Category: Cal Bears

By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Three outings into their 2017-18 season, the Cal Bears have been incrementally better each time out. On Thursday, the Bears rode a big, second half to a victory over Wofford, the pre-season favorite to win the Southern Conference, 79-65.

Darius McNeill and Marcus Lee led the Bears with 17 points apiece, as Cal overcame a one-point halftime deficit to win by 14. The Bears shot 55 percent for the game and 16 of 20 from the free throw line to overcome 19 turnovers in the win. But according to Coach Wyking Jones the difference was Cal’s play at the defensive end, and getting a handle on Terriers’ leading scorer Fletcher Magee.

“Really good second half,” Jones said. “We went into the locker room as a staff and made a couple of adjustments to the press. Obviously, we didn’t let Fletcher touch the ball as much in the second half. He really shot the ball well in the first half. We focused on not even letting him [Fletcher] catch. That was the game plan.”

Magee scored 24 of his game-high 32 points in the first half to give Wofford a 37-36 lead. But Magee attempted only six shots–making two–in the second half as the Bears pulled away. Cal paraded to the free throw line after halftime, making 13 of 16 to supplement 52 percent shooting from the field.

McNeill exploded for 15 points in the opening half after he scored just three against UC Riverside and five against Cal Poly. The 6’3″ guard started in the Bears’ backcourt along with Don Coleman and Justice Sueing on the wing. McNeill, who replaced fellow freshman Deschon Winston in the starting lineup after the opener, rewarded Coach Jones with his patience and aggressiveness.

“Today, Coach just kept telling me to play my game, and play through the system and be really aggressive, really let the game come to me,” McNeill said. “I took that advice and good things happened today.”

The Wofford game was a part of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational that continues in Maui on Monday. The Bears were already guaranteed a quarterfinal matchup against No. 5 Wichita State giving the Terriers motivation to play spoiler in their visit to Haas Pavilion.
 

photo by Kelly Cox Cal Athletics: Don Coleman scored 30 points vs. Cal Poly after tossing in 31 vs. UC Riverside Friday

On the Cal Bears podcast with Morris:

The Cal Bears got a satisfying first win of the 2017-18 season last Sunday over Cal Poly 74-66 and Cal head coach Wyking Jones give credit to the defense in that win. The Bears had to face two Big West teams to start the season at Haas Pavilion UC Riverside and Cal Poly. The bottom feeders in the Big West who finished eighth and ninth came into Haas and UC Riverside got a key victory on Friday against Cal.

UC Riverside had their way with Cal and won by eight and there was never a question whether UC Riverside could win that game the Bears fell behind early and just couldn’t get their shots to fall. Obviously there were some adjustments 48 hours later Sunday the Bears come back out to beat the team who finished last in the Big West last season Cal Poly.

Morris Phillips covers Cal Bears basketball for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford Cardinal running back Bryce Love (20) is tackled by Washington Huskies defensive back Ezekiel Turner (24) during the third quarter of an NCAA football game in Stanford, Calif. on Friday, November 10, 2017. Stanford beat Washington 30-22. (Spencer Allen/IOS via AP Images)

On the Cal Bears podcast with Morris:

1 Senior day was a good day in the Cal Bears last game two weeks ago (they have the Big Game this Saturday). The Bears got a win over the Oregon State Beavers 37-23 to improve their record to 5-5

2 In that game Cal quarterback Ross Bowers threw 24-30 for 259 yards to help improve the Cal offense

3 Morris talks about how important the rest is for Cal coming off a bye week before the Big Game at Stanford

4 With Cal heading to Stanford for the Big Game their main goal now is to shut down Stanford’s run game as the Cardinal will be going with running back Bryce Love. If they can do that they could have this game in hand

5 Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said after the OSU game that the Bears main focus in practice going forward towards the Big Game is to stop Love and his run game which has been Stanford’s success all season. OSU stopped Love and they almost won it against Stanford back on Oct 26th

Morris Phillips does the Cardinal podcasts Mondays and Wednesdays at http://www.sportsradioservie.com

By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–The Bears found themselves on the ropes from the opening tap in their season opener against UC Riverside at Haas Pavilion.

While the Highlanders operated confidently behind point guard Diykembe Martin, building a 10-0 lead, the Bears looked disjointed, going more than six minutes before registering their first points of the season. In front of their home crowd, anticipating a new season, it was immediately unsettling for the team and the reworked Cal coaching staff.

