SB Nation - Theo Robertson

Kansas 84, Cal 69: Lack of Depth, Big Men Costs Bears

Avinash — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:11:16 -0000

More photos » by Orlin Wagner - AP

Hard to say anything too bad about this one. We were expected to lose by 14, and that's about where we ended up--eventually. Kansas is the #1 team for a reason. They have NBA blue-chippers, a solid coach, and they don't dig themselves holes. When they make mistakes, they atone for them, they hang around, and eventually they let their talent take them home. The Jayhawks did it against Michigan, and they did it against Cal; eventually they'll fall (probably in Austin), but it didn't come here.

Anyway, Cal's biggest weakness last year was depth, and it's looking like it'll be our weakness down the stretch. You want a great basketball team, you need depth, especially when you're playing the best. Right now, the Bears have a pretty good big four, maybe two good bench players, and not much else. Against the best in the nation on the road, unless you're shooting lights out, that's not going to hold out. Hard to really make a huge dent with that thin a line.

And the fact is without Harper Kamp, there is NO depth beyond Boykin on that frontline. During the crucial stretch of the game in the second half, Kansas pounded the ball inside and got the easy baskets to give them breathing room. Eventually Cal collapsed on the post, that opened up the 3 ball, the Jayhawks hit a few, ran the fastbreak and that was that. The biggest thing I noticed was Theo Robertson was playing the 4 spot at points, which is a baaaad sign.

But let's enjoy this season come Pac-10 time. This is a really good team (still ranked 8th in Pomeroy despite being 6-4), and this conference is ripe for the taking. If the Bears are as good as they showed last night, it could be a special year, depth or no depth.

Other thoughts after the jump.

For most of the game, the Bears tried to outscore the Jayhawks. They ran at the same pace, took quick shots, hit a lot of them, but eventually they were cracking through ice. Very happy to see them match Kansas's abilities for 25-30 minutes, but I kept on urging them to slow the ball down, keep the pace slow.
The guys burned out at the end. There were just too many jumpers in a game that needs to be settled at the rim. It'd have been nice to see what'd have happened if we played a little bit slower; maybe Randle and PC don't miss those 3s late in the second half...
Christopher did score plenty and make plenty, but those baskets he took...argh. How more low percentage can you get? Stepback fallaways are hard enough to do in the NBA. PC falls in love with that jumper and he depends on it instead of attacking. Still, 9-18 isn't much to gripe at (although the bare 4 free throw attempts merits a little more dispute)
I was surprised at how little Amoke played, although he probably doesn't match up well against Kansas's bigs.
Randle had a really bad game. The 3-9 from 3 point land is bad enough, but 7 turnovers and 0-6 from 2 point land? There were some plays that boggled me, like the long alley-oop try to Christopher and the bounce pass to Jorge. Tough passes when Cal was better off keeping it simple.
Boykin was probably the player of the night. Another double-double notched, and his effort inside kept Kansas's bigs stifled for a little bit. He interestingly had the highest defensive rating of the night (when he was in the game, Kansas scored at a less efficient rate).
Without Theo, the Bears lose this one by 30.
Finally, Rock Chalk Talk broke down this game statistically (thanks to help from StatSheet). Take a look at the balance between all the Kansas players as opposed to the dependence on the big 4 for Cal. Just makes the game easier when everyone on a more talented team plays less minutes.

NCAA Basketball

Poll

I was _________ with Cal's play versus Kansas.

Statistical Rearview: Kansas vs. California

Denverjhawk — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:00:40 -0000

A good test and a good game for the Jayhawks. Tough first half, slowly wearing down the opponent and steadily increasing a lead in the second half until the result was certain. A nice job by the Jayhawks.

College Basketball

Kansas shot great, so did Cal...for a half. At one point this looked like Cal was going to really test Kansas' stretch of holding opponents under 40% shooting but the Bears came just shy. In terms of eFG% the Bears were over the 40% mark due to their effectiveness from behind the arc. Still Kansas overwhelmingly won one battle last night and that was the eFG%. Turnovers were plentiful from both sides, fouls and free throws were pretty even, Kansas had a slight rebounding edge but it was Kansas' ability to force opponents into tough shots that made the difference.

College Basketball

Top to bottom this thing was pretty even. Shots, rebounds, fouls, free throws, turnovers, steals...you name it Cal played it pretty even with two exceptions. Assists and FG%. I'd argue the two are closely related. Cal chooses to play one on one basketball against a Kansas team that prides itself on tough man defense and help underneath from Cole. Play the Jayhawks that way and chances are you are going to take some tough, low percentage shots. Kansas moves the ball, makes the extra pass and with 27 turnovers found itself in position for some very high percentage shots and they converted.

Stat	Game
Stat
Points	69	84
FG Att	64	60
FG Made	25	33
FG Pct	39.1	55.0
FT Att	18	17
FT Made	13	11
FT Pct	72.2	64.7
3pt FG Att	18	17
3pt FG Made	6	7
3pt FG Pct	33.3	41.2
Rebounds	33	39
Off Rebs	13	11
Def Rebs	20	28
Team Rebs	4	2
Assists	13	27
Steals	8	8
Blocks	2	7
Turnovers	17	18
Fouls	21	20

Great balance in the contributions from the Jayhawks. 9 players contributed meaningful minutes and scoring, rebounding and assists were spread across the board.

NCAA Basketball

Brady with 7 points 7 assists, solid game. Tyshawn steps up for 13 points and 7 assists, solid game. Sherron drops 17 in with 5 assists, another solid game. Cole Aldrich, despite leaving us all wanting more, double double. Xavier 12 points and more importantly 8 rebounds, solid game. Finally McMorris, 14 points and 7 boards. This was really a team effort with different players stepping up at different times.

Also in the OGT the question was how much the Cal starters were forced to play last night. Answer, a lot. Every one of them played over 30 minutes with their two key guards over 35 minutes. Kansas...only one player hit the 35 minute mark and that's Sherron. Fresh legs win in the end, it's good to have depth.

	S	MIN	PTS	FGM	FGA	FG%	FTM	FTA	FT%	3PM	3PA	3P%	OR	DR	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF
J. Randle	*	39	16	3	15	20	7	8	87	3	9	33	0	1	1	4	2	0	7	3
J. Boykin	*	37	15	7	13	53	1	1	100	0	0	0	4	11	15	2	2	0	2	3
P. Christopher	*	36	21	9	18	50	2	4	50	1	5	20	2	3	5	0	0	0	3	1
T. Robertson	*	32	13	5	11	45	1	2	50	2	3	66	1	2	3	1	0	0	0	2
M. Zhang	*	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	3
J. Gutierrez		32	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	2	5	4	0	4	3
M. Sanders-Fris		14	1	0	2	0	1	2	50	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	4
O. Amoke		6	3	1	2	50	1	1	100	0	0	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	0	2
	S	MIN	PTS	FGM	FGA	FG%	FTM	FTA	FT%	3PM	3PA	3P%	OR	DR	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF
S. Collins	*	35	17	6	15	40	2	2	100	3	6	50	1	0	1	5	1	0	3	2
M. Morris	*	31	14	4	8	50	6	8	75	0	1	0	2	5	7	0	0	1	1	2
X. Henry	*	31	12	5	10	50	1	2	50	1	3	33	1	7	8	3	1	0	3	1
T. Taylor	*	28	13	6	8	75	0	0	0	1	3	33	0	2	2	7	2	0	1	3
C. Aldrich	*	22	10	4	6	66	2	2	100	0	0	0	2	8	10	1	0	5	1	4
B. Morningstar		21	7	3	4	75	0	1	0	1	2	50	0	0	0	7	2	0	2	1
M. Morris		11	6	3	6	50	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	5	7	1	0	1	2	4
T. Reed		11	3	1	2	50	0	0	0	1	2	50	0	0	0	3	2	0	0	0
T. Robinson		9	2	1	1	100	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	5	3
E. Johnson		1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

College Hoops Go-Round: December 23

Chris Dobbertean — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:12:05 -0000

More photos » by Harry Cabluck - AP

about 23 hours ago: Texas guard Jai Lucas, left, leaves Michigan State forward Draymond Green, right, in his wake during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2009, in Austin, Texas. Texas won 79-68. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

Browse more photos »

Tuesday was the second to last night with a full schedule before the Christmas holidays, so it was a pretty busy night. Some teams had issues with focus with a break looming.

