Category: Cal Bears

Winning ugly: Cal doesn’t let poor shooting prevent a win against WSU

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–A few things transpired on the way to Jabari Bird becoming the 47th Golden Bear to score 1,000 points in his career.

Six, consecutive missed shots, a whole bunch of angst, and–fortunately for Cal–Bird’s short memory in effect.

“He has to keep shooting because the shots were there.  I don’t know if he was necessarily pressing.  The shots didn’t fall,” coach Cuonzo Martin said of Bird, who found himself with an open look at a three with a minute remaining in a close game on Saturday.

Bird’s three gave Cal a four-point cushion in a low-scoring game that featured missed shots more than anything else.   They would go on to beat Washington State,  58-54, giving the Bears a modest, three-game win streak following three losses in the previous four games.

Cal’s season, and their post-season aspirations seemingly rest on their ability to beat teams they’re supposed to beat, and WSU provided the latest test. While markedly better than the one-conference win Cougars of last year, this group still figures in the bottom third of the Pac-12 standings.

Against Cal, WSU appeared prepared, especially in how to limit Cal offensively. Coach Ernie Kent had his Cougars focused on stopping Cal star Ivan Rabb, who didn’t score his initial basket until the game was 17 minutes in, and Cal trailed by six.

But in both halves, things swung decidedly to Cal in the final moments.

In the second half, and the score tied at 50, the Bears finished the job with a Charlie Moore layup preceding Bird’s big three with 52 seconds remaining.

Bird had missed all six shots he attempted before draining the last one. That gave Cal the cushion they needed, but also gave Bird his 1,000 career points.

“I didn’t really think of the 1000th point,” Rabb said of Bird’s feat. “I didn’t think he was really pressing for it.  As soon as he made that shot, I think somebody said it and I heard it, so really congratulations to Jabari.  He made it big at the end of the game, scoring big points and getting his 1000th point at the end of the game.”

The Bears improved to 4-2 in conference play with the win, which keeps them squarely among the Pac-12’s upper crust.  That perch will be tested next weekend when the Bears visit Utah and Colorado.

 

 

 

 

Cal Bears report: Wilcox has agreed to five year deal with Cal to be new head coach

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USA Today photo: Justin Wilcox will be head coach for the Cal Bears signed a five year deal is seen here as former defensive coordinator last season with the Wisconsin Badgers

by Morris Phillips and Michael Duca

BERKELEY–As previously rumored, Justin Wilcox, formerly the defensive coordinator at the University of Wisconsin, has agreed to a five year deal as the new head football coach for the University of California.

Cal is not disclosing any financial terms the agreement. Sources say that Wilcox had signed a contract for the five years and will be the Bears new head coach for 2017.

The Bears parted ways with former head coach Sonny Dykes last Sunday. Dykes’ four years were successful on offense, and he shored up Cal’s embarrassing graduation rate, but could never get his defense in a position to stop the opposition.There was speculation that interim coach Jake Spavital was going to be named the head coach, but the University wanted to start fresh with a with a different philosophy, and that’s what they expect out Wilcox. Spavital has taken a job with West Virginia.

Wilcox has also coached at Boise State, Tennessee, Washington and USC as well as Wisconsin. Wilcox comes to Cal with some Pac-12 familiarity from being defense coordinator at Washington and USC.

Short-lived rumors that dismissed 49ers boss Chip Kelly would return to the college sidelines were just that – short-lived.

Wilcox returns to Cal after having been an assistant coach (linebackers coach) under former Cal head coach Jeff Tedford between 2003-05 and has a resume of experience on defense. This time Wilcox comes back to Cal for his first head coaching gig. Wilcox is the son of NFL Hall of Fame linebacker and former San Francisco 49er Dave Wilcox. The younger Wilcox impressed Cal with his defensive success, most recently at Wisconsin, which ranked seventh in the nation on defense this past season. Wilcox has a lot of work to do, as Cal finished last season 125th out 128 schools on defense.

With Wilcox Cal feels like they’ve found somebody who’s committed long term, not just for the upcoming 2017 season, “(We) want somebody who is committed to Cal for the long term, somebody who really wants to be at Cal and somebody who really wants to build a winning program.” said Cal Athletic Director Mike Williams last Sunday after it was announced that Dykes was being fired.

