Cal Finishes Season Sweep Of The State of Washington
by ragnarok on Feb 7, 2009 11:13 PM PST
in California Golden Bears Men's Basketball
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PrintHonestly, I felt like Cal played really well, and despite how close Wazzu was able to keep this game, I would have been really surprised/angry/disappointed had Cal somehow lost this game. Randle played well. Christopher finally got some open looks (first time in weeks, it seems) and knocked down 20 points. Theo shot well. Gutierrez had a lot more surprisingly good moments than surprisingly bad (I think I'm surprised by everything Jorge does, good or bad). Wazzu is a good team, and they shot the ball pretty well, but Cal is better, and I'm glad the final score reflected that fact.
After a few quiet games in a row, Patrick Christopher busted out for 20 points to help down the Cougs Saturday night. - Image via imgs.sfgate.com
Some quick thoughts about tonight's game:
- I'm a big fan of Harper Kamp, and he was playing some great defense out there (much better defense than Jordan Wilkes, who got worked over in the post several times in a row), but what was with Kamp shooting from almost behind the arc late in the game with, like, 17 seconds left in the shot clock? AndBears even said to me, just before Kamp pulled up, "There's no way he's going to shoot that." And then he did. And to no one's surprise, it didn't go in. Again, I like Harper, but that decision to shoot puzzled me to no end.
- P-Chris has been harassed by opposing defenders for weeks now, but Wazzu made the decision to not guard him that closely (relatively speaking, at least). Christopher found a few open shots and buried his first three 3-point attempts (would have been 4, but Boykin committed a foul away from the ball just before the shot). Welcome back to the scoring column, Patrick. We've missed you.
- Though the Bears' offense was pretty ugly early on, it didn't worry me nearly as much as their lacklusted defense. You could sort of see the Bears get down after another failed offensive set (it took four trips down on offense before the Bears even hit the rim with a shot) and it carried over to their defense. Conversely, when the Bears finally did tighen up on the defensive end, forcing long jumpers from the Cougs, I noted that that success seemed to translate into more calm and less panic on offense. As much as you'd like to for analytical purposes, it's hard to separate offense from defense.
- Other than the opening of the game, I thought the Bears did a very good job of defending the Cougars' offense, keeping up the intensity throughout the possession and forcing a lot of outside jumpers. The Cougs can shoot the ball pretty well, but Cal is not a team you want to get into a jump-shooting contest with.
-People are really starting to dig Jorge Gutierrez. He has had an up and down season, but he brings a hustle and energy you can't help but admire. In fact, tonight, one person commented on the original Jorge Guttierez Is Coming To Cal story on the old Blogsome site, saying:
Jorge is one fine SEXICAN he can have this blond anytime I would do him over white boy Tyler Hansbrough!
All in all, a solid, hard-earned victory. The Bears are now 18-6, 7-4 in the conference, tied for third place. Bring on the Cardinal!
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BTW, read the second to last comment on the Blogsome story, found here. Interesting, interesting stuff.
TYRANNICAL KING OF UC EUGENE! BRING ME THE HEAD OF SEATTLE QUACKER!
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STOP THE PRESSES. WILKES SAYS HE AIN'T COMING BACK NEXT YEAR!
He’s gonna graduate and forgo his senior season:
http://www.ibabuzz.com/beartalk/2009/02/08/basketball-wilkes-decides-to-skip-senior-season/
surprising that he makes this decision now
tonight nonwithstanding, he has been playing very well as of late. Best wishes to him, in whatever he does.
www.californiagoldenblogs.com
If he's applying for grad schools,
now is the time. Deadlines for most law schools are within about a week. I assume others are similar, if perhaps a bit more flexible.
I’ve always found it odd that so many guys with no real pro career aspirations were willing to stick around college for an extra year after graduating. I mean, I know it’s fun and all, but isn’t life calling at some point? Aren’t employers going to wonder why you spent a year basically goofing off after graduation? I wonder why more players DON’T forgo their final years of eligibility.
And, of course, it’s possible he changes his mind. Kenny Brown of Stanford was going to leave after last year, but Dawkins convinced him to stay on through this season.
Many years from now, when his name's recalled
Everyone will say, "He should have passed the ball"
-- Al Stewart, "Football Hero"
Well, first of all, if Wilkes wanted to use his final year of eligibility, he would have to enroll in a graduate program at Cal. Maybe he wants to do that, maybe not, but it would hardly be bumming around doing nothing for a year. Secondly, in response to:
I mean, I know it’s fun and all, but isn’t life calling at some point?