Maine gave No. 11 Connecticut a fight, leading early in the second half before falling, 71-54.
South Alabama upset no. 18 Florida, 67-66, thanks to a DeAndre Hersey basket with 1.8 left on the clock. The loss was the Gators' third straight.
Indiana fell way behind Loyola (MD), crawled back in it and took the lead, but Jeremiah Rivers missed four free throws in the final moments. The Greyhounds won in Assembly Hall, 72-67.
No. 20 Butler let UAB open a 10-point halftime lead and never recovered. The Blazers prevailed 67-57.
Missouri State fell to Arkansas in overtime, 66-62.
Idaho got blasted by a Portland team they easily defeated back when the Pilots cracked the top 25, 82-52.

Four ranked Big 12 teams were in action Tuesday night, and three came out with wins.

No. 2 Texas pulled away from ninth-ranked Michigan State late, 79-68.
California got Theo Robertson back from a foot injury, but they were still no match for top-ranked Kansas. The Jayhawks prevailed 84-69.
19th-ranked Texas A&M wasn't so lucky, as they fell at 22nd-ranked Washington, 73-64, in the final game of the Big 12/Pac 10 Hardwood Series. The Aggies lost senior guard Derrick Roland to a severe leg injury --a compound fracture--early in the second half. His career is sadly probably over, and the injury devastated his teammates.
No. 23 Texas Tech handled Stanford, 100-87.

In other games involving ranked teams Tuesday night

No. 4 Purdue crushed SIU Edwardsville, 90-63.
No. 5 Syracuse routed Oakland, 92-60.
No. 10 North Carolina had little trouble with Marshall, picking up a 98-61 victory.
No. 17 Ohio State had an easier time with Cleveland State than West Virginia did on Saturday, winning 72-59.
Western Carolina couldn't pull another upset. The Catamounts fell at No. 24 Clemson, 79-57.

After the jump, I'll have more on Tuesday's action and a rundown of Wednesday's televised non-tournament action.

Two tournaments tipped off Tuesday afternoon, and both continue Wednesday.

The favorites all won at Diamond Head Classic, but a couple of them got more than they bargained for in the quarterfinal round.

St. Mary's used the three-ball to sink Northeastern, 78-67, in an entertaining contest.
The Gaels will face USC in the first semifinal this evening (ESPNU, 5:30 p.m. ET). The Trojans struggled past Western Michigan, 55-51. The Broncos face the Huskies in the consolation bracket (3 p.m. ET, ESPNU).
UNLV had little trouble with SMU in the third quarterfinal, winning 67-53.
The Rebels will face another conference mate, host Hawaii, in the second semifinal (ESPN2, 11:30 p.m. ET). The Warriors ran past College of Charleston, 84-71. The Cougars face the Mustangs in a consolation game (2 a.m. ET).

Fans at the Las Vegas Classic were treated to two exciting games Tuesday afternoon, in the rescheduled major bracket.

BYU won a shootout against Nevada, 110-104.
Nebraska stunned C-USA favorite Tulsa, 74-70, in the second semifinal. The Huskers will face the Cougars for the crown tonight (BYU TV, HoopTV, 10:30 p.m. ET), while the Wolf Pack meets the Golden Hurricane for third (8 p.m. ET, Full Court).
In the low-major bracket, Wagner defeated Jackson State, 71-62, and Chicago State knocked off Eastern Washington, 62-53.
The Seahawks will meet the Cougars for the low-major crown, while the Tigers will meet the Eagles for third.

In other Tuesday action

Washington State defeated LSU in Seattle, 72-70.
Colorado State fell at UCLA, 75-63.
San Diego State won at Drake in the MVC/MWC Challenge, 76-73.
Western Kentucky knocked off in-state rival Murray State, 83-72.
Sam Houston State didn't suffer a letdown after beating Auburn Sunday. They pounded Isiah Thomas's FIU Panthers, 93-63.
Niagara defeated Western New York Little 3 rival St. Bonaventure, 77-71.
Weber State held off Morehead State in Utah State's tournament, 66-64.
The hosts crushed Cal State Fullerton, 83-60, and will play their in-state rivals tonight with the title on the line.

If you don't see your team's score, click any of the score links. You'll find a full rundown on the right side of the page.

For more on Tuesday's action, visit Searching for Billy Edelin and SB Nation.

In other televised action Wednesday (all times are p.m. Eastern)

Long Beach State visits No. 3 Kentucky, a team looking for win 2,001 (SEC on FSN/Full Court, 1).
USC Upstate visits Arizona State (FS Arizona/FCS Pacific, 4).
South Dakota State travels to Minnesota (Big Ten, 7).
North Carolina A&T faces a 16th-ranked Tennessee squad that will be angry after losing to USC Saturday (SEC on CSS/Full Court, 7).
Louisiana-Lafayette faces a Louisville that wants to avoid another bad December home loss (BIg East/Full Court, 7).
No. 15 Ole Miss travels to No. 6 West Virginia (ESPN2, 7:30) in the night's only matchup between ranked opponents. This is the Mountaineers' last test before starting conference play on Saturday against Seton Hall.
No. 13 New Mexico puts its undefeated record on the line at Oral Roberts (FCS Central/Full Court, 8).
Fresno State visits a disappointing Oregon State outfit (FS Northwest/FCS Pacific, 8:30).
Milwaukee looks to do what Green Bay did earlier this season, knock off Wisconsin (BIg Ten, 9).
Illinois meets Missouri in St. Louis for the Braggin' Rights game (ESPN2, 9:30).
NC State travels to Arizona for a game that looks better on a marquee than in reality this season (FSN, 10:30).

For games that will only be televised regionally, like Miami (OH) at Xavier, visit Matt Sarz' College Sports on TV site.

Kansas Takes on Cal Tonight in the Phog

Denverjhawk — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:00:19 -0000

Kansas vs. California

No. 1 Kansas (10-0) continues is home stand against Pac-10 power California (6-3) on Tuesday, Dec. 22, at 8 p.m. on ESPN2. The Jayhawks and Golden Bears are favored to win their respective conference races in 2009-10. KU was consensus preseason No. 1 nationally, while California entered the year in many top 10 polls. Kansas is coming off a 75-64 win against Michigan on Dec. 19, while California last played on Dec. 9, posting a 69-45 win at Pacific.