Morris Phillips and Michael Duca cover Cal football for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

 

Locked in: Defensive-minded Cal holds UW to season-low 59 points, picks up critical conference win

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–Markelle Fultz, the fabulous freshman for Washington, is plenty familiar to the Cal Bears’ coaching staff.

Coach Cuonzo Martin recruited the Washington D.C. metro product only to see the 6’4″ guard land in Seattle with conference foe Washington.  Since joining the Huskies, a very curious, but telling pattern has emerged.

The youthful Huskies have struggled, Fultz has played well, not great, and the youngster’s draft prospects have climbed through the roof, with almost all projections seeing him as the first overall pick in the June NBA draft.

That incongruous combination of fortunes–along with the broken finger suffered by UW’s Malik Dime in their previous game against Oregon State–put the Huskies in a precarious spot for their visit to Berkeley,  where they haven’t won since 2013.

Martin’s defensive strategy for Washington, in particular Fultz, took it from there.

“We just felt like we should do everything in our power to hold him 10 points under his average, and that was our focus,” Martin recounted.  “We talked to our guards about this, and I think between Dontae, Charlie, Ivan and Stephen, they did a great job of blanking him.  Our bigs had to corral him and do their job, because one guy just can’t stand in front of him.  He’s too big of a guy.”

Fultz, harassed into missing 12 of his 15 shots from the field, finished with 12 points–10 points below his average of 22–and the Bears held on for a 69-59 victory Wednesday at Haas Pavilion.

Washington (8-8, 1-3) came in averaging 83 points a game and was held to as few as 59 for the first time this season. Throughout, the bigger Bears bothered Fultz and his teammates, who were further hampered by the absence of the 6’10” Dime, their one inside scoring presence.

“We were not patient enough to attack that type of defense tonight,” UW coach Lorenzo Romar conceded.  “They had a lot to do with that.”

The Bears improved to 3-2 in conference play, keeping them within hailing distance of undefeated, conference leaders Arizona and Oregon.  Ivan Rabb led Cal with 20 points, 14 rebounds, and Jabari Bird added 16, including four made threes.

Cal enjoyed a 45-40 edge in rebounds, and supported that with seven blocked shots and four steals.  Those numbers helped the Bears offset their poor shooting, which saw them miss 25 of their 39 shots in the first half.

“At the end of the day, in the moment, as long as we win, I’m happy,” Bird said.  “The next day we will look at film and see where we can do better, but as of right now, the W is the biggest thing for me.”

The Bears led at halftime by six, and maintained that lead until Washington surged to tie the score at 40 with 11:48 remaining.  Down the stretch, Cal’s defense imposed its will as they broke open a close game, forcing the Huskies to miss six of their final seven shots.

On Saturday,  the Bears (12-5, 3-2) host Washington State at Haas Pavilion starting at 1pm.

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips: Chip Kelly Cal coaching job speculation changes; student athletes averaging below 3.0 and his salary

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Former San Francisco 49ers coach Chip Kelly speaks at a news conference after the team’s NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Head coach free agent Chip Kelly coming to Cal might not be as strong of a possibility as was talked about after the firing of former Cal head coach Sonny Dykes on Sunday. Kelly has coached in the NFL for the last four years and the money could one of the factors he might not land at Cal and it’s wonder if Cal could retain him Kelly simply would demand more than al would be willing to pay. For former head coach Dykes Cal will payout $5 million for the buyout as he was schedule to coach the team until 2019 at $3 million a year.

One of the other reasons for the firing is Dykes entertaining offers and interviewing at other universities and the alumni at Cal were not very happy about his venturing outside when the university already has him on contract. Also Cal was not happy with Dykes win-loss results which amounted in the donors to drop off. Last season Cal lost to Stanford and USC and all those things factored into his firing but as Cal Athletic Director Mike Williams said at Sunday’s press conference the biggest reason give for letting Dykes go is he was interviewing at other schools.

Morris Phillips does Cal Bears podcasts each Monday and Michel Duca does the Bears podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Cal beats No. 25 USC at the buzzer on Rabb’s blocked shot

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By Morris Phillips

Desperate for a win, the Cal Bears turned to Ivan Rabb with the game on the line Sunday night. 

