Category: Cal Bears

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips: Cal Chancellor feeling the pressure from the faculty to get Harrington investigation right

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sfgate. com file photo: UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks

Cal football podcast with Morris Phillips concerning UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks disturbed by the San Francisco Chronicle’s report that Cal’s football strength and conditioning coach Damon Harrington had gone beyond his limits in pushing the players during workouts which led to the death of Cal linebacker Ted Agu in 2014 which resulted in over heat exhaustion.

Cal’s Faculty Association staff are pushing for a harder and thorough investigation into the Agu death and also the assault of Fabiano Hale a Cal freshman who was hit in the head and received a concussion in the football locker room and had to go to the hospital. Hale was punched by an unnamed Cal player or personnel member and had to go to hospital. The reason for the punching was Hale failed to make a practice session.

Morris Phillips with Michael Duca cover Cal athletics and will be keeping you up to date with any further developing stories pertaining to the investigation of Cal football’s strength and conditioning coach Damon Harrington  Listen in for all the latest on the podcast below

 

Cal Football podcast with Michael Duca: Will Harrington’s contract hang in the balance over alleged abusive devised drill programs

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sportingnews.com file photo: Former Cal defensive lineman Ted Agu who died of exhaustion from football practice his family had sued UC Berkeley

On the Cal football podcast with Michael Duca according to a San Francisco Chronicle article printed on the front page of last Thursday’s edition that two investigators who had close or associated ties with the Cal Athletic staff looked into what caused the death of defensive lineman Ted Agu in 2014 and the assault of freshman Cal player Fabiano Hale who was punched in the head and knocked unconscious in the Cal locker room and brought to the hospital for a concussion.

Cal Strength and Conditioning coach Damon Harrington is at the center of the Chronicle article written by two beat staff reporters, Harrington is said to have devised the practice drills that killed Agu. Agu’s family sued and was awarded over $5 million in the settlement against the UC school for wrongful death.

Listen to all of the latest commentary regarding the investigation of alleged abuse and medically reckless practice drills according to a Chronicle investigative article on the podcast with Michael Duca

 

 

 

 

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Morris Phillips: Cal elated Rabb to stay in school another year great news for hoops program

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On the Cal Bears basketball podcast with Morris Phillips Ivan Rabb has decided to stay for his sophomore year this is great news for Cal and great news for Ivan Rabb. Rabb is comfortable to play another year at Cal rather than enter the NBA draft this May. This decision is contrary to what a number of collegiate players would do sacrifice school and enter the pros when the opportunity presents itself.

Rabb is blessed with this type of talent to temporarily put joining the NBA on hold. It’s good for Rabb he’s local coming from O’Dowd High School in Oakland and continuing on at Cal. Rabb is comfortable in his own skin and he’s comfortable being where he’s at. He’s comfortable being a college scholar, he’s in class, is academic and follows his schedule all that stuff.

Listen to more on Ivan Rabb staying at Cal Berkeley for next basketball season with Morris on the Cal podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips: Is Jaylen Brown taking a gamble leaving Cal for the NBA?

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sfgate.com file photo: Jaylen Brown former Cal Bear forward

On the Cal Bears basketball podcast with Morris Phillips Cal standout Jaylen Brown in prepared to enter the NBA draft after playing one season with Cal. Is Brown taking a chance? The NBA says Brown is worth taking a chance on he’s a great physical talent and he’s what the NBA is looking for in terms of his length and his physical ability.

Brown is also intelligent and he’s coachable and he has good relationship with former UCLA great Bill Walton. For a lot of reasons he’s a young man whose mature beyond his age. That plays well into his viability in the NBA. Brown has hired an agent and when you do that you know you’ve thrown your hat in the ring.