	PPG	FG%	FT%	3P%	RPG	ORPG	DRPG	APG	TPG	SPG	BPG	FPG
CAL	79.1	46.6	75.1	38.1	40.2	12.8	27.4	15.3	12.4	5.1	3.0	18.2
KU	88.8	51.3	67.7	43.0	43.0	13.8	29.2	19.3	12.1	9.2	7.3	17.9
CAL Opponents	68.0	41.2	67.2	31.5	33.1	10.3	22.8	12.4	12.8	5.1	4.3	16.8
KU Opponents	58.3	34.5	67.2	26.9	33.7	13.7	20.0	11.5	16.0	6.2	3.0	20.0

Rank and Records	CAL	KU
RPI	#14	#13
Strength of Schedule	#6	#160
Overall	6-3	10-0
Conference	0-0	0-0
Home	5-0	7-0
Away	0-1	1-0
Top 25	0-1	1-0
RPI Top 50	0-1	0-0

About Kansas

Kansas followed final exams with a 75-64 win against Michigan on Dec. 19. Kansas averages 88.8 points per game, is giving up 58.7 points and ranks in the top five nationally with a +30.5 scoring margin. KU is shooting 51.3 percent from the field, while its opponents are shooting 34.5 percent.

Sophomore forward Marcus Morris is coming off his second double-double of the season with a career-high 23 points and 10 rebounds versus Michigan. He is a starter who is scoring 11.1 points and pulling down 5.8 rebounds per game.

Xavier Henry leads the team with a 17.7 point scoring average. He is making 53.5 percent of his shots from the field and 49.1 from three-point range. Xavier leads KU with 26 threes and 18 steals. Senior guard Sherron Collins scores 13.9 points per game, including 19 against Michigan, and he has made 20 three pointers. Collins leads the team with 42 assists, two ahead of sophomore guard Tyshawn Taylor (6.8 ppg). Taylor has 15 steals, two ahead of Collins (13). Junior center Cole Aldrich leads the team in rebounds with 9.7 per game and had 11 boards against Michigan.

About California

Located in Berkeley, Calif., and coached by Mike Montgomery, California (6-3) has won two straight and four of its last five games. The Golden Bears defeated Big 12 foe Iowa State 82-63 on Dec. 5 in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series matchup and also won convincingly at Pacific 69-45 on Dec. 9. Cal averages 79.1 points and is giving up 68 for a +11.1 scoring margin. The Golden Bears average 40.2 rebounds per game and have a +7.1 rebound margin.

Four Cal players average in double figures led by senior guard Jerome Randle who is scoring 19.6 points per game. Randle leads the team with 46 assists and 23 three-point field goals. Senior guard Patrick Christopher is next in scoring at 15.6 points and he leads Cal with 14 steals. He is also a solid rebounder with his 5.6 boards per game.

Senior forward Theo Robertson was welcomed back to the lineup last game after missing six games due to injury. Robertson averages 14.7 points in his three games played this season. Senior forward Jamal Boykin is a starter who is second on the team in rebounds with 6.9 per game to complement his 12.2 scoring average.

Sophomore forward Omondi Amoke leads Cal in rebounds with 7.2 per game. He scores 5.8points per contest. Sophomore guard Jorge Gutierrez (7.0 ppg), sophomore center Max Zang (4.5 ppg) and junior center Markhuri Sanders-Frison (2.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg) round out the California regulars. Zang is 7-3 and leads the team with 12 blocked shots in his eight games played.

Meet the Opposing Coach

Mike Montgomery is in his second season overseeing the California program. He has a 28-14 record with the Golden Bears and a 575-258 (.690) overall mark that includes eight years at Montana and 18 seasons at Stanford. Montgomery has coached teams to the NCAA Final Four (1998), four Pac-10 regular-season crowns (1999, 2000, '03, '04) and one Pac-10 Tournament title (2004), as well as one NIT title (1991). He was named the Naismith Coach of the Year in 2000 and is a four-time Pac-10 Coach of the Year (1999, 2000, '03, '04).

The Series

Kansas leads the overall series with California, 14-3, and has won the last eight meetings with Cal. This series dates back to 1929 when the two teams met Jan. 3-4-5 in Oakland, Calif. The following year, the teams clashed Jan. 2-3 in Kansas City, Mo., and Jan. 4 in Lawrence. Of the 17 matchups between KU and Cal, only one has been played in Berkeley, Calif., and two in Lawrence. The rest have been in Oakland, Kansas City, Mo., Anchorage, Alaska, St. Louis, Mo., and Lahaina, Hawaii. KU won the last meeting on Dec. 10, 2005, at the Kemper Shootout in
Kansas City, Mo., during KU's third season under head coach Bill Self.

KU-Michigan Leftovers

The Jayhawks attempted 29 two-point field goals, KU's lowest this season.
The game marked the second time all season the Jayhawks committed more turnovers than their opponent.
Sophomore forward Marcus Morris recorded his fourth career double-double with a career-high 23 points and 10 rebounds. Marcus' last double-double came against Oakland on Nov. 25.
Marcus was also 8-for-8 from the free throw line. The eight makes were the most by a Jayhawk this season and 100 percent from the line is the highest percentage by an individual this season with at least seven attempts.
Junior center Cole Aldrich registered 11 rebounds tying him with Kenny Gregory for 22nd on the all-time rebounding list. It also marks the fifth time this season he has had 10 or more boards.
Senior guard Sherron Collins moved into fifth place on the career three-point field goal attempts list with 474, passing Brandon Rush.
Junior guard Brady Morningstar logged 22 minutes in his first appearance of the season.

		GP	GS	MPG	PPG	FG%	FT%	3P%	RPG	ORPG	DRPG	APG	TPG	SPG	BPG	FPG
#23	P. Christopher	9	7	32.889	15.556	43.7	76.5	34.7	5.444	1.778	3.667	2.111	1.778	1.556	0.0	2.222
#3	J. Randle	9	8	32.333	19.556	44.7	93.5	39.0	1.667	0.333	1.333	5.111	3.111	0.444	0.0	1.667
#10	J. Boykin	9	9	25.667	12.222	63.0	66.7	0.0	6.889	2.111	4.778	1.0	1.444	0.889	0.222	2.0
#2	J. Gutierrez	9	8	21.667	7.0	47.8	50.0	58.8	3.222	0.667	2.556	3.0	1.111	0.667	0.111	2.333
#21	O. Amoke	9	0	17.111	5.778	42.1	80.0	0.0	7.222	2.778	4.444	0.111	0.889	0.222	0.333	1.556
#45	M. Sanders-Fris	8	3	17.25	2.875	34.6	83.3	0.0	4.375	1.25	3.125	0.75	0.5	0.375	0.25	3.125
#14	M. Zhang	8	4	14.5	4.5	64.0	33.3	0.0	3.75	1.375	2.375	0.25	0.625	0.25	1.5	2.625
#13	N. Knezevic	8	0	11.625	3.25	34.8	75.0	33.3	0.375	0.0	0.375	0.625	0.875	0.625	0.0	0.5
#24	T. Robertson	3	2	30.0	14.667	60.0	76.9	57.1	4.0	1.333	2.667	1.0	2.0	0.0	0.333	2.333
#12	B. Smith	9	2	8.333	1.333	31.2	0.0	40.0	0.333	0.0	0.333	1.111	0.444	0.111	0.0	0.556
#1	D. Seeley	9	2	8.222	1.778	28.6	75.0	14.3	1.667	0.333	1.333	1.0	0.556	0.111	0.111	1.0
#15	B. Bak	5	0	7.0	1.2	12.5	100.0	0.0	1.4	0.4	1.0	0.2	0.6	0.0	1.0	0.4
		GP	GS	MPG	PPG	FG%	FT%	3P%	RPG	ORPG	DRPG	APG	TPG	SPG	BPG	FPG
#4	S. Collins	10	10	29.8	13.9	46.2	77.8	41.7	2.0	0.2	1.8	4.2	2.0	1.3	0.0	1.4
#1	X. Henry	10	10	27.7	17.7	53.5	80.6	49.1	3.8	0.9	2.9	1.7	1.9	1.8	0.7	2.0
#45	C. Aldrich	10	10	26.0	11.3	54.1	68.8	0.0	9.7	3.2	6.5	1.3	1.4	0.6	3.5	1.9
	T. Taylor	10	8	23.5	6.8	39.7	68.4	29.4	3.0	0.6	2.4	4.0	1.9	1.5	0.2	1.9
#22	M. Morris	10	8	23.4	11.1	57.6	73.8	36.4	5.8	2.5	3.3	1.3	1.5	1.0	0.5	2.4
#21	M. Morris	10	2	16.0	8.1	69.8	65.4	66.7	5.7	1.9	3.8	1.2	0.9	0.7	0.9	2.2
#14	T. Reed	10	0	15.6	4.9	43.6	75.0	38.7	1.6	0.1	1.5	1.4	0.4	0.9	0.1	0.9
#0	T. Robinson	10	0	11.9	5.1	46.2	44.1	0.0	4.8	1.7	3.1	0.7	0.5	0.4	1.2	1.9
#15	E. Johnson	9	2	12.222	4.333	51.7	55.6	36.4	2.111	0.889	1.222	2.667	1.111	0.667	0.0	1.889
#2	C. Teahan	7	0	7.286	2.714	50.0	66.7	42.9	1.429	0.857	0.571	0.857	0.429	0.286	0.143	0.571
#13	C. Henry	5	0	8.6	5.2	60.0	50.0	53.8	1.2	0.2	1.0	0.4	0.2	0.2	0.2	1.2
#12	B. Morningstar	1	0	22.0	2.0	50.0	0.0	0.0	2.0	1.0	1.0	3.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	2.0

