Cal Basketball Attacks And Hustles Their Way To 82-63 Victory Over Iowa State
by Avinash Kunnath on Dec 6, 2009 2:10 AM PST
in California Golden Bears Men's Basketball
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PrintWe'll start with the actual team that played with desire yesterday. (As for football, an official bowl announcement will come around 1:30 PM PST, according to Okanes)
The Bears played like a team in must-win mode, and they dominated a solid Iowa State team and their star Craig Brackins. With little error after three road losses against their best opponents, and Pac-10 hoops in general taking a beating, this win was a good step in the right direction for this team and this conference. Cal did not shoot well from downtown (Randle was an uncharacteristic 0 for 7), but didn't need it thanks to timely rebounding, an attack mentality and strong defense, shutting the Cyclones down when they pulled away in the second half.
Player spotlight: This turned out to be the perfect game for (I can't believe it either) Max Zhang. What Zhang lacks on offense he made up for on defense. Although we are far away from anointing him Yao Ming Jr., when he had to face off on the future NBA prospect, Brackins had to work hard to get his 21 points, needing 19 shots to reach that mark. Zhang played close up on him, crowded his range, and forced him into difficult shots when he was on him. Big ups to Max--if he can play like that against Cole Aldrich in a few weeks we have a slight chance of making the noise.
Stars of the night: Omondi Amoke and Patrick Christopher. 25 of Cal's 51 rebounds (and 9 of their 19 offensive boards) came from Amoke and Christopher. Both guys crashed the glass and got 10 points on putbacks. Without any bigs, you love your smaller guys getting in there and putting their effort into it. Amoke was all hustle tonight, cutting baseline and hustling down boards; his performance opened up what could've been a much tighter game.
Great rebound game for Christopher after the disappearing act in Albuquerque. Christopher seemed more ready to attack the basket, and he managed to earn a few trips to the stripe (he missed some of them, but hey, it's better than nothing). For the most part he took open jumpers and 3s, and if he couldn't get them passed to the open man or put it on the floor. With another tough road test at Pacific looming, the Bears might need another big performance from him, especially if Theo's injury continues to hold him out.
(Postgame reaction from Clone Chronicles)
rollonubears went to his first Cal game and shared his thoughts.
Thoughts on Haas:
I need to bring hiking boots next time. Dear lord it is steep.
The atmosphere was very disappointing. The stadium was probably less than half full. Cal fans can show up and be loud (like at football games), so why not do it for basketball? In my opinion a good basketball crowd is more important than a good football crowd. Frustrating.Thoughts on the game:
- PChris sighting! PChris sighting! After being on the lam from playing well for months, good old PChris is back.
- Jerome Randle is really, really good at basketball.
- I can’t remember Jorge having a better offensive game. He was confident with the ball, made some 3s, used headfakes effectively, and had only 1 turnover. Hopefully he keeps that up.
- Dear Max, You are 7 fucking 3. 3 rebounds is unacceptable in 20+ minutes. A guy 9 inches shorter than you grabbed 8 more rebounds. And it isn’t that he isn’t getting bounces. Its that he isn’t trying for the ball. Max frequently just watches the play and doesn’t move to the ball. Quit being so cumbersome and do something! He needs to go to the Omondi Amoke school of sticking your nose in everything. Speaking of him…
- I am officially in love with Amoke. He really is Mr. Everything. He is a great natural rebounder (if he was a few inches taller he would be unstoppable), very athletic, a heady player, and always seems to be in the right place at the right time. Amoke’s play thus far has been by far the most positive development of the year.
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I didn’t see the game, but regarding Max and his lack of rebounding, (gah, I really hate the Yao Ming comparisons, because there are other tall players) but Yao is a really good “phone booth rebounder” meaning that he’ll suck up all the rebounds in his vicinity, but he cannot dominate a game rebounding like Rodman, Garnett, Barkley, Malone, and Duncan because he lacks 3 things: quick jumping/2nd jumping ability, lateral movement – which enables a lot more “go-get-it” type rebounds and relatively short arms. Having watched Max a little bit, he also has the same issues with quickness and lateral movement, so I’m going to bet, a combination of his still-not-as-aggressive attitude plus some “phone booth rebounding” leads to 3 rebounds.
by LeonPowe on Dec 6, 2009 3:42 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
Good call
I’ve noticed Zhang is not much of a jumper—his feet barely leave the ground, making it tough for him to get to the boards the way Amoke and Christopher leap for it.
PaulThomas also had a good quote about rebounding from the game thread.
