Tag: Cuonzo Martin

Cal puts itself back into NCAA consideration with win over Utah in Pac-12 quarterfinals

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By Morris Phillips

Cal’s end to the regular season won’t be a disaster.

But two consecutive wins can’t accomplish what three can, meaning Cal’s NCAA quest needs one more big step Friday night against Oregon in the Pac-12 semifinals.

While the Bears’ 21st win carries a bit of weight, as does their about face performance against Utah, their 1-7 record against Top 50 competition is ghastly, the worst such record among those teams under the closest scrutiny by the NCAA selection committee.

The third meeting of the season with the Ducks in the tourney semis will be Cal’s final opportunity to get over the hump. Win, and the Bears could go dancing after all.  Lose, and it’s off to the NIT.

“We lost a tough one at home to them,” coach Cuonzo Martin said.  “We didn’t play as well at their place. Lost a tough one at our place.  It took a lot out of us as a team because we felt we had that one. For us, we know the game plan. We understand the task at hand and what we have to do.”

And how critical it will be for the Pac-12’s top defensive team to score against the second highest scoring team, Oregon, which is averaging 17 points more than what Cal typically allows.

Against fourth-seeded Utah, the Bears broke open a tie game at the half by making their first nine shots after halftime. They extended their lead to 10 on Jabari Bird’s three with 8:54 remaining. Bird would make four threes against Utah and led all scorers with 26 points.

Cal still lead by 11 with 2:17 remaining when Utah made its move, slicing the lead to one with 26 seconds left. But the Bears held on, getting five of Bird’s 26 points in those final seconds to hold on, 78-75.

Bears tie school-record win streak at home with wire-to-wire win over UC Davis

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–For a team that led by 21 points at halftime, and won by 25—for a record-tying 26th consecutive time at home—the Cal Bears had issues on Saturday night.  Not big issues, but issues for a young team that has challenges looming and needs to improve to meet them.

Even mercurial, freshman guard Charlie Moore had problems holding on to the ball.  Moore committed five turnovers in Cal’s 86-61 win over UC Davis, although that was about the extent of his struggles.  Moore again led Cal, playing a team-high 33 minutes, scoring 22 points with four assists and four steals.  And with the pressure of the halftime buzzer present, Moore went spectacular, rivaling anything crosstown star Steph Curry has pulled off in recent times.

Off an undervalued pass from Sam Singer that evaded an Aggie defender, Moore—seemingly in one motion—caught Singers’ pass and turned and fired a 50-foot banker that not only looked good, but was good.  Moore then finished it off with a little showmanship, even starting his celebration a split second early ala Curry.

“It felt good when I released it,” Moore said. “That’s why I followed through and ran down the court with it.”

Moore’s banker was the crescendo to Cal’s hot night of shooting in which they shot 69 percent from the field after halftime, and 56 percent for the game.  While UC Davis’ defense wasn’t confounding, their offensive game was—especially early in the second half when they briefly trimmed Cal’s lead to 14.  That stretch claimed Cal star Ivan Rabb, who picked up his fourth foul.  Then a few minutes later, Jabari Bird left the game, appearing to favor his back, which cost him six consecutive games recently.

“I thought UC Davis in the second half really started imposing their will and driving the ball, playing hard and making plays at the rim, showing off what they really do well,” Coach Cuonzo Martin said. “I thought in the first half we did a great job at taking away those passing lanes and not giving a lot of options for their perimeter guys to make those plays, and in the second half we gave up a little bit.”

The Bears played their fourth game in seven days on Saturday night–including their trip to Hawaii, where they beat Princeton, and narrowly lost to Seton Hall—and maybe the accompanying fatigue contributed to their uneven effort.  Along with the team’s hot shooting, they committed 17 turnovers and allowed UC Davis to shoot 51 percent in the second half.  But you can only nitpick so much with a team that’s won eight of its 10 games despite a slew of injuries and the resulting issues with continuity.

While Rabb fouled out, and Bird didn’t play well (1 0f 6 shooting) before he departed gingerly, lesser known Bears picked up the slack.  Grant Mullins—always in attack mode—shot 6 for 7 and scored 17 points in 22 minutes off the bench.  Cole Welle, in his most significant action as a collegian, contributed 10 points on 5 of 8 shooting.  And Roger Moute A Bidias–the Bear most affected by whether Bird is available or not—started and contributed nine points and two rebounds in just 14 minutes.

“I think it’s huge,” Mullins said of how he and others stepped up in support of Cal’s stars. “Obviously, those guys (Ivan and Jabari) are so talented that when they’re off a little bit or they’re being doubled, other guys can step up, that’s huge for us going forward.”

In the coming weeks, the Bears will face ACC contender Virginia and ranked Pac-12 power Arizona at home, both sure to challenge Cal’s home dominance.  Also, the first conference road trip of the new year brings the Bears to Los Angeles, where they’ll face suddenly red-hot UCLA, undefeated and ranked No. 2 nationally this week behind uber talented guard Lonzo Ball.