Q&A with California Golden Blogs

Denverjhawk — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:00:35 -0000

View full size photo »

In preparation for tonight's game the guys over at California Golden Blogs asked if I would answer a few questions about KU basketball for their readers. I naturally said yes because I'll take any opportunity I can to talk Kansas sports and it's even more fun when you have a basketball team as good as ours appears to be.

Thankfully in return California Golden Blogs was kind enough to answer a few questions about Cal. Bears fans are excited about this one and in a year with higher expectations this is a chance for them to make a big statement if they can get the job done. Without further ado let's get to the questions!!

What are the expectations for Cal coming into the season, tournament team, conference contender?

TwistNHook:

The expectations this year are at the very least tournament team. This is for a few main reasons:

1. Cal has a senior heavy team. They have four senior starters: Theo Robertson, Jerome Randle, Patrick Christopher, and Jamal Boykin. These guys have played together for years now and seem to have a really strong chemistry. They made the tournament last year and lost very little.

2. The Pac10 sucks! It's true, it's true! I don't know if it's bad recruiting, if it's losing everybody to the NBA (hellooooo, UCLA!) or if its just true that people west of the Mississippi can't play sports like they do over there in North Cackilacki! But there are few good teams. The #1 team, Washington, has already lost to Texas Tech and Georgetown. And that's the best team! The worse teams have a litany of losses to disastrously bad teams like Long Beach State and University of Illinois at Chicago (GO FLAMES!). So, it's a wide open field this year. Everybody seems down, so Cal might have a chance. Only 2-3 teams will probably make it, so Cal's senior heavy team seems like a likely bet.

Once they get in, people would certainly like a National Championship. However, they would be happy with a Sweet 16 berth. We haven't been there since the late 90s. And we haven't *won* a tournament game since the day the US invaded Iraq. Fortunately, thats the second time. Yes, not since March 2003!

So, people would be happy with 1 to 2 tournament wins. I am sure that Kansas fans would be wildly displeased if they only had 2 tournament wins. Different strokes, I guess.

It appears Cal has some senior leadership at the guard spot, how have those guys developed over their careers and what do they bring to the table this season?

Avinash:

Randle highlight reel

Randle has really matured from his sophomore struggles under Ben Braun. He can drive, he can get quickly into the paint, he can identify the incoming double team and pass to the open man, and of course you haven't really lived until you've seen him lace up an ICBM 3 pointer. And he's approaching cooler status at the line, shooting 94% so far this year.

He does struggle if he gets stationary with the ball, and sometimes he might have to carry the load a little bit too much. But hopefully if everyone stays healthy he won't have to shoulder the burden like he did at the end of '08.

Christopher highlight reel

It's more of an up-and-down thing with Christopher. When he's playing aggressively and getting to the rim he shows all the NBA potential that scouts drool over, but during some games, especially on the road, he disappears. Some of that is due to circumstance (Robertson being out really hurts the way our team flows and functions), but I feel some of it is due to personal choice--he settles for jump shots and 3s, doesn't attack the glass, etc. I always worry about which Christopher will be lacing it up on the hardwood any given night.

Where do you see the Bears being able to give Kansas the most trouble?

Avinash:

A lot of it will depend on our dribble penetration and ball movement/player movement. Cal has had a tough road record, getting blown out of Coaches v Cancer and fell in a tough one in New Mexico, but all three look like top 25 teams (Syracuse, NM and Ohio State have a combined record of 29-2), so it's not the worst thing in the world.

Theo Robertson was out for all those games though, and he was critically missed--defenses keyed in on Jerome Randle and Patrick Christopher, forced other guys to slash and shoot, and they couldn't deliver as consistently as Randle could. With Robertson you have three guys who can handle, drive, and shoot either on the move or from downtown, which could keep the game close if the Bears shoot lights out. If they don't, it'll just be another typical Jayhawk rout.

Cal always seems to have solid players funneling through but hasn't been able to get over the hump to consistency. What's holding them back?

ragnarok:

Former Coach Ben Braun? I don't want to lay all our program's ills at the feet of a former coach, and one who did win plenty of games and with class, to boot, but it's hard not to notice that player development was less than stellar during his tenure. Actually, even that's a bit unfair; Braun was great at turning marginally-talented walk-ons into Pac-10 caliber role-players. What he and his staff consistently struggled with was turning already good players into great ones. Leon Powe was just as beastly the day he was drafted as when he entered Cal. DeVon Hardin had an NBA-ready body, was was unable to develop an NBA-ready game. Amit Tamir was named to Playboy's preseason All-America team, and prompty regressed during his forgettable senior season. Several other players you've never heard of came in highly touted but ended up having largely disappointing college careers.

Probably the most refreshing aspect of Coach Montgomery's tenure so far at Cal has been the improvement of the talent on the roster, turning good players into great ones. This gives me hope for the future, something Cal fans aren't really used to feeling.

What's the feeling on Mike Montgomery as a coach? Is he the guy that can do it?

TwistNHook:

I hope so! Interestingly, Montgomery seems to be the opposite of our former coach, Ben Braun. Ben Braun, who was not that personable from my personal interactions, was remarkably good at recruiting. He could get great recruits, such as Ryan Anderson and Leon Powe. But a lot of his players never seemed to develop. Many players would regress over time, such as Israeli superstar Amit Tamir.

Monty, who is very funny and incredibly personable from my personal interactions, doesn't like to recruit as much. But he seems a lot better at developing talent. We get these unheralded guys, such as Max Zhang (from China) and Jorge Gutierrez (from Mexico), who impress with their development. Zhang has definitely taken a step forward this year and Gutierrez is a "Gut-sy" (see what I did there!) player who scraps for everything.