Morris Phillips has more on Jaylen Brown joining the NBA draft at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

NCAA March Madness with Daniel Dullum: While Cal season is over sexual harassment investigation case just starting

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photo credit: sports.usatoday.com–Cal Bears head coach Cuonzo Martin after the loss to Hawaii at post game press conference Fri Mar 18, 2016

On the NCAA March Madness podcast while Cal’s basketball season ended with a screeching halt last Friday in Spokane to Hawaii the investigation of sexual harassment is still ongoing at the university. While former Cal assistant coach Yann Hufnagel had admitted that he brought a female reporter into his apartment garage and solicited her Cal’s head coach Cuonzo Martin is being questioned about his knowledge about the timeline of the case and did Martin know what was happening before a complaint was filed and how long. A statement of the complaint was posted today on iusbpreface.com with detailed information including the complainant stating that she asked Hufnagel to let her out of the garage and that they were professional colleagues. The female reporter indicated that she sat in her car in the garage for a long while as Hufnagel stood outside of the car before finally opening the garage door to let her out.

The idea that their head coach was under investigation and to what he had known had the Bears players concerned and they played a lackluster game against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors in an 11 point loss last Friday. The Bears turned the ball over 16 times in the NCAA Tournament. No one asked about the Hufnagel case to the players or to coach Martin after the game they barely answered questions about Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb and their chances in the NBA lottery let alone the scandal.

Listen to Daniel Dullum on the NCAA March Madness podcast below right here at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Injury-depleted Cal loses NCAA tournament opener to Hawaii

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Cal deflated

By Morris Phillips

Life goes on. Coach Cuonzo Martin didn’t opt for descriptive or dramatic in dissecting Cal’s disappointing loss to Hawaii, instead Martin chalked it up to the fickle ways of college basketball on the game’s biggest stage.

That and the confident, gutsy play of the Rainbow Warriors.

“It’s tough for young guys to overcome, but for us as a staff, as men, this is life,” Martin said of the 77—66 NCAA first round loss in Spokane, Washington. “And like Jordan (Mathews) said, you deal with these things all the time. I would rather deal with them now than 15, 2o years down the road. So, it’s part of it. It’s no big deal. We still have to lace them up and play the game. I think Hawaii won the game tonight.”

While Hawaii built an early lead, and nursed it over the game’s final 30 minutes—with a few anxious moments midway through the second half—the Bears wilted, losing senior leader Tyrone Wallace and fired assistant coach Yann Hufnagel this week, then finding out just minutes before tip that they would be without Jabari Bird as well, felled by back spasms.

From the start, the Bears struggled to hold on to the ball and shoot it when they held on to it. Cal finished with 16 turnovers and 41 percent shooting, not nearly crisp enough play to overcome Hawaii’s 51 percent shooting for the game.   Seldom used reserves Brandon Chauca, Roger Moute a Bidias and Stephen Domingo gifted with additional playing time in the absence of Wallace and Bird, did little with it. Cal’s trio of reserves finished 0 for 11 from the field, 0 for 7 from beyond the arc.

Of course, with Cal down two perimeter threats, the Rainbow Warriors packed in their zone, leaving the Bears little opportunity to get to the basket. With that avenue taken away from Cal, their outside shooting failed them, hitting just 3 of 19 attempts.

Jordan Mathews, starting in place of Bird, led Cal with 23 points. Ivan Rabb added 13 points, 12 rebounds and Sam Singer added 12. The Bears finished their season 23-11 as one of five Pac-12 teams who failed to advance to the tournament’s second round.

Guard Quincy Smith led Hawaii with a career-best 19 points and center Stefan Jankovic added 16. The Rainbow Warriors won in the NCAA tournament for the first time, after losses each of its four other tourney berths.

“Well, I think Obama’s bracket is still intact,” Jankovic said. “I think he picked us. For the next round it won’t be because I think we’re going to be in upset city. But it’s great. I remember a couple years back watching Florida Gulf Coast and Dunk City and it’s just, the whole world watches, the whole world stops for two or three weeks or however long it is, and just to be part of that is really kind of special.”

Martin and the Cal players deflected all questions regarding the status of star freshman Rabb and Jaylen Brown going forward, as both players are projected to be lottery picks in the upcoming NBA draft. If they do depart, Brown will leave after slumping badly in the season’s final five games. On Friday, Brown was quiet again, finishing with four points on 1 of 6 shooting and seven turnovers.