In this economy, for college seniors, I think life could wait another year or so to start calling.
So, basically, you gotta Go Bears!
Maybe he doesn't think he'll get into the Cal graduate programs that he wants
I don’t know this, but I would certainly hope that at a school of Cal’s stature, the athletic department couldn’t lean on graduate programs to take players just so that they could keep playing basketball.
Many years from now, when his name's recalled
Everyone will say, "He should have passed the ball"
-- Al Stewart, "Football Hero"
Most times, players who want to stay 5 years simply put off graduating until the 9th semester (not hard)
but i’ve never heard of a player who needed to get into grad school to continue playing at the collegiate level not being able to do so at their alma mater.
So, basically, you gotta Go Bears!
I wouldn't want "couldn't graduate in four years" on my resume, either...
Many years from now, when his name's recalled
Everyone will say, "He should have passed the ball"
-- Al Stewart, "Football Hero"
I hope that is a joke, because I think when you put DI basketball player on the resume, it looks pretty good. And yes, he can probably either wait to graduate or get into a graduate program.
only 60% of Cal students graduate within four year
add on a full time job (basketball), and it’s pretty ridiculous to expect most players to graduate in 4.
www.californiagoldenblogs.com
That's a non sequitur
He can already put that on his resume…
Many years from now, when his name's recalled
Everyone will say, "He should have passed the ball"
-- Al Stewart, "Football Hero"
Looking for an honest opinion here
Is he really good enough to play pro? He’s played well, but I just don’t see him being competitive at the next level. Thoughts?
Oh no, not at all. But remember, Omar Wilkes did the exact same thing (forewent his final year of eligibility once he graduated to go out and start living his life).
So, basically, you gotta Go Bears!
The thing about Omar is that I felt he peaked skills-wise pretty much from the moment he started playing from Cal – decently athletic, decent shooter, a decent player but also one that was easily replaceable. Long run, I think we were better off without him because Christopher got a lot more playing time. I think there were some Braun issues too.
But with Jordan – the guy is our starting center, we would have five seniors in the starting line-up next year. We could really be thinking Pac-10 title – or at least a really good year. Plus, he just now really seems to be coming into his own as a player. To announce this after two really good games against ’SC and Washington just seems weird.
I am all for people having other interests that they want to pursue. But damn…Odds are we are all going to live til damn near 100. Is it really a waste of time to come back and play one more year after a program has invested a scholarship in you? Wonder how his teammates feel about this.
by Tedfordisgod on Feb 8, 2009 10:02 AM PST up reply actions
I agree that I like next year’s squad a good deal better with Jordan coming back than I do without him, especially given his improved play over the past couple weeks. The timing does seem a little odd, coming in the middle of the season like this, but I guess if he’s going to graduate and move on, he wanted to have a senior day (against UCLA) and to know it was the end while he was experiencing it.
I know a lot of people here (including yourself) went on to graduate degrees after Cal, but after 4 years of school, I personally was done with school, ready to move on and get a job and such. Sure, I missed some of my extra-curricular activities, but I was ready to be done. Perhaps Wilkes is thinking the same way. Given that his brother made the same decision, it seems like it may have been a part of how they were raised, that basketball isn’t everything, and that there’s a lot more to life.
OK, anyway, some wild speculation on my part about two other possible reasons why Jordan Wilkes might be ready to move on:
- Clash with the new coaching staff? I have absolutely no evidence for this whatsoever, but it is a common enough phenomenon that some players don’t get on as well with the new staff as they did with the old.
- His body is telling him to quit. I know Jordan’s had a couple of surgeries over his career at Cal, and maybe he’s feeling like his body is ready to be done with the grind. Leaving the game last night, I did see Jordan waiting for the bus with both knees taped up with ice — and he only played 15 minutes. I don’t have any inside info on his health situation, but this seems like it could be a reason to finish up with college basketball.
Again, wild speculation on my part.