Ultimately, having less heralded recruits who develop well is more exciting than bringing in big names who never seem to fulfill their potential.

What's your feeling on how this one plays out, Cal v Kansas?

ragnarok:

Cal falls behind early but keeps battling. At least one key player for the Bears gets into early foul trouble. Cal comes out hot to start the second half, gets to within 4, then a combination of fatigue and foul trouble opens the door for a 13-2 Kansas run, effectively putting the game away. The Bears keep it respectable down the stretch, but the Jayhawks are never really threatened after that.

Last question, Cal v Stanford is of course a big football rivalry. Would you have preferred Kansas hire Jim Harbaugh away from the Cardinal instead of hiring Turner Gill? Also you asked me who my punch in the face rival or player was...who's Cal's?

ragnarok:

On one hand, Harbaugh brought success to Stanfurd, and anything that hurts the Cardinal is fine by me. On the other hand, the 'Furd was SO bad over the previous five years before Harbaugh that, honestly, the rivalry was being hurt by the non-competitive, lopsided nature of the games. Jim Harbaugh is an easy guy to hate as a rival fan, providing us with plenty of opportunities to make fun of him (seventy grand for a private bathroom?), and as long as his teams don't actually win too many games against my Bears, I'm happy with him at Stanfurd.

In fact, much as I would enjoy punching Harbaugh in the face, given only one face-punch, I'd have to go with former Stanfurd basketball player Casey Jacobsen. Not only did that guy always kill us from outside, but he looked and played like an annoying little b***c (blonde highlights? really? what a douchebag).

Oh and who's your favorite Bear of all time? got a favorite Jayhawk?

ragnarok:

I'll admit, I'm a younger Bear fan, so guys like Jason Kidd are a little bit before my time. Forced to choose a guy I actually saw play in a Bears uniform (and this is a tough choice), I'd have to go with Leon Powe. Man, that guy was a beast. If he got his hands on a rebound, that ball was his. Perhaps undersized as a power forward, Powe made up for anything people said he couldn't do by outworking them. Most of us weren't really surprised that he was unappreciated in the NBA draft, and none of us were surprised at all that he played a key role off the bench for the Celtics' world championship in 2008.

Favorite Jayhawk? I've always admired Kansas' program from afar, but while the teams have always been great, I'm sad to say Kirk Hinrich is the only player whom I can name off the top of my head. So it's Hinrich, I guess.

Pac-10 Weekly Wrap: Finally, a quality win!

Nuss — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:50:33 -0000

More photos » by Joe Nicholson - AP

Why is this man smiling? Because he's been the best player in the Pac-10 for the conference's best team, that's why.

Browse more photos »

After a couple of weeks off, the Weekly Wrap is back. I wish I could say that a lot has changed in the three weeks since I wrote the last one of these, but unfortunately it hasn't. The Pac-10 did finally pick up a quality out-of-conference win -- from the most unlikely of sources in USC -- but it did little to offset the perception that this is a weak Pac-10 after numerous missed opportunities.

It's a perception that's not likely to change, despite the conference now being ranked the fifth strongest nationally by kenpom.com (just ahead of the SEC, if you can believe that). If you look at the standings, it's pretty easy to see why. The conference has about five good to really good offensive teams, about five good to pretty good defensive teams, but only two that combine the two (Washington, Cal and ASU). Everyone else is good at one or the other, leading to some pretty uneven performances.

There are some big games on the slate tomorrow night: Cal at Kansas, UW vs. Texas A&M, WSU vs. LSU, and Stanford at Texas Tech. If the Pac-10 is going to get more than just a couple of bids come March, it needs to plant a seed in the minds of the committee that it's just a young conference that is getting better as the season moves along. Winning most or all of those would do wonders for the perception of the conference.

If Cal can beat Kansas -- or, at least, lose a thriller -- all of a sudden, beating Cal in conference means something.

On to the rankings! There hasn't been a lot of movement the past couple of weeks, but I have a feeling that might change by this time next week.

1. Washington
Rank last week: 1
Record: 7-2

The Huskies are still on top, but I sure would feel a lot better about it if they'd actually beat someone away from Hec Ed during the nonconference season. The loss to Texas Tech was a toss-up, but losing in Los Angeles to Georgetown -- in the manner they did -- raises some serious questions about Washington's toughness without Jon Brockman in the middle.

There have been hints of it against other opponents (Montana, Cal-State Northridge), but the Huskies have been able to overwhelm those opponents with their athleticism. Not so against the Hoyas. They've got a tough one against Texas A&M tomorrow, but again, it's at home. In fact, the Huskies don't leave Hec Ed again until Jan. 8.

Bright spot: Quincy Pondexter is finally, truly, unequivocally delivering on the promise he held as one of the top recruits on the west coast lo these many years ago. (Just take a look at his individual stat rankings over at kenpom.com.) That he's not receiving more pub nationally probably is due to the lack of a signature game in a signature win for the Huskies. But if he keeps this up, it won't stay that way for long.

Question mark: Pop quiz time: Where do the Huskies rank in the Pac-10 in adjusted offensive efficiency? First? Third? Try fifth -- behind (in order) Cal, Arizona State, WSU and Oregon. This team has just frankly not been that great offensively, exceeding 1.10 points per trip just three times this year. This is something to keep an eye on, because while the Pac-10 has been bad, there are some really good defensive teams in there. USC showed this week what a great defensive team powered by a fluky shooting night can do to a good team.

2. California

Rank last week: 2
Record: 6-3

The Bears have played three games in three weeks -- their tilt with Kansas tomorrow will be their first in 13(!) days. They started off with a loss on the road to New Mexico -- certainly not a bad loss, per se, but not great for a team that many thought could be the dominant team in the Pac-10 -- then finished up with dominant wins over Iowa State at home and Pacific on the road. They haven't been on TV much in these parts, so I don't have much insight to add; I will be catching the ESPN360 replay of tomorrow's game on Wednesday, since I'll be at the WSU/LSU game.

Bright spot: Theo Robertson is back. Need I say more? An offense that's already very good will get even better -- if he can stay on the floor.

Question mark: Tomorrow night is bigger than big for Cal. If they can hang with -- or outright beat -- the Jayhawks, the Bears' ceiling likely becomes a No. 2 seed. If they get blown out? Maybe a No. 3, but more than likely a No. 4 or No. 5, since there just don't remain any chances for great wins on their schedule. (Sorry, Huskies -- you no longer qualify.)

3. Arizona State

Rank last week: 3
Record: 8-3

The Sun Devils just keep chugging along, showing that experience just might be the difference maker for this team. They did lose to Baylor at home, but only by three while giving up 69.0 effective field goal percentage. It's a loss that smacks of the kind of loss that teams featuring zone defense suffer from time to time. Of more import to me is the nice win against a good San Diego State team. Still pretty clearly the third best in the conference, and the Pac-10's best chance for a third at-large bid if they can separate themselves from fourth place once league play starts.

Bright spot: Derek Glasser has been doing his best Taylor Rochestie on steroids impersonation this year. They're similar in so many ways, but Glasser's shooting has been insane -- his offensive rating is currently 130.5 with a high assist rate. He's been better than I ever thought he could be.

Question mark: There's a saying in football that the defenses often start out in front of the offenses at the beginning of the year. Well, in college basketball it seems experience starts out in front of inexperience, and that's the case with ASU. Which makes me wonder: Will this team continue to get better? Or will they get passed by other teams that would seemingly have more talent as they gain more experience?