With five seconds remaining,  Rabb calmly drained a pair of free throws, then as USC’s Jordan McLaughlin drove the length of the floor looking for a game-winner, Rabb came up with the saving block at the buzzer.

“I’m just glad nobody fouled,” Rabb said, noting that two of his teammates had swipes at McLaughlin immediately preceding his block.  “They just funneled him to the basket where I could make something happen.”

“I tried to get a layup and hoped to get a basket or a foul,” McLaughlin said of the final play.  “I saw a wide open lane.  They closed it at the end.”

Big? Indeed. With the narrow win, the Bears avoided a 1-3 start to Pac-12 conference play, and bagged their initial win over a ranked opponent after dropping their first three such contests. Cal last defeated a ranked opponent on the road in November 2014 when they got past Syracuse at Madison Square Garden. 

This game was especially tight in the second half where USC relied heavily on their high percentage shooting, while the Bears had an edge on the glass, and second chance points.  Cal benefitted from the return of 7’0″ Kameron Rooks who hadn’t played in more than a month, and contributed 6 rebounds in 14 minutes on the floor.

Rabb led Cal with 17 points, eight rebounds while Jabari Bird and Don Coleman had 12 points each.  Charlie Moore had his best showing in the past five games with 16 points on 6 of 8 shooting.

McLaughlin and Chimezie Metu had 20 points a piece for the Trojans (15-2, 2-2). USC coach Andy Enfield expressed disappointment with McLaughlin’s critical, missed free throws.

“When you have a guy shooting 80 percent from the foul line and he shoots 3 for 8, you can’t explain it,” Enfield said.

The Bears (11-5, 2-2) return to Haas Pavilion on Thursday to face Washington at 6pm.

 

 

 

Cal Bears report: Sonny Dykes has been fired by the team; Former 49ers coach Kelly being shopped for the job

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OCTOBER 27: Cal head coach Sonny Dykes looks on during an NCAA football game between the California Golden Bears and the USC Trojans on October 27, 2016, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)

By Michael Duca and Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–Sources told SRS the California Golden Bears dismissed head coach Sonny Dykes Sunday . The 47-year old Dykes came with high expectations, and for some of the four seasons at Cal showed why they selected him due to his offensive success. The team was known for it’s high scoring offense especially while Jared Goff was quarterback. Goff left Cal a year early and was the number one pick in the 2016 NFL draft, and now plays for the Los Angeles Rams. The Bears whose defense suffered a slew of injuries, could not keep opponents from out-scoring their high powered Bear Raid offense, however, leading to widespread discontent among Cal alumni.

Dykes was 19-30 in the four seasons that he coached at Cal and 5-7 this past season. With Goff’s departure to the Rams along with six other top receivers Dykes’offense was depleted and had to start all over again.

Dykes was making $3 million a season as head coach at Cal. One of the key reasons for the firing was that Dykes was off going on job interviews while coaching at Cal and that didn’t sit well with the university administration and most importantly the players. Dykes was reported to have interviewed for head coaching openings at Houston, Missouri, and most recently,Baylor. Dykes coached at Louisiana Tech before coming to Cal, and compiled a 25-15 record there.

Sources also said that former San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly could be the leading contender for the job at Cal. Kelly was fired by the Philadelphia Eagles prior to coming to the 49ers for not getting along with his players, but in San Francisco it was a different story.  The players there respected him and said that when quarterback Colin Kaepernick began his protest of the National Anthem, Kelly supported his player’s right to demonstrate in that manner.  Kelly also handled the quarterback transition from former starter Blaine Gabbert to Kaepernick well. The team finished 2-14 and Kelly did the best with what he had at the 49ers but was fired at the end of the season.

These are things that Cal are looking at and Kelly has also expressed an interest in coming back to coach at the college level. Kelly formerly coached at Oregon.

