Transfer Portal Update: Meet the New Bears

Taking a look at the latest additions to the Cal MBB roster

Another year, another heavy dose of departures and arrivals. The Bears were going to lose Jovan Blacksher and Mady Sissoko, but additional transfer departures from Jeremiah Wilkinson, BJ Omot, Joshua Ola-Joseph, Christian Tucker, and Devin Curtis means that plenty of scholarship spots opened up. And like prior years, Mark Madsen has wasted little time turning over Cal’s roster. So let’s take a look at the latest Bears and try to guess at what each will bring to the court:

Justin Pippen

Highlights:

Stat profile:

Projection:

Pippen was a consensus top 100 prospect out of high school . . . and then didn’t really ever crack Michigan’s rotation. That’s far from a black mark for a freshman playing on a top 25 team that won the Big 10 tournament and made the Sweet 16, but it also means that we have very limited information with which to project his future contributions at Cal.

Here’s a good breakdown from Michigan website MGoBlog scouting Pippen out of high school. They saw him as a more developmental prospect. Pippen’s biggest plus was supposed to be his shooting ability, but he wasn’t able to hit 3s as a freshmen in very limited numbers. There’s a decent shot that Cal is buying low on a guy who has the floor of a plus 3-and-D shooting guard, but with a decent ceiling if he can develop physically.

Milos Ilic

Highlights:

Stat profile:

Here’s a challenging transfer projection. Loyola Maryland is one of the most anonymous programs in D1 basketball, but Cal has plucked their best player away, and Milos Ilic does bring with him an intriguing all-around game. He’s an efficient interior scorer with a little bit of range, he’s a willing and effective passer, he’s a good rebounder on both ends, and he’s used his 6’10’’ frame to be decently disruptive on defense.

He’s also transferring from one of the weakest conferences in the country to a power conference.

His highlight video is a solidly diverse array of post-ups, pick-and-roll finishes, and face up moves against a collection of opponents that are not a good comparison point for ACC basketball. Ilic’s usage rate will surely fall as he’s going to be a complimentary player for Cal rather than the go-to-guy he was for the Greyhounds. How he holds up physically against tougher competition will be the key question.

Dai Dai Ames

Highlights:

Stat profile:

Projection: Three years, three different power programs for another former top 100 consensus high school recruit. Ames is a combo guard who took a big step forward as a scorer in year 2, where he got more efficient from every area on the court both as a shooter and as a ball handler. He’s clearly a plus shooter with enough threat as a driver to keep defenses honest.

I’ll have to watch tape, but I may have some questions about his defense. Virginia was not strong on that side of the ball this year, and Ames commits a lot of fouls for a 6’1’’ guard.

Nolan Dorsey

Highlights:

Stat profile:

Nolan Dorsey is a career 36% shooter from 3 on a high volume, and is a solid defensive rebounder for his size, but the only question that really matters here is if his all-conference level defense will translate in the ACC.

When I heard that Cal got a commitment from a former Campbell Camel who didn’t even average 10 points/game, I scratched my head in confusion, but the explanation is that Dorsey is a good enough defender to a) win the Colonial Athletic Association’s defensive player of the year award and b) earn himself an 8:37 video solely dedicated to defensive highlights.

I think it’s legit. Campbell had the best team defense in their conference, and when I watch that video I see a guy with the right combination of instinct, intensity, and motor to translate anywhere.

After a year of broken team defense, Cal could desperately use a dude who plays great defense on one end and can shoot enough to space the offense on the other end.

John Camden

Hot off the presses - Cal’s newest commitment as of Sunday April 14!

Highlights:

Stat profile:

Camden is a former high three star recruit who twice gave it a run at a major program and couldn’t crack the rotation, then transferred to a smaller school and immediately became the best player on the team. Shooting 43% from three with a microscopic turnover rate means that he’s playable anywhere on offense. His recruiting pedigree and power conference experience would imply that he should be able to hack it on defense, but it’s worth noting that Delaware was a disaster on that end, so Camden’s impact will likely depend on his ability to hold his own defensively.

Upshot

If you’re looking for a pattern to Cal’s transfer portal additions, it’s shooting.

Last year, Cal was plagued by bad spacing and an inability to hit jumpers. The Bears shot just 31% from three and defenses could collapse on Wilkinson and Andrej Stojakovic without fear.

Camden, Dorsey, and Ames are all proven shooters. Pippen projects as a shooter even if he wasn’t able to translate that in very limited playing time as a freshman. Even Ilic from the center position can shoot it a little bit.

You can imagine a future where Andrej Stojakovic is the offensive fulcrum around which a bunch of shooters space the floor and punish defenders who get out of position.

The big question mark here? Defense, and ball movement. Dorsey is a proven defender, but everybody else is a pretty big question mark due to competition levels or lack of playing time. Meanwhile, none of these players are true point guards - in fact, it’s Ilic who actually has the highest assist percentage. Cal is bringing in high 3 star high school point guard recruit Semetri Carr, but it’s asking a lot for Carr to immediate step in as a ball handler and passer. After a season where Cal really struggled to move the ball and find open shooters, will this new roster fall into the same struggles without a true point guard?