4. Washington State

Rank last week: 4
Record: 8-2

Well, the Cougs missed an opportunity at Gonzaga, got whipped by K-State and soundly beat Idaho and Portland State. The funny thing is that we all thought this was going to be a roller coaster. While there aren't any "good" wins on the slate, there aren't any bad losses, either. That's a pretty enormous testament to what Ken Bone is doing. If the Cougs cap the nonconference slate with a win over LSU, it has to be considered a rousing success. The Cougs are a solid No. 4 in these rankings.

Bright spot: Marcus Capers. Come back this afternoon to find out why. (We call that a teaser in the news biz!)

Question mark: The Cougs are one of those teams that feature a very good offense, but so-so defense. Hence, all the attention we pay to the defense -- it really could be the difference maker in terms of getting this team to the postseason. Signs point to the defense getting better, although some of that might be explained by simple regression in terms of opponents' 3-point shooting. We'll learn more tomorrow against a team that's as athletic as we are.

5. USC

Rank last week: 9
Record: 5-4

Too big of a jump here after whipping Tennessee at home, you say? Too much value placed on one very good shooting night from a bad offensive team, you say? Well, at least they've shown that they can do it, which is a heck of a lot more than we can say for most other teams. After all, look at five through 10 in this conference and tell me who deserves to be higher than USC.

That's what I thought.

Bright spot: It's not a total fluke the Vols shot just 2-of-22 from 3-point range against the Trojans -- they're 23rd nationally in effective field goal percentage allowed (although it has been built mostly on stingy 2-point defense). Kevin O'Neil is following the Bennett rebuild blueprint to a T: Play superlative defense until the offense catches up.

Question mark: Will the offense ever catch up this year? It has been positively horrendous at times, and one good night doesn't make us believe everything is OK.

6. Oregon

Rank last week: 6
Record: 6-4

They can't beat a decent team on the road (Mizzou, Portland) and can't beat a decent team at home (Montana, St. Mary's). I guess they get credit for nearly beating the Gaels, but I know most people were expecting a lot more out of this team -- especially Duck fans. There have even been rumblings that it's time for Ernie Kent to go. I'd like to take this moment to remind everyone that I said I thought the Ducks wouldn't be very good until next year, and I stand by that statement.

Bright spot: Freshman Jamil Wilson has a knack for rebounding (14.1 OR% and 19.3 DR%) and blocking shots (3.5%). So that's nice.

Question mark: Will Kent's job status become a distraction? Especially if they win their last two nonconference games (as they should) and then start off Pac-10 play 0-2 coming through UW and WSU on New Year's weekend (as they might)?

7. Arizona

Rank last week: 5
Record: 4-5

The Wildcats have played the second-toughest nonconference schedule in the Pac-10, and it shows. These guys needed a patsy-filled schedule as bad as anyone, and instead they've played the likes of Wisconsin, Vandy, UNLV, Oklahoma and San Diego State -- all losses. They played tough in Maui and play well at home, but their last two games on the road have been convincing losses (OU and SDSU).

Bright spot: Jamelle Horne is rebounding like a power forward (21.3 DR%), despite being roughly the size of Klay Thompson. It's part of the reason the Wildcats have been surprisingly effective on the glass despite none of their actual big men rebounding like big men.

Question mark: Five times this year, the Wildcats have scored less than .92 points per possession (1.0 being average). Four of those five were against the good teams on their schedule. That's a scary thought heading into conference play.

8. Stanford

Rank last week: 7
Record: 5-5

We know moral victories don't really count. But losing by one at home to Oklahoma State and by eight on the road at Northwestern -- two teams that should be in the top half of their conferences -- says something about the way Johnny Dawkins has his Cardinal fighting. They are not going to be an easy win for anyone once Pac-10 play starts.

Bright spot: Landry Fields is really good -- so good that I'd probably place him in the No. 2 spot behind Pondexter in the Pac-10 POY race at the moment.

Question mark: Will the Cardinal keep bringing their A-plus effort if they don't soon get a favorable result? They've got a chance to get one tomorrow against Texas Tech.

9. Oregon State

Rank last week: 8
Record: 5-5

No shame in losing on the road to Nebraska. But Illinois-Chicago? Really? It seemed like the Beavers finally had some things figured out after beating George Washington and Colorado. Then the pitiful effort on the defensive glass against the Flames. They now possess arguably the two worst losses in the Pac-10. This is a tough, tough team to figure.

Bright spot: The offense seems to be coming around -- above 53 effective field goal percentage in five of the last six games. That's pretty good.

Question mark: Now that the Beavers have kissed any chance of an at-large bid goodbye -- and make no mistake, that was the goal heading into the season -- will they pull it together enough to be consistently tough in the league?

10. UCLA

Preseason rank: 10
Record: 3-7

The Bruins are yet another victim of aggressive scheduling. Normally, that's not a problem for the Bruins, but it's led to them losing six of their last seven, five of those by double digits. I'm tempted to say this could happen to anyone with enough early defections, but can you honestly picture North Carolina or Duke or Kansas sinking to these depths under their great coaches? That's what's so weird about this.

Bright spot: The Bruins really do seem to be getting better, even if it's not reflected in the win column. I watched them play Notre Dame on Saturday, and while the Irish aren't exactly a great team, they're a solid Big East squad, and the Bruins competed. They do seem like they still care.

Question mark: Just how much potential is there for the Bruins to improve? Certainly, they're not as bad as they've shown. But I just don't see the kind of talent on the floor I once did. Unless Ben Howland knows something I don't know, this is a bottom half of the conference team, even if they start playing significantly better.

Golden Nuggets: "We need to find some mental and physical toughness"

Berkelium97 — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 01:00:15 -0000

After SJSU's surprising 68-66 upset over the Cal women's basketball team last night, Joanne Boyle was not too happy.

"San Jose State did a great job. I thought they brought everything you need to win a game. Toughness and energy. We came in and played the first six minutes like we should have and then we checked out. I'm embarassed. I told them the one thing I have always taken pride in is that we've always had tough teams. People would knock you on your butt before they'd get an offensive rebound in the last two minutes of a game. You might have four fouls and five turnovers, but you knew when you left, you had played your butt off. We are soft. Physically and mentally, from top to bottom, we were soft tonight. And we have a habit of that. Being soft and not being mentally tough will get you a loss to anybody. That's where we are right now."

"We need to find some leadership on this team. And we need to find some mental and physical toughness."

"I can't lead them. I am obviously not doing a good job with them in teaching them that being soft is not acceptable at this level. I am not asking them to make baskets. I am not asking them to do anything but play hard and rebound. When someone comes into your gym and scores 32 on you. And the team scores 36 points in the paint and no one is over 6 feet tall, that is a problem. I need to step away and they (the team) need to figure out what they want for their season. Or tell me how to coach them better."

On the third straight game shooting 50% from the freethrow line

" Kids have to be in the gym shooting freethrows. That is not necessarily something you take an hour out of practice to shoot freethrows. Part of it is are they focused at the line? Are they working on it? Do they understand the importance of them? If you don't learn a lessen after the first one (game shooting poorly from the freethrow line), and you don't learn it after the second one, I don't know what to tell you."

After the jump, ESPN rates the bowl matchups, men's bball sends a record crowd home disappointed, and more.

