Tag: Jabari Bird

Colorado guard George King, center, is trapped with the ball by California guard Jabari Bird, left, and forward Ivan Rabb in the second half of an NCAA basketball game Saturday, March 4, 2017, in Boulder, Colo. Colorado won 54-46. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

By Morris Phillips

If the NCAA tournament committee were so inclined, they could have tuned in to the Pac-12 Network Saturday afternoon to see if the Cal Bears could pass the “eye test” for inclusion to the upcoming tournament.

If so, the committee would have been saddled with eye soreness watching a struggling team whose offense has mysteriously disappeared.

Cal’s offense was missing in action as the Bears fell short in the regular season finale at Colorado, 54-46.  Three days after the Bears shot 27 percent from the field, and lost by 30 at Utah, they were similarly saddled by anemic 27 percent shooting at Colorado.

“You just can’t keep getting stops and stops without scoring,” said Jabari Bird, who led Cal with just 11 points.

The recent spate of losing (five losses in six games) has taken the Bears from likely inclusion in March Madness to barely under consideration. Had the committee tuned in Saturday, they would have bypassed opportunities to watch bubble occupants Vanderbilt and Xavier in the same broadcast window as the Commodores upset Florida, and the once Top Ten-ranked Musketeers ended a six-game losing streak at DePaul.

While Xavier and Vanderbilt on first glance seem to be similarly challenged teams like Cal, the key differences are significant.  Cal has been anemic against top competition, going 1-7 against the nation’s Top 50, beating only USC in January.  Bubble teams–all from major conferences and many with more overall losses than Cal–have each pulled at least two Top 50 upsets, and none are the anemic offensively as Cal.

Consequently, the Bears (19-11, 10-8) are listed among the next four out in ESPN’s up-to-the-minute bracketology, at the bottom of a list of eight schools that are closest to NCAA inclusion, but are currently believed to be out.  With the regular season concluded, Cal’s only path is to win three consecutive days next week in Las Vegas, likely needing to beat Washington, UCLA and Oregon to reinvent their tournament resume.

calbears.com photo: Cal Bears Ivan Rabb goes for the high percentage shot against Cal Poly on Saturday night at Haas Pavilion for home consecutive win number 27

By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–Jabari Bird’s big night on the hardwood was destined to happen.  That it took 3 1/2 seasons and well over 100 basketball games to transpire helps describe what a winding, sometimes arduous, path the young man from Richmond has traveled.

Recruited by Mike Montgomery, Bird immediately became the iconic coach’s biggest signing in his six seasons in Berkeley, but the impact on the floor was not immediate.

It didn’t help that Bird shared his first name with Jabari Parker, Duke’s headline recruit that season, a one-and-done guy who also had Bay Area ties (Parker’s father Sonny was an important player for the Warriors in the 70’s and early 80’s) as expectations exceeded results early in Bird’s Cal career.

Jabari’s father, Carl, was Cal’s leading scorer for his two seasons in Berkeley in the mid-70’s.  Those teams weren’t great, but the 6’8″ Bird was, giving Cal a scoring presence in the paint.  Jabari developed into a far different player than his father,  slightly shorter, skinny, and far more athletic in his days at Salesian High School in Richmond.  Not surprisingly, Jabari had numerous suitors, and he initially balked at following his father’s footsteps to Cal.

But Bird relented, saw value in being close to home, and signed with Cal in part so his mom, Tonya, and dad could attend his games.

Initially,  Bird was a superstar in the making, averaging better than 13 points his first four games as a collegian as the Bears won all four. But then the struggles started, the missed jump shots, the turnovers and the lack of versatility offensively, as Bird had troubles creating offense off the dribble, something that plagued him in high school.

Soon, Bird’s playing time decreased, and his presence in the gym after games working on his failing shot became commonplace.  In speaking to Bird, he said he was determined to fix his shooting, and his repetitions from the spots on the floor where he was frequently missing shots spoke to his determination.

“He’ll be a lot better a month from now.  He is talented,” Montgomery said at the time, knowing better than anyone that great high school players don’t instantly get it as collegians.  “Once he figures out what he needs to do to be successful, he’ll make progress by leaps and bounds.  He’ll figure it out.”

Bird’s freshman year ended quietly, as the Bears slumped late, and Bird was in some ways eclipsed by fellow freshman Jordan Mathews.   Bird’s sophomore season saw him experience a lengthy bout with injuries and missed games.  In some ways, the team and new coach, Cuonzo Martin had to move on, with the persistent,  repetitive questions about Bird’s availability.

