+ minutes/game at least initially in the season, i.e. the chance to earn more playing time as the year goes on.
Excellent analysis, thank you. There is an alchemy to this that you must see on the court. Kentucky got a lot of grief this year for having an uber talented team and underachieving relative to that talent. We all know that teams that play hard together will perform better than teams that don't. So I will be very curious to see how they are playing in November and December.
I believe this is an accurate eligibility breakdown. Nice to see most of the transfers have 2-3 years left. Presumably, Madsen wants to build a foundation and not have as much churn as we've seen during his tenure thus far.
Thank you for such an absolutely fabulous article. I enjoyed your clear analysis on every aspect of players and their possibilities. So fascinating that Ken/Pom had us in the 220s-230s at the beginning of last year……. Yet we finished 121st to 119 th. I hope when Cal’s roster is finalized that we will be numbered way way higher than the 70s before we astound the world with our coming string of spectacular wins!
Every time my husband is driving us into a Cal game I actually get vision distortion. My eye doctor told me it’s a painless migraine. From stress. But we still go because it’s so exciting. And because our hopes are so high. Golden Bears are going to ROCK this year !!!
Rankings aren't gospel but they suggest that we have constructed a roster capable of competing in the ACC. I also think this team is/will be more balanced than last year's (though injuries played a big role). This is a tremendous accomplishment.
I think our talent is good enough that even the ACC blue bloods will struggle to dominate. And if we can hang around, anything can happen.
It's a much deeper team with a lot more size. Now can they become cohesive in the first two weeks of the season rather than the first two months. (Things I gripe about as a Mark fox survivor )
Going 6-2 or 7-1 in nonconference could set up a tourney appearance if we can do slightly better than .500 in conference play. Also I think today is the last day to enter the portal so there might be some more news. I'd like to see another true point guard. Needless to say we can all feel more bullish on the Bears' chances compared to the years of wandering in the wilderness.
I am hopeful that this deeper and more athletic team will gel quicker than the ‘23 squad. If we’re going to Dance, which based on paper and until they all get on the court still may be a bit of a stretch, this team needs to come out defending better than last year. Early home losses to a UOP or Montana State are probably gonna kill any chance of the Tournament with the ACC schedule, which is a bear.
The formula is relatively clear: avoid bad losses, and pick up some nice wins!
If Celestine still hasn't been picked up by anyone yet, is there a reality where he comes back?
Since we came to the ACC with our PAC-12 rival Stanford, shouldn’t we want better results because they are now our PAC-12 ally? Or at least to muzzle the dissing of our former PAC-12 conference/brethren? Just wondering…
I suppose from that perspective it's a win/win - either the Pac-12 looks better in retrospect, or Stanford loses
Thanks Nick.
I think Stojakovic starts but Campbell plays heavy minutes as a combo guard/wing. I think Wilkinson or if we recruit a PG, whoever wins the competition between them, plays behind Tucker.
Would love Jamarii Thomas from Norfolk St…a scoring PG that can shoot.
***UPDATE**
Saw on Twitter that Thomas committed to VCU.
Men's Basketball April NIL fundraiser is now at 698k, almost 200k over the 500k goal! The majority of funds have come from a handful of very generous large donations, but every bit helps! http://spot.fund/CALegendsMensBasketball
Now it’s over $700k
Interesting that you didn’t put Stojakovic as your starting line up… ik his freshman numbers don’t really line up but i think Madsen puts him as a starter. Too much talent to not be used and made an impact his sophomore year… kinda how JT was in his second year at tech. Plus i think one of the key reasons why Stojakovic chose cal over schools like UK and NC (besides the other factors) is prolly because he was “guaranteed” a starting position… or at least he knew he would be an impact player like JT. I hope he continues to stay with Cal and Madsen but if he doesn’t I’d be fine with him entering the draft w/o transferring out LOL
My prediction:
Starters:
PG: Christian Tucker
Forward : Andrej Stojakovic
Foward: Rytis Petraitis
Wing: Jeff Nwankwo
Center: Mady Sissoko
Rotational Bench:
Guard: Dj Campbell/ Jeremiah Wilkinson
Center Lee Dort
Wing Josh Ola-Joseph
Forward BJ Omot
Depth/Development:
Guard Vladimir Pavlovic
Center Devin Curtis
I could easily be wrong, but more relevantly I think both will get 25+ minutes/game at least initially in the season, i.e. the chance to earn more playing time as the year goes on.
Excellent analysis, thank you. There is an alchemy to this that you must see on the court. Kentucky got a lot of grief this year for having an uber talented team and underachieving relative to that talent. We all know that teams that play hard together will perform better than teams that don't. So I will be very curious to see how they are playing in November and December.
I believe this is an accurate eligibility breakdown. Nice to see most of the transfers have 2-3 years left. Presumably, Madsen wants to build a foundation and not have as much churn as we've seen during his tenure thus far.
1 year:
G Tucker
C Sissoko
2 years:
G DJ Campbell
F Rytis Petraitis
F Joshua Ola-Joseph
F Jeff Nwankwo
F BJ Omot
3 years:
G Andrej Stojakovic
G Vladimir Pavlovic
C Lee Dort
C Devin Curtis
4 years:
G Jeremiah Wilkinson
Yeah, it's a much more balanced roster in that sense, which isn't important as it used to be but I think it sets us up better long term for stability
There is likely going to be some turnover, given the state of things in college sports. Hopefully it is minimal.
Thank you for such an absolutely fabulous article. I enjoyed your clear analysis on every aspect of players and their possibilities. So fascinating that Ken/Pom had us in the 220s-230s at the beginning of last year……. Yet we finished 121st to 119 th. I hope when Cal’s roster is finalized that we will be numbered way way higher than the 70s before we astound the world with our coming string of spectacular wins!
Kudos to Nick on another excellent write up…and Go Bears!!! Can’t wait to be in Haas for game 1. Who else will be there?
I’ll have a newborn but the plan is to drag the wife and baby over to watch this new team as soon as possible
Definitely will be there!
Our family and friends will be there.
Every time my husband is driving us into a Cal game I actually get vision distortion. My eye doctor told me it’s a painless migraine. From stress. But we still go because it’s so exciting. And because our hopes are so high. Golden Bears are going to ROCK this year !!!
Rankings aren't gospel but they suggest that we have constructed a roster capable of competing in the ACC. I also think this team is/will be more balanced than last year's (though injuries played a big role). This is a tremendous accomplishment.
I think our talent is good enough that even the ACC blue bloods will struggle to dominate. And if we can hang around, anything can happen.
It's a much deeper team with a lot more size. Now can they become cohesive in the first two weeks of the season rather than the first two months. (Things I gripe about as a Mark fox survivor )
It took longer this season because Tyson had to learn how to be a guard.
Going 6-2 or 7-1 in nonconference could set up a tourney appearance if we can do slightly better than .500 in conference play. Also I think today is the last day to enter the portal so there might be some more news. I'd like to see another true point guard. Needless to say we can all feel more bullish on the Bears' chances compared to the years of wandering in the wilderness.
I am hopeful that this deeper and more athletic team will gel quicker than the ‘23 squad. If we’re going to Dance, which based on paper and until they all get on the court still may be a bit of a stretch, this team needs to come out defending better than last year. Early home losses to a UOP or Montana State are probably gonna kill any chance of the Tournament with the ACC schedule, which is a bear.
The formula is relatively clear: avoid bad losses, and pick up some nice wins!