Cal Football

ESPN ranks the Poinsettia Bowl at 14th among the most exciting matchups. Like Mandel said yesterday, this bowl will be more exciting if Best makes a surprising return. Most of the Pac-10 bowls are in the top half of the rankings, though USC-BC came in at 18th and UCLA-Temple (assuming Army wins) was second-to-last.
Ted Miller compares the pre-season and post-season all-Pac-10 teams. Syd, Anger, and Best, all pre-season first-teamers are not on the post-season team. Mohamed made the jump up to the post-season team.

Cal Basketball

The record crowd of 8704 was probably disappointed when the Bears blew out Pacific 79-54. PC enjoyed the hostile road atmosphere, particularly when the crowd gets silenced following a big shot. Farudo's game thread recaps how Cal took a commanding lead early on and didn't let up.

Golden Nuggets: Looking Ahead to Pacific

Berkelium97 — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:14:26 -0000

Be a good citizen and take two minutes to vote in royrules22's top-25 poll. Democracy isn't that bad, is it?

Jeff Farudo's scouting report is mostly of a look at how Cal will handle Theo's return. He talks briefly about Pacific, though. Attendance is supposed to set a record of nearly 7500 at Stockton Arena. Also, Farudo mentions that Kamp has been participating in about two-thirds of Cal's practices, but he is mentally prepared to redshirt.

"I’m not saying it’s great that Theo was out, but just to let people get a chance to be out there playing," senior point guard Jerome Randle said. "With Jorge, we see he’s able to do a lot of other things other than coming off the bench giving us a lot of defense. He can score. I think he’s better for this team right now when he comes off the bench because he’s very fiery."

Gutierrez worked hard on his shot in the off-season and he entered this week ranked second in the Pac-10 in 3-point accuracy at 53.3 percent. He’s already made as many 3-pointers (8) as all last season, when he converted just 30.8 percent.

"He’s gotten better," Montgomery said. "He’s not pure. But it’s going in, so it’s good."

Randle believes the difference is merely confidence.

"I know a lot of times he second-guesses his shots. I tell him, if I create and draw the defense and you’re open for a shot and you don’t shoot the ball, I’m going to be mad," Randle said. "He takes the shot now. He’s not hesitating. He looks pretty good now. He’s making jump shots."

Gutierrez wasn’t the only Cal player to get more opportunity recently. Center Max Zhang and forward Omondi Amoke also have helped build better depth.

"(Max) gained some confidence, for sure," Montgomery said. "We’ll be able to use all these kids before it’s all said and done. Omondi has come in and done a real nice job, particularly on the boards. He’s very active to the glass. He doesn’t always get to where he’s supposed to be, but he’s a strong rebounder."

[On Pacific]

"They’re very solid. They play hard, they’re physical, they well-coached, they’ve got a lot of pride in their program," Montgomery said. "They’re always a contender in the Big West because it’s important. They don’t beat themselves, they don’t make a lot of mistakes, they know who they are."

Montgomery expects the Bears will have a fight on their hands.

"They’re not going to back off at all. They’ll come after us," he said. "To get a Pac-10 school over in Stockton, it’s a big game for them. They’ll be ready to go."

After the jump a few media outlets look back on Cal's season, Cal is favored by three over the Utes, Theo's return generates excitement, and more.

Cal Football

Cal is favored by 3 over the Utes.
The Poinsettia Bowl is 16th in Stewart Mandel's list of most interesting bowls. It is the second-least interesting of the Pac-10 bowls, however, and is one spot below the USC-BC Emerald Bowl. Mandel says it will be much more interesting if Best returns for his last game of the season (and probably Cal career). UCLA-Temple (assuming Army doesn't win), is the least interesting Pac-10 bowl at 27th.
Ted Miller recaps Cal's season in a single word: strange.
Cal earns a C+ from Buster Sports for its performance over the 2009 season. Its grades for each game of the season were as follows:

A

B

B+

F

F

B

B

B-

B-

B

A-

F

Cal Basketball

Everyone is excited for the return of Theo. Defending Cal will be a whole lot tougher, as Randle, PC, and Theo can score any time they touch the ball.

CBKWitness - Cal turns a corner, sings

CBKWit — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 11:00:15 -0000

Nice work CaliforniaCMB. Email Cal BBall photoshops to: goldenblogs@gmail.com

Saturday found a scene familiar to long suffering Blues - Cal basketball providing a glimmer of hope as Cal football fizzles out. I went to both the men's and women's basketball games on Saturday, two blowout victories surrounding our predictably unpredictable no show at UW. RemorsefulBruinBabe called it a "losing sandwich on winning bread."

The women's freshmen and the men's backups performing so well would be the lead story here, but RemorsefulBruinBabe just found this, via BearBallCarrier. You may not like basketball, or a capella, but the combination is scintillating. That furd Tiger Woods makes you question humanity, and then Max Zhang and Maestro Randle save the day. Max swaying in the background puts it over the top.

The women were up first on Saturday. They won, big. BearBallCarrier, Calnet, and I sat in the chair-backs three rows behind the Cal bench. I even caught a shirt, from a real, live cheerleader. You could, too! There were plenty of great seats available, for only 12 bucks.

The freshman came in with a lot of hype, and so far it is deserved. They're the difference makers on the team, not our three senior guards. Eliza Pierre dominated the game with her speed and defense. The box score says she only had three steals, but she created plenty more of Cal's twelve steals and Colorado State's 17 turnovers.

Pierre isn't a smooth offensive player yet, but she's improved even since the Baylor game 2 weeks ago. She hit a nifty pull up jumper from 15 feet and looked much more in control handling the ball.

Eliza reminds me of Jorge, in the way she uses her tenacious defense to control the game. Like Monty said of Jorge, it's an absolute pleasure to watch Eliza play defense. But as much as I love Jorge, Pierre may be better, relative to her sport. She's faster and more athletic, and I think she'll turn into a natural point guard with more ease than Jorge. It's really worth the price of admission to watch her, and as a freshman with only 7 career games under her belt, she's going to get much, much better.

Yes, this tiny picture is all I could find.

via grfx.cstv.com

The freshman posts have also impressed so far. I haven't seen Brenna Heater yet, as she's been out with a boot on her foot. I heard she's due to return fairly soon, which should be a huge boost to the team. Right now, Cal has 3 healthy forwards, all of them freshman. Senior Rama N'Diaye, our one experienced post, hasn't played this year and seems likely to redshirt. It's been pretty impressive to watch 3 freshman combine for 80 minutes a game at the two forward spots. Stallworth is ridiculously smooth for a freshman with a very consistent shot. Caldwell has what we call a "rebounder's body" (read: big posterior) and moves well for her size. Brandon is probably the fastest and most athletic of the bunch. They are all more effective and more polished than I anticipated, but the biggest (and most necessary) surprise has been their conditioning. Cal was pushing the pace against Colorado State and our big were keeping up, despite only having one sub.

The big void on this team is shooting. Alexis Gray-Lawson has a nice looking stroke but only hits 25-33% of her outside shots on a given night. Layshia Clarendon is more of a scorer than an outside shooter; this will serve Cal well in the long run, as she looks to take over AGL's points next year, but for this season does not fill a glaring need. Senior Lauren Greif is still struggling from outside, going 0-2 on good looks in the CSU game. Stallworth is probably the best three point shooter on the team right now, as she knocked down two threes from the top of the key. The entire team needs work on free throws - they shot less than 50% in both games this weekend, and it particularly hurt them in the loss to Texas A&M. Stallworth hit the three pointers against CSU but missed both her free throws; Caldwell has an awkward over the head motion on her free throw shooting, barely grazing the rim on her first shot and then air-balling the second. Shooting looks like it will be the achillies heel of this team all year.