As a junior, Bird was initially upstaged by heralded recruits Ivan Rabb and Jaylen Brown.  But Bird’s game was kicking in, and Martin noticed, enamored with his off-guard’s defensive prowess and three-point shooting.  Soon, the freshman were playing slightly less than Bird, who sometimes came off the bench.

Finally,  Bird was the player he needed to be, but his ascension was blunted by nagging injuries.  He ended his junior year at less than full strength and began this season with health issues as well.  Last month, Bird missed six consecutive games with back spasms. Again, Martin had few answers for the press, frequently saying ‘I’m not a doctor…”

But with the season in full swing, Bird has returned.   In his fourth game back on Saturday against Cal Poly, Bird scored 25 points a career-best. Clearly,  all the patience that Montgomery said would be required, had come to fruition.  Bird described the process and the results succinctly.

“I put in a lot of work on my game, so why not show them out on the court,” Bird said after Cal’s 81-55 win.  “I feel like it’s a waste of time to put in all that work throughout the season and when the lights come on you don’t show out.  So I’ve just been trusting my game and shooting more, and look to keep it moving forward.”

“All I know is that when he hits that first 3, he hits open 3’s but if he gets contested, a pull-up whatever it is, I feel like he has it going,” Rabb said of his teammate.  “Once he does that and he gets to the basket the next time,  then you know he has it going.  So what I try to do is play off of him.  I’m sure everyone else does the same thing,  but when he’s going like that we have to continue to feed him, and we did tonight.”

GAME NOTES: The Bears broke open a close game with a 21-3 run at the conclusion of the first half.

By Morris Phillips

photo credit: calbears.com Cal Bears Jabari Bird vs. Incarnate Word

The Cal Bears need to get better. But for a half against unheralded Incarnate Word on Wednesday, the Bears were clearly on the road to getting worse.

The undersized and overmatched Cardinals from San Antonio, Texas are known for forcing turnovers, leading the nation with better than 12 steals a game. Over the final nine minutes of the first half, Incarnate Word had Cal on its heels, leading by as much as five points and forcing Cal into numerous missed shots and turnovers.

That old bugaboo for Cal, the dreaded zone defense, was becoming the Cardinals’ best friend as they dared Cal to hit open jump shots. Over the final nine minutes of the half, Cal missed more than they made as their narrow 20-16 lead evaporated. Also, foul trouble once again claimed both Cal’s prized freshmen, Ivan Rabb and Jaylen Brown.

Thanks to junior Jabari Bird, who canned a three-pointer with five seconds remaining in the half, the Bears pulled even with UIW at the half. But the brief surge at the end of the half didn’t make as much of an impression on Bird as did his team’s struggles.

“We go (in) to games and we think too much,” Bird said. “We get stagnant. We need to get some flow to our offense. We need to play with some swag and shoot some better shots. We need to play with some flash, flash makes better plays in the zone.”

Brown was back on the floor for the start of the second half, and not surprisingly, things started to click. Brown, who is becoming a familiar presence at Haas Pavilion before—and after games—constantly practicing his shooting, got on a roll. Brown contributed two dunks, a layup, and a three-pointer in Cal’s 19-9 run that gave them a double digit lead with 12 minutes remaining.

Cal’s brief, but impactful surge didn’t run UIW out of the gym, but it did create some needed cushion. From there, the Bears relied on their defense and rebounding, holding Incarnate Word to 36 percent shooting and out-rebounding the visitors 46-25.

“We really lost in that four-minute period right after halftime,” UIW Coach Ken Burmeister said. “They are a very good team, and by the time they get experience playing with each other, they will be very tough to beat.”

Going from being talented to successful has proven to be quite a challenge for the Bears. With the win, they improved to 7-2 on the season with wins in all six of its home games. But more often than not, Cal’s had lapses, especially on the offensive end. Coach Cuonzo Martin again experimented with starting 7’0” Kameron Rooks, but the team didn’t play well in the opening stretch, even as Rooks played well.

Starting the second half, Martin opted to start Bird over Rooks, and the Bears offense ran much smoother.

“There’s no reason for us to be that close with this team at halftime,” Rabb said. “They did a great job, but at the end of the day, I think we should have done a better job of handling this team.”

All five of Cal’s second half starters scored in double figures led by first half reserve Bird with 15. Tyrone Wallace added 14, Brown had 13, and Rabb and Jordan Mathews had 12 each.

The Cardinals were led by Kyle Hittle with 18 points, and Shawn Johnson with 16.

The Bears get a jump in competition on Saturday at 12:30pm when St. Mary’s makes a rare visit from nearby Moraga. The Gaels are undefeated and looking to stay that way against the Bears. Guard Emmett Naar leads St. Mary’s at 16. 8 points a game.