Morris Phillips and Michael Duca cover Cal Bears athletics for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Michael Duca: As Cal gets ready of UCLA the Bears-ASU game was lights out

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SACRAMENTO, CA – NOVEMBER 21: Cal guard Grant Mullins (3) drives to the basket during an NCAA basketball game between the San Diego State Aztecs and the California Bears on November 21, 2016, at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)

Both the ASU Sun Devils and the Cal Bears were shooting lights out basketball in the Bears 81-65 win at Haas Pavilion on Sunday night. The question was which team was going to revert back to their corner. ASU was shooting 51 percent at one point and Cal held through for 40 minutes. It was a tight game all the way around while the game was tied their was never a concern within four or five points. The Bears were within reaching distance the whole way.

The late run that Cal pulled was not so unusual they were scoring about two points a minute all night long. ASU had one shot from the floor and they were shooting 51 percent when they got into that stretch and then the Sun Devils went ice cold. For Cal head coach Cunzo Martin he’s got two line ups he can look at he could look at a defensive line up featuring a great defensive player in Sam Singer or he can look at an offensive starting line up which features Grant Mullins who scored 20 against ASU Sunday.

Michael Duca covers Cal basketball at bearinsider.com and does the podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Amidst the most difficult stretch of their season, the Cal Bears come up with a critical win over ASU

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–Grant Mullins hadn’t been himself. The Ivy League graduate transfer gifted just one season in the Cal basketball program, left briefly to be with his family following the death of his grandmother in late November.  Upon his return, according to coach Cuonzo Martin, the aggressive, offensive dynamo was off his game.

That’s when the observant coach decided to take Mullins’ foot off the gas. Mullins was removed from the starting lineup for a few games, only to return to starting on Sunday night against Arizona State.

“I felt like it was the right thing to do to put him back in the lineup, because he didn’t lose his spot-he went home to be with his family. I didn’t think he was playing at the level and didn’t have his legs on him until now,” Martin said.

Martin’s hunch regarding Mullins proved spot on when Cal’s 21-4 run to end the ballgame broke open a close game in the Bears’ 81-65 win.

The win broke a two-game losing streak for Cal, in the midst of a daunting stretch of four Top 25-opponents in five games that concludes this weekend in Los Angeles.

Mullins and Ivan Rabb led Cal with 20 points each.  In a game where nearly 40 percent of the 117 combined shot attempts for both teams were from three-point range, the advantage would have appeared to go to the guard heavy, perimeter-oriented Sun Devils.

But instead, the nod went to Cal with Rabb and Mullins the biggest beneficiaries.  Mullins hit a season-best five threes on eight attempts, and Rabb, Cal’s accomplished post man, stepped away and buried both of his attempts from distance.

“It’s a big part of my game now,” Rabb said.  “It makes them guard me on the outside–especially when we go small–it really opens the floor.  When I’m able to make that shot, it means we have five shooters on the court.”

With the game on the line and six minutes remaining, Cal trailed by one point as Rabb sat after picking up his fourth foul.  Nervous time no doubt for the Bears, but dunks by Kingsley Okoroh and Jabari Bird sparked Cal’s closing run in which they hit their final eight shot attempts.

“When Rabb went out with his fourth, I don’t think we capitalized on that the way we needed to with him not on the floor,” ASU coach Bobby Hurley said. “Couldn’t get a lead and then he came back in. They had a few plays that stood out.  I thought that Bird’s back cut and dunk, and Okoroh’s put up and dunk were momentum-shifting plays.  So we just didn’t handle the last several minutes the way you’d hope.”

Arizona State (8-7, 1-1) was limited to one made field goal over the game’s final 9:44, and they missed 17 of their 24 attempts from distance.  ASU leading scorer Tra Holder had 14 points, while Obinna Oleka led the Sun Devils with 18 and five rebounds.

For Cal (10-4, 1-1), Bird had 16, and Sam Singer 10 off the bench.  The Bears’ 11 made threes was one off their season high.

The Bears visit Pauley Pavilion Thursday for a date with one-loss UCLA, followed by a date with No. 25 USC.  Both the Bruins and Trojans are 14-1 with both losses coming this last weekend at Oregon.

HURLEY’S BIG COLLEGIATE FINALE TRUMPED BY CAL AND KIDD: Arizona State coach Hurley probably had enough of Cal even before Sunday’s loss as he saw his college career at Duke end at the hands of Todd Bozeman’s Bears in March 1993 in a second round NCAA tournament game in Rosemont, IL.

Hurley was spectacular that night finishing with 32 points, nine assists and one turnover as he tried to rally his Blue Devils from a big, early deficit.