The Bears entered the NCAA tournament with their highest seeding ever as No. 4. But they couldn’t overcome the personnel losses or foul trouble prompted by the game’s officials.   Forty-nine personal fouls were called in the game, 25 against Cal.

 

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Michael Duca: Bears can get over the Hufnagel distraction and focus on Fri game

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by Michael Duca

photo credit: bing images–Cal assistant coach Yann Hufnagel left and head coach Cuonzo Martin right

The only admission of wrong doing the university alleges that Cal assistant coach Yann Hufnagel that he had done this. Hufnagel has not come out with anything agreeing with that statement. All this is still in the realm of he said she said. The unfortunate thing here is that the alleged victim is a female reporter. That’s going to start all kinds of unfortunate speculation because there’s a small number of female reporters that cover Cal basketball.

It has to be somebody who covers the team at the level where they talk to assistant coaches, there’s so few female reporters that cover the Bears for years. You just don’t want people’s personal lives to be dragged out through the public scrutiny it’s just not appropriate. The Bears are headed to the tournament in the sense that there’s going to be a familiar face on the sidelines with head coach Cuonzo Martin. I do know that on Sunday mornings and they get together with the team and they talk about things that are no basketball related.

Listen to the rest of Michael Duca commentary on Cal Bears basketball right here at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Morris Phillips: Bears asst coach Hufnagel fired for sexual harassment allegations with reporter

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by Morris Phillips

photo credit: sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com–Cal assistant coach Yann Hufnagel who was fired today won’t be coaching this Friday against Hawaii due to sexual harassment allegations

BERKELEY–Yann Hufnagel former assistant coach of the Cal Bears basketball team was fired today for sexual harassment allegations by a female reporter. The players who learned about the allegations were adversely effected by learning of Hufnagel’s termination by the University and head coach Cuonzo Martin. The timing is already an issue as the Bears are preparing to play the University of Hawaii in the Tournament on Friday in Spokane in regards to Hufnagels firing and why now?

There has been an investigation going for several months and maybe going back to last year after all this time and the department on campus The Intercollegiate Athletics Department is making the announcement Martin has been named as the person who fired Hufnagel in regards to these allegations. The timing is poor for the players and especially for a team this young and for many for the first time in the NCAA Tournament.

Listen to more coverage on the firing of Cal Bears assistant coach Yann Hufnagel for sexual harassment allegations by the University of California today with Morris Phillips click below right here at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Cal vs. Hawaii in the NCAA tournament: Here’s what to know

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By Morris Phillips

California will face Hawaii in their NCAA tournament opener on Friday at Spokane, WA. The fourth-seeded Bears could face fifth-seeded Maryland and top-seeded Kansas in successive rounds if they’re fortunate enough to advance.

So here’s what to know:

The Bears were seeded slightly higher than expected, with most prognosticators pegging them as a five, but seven Pac-12 teams qualified, and the conference’s elevated profile (over the Big Ten specifically) was obvious in the finished brackets. But it’s just as apparent that Cal is the lowest-regarded four seed, facing a potential matchup with a five in the Terrapins that they probably will be an underdog against. Also, if the teams are s-curved 1 through-16, then a regional semi matchup against overall number one-seed Kansas would be the fate of the lowest four seed.

“I thought it was a good seed,” Coach Cuonzo Martin said. “Obviously a very talented Hawaii team and also good to play in Spokane. We won’t have to do a lot of heavy traveling so that’s always good.”

“I feel like the sky’s the limit,” Tyrone Wallace said. “I think we’ve played some very good teams very tight until the end and so at this point in the season anybody can get hot. We just have to make shots because a game can go either way.”

In Hawaii, the Bears will see the Big West regular season and tourney champs, a team with size and the inside-outside combo of point guard Roderick Bobbitt and 6’11” Stefan Jankovic, the Big West player of the year. If Jankovic has difficulties against Cal’s more than capable front line, then Bobbitt will be the man for Cal to stop. Bobbitt, the Oakland native, shot 8 for 12 from the field and scored 32 points against Oklahoma in Hawaii’s narrow loss at home to the Sooners back in December.