But for now, the Bears can bask in the accomplishment of extending their home streak to 26, equaling the school-record established by the ’59-’60 National Championship team.  While the opponents during their streak haven’t always been top notch, the Bears have performed, and the streak includes them running the table at home in conference play last season.  For that, Martin, said they should be proud.

“It’s been since 1960,” Martin said. “That’s a long time ago, and to be a part of that is incredible. We still want to win home games, protect our court and there’s still work to be done, but in most cases with players, these streaks and such don’t set in until the players leave the school, years later, because right now you’re still competing and trying to win games.”

The Bears have a week off to finish the semester and take final exams, then they return to Haas Pavilion next Saturday with a chance to establish a new school-record streak when they face Cal Poly at 5pm.

 

No. 25 Cal stuns UC Irvine with comeback and overtime win behind 38 points from freshman Moore

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California’s Charlie Moore (13), Sam Singer (2), and Stephen Domingo (31) celebrate the 75-65 win over UC Irvine after an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016, in Berkeley, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Morris Phillips

At its conclusion, Coach Cuonzo Martin would term his Bears’ overtime victory over UC Irvine among the best he’s had in his career, but it wasn’t shaping up that way after a first half in which Cal shot just 26 percent with only six made baskets to show for 20 minutes of work.

Martin’s conundrum at halftime was simple, just difficult to resolve: Cal was without four of its best offensive players in preseason All-American Ivan Rabb, Jabari Bird, transfer Grant Mullins and reserve guard Brandon Chauca.  Among those healthy enough to play, none could be termed a gifted offensive player except freshman Charlie Moore, Cal’s shifty, quick ballhandler recruited out of Chicago.

What did Martin cook up at halftime to keep No. 25 Cal in the win column?  The third-year coach demanded better defense, increased ball movement, and despite his freshman’s obvious lack of experience, a whole lot more of Moore.

“I feel like we had a major advantage with Charlie working the ball screen, force those big guys to come out and defend him, just letting Charlie make plays,” Martin said.

And with Moore becoming more emboldened on every trip down the floor, the strategy worked as the freshman poured in 27 points after halftime, setting the school’s freshman scoring record in Cal’s come-from-behind 75-65 win.

Moore provided the game-tying basket and ensuing free throw with 1:53 remaining in regulation that got the Bears even after trailing by as many as 13 points early in the second half.  Then in overtime, with the visiting Anteaters losing steam, Moore capped the Cal victory with six-for-six foul shooting in the final 2:28 of overtime.

Moore’s 38-point explosion, breaking the school record set by Shareef Abdur-Rahim with 33 points in 1995, was surprising in that the freshman struggled in the Bears’ opener against South Dakota State in which he shot 1 for 8 from the field and finished with six points.  For Moore, the encouragement of Martin and his teammates was all it took for the transformation.

“I just think I was more comfortable on the court,” Moore said.  “Last game, I was just pretty much getting a feel as this is all a new thing to me.  My teammates helped me out today, just telling me to stay aggressive and not worry about the misses.”

Moore finished 10 of 20 from the field with three made 3-pointers and 15 of 17 shooting from the foul line.  Repeatedly, Moore slithered his way to the basket to either score or get to the foul line, even as the Anteaters knew Cal had little else to turn to offensively.  But that was the magic of Cal’s 5’11” star in the making once he was unleashed.

“Charlie is a great player,” Kameron Rooks said.  “You can see it in practice.  You can see how hard he works and how scrappy he is.  He is an all-around great player.”

Cal’s miraculous comeback was also UC Irvine’s depressing collapse.  The Anteaters led 62-55 with 3:07 remaining in regulation after big man Ioannis Dimakopoulos calmly sunk an open 3-pointer.  But Cal would score the final seven points of regulation, then put UC Irvine away with 13 of the 16 points in overtime.

“I’m proud of our guys, but to be what I think we can be, we will have to finish better than that,” Coach Russell Turner admitted.

UC Irvine was attempting to upset a ranked team for the first time since 2005.  Instead they suffered their fourth consecutive loss to the Bears, all since 2001.  While the Anteaters shot it well early, they were porous defensively, allowing the Bears 13 offensive rebounds leading to 18 second-chance points.

Rabb has missed both of Cal’s games thus far due to a toe injury, but he did practice prior to Wednesday’s game making it a strong possibility that he will make his season debut on Monday against San Diego State in Sacramento.  Mullins was scratched as a precautionary measure due to a neck strain issue, even as he was thought to be ready to go prior to the tip.  Bird was pulled due to back spasms, and Chauca is still recovering from a broken bone in his hand.

Without that quartet, Rooks, Moore and Stephen Domingo each established career-bests in points.  Rooks finished with 15 points, 8 rebounds before fouling out in overtime.  Domingo contributed 11 points, including the big three in overtime to give Cal a lead.

