By Morris Phillips

The opening game of Cal’s basketball season was an exercise in change as Cuonzo Martin coached the Bears officially for the first time, and retired coach Mike Montgomery served as the color commentator on the Pac-12 Network TV broadcast.

With Martin and Montgomery assuming new roles, it was up to returning stars David Kravish, Tyrone Wallace and Jabari Bird to give the smallish crowd some sense of normalcy and they didn’t disappoint, combining for 47 points, 21 rebounds and 17 assists in the Bears 91-57 win over Alcorn State on Friday night.

What wasn’t normal to Haas Pavilion was Martin parading up and down the sideline, exhorting the Bears throughout, in contrast to the more laid back style employed by Montgomery.   While Martin’s win total of 125 games pales in comparison to Montgomery’s 677 wins at Montana, Stanford and Cal, make no mistake, Martin can coach as he led his final Tennessee Volunteers team to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA’s last March, winning three games in the process. As a second comparison, Martin’s first NCAA team went further in the tournament than any of Montgomery’s final six qualifiers dating back to 2000-2001.

So for Bears’ fans who aren’t sure of the transition, it may be time to take a closer look at what the 43-year old Martin has to offer, including his frenetic coaching style.

“I don’t see a reason to sit down,” Martin said. “It’s the way I am in practice. I carry it over to the game. I just feel like when I sit down, the game slows down. I need to give the guys the energy they need to push them through.”

“After our two exhibition games and one real game, it’s kind of normal for us,” Bird said of Martin’s sideline style. “We are used to him being really animated on the sideline and right in your ear. Me personally, I enjoy his direction on defense. It’s really helpful.”

Martin’s Cal debut will be memorable for the 15-0 lead the Bears forged in less than five minutes of action. The cold-shooting Braves of Alcorn State, picked to finish in the middle of pack in the MEAC, did pick it up from that point, but trailed 50-32 at the half as the Bears shots 52 percent from the field. Martin’s high tempo attack, built to take advantage of the strengths of his returning trio of stars, seemed to work just fine as Bird, Kravish and Wallace combined to score 34 of Cal’s 50 points in the half.

Three other Bears finished with double figures in scoring as Jordan Mathews added 18, Christian Behrens had 10, and Cornell transfer Dwight Tarwater contributed 11.

LeAntwan Luckett, the leading returning scorer in the MEAC, led Alcorn State with 18 points, but missed 13 of his 18 field goal attempts. Marquis Vance had 17 and Tyrel Hunt 11 for the Braves. Alcorn State had only seven made baskets in the second half and shot 31 percent from the field for the game.

“We just weren’t patient enough,” Alcorn State coach Luther Riley said. “The first four possessions we took four ill-advised shots early in the shot clock. If you do that, you’re going to get scored on quick. It’s as simple as that.”

The Bears take on Kennesaw State on Sunday also as part of the season-opening 2K Classic. The four-game early-season tournament will also take the Bears to New York where they will face Syracuse and either Iowa or Texas.