“Now we are playing catch-up, now we are out of our comfort zone, now we’re doing things we normally don’t do and we were just kind of scrambled and disorganized,” Coach Wyking Jones said of the opening moments of his head coaching debut. “Moving forward, I think they get it now that from the jump we have to do a better job of coming out and taking care of business rather than sizing up our opponent and seeing how hard we have to go.”

Cal would fall behind by as many as 23 points in the opening half, and trailed by 19 at the half. Despite a more spirited second half that saw the Bears reduce Riverside’s lead to single digits on two occasions, Cal fell 74-66 to UC Riverside on Friday night.

Offensive execution was Cal’s biggest shortcoming as the Bears shot just 30 percent from the field, and registered only seven assists. With a bushel of newcomers, and only two returning letterwinners–the fewest in the country–the Bears have their work cut out for them building cohesion, and identifying their scorers.

“We need to find people to step up offensively, including myself,” said center Kingsley Okoroh, along with Don Coleman, the Bears’ only significant returners. “I only scored five points and I don’t know how many (Marcus) Lee scored. We need other people to contribute — we can’t just rely on (Coleman) but we will find a way.”

Coleman led Cal with a career-best 32 points but missed 19 of his 28 shots from the field. While the junior guard didn’t need any prodding to pick up his aggressiveness, Coleman did find plenty of resistance when he attacked the basket. Okoroh contributed 18 rebounds, but seemed hesitant with the ball in his hands on the block. Kentucky transfer Marcus Lee added eight points, but was far more effective defensively.

Most disturbingly, the Bears didn’t pass the ball with any acumen, as the meager seven assists illustrated how disjointed the Bears’ attack was. Against the smaller Highlanders–picked to finish eighth in the nine-member Big West–they had some success going to the basket, but that bullish approach would be foolhardy against Pac-12 competition.

Martin, the composed sophomore guard, led UC Riverside with 12 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Center Alex Larsson contributed 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Among Cal’s seven first-year players, guard Deschon Winston and forward Justice Sueing were the biggest contributors. Sueing led Cal’s second half resurgence with 14 points, five assists and Winston added five points.

The Bears host Cal Poly on Sunday at 5pm before traveling to Hawaii for the Maui Classic next week.

collegebasketball.ap.org: photo: Cal Bears head coach Wyking Jones show speaking with the media opens the regular season Friday night against UC Riverside at Haas Pavilion

Cal Bears BB Podcast with Morris Phillips:

1 Size and athleticism was what the Cal Bears brought into Haas Pavillion on Monday night against Providence in their pre season game win 81-52 and the Bears had the game in hand from the start

2 The Bears Kingsley Okoroh has a good game Monday night with a triple double performance and 14 points, ten rebounds, ten blocks, and a good way to start 2017

3 The other part of Cal’s one two punch from Monday was Marcus Lee who transferred to Cal from Kentucky and had 17 points, 12 rebounds, and two blocks

4 Wyking Jones Cal’s head coach and a former assistant coach to ex head coach Cuonzo Martin called for up temp play, a full court press, and a defense that held Providence to 22 percent in shooting in the first half

5 The Bears open the regular season against UC Riverside at 9PM on Friday night at Haas Pavilion as always a big crowd expected for opening night

Morris Phillips covers Cal Mens basketball and does the podcast each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

AP File Photo: Washington quarterback Jake Browning passes as Jesse Sosebee, left, pushes back California’s James Looney in the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 7, 2017, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

On the Cal Bears Podcast with Morris:

1 Saturday was satisfying 37-23 for the Cal Bears their first win in the last three games it had to be relieving for Cal head coach Justin Wilcox

2 Cal’s James Looney defensive end was saying after the game that in the net two games Cal has to get the next game against Stanford get the axe and win against UCLA on the last regular game of the season

3 Any disadvantages of playing the two games on the road

4 At 5-5 how do you see Cal ‘s bowl chances

5 Cal quarterback Ross Bowers threw 24-30 for 259 yards and two touchdowns had a good game against the Oregon State Beavers

California Golden Bears quarterback Ross Bowers (3) in the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017, in Boulder, Colo. Colorado won 44-21. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

On the Cal podcast with Michael:

1 The Cal offense and quarterback Ross Bowers had an uphill evening last Saturday in Colorado in their one point loss 44-28

2 This was the first time in the last nine games Cal allowed 40 plus points under a defensive minded coach Justin Wilcox

3 Wilcox says that Cal is losing one on one battles, the passing game, and missing tackles

4 Colorado quarterback Steven Montez made up for the shaky start he had the week before getting Colorado up on offense with two touchdowns and a keeper

5 Final home game coming up this Saturday against Oregon State Michel goes over this match plus the Big Game at Stanford

Michael Duca does the Cal Bears podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com