There’s a reason that Jon Brockman, a 6-7 schlub with barely enough hops to dunk, was able to consistently beat the pants off of every single opposing player in the Pac-10 for rebounds for four years straight. Most of it is about playing the angles and probabilities and thus being in the right place to get the ball. Athleticism and height helps (obviously; see Amoke) but it’s much less important than it seems.
I suspect Zhang just doesn’t have the reps to rebound well yet. He just hasn’t played enough basketball. That’s something that can potentially be taught, I think, but it’s obviously a work in progress.
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Dec 6, 2009 9:46 AM PST up reply actions
How long has Max been playing?
All aboard the Jahvid Best rickshaw!
by rollonubears on Dec 6, 2009 12:34 PM PST up reply actions
He only played 67 minutes last year (4.5 per game). He still finished with the 2nd most blocks on the team (1 behind Jordan Wilkes)
The #1 greatest threat to America: BEARS
I am saying in his life.
All aboard the Jahvid Best rickshaw!
by rollonubears on Dec 6, 2009 12:53 PM PST up reply actions
It’s not just a question of basketball, it’s a question of high level basketball. If he played hoops with my friends and I, he’d get every rebound because our game “bigs” are in the 6’2" to 6’5" range with a lot slower hops. So he’s played high level basketball against guys who have quickness and leaping ability and anticipation for – well a little over a year now.
I’m actually not sure that Max has played basketball at all for much over 5 years or so. I’ve heard he’s pretty new at the game in its entirety.
So, basically, you gotta Go Bears!
Rebounding is about desire, instincts, and experience. Quick leapers often do better than guys who are taller but take longer to gather themselves. Guys who work for superior positioning and have either an innate or learned “nose for the ball” are almost always the best glass eaters.
I think you guys have it nailed. Max doesn’t have the experience, the lateral movement, or the quick ups needed to be a dominant rebounder. With experience, he should do better with claiming more rebounds within a given area.
As far as last night goes, I think Monty told him to focus more on boxing out their best player (Brackins) and it was the guys at the 3 and 4 spots (PC, Amoke, Gutierrez) who were in charge of hitting the glass. Considering that Brackins is going to be making a lot of money next year, I think Max did a pretty good job making him work for tougher shots and keeping him away from getting easy points on offensive putbacks.
by Kodiak on Dec 6, 2009 10:43 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
Max really was great on defense. Moment of the game was when he put his hand in Brackins’ face and Brackins angrily swatted it down.
All aboard the Jahvid Best rickshaw!
by rollonubears on Dec 6, 2009 12:33 PM PST up reply actions
Max and Amoke definitely had the big “role players step up” sort of performances (I loved Amoke’s aggressiveness on the boards, and not only was Max quite effective defensively, but he even looked ‘comfortable’ on offense — a huge leap over only a couple weeks ago), but there’s no question that the Bears’ leader and best player is still Jerome Randle. Perhaps we’ve grown complacent at Randle’s ability, but on a night when his outside shot was absolutely not falling, he still managed to put up 18 by repeatedly going inside. Iowa State didn’t have anyone nearly fast enough to keep up with him, and a number of times Randle would answer a Cyclone basket by sprinting down the floor and scoring before the defense could get set. Everyone needs to make it out to as many Cal basketball games as possible this year, because we need to appreciate Randle before he’s gone.
So, basically, you gotta Go Bears!
by ragnarok on Dec 6, 2009 12:42 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
How far into the season do we need to get until Kenpom rankings are truly valuable rankings? We’re 15th currently, with the 9th best offensive rating.
The #1 greatest threat to America: BEARS
Well, having Syracuse at 5 and Ohio State at 6 doesn’t hurt, as well as a close loss at New Mexico (#16). Murray State is currently in the Top 50!
You’ll probably want to wait until conference play to really put much stock in them, but they’re probably fairly good now.
So, basically, you gotta Go Bears!
I'd hold off on giving them a ton of weight
Is WSU really the third-best offensive team in the nation? I know CougCenter wants to think so (hey, I get it, they like their team…) but I find it simply implausible. They don’t have the talent for that kind of lofty ranking.
I’d not put much stock in it until the start of conference play.
Linda's in the cold ground, won't see her anymore
Somewhere out on the highway tonight, the drunken engines roar
It's just one of those things, one of those things
-- Al Stewart, "Accident on 3rd St."
In memory of Nick Adenhart and all victims of drunk driving
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Oregon Ducks
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UCLA Bruins
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