The Bears won despite shooting 36 percent from the field, and having five of their nine players that saw action go without at least one made basket from the field.  But the Bears kept the Anteaters without a made basket in overtime after the UC Irvine shot 48 percent from the field in regulation.

 

 

 

 

 

Cal’s 2-0 in the Pac-12 after topping No. 21 Utah. How’s that? Look no further than Coach Cuonzo Martin

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Rabb at work

By Morris Phillips

If 30 NBA scouts are jammed into a limited seating area at a Cal Bears basketball game, ostensibly to evaluate a quartet of pro prospects, you wouldn’t think their collective take would be this:

“Darn, if that Coach Cuonzo Martin hasn’t gotten his guys to buy in to what he’s preaching. Quite impressive.”

Scouts evaluate players, not coaches, but what Martin has brewing in Berkeley is too impressive not to notice. A collection of players whose abilities and ambitions are as varied as their paths that brought them to the prestigious university in Strawberry Canyon are becoming a team at Martin’s behest. No. 21 Utah found out first hand on Sunday night in Cal’s 71-58 win at Haas Pavilion.

Similar to Colorado on Friday, the Utes struggled early against Cal’s defensive wall. Utah missed 10 of its first 14 shots, and committed four turnovers over the first 10 minutes. The Utes would experience their last lead of the game, 8-6, just six minutes in.   Jakob Poeltl, Utah’s NBA ready center gave as much as he took facing the Bears’ two seven-footers, Kameron Rooks and Kingsley Okoroh. While Poeltl finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds, he couldn’t get the Utes over the hump.

As Poeltl was getting all he could handle in the paint, the rest of the Utes were finding Cal’s perimeter defense just as sticky. Jaylen Brown, Jordan Mathews and the rest of Cal’s lengthy defenders were shutting down Utah’s drivers and shooters. Utah would finish with just two made 3-pointers and 10 misses from distance. Cal’s 11 opponents visiting Haas Pavilion this season have averaged 60.6 points a game. Utah, by far the most impressive of the group, scored just 58.

“We are improving on defense, and my man right here has really bought in on defense,” Ivan Rabb said, citing Mathews. “The bigs are anchoring it, but Jordan is busting through screens and doing everything that coach has taught us through the summer. Everybody on the team is buying in and I think that is why we have been playing so well recently.”

Rabb stands as the biggest beneficiary of Martin’s defensive leanings. Martin’s decision to start Rooks at the expense of wing player, Jabari Bird came a couple of weeks back. With the change, the Bears became more formidable along the frontline, and Rabb freed to play his more natural power forward spot, and consequently, not be so frequently saddled with foul trouble. Since then the Bears have bested local menace St. Mary’s, taken No. 5 Virginia to the wire in their building, and opened Pac-12 play 2-0. Cal’s last five opponents have failed to shoot 40 percent from the field, giving Martin’s smooth phrasings an extra layer of velvet.

“When you have a level of toughness to you and an edge and a defensive identity, you have a chance to be very successful,” Martin said.

On Sunday, Rabb was seen in person for the first time by Cal luminaries Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Sean Lampley and Leon Powe. Also, the 30 NBA scouts there to see Poeltl and Rabb, who both finished with identical 19 and 10 lines, as well as Brown and Bears’ senior point guard Tyrone Wallace. All four are projected to go in the first round of the draft if they, with the exception of Wallace, choose to make the jump this fall. When asked on Sunday night, Pac-12 Network color man Don McLean didn’t hesitate. In McLean’s eyes, Rabb with his size, footwork and ability to put weight on his 6’11” frame without sacrificing effectiveness, has the highest NBA ceiling.

“Without question,” McLean added, comparing Rabb physically to Miami’s Chris Bosh.

While Rabb’s future outside of Berkeley may be without limits, currently in Martin’s constellation of stars, he’s an unassuming freshman, and refreshingly protective and supportive of his teammates and coach. So is Brown, who arrived at Berkeley with the biggest set of prep credentials since Jason Kidd in 1992. And therein lies the magic of Martin, who has gotten the two prep stars and his three returning stars to buy into a process that doesn’t showcase anyone, but is about defense and grit.

If there’s anything we’ve learned over the years of watching college basketball teams, it’s that this dynamic—of mixing players of similar sizes and abilities, some with legitimate pro aspirations, and others without, and having a team’s best players be its youngest, often doesn’t work. Older players want to win now, younger players don’t hunker down quick enough for the upper classmen’s tastes, and those who have pro futures often play for the scouts, not the team.

At Cal, none of these problems have come to the surface. And how is that?

Cuonzo Martin has gotten his guys to buy in.

Quite impressive.

The Bears (12-3, 2-0) take to the road in league play for the first time on Wednesday at Oregon. In a topsy-turvy conference race that after just two games is just as advertised, unranked Cal finds itself on top with two wins along with Washington, picked to finish 10th, 11th or 12th in most pre-season polls. No. 8 Arizona is 1-0 after topping Arizona State, and the other two ranked teams, UCLA and Utah are 0-2.