So, basically, you gotta Go Bears!
when omar was still on the team, i asked him what he thought about braun as a coach. he gave a pretty lukewarm response that pretty much amounted to a “meh, he’s ok, not good but not bad” type of response.
i'm here to clean your pool but i don't have a pool *bowchica bowow*
heard from a good source
Papa Wilkes thinks his son’s improved play stems, at least in part, to “coaching.” I would add that Wilkes is finally getting playing time, because he’s (relatively) healthy and there aren’t NBA draft picks in front of him.
www.californiagoldenblogs.com
Faroudo's comments
His departure, if he follows through, means a couple things:
– It would free up the scholarship the Bears need to meet their commitments to two incoming players they signed in November, junior-to-be post player Markhuri Sanders-Frison, and freshman power forward Bak Bak. Their only current vacant scholarship is the one Ryan Anderson surrendered last spring when he entered the NBA draft after his sophomore year.
– It would open up one starting position on a team that has played an all-junior lineup this season. Right now, the 6-foot-7, 275-pound Sanders-Frison would appear to be the frontrunner for the starting center assignment next season.
Is he implying that we NEEDED to have at least one gone by attrition? …. otherwise we’d couldn’t have BakBak or Sanders-Frison? Somebody pls clarify.
Yeah, pretty much. We technically have one scholarship to give for next year, but Monty signed two prospects. That seemed like a tricky and morally hazardous situation. The speculation was that Taylor Harrison was going to medically retire, but if Wilkes leaves, well, that solves that problem. Also, assuming Wilkes is done, I’m sure Monty would love to get a big body like Harrison back on the court.
I guess if nobody left, Monty would have had to ask one of the new prospects to walk on without a scholarship, but only a promise that they’d get one next year? I’m not sure on how those scholarship rules work. Is that what’s meant by “greyshirting”?
So, basically, you gotta Go Bears!
I think you can go over the scholarship limit if enough players redshirt
that you only have 13 active scholarships on your roster at a given time. Bak Bak or maybe Seeley could be redshirted for a year to make room. (I wouldn’t mind seeing Seeley RS a year— he’s supposed to have incredible potential, but he clearly needs a ton of work on his jump shot.)
Don’t quote me on this.
Many years from now, when his name's recalled
Everyone will say, "He should have passed the ball"
-- Al Stewart, "Football Hero"
No, not true
Redshirts count. Our incoming point guard from DLS (Brandon Smith) isn’t getting a scholarship for the first year because we don’t have enough scholarships. My guess is that he will receive one after our glut of juniors graduate.
So that’s one way of bringin in guys without enough schollys. The football program “grayshirts” about one incoming frosh a year – this means the player doesn’t enroll until the spring, so he counts against the following year’s scholarship limit.
www.californiagoldenblogs.com
Brandon Smith is definitely greyshirting.
I think we’ll be without both Harrison’s and Wilkes’ schollies after this year…. so we should have a billion recruits for 2010
You ain't got it like Marshawn got it
I don't think Smith is greyshirting
he’s enrolling as per normal, he’s just not getting a scholarship for the first year. Grey shirts are football players who enroll in the spring as opposed to the fall, so they can’t play on the team during that fall and count towards the following year’s scholarship count
www.californiagoldenblogs.com
I didn't know that he was planning on redshirting next year
but with Randle and a more experienced and hopefully less turnover prone Jorge, that probably would make sense
www.californiagoldenblogs.com
I was under the impression that he wasn't getting a scholarship
because he is in no sense a BCS-conference-starting-quality player… when recruiting reports have to turn to a player’s “leadership,” “intangibles,” etc etc to say something positive about him, you can read “lacks talent” between the lines.
I suppose there are worse things than spending a scholarship on a backup point guard, but it seems like the team could surely find someone with more upside.
Many years from now, when his name's recalled
Everyone will say, "He should have passed the ball"
-- Al Stewart, "Football Hero"
Well, you can’t be too choosy when you don’t have a scholarship to offer for 2009-10. I’ll admit, though, that it’s an odd move. Perhaps, with both Randle and Knezevic being seniors next year, Monty wanted a PG besides Gutierrez coming back for 2010-11.
So, basically, you gotta Go Bears!
I feel like the lack of an established starter might be as much a plus as a minus
Regrettable or not, today’s players may not be keen to sit for a year or more before getting a starting job. If you want to land the Jerryd Bayless’s of the world, you have to be prepared to make space. Then again, maybe Montgomery has no intention of going after those players.
Perhaps it would make sense to look at the roster other than Smith in 2010-2011:
PG
Gutierrez
SG
Seeley
Crabbe
SF
Amoke
PF
Kamp
Sanders-Frison (sp?)