But Cal prevailed behind 28 points from Lamond Murray.  Current NBA Bucks’ coach Jason Kidd, just a freshman matched against the two-time NCAA champion Hurley, had 11 points and 14 assists.  And current Stanford coach Jerod Haase contributed 13 points on three made threes for Cal.

The Bears would see their NCAA run end in a Sweet 16 loss to Kansas and former USF coach Rex Walters.

Offense evaporates after halftime, Cal loses at home to No. 18 Arizona

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Arizona’s Rawle Alkins, left, shoots as California’s Ivan Rabb defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Friday, Dec. 30, 2016, in Berkeley, Calif. (AP Photo/George Nikitin)

By Morris Phillips

Ideally, opponents visiting Haas Pavilion that get kicked to the floor upon arrival shouldn’t then be offered a hand up.

But that’s exactly what coach Cuonzo Martin felt transpired as his Bears squandered an early 13-point lead in a 67-62 loss to No. 18 Arizona.

After baffling the Wildcats (12-2, 1-0) with an active defense in the opening 20 minutes, the Bears allowed a big Arizona run to open the second half, then couldn’t keep up offensively in their second, consecutive loss at home following a school-record, 27-game home win streak.

“I just think that, simply, guys that were defending the ball didn’t take pride in defending.  That’s what happened in the second half.  It’s that simple,” Martin said.

After holding Arizona to 26 points in the first half, the Bears allowed 41 in the second, as Cal’s own missed shots may have contributed to the turnaround as much as the defensive indifference that bothered Martin.  The Bears made just nine baskets after halftime, the majority of those in two runs that got Cal close, but not even.

Cal wiped out Arizona’s 41-36 lead with a run led by Ivan Rabb, who finished with team-best 16 points and 16 rebounds. But Arizona’s Chase Comanche answered back with a three-point play to give Arizona the lead for good with 10:33 remaining.

In the game’s final minutes, Jabari Bird’s 3-point basket got Cal within 66-62, but after Bird’s 3-point miss on the ensuing possession, Cal would get no closer.

Cal missed 24 of their 33 shot attempts in the second half as Arizona rallied. Outside of Rabb and Bird, the other seven Bears to see action also missed 24 of 33 shot attempts.

7’0″ center Dusan Ristic led Arizona with 16 points on 8 of 10 shooting. Rangy freshman guard Kobi Simmons keyed the Wildcats’ second half rally and finished with 14 points, three assists. All but five of Arizona’s 67 points came from their starters.

Charlie Moore’s struggles to find consistentcy as a freshman with fewer than 15 collegiate games under his belt continued against Arizona.  The lead guard scored 12 points, but missed nine of his 12 shot attempts. Moore finished with four assists, but four of Cal’s 10 turnovers as well.

The Bears (9-4, 0-1) turn their attention to Arizona State, Sunday evening’s opponent who lost at Stanford on Friday.  The Sun Devils are the only unranked opponent for Cal during this challenging, five-game stretch bridging non-conference and conference play.

 

 

 

 

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Michael Duca: Shot clock takes Cal out of it’s free throws in streak ending loss to Virginia in last game

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Dec 21 2016 – Berkeley, CA, USA : California forward Ivan Rabb (1) scored 9 points, 12 rebounds and 2 assist during NCAA Men’s Basketball game between Virginia Cavaliers and the California Golden Bears 52-56 lost at Hass Pavilion Berkeley Calif. Thurman James / CSM (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)

What’s going to happen between the Arizona Wildcats (11-2) and the Cal Bears (9-3) on Friday? A lot of basketball, Arizona is clearly a better team but that doesn’t mean their going to win the game. This is the second consecutive top 25 team that Cal is going to face they don’t do that very often they held their own against Virginia. The Virginia Cavaliers are the best defensive team in the nation and Cal played up to Virginia in spite of losing by four 56-52 last week.

Cal is one of the top defensive teams too and they held Virginia to 56 points but for an unfortunate call late in the game where the shot clock stopped working and the players relied on the shot clock which ended up taking away free throws away from Cal giving the ball back to Virginia and there was a four point swing without the shot clock debacle you have a game that literally that was down to the wire.