Layshia Clarendon

via caltriplethreat.files.wordpress.com

I watched 2/3 of the men's game against New Mexico at the Pit last Wednesday. Cal was pretty close to winning, which is pretty impressive considering Harper Kamp and Theo Robertson missed the game due to injury, Markhuri Sanders-Frison, Omondi Amoke, Jorge Gutierrez, and Patrick Christopher had the flu, and the game was played a mile above sea level. If we have Theo, we win. If Amoke, who has been a terror on the glass lately, doesn't foul out with zero points in nine minutes due to the flu, we win. Hopefully New Mexico keeps winning (they're 8-0) and hopefully the selection committee gives us a pass for all the injuries/vomiting and dehydration.

That said, Cal probably wins this game despite all that if New Mexico doesn't go to a 1-2-2 3/4 court press and some combo zone in the half court. What is a 1-2-2 3/4 court press? Just watch the first 13 seconds of this video:

Cal was up 6, I believe, when New Mexico started employing this trapping press to slow the bears down. It worked. Cal lost its rhythm and turned it over at least once that I can remember, a Boykin travel.

Once Cal got into the half court, New Mexico continued to employ some sort of perimeter oriented zone, though I can't remember if it was a 1-2-2 or an extended 2-3. Earlier in the half, Randle buried three pointers on three consecutive possessions as he ran around screens off the ball, plays we generally ran for Christopher against man defense last year. Once New Mexico went to the zone to stop chasing Randle around the court and giving up open looks, the Bears struggled. It's somewhat strange that New Mexico didn't go to a zone earlier, given how badly we struggled with it against Syracuse and Ohio State.

On the first possession against the zone, Randle penetrated and kicked to an open Jorge, who missed it from the top of the key. Theo, come back soon. Cal's offense never settled down, New Mexico hit some tough shots, the Lobo crowd got into it, ball game.

With Wednesday's loss to New Mexico, Saturday's game against Iowa State gained a lot of importance. Wins over Jacksonville, Murray State, Princeton, etc. are nice, but losing every game to a name opponent (which is what they had done so far) is not going to get Cal a lot of cred. And after the football debacle in Seattle (I guess Cal can't score on usc OR former usc assistants), Cal fans needed an upper. We got one.

The first half gave us three of the biggest highlights of the season thus far. Max put his hand in front of Craig Brackins' (future NBA first rounder) face, prompting Brackins to slap it away, irritated. Max was under his skin, and shortly thereafter Brackins whined to the refs about it.

Number two: Max blocked Brackins' shot. Brackins finished the game with 21 points, but most came before Max showed him who was boss. Brackins wasn't a big factor after that.

via cdn1.sbnation.com

Number three: Jorge dunked. He threw it down with one hand on a fast break, giving Cal a nine point lead. I didn't know he could dunk! I don't think any Cal fans did. Did he grow an inch or two since last year? Did he improve his vertical leap? All I know is that I love Jorge more than I did before, and I didn't know that was possible.

The background of this picture, the forefront of my heart

via cdn1.sbnation.com

Patrick Christopher had 4 points at half. In the first minute of the second half, Randle hit him for an alley-oop. He scored another 14, including a couple threes, in the half to finish the game with 20. It was yet another example of Christopher needing a confidence booster of some sort to insert himself in the game. Hopefully he will be more consistent once our calm, steady senior Theo returns and takes some of the pressure off PChris.

Randle had a terrible shooting night, 7-21 overall and 0-7 from three, but still finished with 18 points. Aside from his awful shooting (especially bad considering he is a really, really good shooter), he was great. He controlled the game from the point, dishing out 9 assists against only 2 turnovers. He held his man, ISU's three point specialist (insert Euro name here) scoreless. Randle has really picked up his defense and he doesn't even need his number one asset, his incredible outside shooting, in order to be a very good player in a game.

Cal may be turning a corner. It would have been great to win one or two of the big games we've lost, and with Theo and without the flu, we probably would have. But the flip side to the injuries and illness has been experience to our backups. Max and Omondi Amoke have been coming on very strong lately, and without the increased playing time they've received due to our temporarily depleted roster, they wouldn't have shown this much improvement. Max played the best game of his career on Saturday, against a first round NBA pick no less. He still has plenty to improve on (rebounding, some semblance of a post move), but he's serviceable and that's a lot more than you could say 6 weeks ago, much less last year.

Max, with newfound ferocity

via cdn3.sbnation.com

Amoke is a menace on the boards, especially at the offensive end. He's also grown more patient and relaxed offensively, leading to greatly increased offensive production. He's been forced to play a lot of minutes at the 4 because of Harper's injury, and with Harper likely out for the year, that will continue. But even though he's undersized playing at power forward (6'7 and pretty skinny), he's been able to collect double digit rebounds in limited minutes. He compensates for his lack of size with superior athleticism and persistence.

The really sweet part is that Theo is returning! He's supposedly playing tonight against the Pacific Tigers. He'll help this team in so many ways: breaking zones with his shooting, improving the perimeter defense, allowing Jorge to come off the bench and get back to his ultra-aggressive defense, allow Amoke to play the three on occassion...the list goes on. And he's returning to a team that has improved since he last played, nearly a month ago. Cal basketball is about to get really exciting, and just in time for the Poinsettia bowl. Praise be Bak Bak.

On a completely unrelated note, this is what I sat behind at The Nutcracker last night:

If you're going to a movie/ballet/concert, maybe the best hairdo isn't all of your hair piled on top of your head. There may actually be someone sitting behind you! And if this is your dad, unlike last week, I am not at all sorry.

Golden Nuggets: Theo Returns!

Berkelium97 — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:00:25 -0000

Theo Robertson will come off the bench Wednesday against Pacific. Monty didn't say who would start at center and mentioned that MSF needs to get his stamina back.

"He practiced today, looked pretty good," Montgomery said. Asked if that means he’s ready to go, Monty added, "I presume so. I’ll see how he is (Tuesday), but he moved around pretty well. Never really begged out. So I’m hoping he can (play)."

Monty said Jorge Gutierrez likely will start against Pacific, but ultimately will probably come off the bench, allowing Robertson to start and giving the team a versatile player who provides energy as a sub.

"We would go back to the way we were, playing him at the 3, then move him to the 4, depending on if we went small," Montgomery said.

Robertson was averaging 18 points through two games when he injured his right foot before Cal’s games against Syarcuse and Ohio State at Madison Square Garden.

"Theo’s maybe our best shooter and he was playing very well before he got hurt. He’s a smart player," Montgomery said. "We could have really used him against those zones in New York, having a third pure shooter. I would think it will be much harder loading up on Patrick (Christopher) and Jerome (Randle). It should change things drastically."

After the jump, Utah fans look forward to playing Ludwig's offense, Ted Miller looks back at what could have been for Cal (and USC), Miller posts his All-Pac-10 team, basketball gets ready to play Pacific, and more.

Cal Football

Isi Sofele was the runner up for the Pac-10 special teams player of the week.
Cal earned a well-deserved F from Wilner for Saturday's loss to Washington.
Our brethren over at Utah's SBN site Block U are looking forward to taking on Ludwig in the Poinsettia Bowl.
Ted Miller looks back with amusement about how wrong his preseason Pac-10 rankings were.
Miller's All-Pac-10 team includes Alualu and Mohamed.

Cal Basketball

Calbears.com previews the Cal-Pacific matchup.