Bak Bak
C
Zhang
Given Harrison’s physical issues, it seems unlikely that he’ll soldier on beyond his actual senior year (which is 2009-2010), but who knows, really.
Looks to me like the 5 missing players need to be a center, 2 wing players, and two pure guards. Smith eats one of those guard slots, but (right now) doesn’t look like a starting option. That probably means they need at least a combo-guard who can handle the ball some for that additional guard spot.
It’s no big deal— every team has a couple of scholarship players who aren’t starting caliber— just sort of an odd situation.
Many years from now, when his name's recalled
Everyone will say, "He should have passed the ball"
-- Al Stewart, "Football Hero"
yes
this is true, and Travis DeCuire verified it on Thursday. The Cal coaches didn’t know exactly who wouldn’t be back next year, but between Wilkes, Harrison (injury), and Nikola (playing time), they figured they’d have at least one.
www.californiagoldenblogs.com
Well, if that was their logic
I suppose you could say the same about Theo Robertson. This is his fourth year, also, right? Just like Wilkes, he played his first 2 yrs, then sat out the third with an injury, and is now in his 4th yr at Cal, though only counting as his junior year.
Wouldn’t we all be aghast if Theo said he wasn’t coming back either?
Yes, me too.
But I am shocked that ANYONE getting consistent playing time (e.g.: both Wilkes brothers) would forgo a free year of college, and all that D-1 hoops competition. I admire them for having goals outside of basketball and for getting going with those. But there’s a short window for being able to compete at that level. Once one leaves that space, they have many, many, years of looking back at it as a memory. Why not live it for as long as possible. I would. Then again… I had the chance to go play for a small college in MD after playing for a JC. I knew I wasn’t going to amt to anything, so I left for the better university. And I wouldn’t do it differently today. Go figure…
Wilkes has battled a ton of injuries, and his knees are probably not feeling too great, even though he’s playing. Plus, he has a precedent – his brother decided to forgo his last year of eligibility too.
Theo had that nasty hip injury, but it looks like he’s back in full. He’s been a major contributer for a while and currently leads the country in three point shooting. I was definitely surprised to hear the Wilkes’ announcement, but it’s understandable. Theo would be very surprising.
www.californiagoldenblogs.com
Heard the Bench chanting/cheering: Hip-hip Jorge! Hip-hip Jorge!
After a fine play by the young Bear.
...pick SIX!
Seriously, if Jorge could do two things
1) Get rid of the sloppy transition mistakes/turnovers
2) Really hit the occasional 15ft jumper and 3pter
… we would really have a something valuable here. I noticed he’s starting to get some confidence in his stroke and will shoot the J when open. What if he started to make most of these shots… it could be the difference in some of our closer games…
Of course he would still continue to do what he’s been doing right… distributing the ball… no look passes for easy buckets… and using his great lateral speed on defense. If he starts to do just these two things for me, hell, I’ll be leading the “Hip-hip Jorge!” chants.
Conversely, when the Bears finally did tighen up on the defensive end … success seemed to translate into more calm and less panic on offense.
Funny how good defense drives efficient offense. Ucla seems to have learned that right before they played us.
Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.
Jorge
the guy is a fierce rebounder also, especially on the critical defensive boards. Cal has missed that from their guards
PaulThomas, As to wasting time after graduation, you are working for the wrong employers. :) I have a friend who played a sport at Cal (minor sport) and 20 years later, the 1st thing every prospective employer wants to know, is what was it like to play varsity sports at Cal!
His rebounding was huge last night
he had around three defensive boards down the stretch. In the first half, he drew an offensive foul on his first defensive possession.
It’s scary when he’s handling the ball, especially on the break, but he did have a great feed to Christopher for the huge dunk in the second half. He’s also starting to feel his shot, to go with his strong defense and rebounding. He was really struggling for a couple weeks (Oregons and LA) but he’s put his head down and powered through.
www.californiagoldenblogs.com
I hate it when he brings the ball up
Makes you hold your breath, just like Sir Turnover (I feel this accurately describes Randle’s first 2 years at Cal) did before this year.
This is my last game, I don't care about my body.
I wonder who gets made more fun of: Jorge or......
BAK BAK
I support Takimoto in his effort to support Roger Kieschnick in his quest to becoming the best Kieschnick ever to play professional baseball.
what cruel person would want to
make fun of that lovable face?
plus, he’ll kill you.
i want to go there.
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