Category: Cal Bears

By Morris Phillips

Marsalis Roberson, like a lot of his teammates, hasn’t had the impact on the Cal basketball program his coaches and fans had hoped for. In seven game appearances in this his sophomore season, all with double-digit minutes off the bench, Roberson had scored just 13 points.

But with Cal enjoying as much of a breakout performance as any in their season-opening streak of nine losses, the 6’6″ forward attempted a full-flight, soaring dunk on 7’0″ Oumar Ballo, Arizona’s ascendant center, a legitimate NBA prospect, and not a dude to back down from a challenge.

Just how did that go, Marsalis–with Cal trailing by 51-39 early in the second half and looking to make a move?

Not well, but the attitude was spot on. Right now, Cal needs as much of that as they can muster and then some. Mark Fox noticed, and on Sunday afternoon in the desert, the team’s embattled coach was encouraged by Roberson, and an 81-68 loss that was far less lopsided than anyone could have imagined.

“We made one less basket than Arizona made. They just murdered us at the foul line,” said Fox, eluding to a disparity of 18 free throw attempts between the two teams. “We’ve played really hard. We’ve had some challenges just trying to get enough healthy guys on the floor to build a cohesive team.”

The Bears are still without Jalen Celestine and DeJuan Clayton, absences that continue to leave the team’s bench thin in versatility and production. One minute before Roberson had his bold, dunk attempt thrown by Ballo, the Oakland native cut Cal’s deficit to 10 with a short jump shot. But that was the only two points Cal’s bench scored all afternoon–after they went scoreless in Wednesday’s home loss to USC.

That lack of bench production didn’t diminish the scoring of Lars Thiemann, Kuany Kuany and Devin Askew, who combined for 54 of Cal’s 68 points on better than 50 percent shooting. But again, Askew was spent after 35 minutes of battling taller Wildcats, who came in greater numbers. Consequently, the visitors didn’t finish well. After getting as close as 59-52 with 10:51 remaining, Cal never got closer.

“I thought we kept the game where we needed to until that little spurt,” Fox said of his squad’s lethargic finish.

Azoulas Tubelis led Arizona with 25 points. Ballo was just as impressive with 17 points, seven rebounds, and four blocks. The Wildcats’ perimeter game wasn’t as complimentary, missing 16 of 20 attempts from distance, which allowed Cal to hang around.

Arizona enjoyed an 8-2 run in the closing minutes before the half to lead 42-30, but Cal got a kind whistle, and three made free throws from Askew pulled Cal within 42-33 at the break.

“I knew (Cal was) going to come in here and fight,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “I knew it was going to be a grindy game.”

The Bears are 0-9 for the first time ever. Eastern Washington visits Haas Pavilion on Wednesday as Cal needs a win to avoid the worst start by a team in the Power 5 Era, dating back to 1975.

By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Against the USC Trojans, the first pass was difficult, and the second pass nearly impossible.

Cal’s deliberate pace didn’t move the defense an inch but instead left the Trojans more rooted in the paint. Devin Askew, the Bears’ nearest thing to a catalyst, was then left to put up a bunch of difficult shots.

And that was the opening half, and Cal’s best 20 minutes of the evening, after which they trailed 27-22.

To recap, the hosts, buoyed by their most enthusiastic crowd of the season, totaled one assist, 28 missed shots, and one made three in the first half.

The Bears got as close as 46-43 in the second half, only to see the Trojans score 20 consecutive points to turn a close game into a rout.

The lengthy USC run to close the game exposed the Cal bench, which had four guys play a combined 35 minutes, but shoot 0 for 8 and go scoreless. The quartet of ND Okafor, Obinna Anyanwu, Marsalis Roberson, and Monty Bowser could be an area of growth going forward for Cal, but none have the experience or breadth to impose their will at this point. Sam Alijiki, Cal’s most impactful frontcourt reserve missed the game due to concussion protocols.

Askew once again led Cal in scoring with 23 points, but missed 14 of his 21 shot attempts and committed three turnovers as Cal never gave USC a reason to veer its attention in other directions.

“You have to finish… you get a chance to lay the ball off the backboard, you have to finish it.” coach Mark Fox said.

Lars Thiemann had 10 for Cal, but he too was harassed by a collapsing Trojan defense.

Reese Dixon-Waters led USC with 17, Drew Peterson and Joshua Morgan added 14 each.

The Bears are 0-8 for the first time ever with a visit to Arizona up next. Among Power 5 teams, Cal surprisingly has company: the Louisville Cardinals are 0-7, and no team in the Power 5 Era has started 0-10.

Fox, in his 18th year as head coach at the Division I level, cited the miraculous rise of Bill Snyder’s Kansas State football teams from his youthful days in Kansas. Fox said he told his team the K-State story the other day in an attempt to get them to tap into the mindset needed to turn around their daunting circumstances.

“This team’s going to have to earn their right to win, and that’s going to be difficult,” Fox said.

“He’s been the most positive on the whole team. He refuses to let us quit,” Kuany Kuany said of Fox. “I feel like we’re all picking up from that. He’s very consistent with his energy. We look at him and don’t want to quit because we’ll let our coach down.”