The Rainbows are coached by first-year, first time head coach Eran Ganot, a former St. Mary’s assistant under Randy Bennett, who is well-versed in the Gael’s screen-and-roll based offense. The 33-year old Ganot would seem to be less experienced than Cal’s Martin, who won three NCAA games two seasons ago, but the youthful Hawaii coach was closely linked to St. Mary’s post-season success and the development of Matthew Dellavadova and others.

Cal enters the tournament healthy and rested, with their last game on Friday, giving them a full week of preparation for their opener in Spokane. Also, senior leader Wallace appears back on top of his game after scoring 26 points in the overtime loss to Utah.

The Bears will focus on getting their two freshman in the mindset of playing their best basketball yet, with 6’10” Ivan Rabb becoming a bigger factor offensively and Jaylen Brown needing to regain the shooting touch that propelled him to being named Pac-12 freshman of the year.

In a bit of a scheduling oddity, the Rainbow Warriors and the Bears have just one common opponent, UC Santa Barbara, as Hawaii played no Pac-12 teams and Cal played just one Big West team. Both teams defeated the Gauchos easily, as the Rainbows beat UCSB both home and away.

Hawaii is fiercely protecting that half-a-day of preparation that would have been lost had they returned home on Sunday after beating Long Beach State in the Big West tourney final on Saturday night. The Rainbows will remain in Anaheim for a few extra days, then fly to Spokane in advance of Friday’s opener.

The Bears could experience a long weekend in Spokane as a result of the new NCAA tourney television contract and the wall-to-wall game start times. The Bears open at 11am in Spokane on Friday, but if they advance, may not play until 5pm or after on Sunday.

Seeding is of note for both teams. Hawaii is making its first NCAA appearance since 2002, and its’ first as a member of the Big West. That conference switch paved the way for this being the lowest-seeded Hawaii team to qualify as the previous incarnation of the Rainbows played in the Mountain West, and wouldn’t have been seeded as low as 12th from that more prominent conference. The Bears are seeded fourth, their highest seeding in the history of the program.

Cal has lost just one of 13 meetings with Hawaii in basketball… The Bears are back in the NCAA tournament after two seasons without an appearance… Is Cal better off this time of year under Martin or former coach Mike Montgomery? In Montgomery’s six seasons in Berkeley, the Bears won a conference regular season crown, but had only two NCAA tournament wins. Martin won three NCAA games and made a Sweet 16 appearance in his only tournament appearance as a coach, in 2014 with Tennessee.

Scheduling couldn’t be more important than in college basketball, right behind coaching and personnel. For Cal, the key to losing 10 games, but earning a four seed was undeniably their sneaky tough home schedule in which they went 18-0 with 14 of those 18 opponents in the Top 100 in RPI. Why sneaky? Cal has a win over No. 48 USC among their eight Top 50 wins, and wins over UCSB (97), Arizona State (98, won both home and away) and UCLA (99) among their seven wins among teams ranked 51 to 100.

 

 

 

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Matt Harrington: After Utah Cal looking forward to new opponent and the win column

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Photo credit: espn700sports.com–Utah’s Lorenzo Bonham who scored the tying bucket in OT to help the Utes catch Cal on Friday night

On the Cal Bears podcast with Matt: What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas and after Cal’s loss on Friday night to the Utah Utes 82-78. Cal has moved onto it’s next game. The Utes are one of the toughest customers in the Pac 12 championship. The Utes Lorenzo Bonham helped close the gap for the Utes and Jakob Poeltl scored a team leading 25 points and Bonham had 18 points.

Utah head coach Larry Kystkowiak said that five seconds gives his players a lot of time to inbound and shoot the ball. Bonam’s shot was the key shot under pressure. The Bears Jabari Bird had a great outing with 26 points against the Utes but it wasn’t enough as Cal racks up their 11th loss this season.

Matt Harrington (Saturdays), Morris Phillips (Mondays), and Michael Duca (Wednesdays) have your Cal podcasts each week right here at http://www.sportsradioservice.com