Cal basketball, a look ahead. Part one.
by rollonubears on Jul 2, 2009 6:31 PM PDT
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PrintThe dormant offseason is upon us, but that doesn't mean we can't look ahead. There have been a lot of posts about Cal football recently, but none about Cal basketball. I find this to be a shame, because it is looking like we will have a damn good team this year. Ranked as high as number 9 by some sources, Cal basketball is on a major upswing from the mediocre days of Ben Braun. We'll look ahead to see what our expectations are for the whole team, and for each individual player.
Big 3. Big is obviously a relative term when talking about Jerome Randle.
As you all know, 08-09 was NOT supposed to be a good year for Cal basketball. Sure, we had a highly touted new coach in Mike Montgomery, but no matter how good your coach is, you still can't win in a tough league without major talent. Cal was predicted to finish 9th in the Pac-10, and most Cal fans did not object to this ranking. We had lost our star player to the NBA. All we had was a good but not great swingman, a point guard who turned the ball over every other possession, and a good perimeter defender who hadn't played a big time game in over a year. Doesn't sound like the makings of an eventual single digit seed in the NCAA tournament. But somehow, those 3, with the help of an awkward undersized white guy, an artist, a Mexican late signee who hadn't been recruited by any major schools, and a clumsy center with no knees managed to give us a 20 win team. How the hell did they do it? Short answer: balls. Lots and lots of balls. This was a ballsy team. The long answer brings us to our first player.
Jerome Randle
You think that is a look of fear? Jerome doesn't experience that feeling.
What we got: The MVP of our 2008 team. As a sophomore, Jerome liked to turn over the ball. A lot. He liked doing it so much, he did it 10 times in one game. He was an enigma. He showed great talent in flashes, but those flashes really seemed to be few and far between. Then Monty came to town. One of the best examples I have ever seen of what good coaching can do for you was Jerome Randle last year. Under Monty's guidance, he found himself as a player. He emerged as a distributor and a scorer. Dude has range. My god. I think he shot one from 3/4 court last year, just to see if he could do it. He could. And he loved bombing it from deep. Some of them were a solid 5 feet beyond the line. Any other player takes that shot, you pull out your hair. Jerome takes that shot? You put a smug smile on your face (am I the only one who noticed that it seemed he never missed the super long ones, only the ones closer to the line?). Sure, his turnovers per game only went down 0.1, but he had an authority and confidence to his game that wasn't really seen under Braun. Monty let him loose, and it payed off big time.
What we want: Honestly, if he had the exact same season as last year I would be happy (of course, I am expecting improvement). Sure, I would like his turnover rate to go down a bit, but any faults I complain about is just me being nitpicky. Stay the same, Jerome.
Patrick Christopher
via www2.pictures.gi.zimbio.com
What we got: Going into the season, it looked like PChris would be our lone bright spot. While he wasn't our only one, he sure as hell was still a bright spot. He developed a great chemistry with Randle, and continued to grow as a player. He, like Randle, has the killer instinct to completely take over a game. His stats went down a bit, but that was because he wasn't as heavily relied on. Also, his poetry is killer.
What we want: We all know Patrick's biggest flaw: he disappears. While most of the time he is very good, there are times when you forget he is even on the court. He needs to be more consistent. You can't have a star player who disappears. There was a 3 game stretch in late January/early February where he had 6, 4, and 3 points, while still playing at least 33 minutes in all of those games. Not surprisingly, we lost 2 of those 3 games. If this team wants to make a deep run in the tourney (and you know they do), it is unacceptable for your 2nd best player to disappear like that. I remember interviews where PChris said he was frustrated about being inconsistent. It is good that he recognizes his flaw. Now he needs to go about fixing it.
Theo Robertson
via www.dailycal.org
What we got: Honestly, most of us didn't know what to expect from Theo this past year. He had redshirted the previous year because he was recovering from hip surgery. Would he be the same? He would be even better. Theo started the season absolutely stroking it from long range. For a few weeks he led the nation in 3pt %. He had a very good year and is a great 3rd option. We all hope to see even more improvement this year.
What we want: I got on Theo a lot this season, because at times he was infuriating to watch. He played timidly on the offensive end. He passed up a bit too many open 3s for my taste. What I want this year: just let it rip Theo. You think Jerome ever has doubts when he bombs it from 80 feet away? Nope. Theo shouldn't either. Be less timid on the offensive end.
Part 2 coming sometime soon, when I get around to it.
The opinions expressed in a FanPost are, in every way, reflective of the opinions of every California Golden Blogs Marshawnthusiast. Moreover, they are reflective of every employee of SBNation, including Tyler "Blez" Bleszinski.
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Feel free to point out any grammatical mistakes, as I didn’t proofread it that thoroughly.
All aboard the Jahvid Best rickshaw!
Will the second part include Mike Montgomery?
The Ultimate Opportunist
by Rated-R Superstar on Jul 2, 2009 6:52 PM PDT up reply actions
Nice post
Sure, his turnovers per game only went down 0.1
Even more impressive when you consider that he played 3 more minutes per game and the offense ran entirely through him instead of Anderson. Plus, he added 1.3 assists per game.
What I want this year: just let it rip Theo.
I’m conflicted about this. On one hand, Theo definitely passed up decent open shots, and it’s not like Cal had a great inside game that should have taken precedent. But on the other hand, Theo’s absurd 3 pt. shooting percentage early in the year was highly dependent on perfect shot selection (and crummy OOC defenses). What I’d like to see is a good balance. I’m not too worried because Theo seems like a pretty smart player.
The #1 greatest threat to America: BEARS
But as the season wore on, it got annoying. If he passes up an open 3 against Pacific, eh doesn’t really matter. Passes up one against Washington, and that open 3 he passed up (which he probably would have made) can have a subtle yet substantial effect on the game.
All aboard the Jahvid Best rickshaw!
A few points
(1) Montgomery is clearly about 105% of the reason we went from sucking with a more talented team to being really good with a less talented (though slightly more experienced) team. Just think that should be established.
(2) There is hope for considerable improvement because of Montgomery alone. It is reasonable to think that Randle, Christopher and Theo are getting close to maxing out their talent, but at the same time, our team might be much improved without any of them noticeably being better. That is what a really good coach can do.
(3) You are spot on with Theo – he needs to take about 50% more shots this season. He was too efficient of a player last year.
All good points
though I particularly like the second one. I don’t expect Randle, Christopher, Robertson or Boykin to improve much from this season to the next (though they each have things they can work on), which is part of the reason I’m skeptical of our high rankings. If Kamp is healthy, he should be better, but given his history, that’s still a big ‘if’ at this point. Max might end up being a useful piece, but I think he’s still a couple years away. The guys I’m looking for big improvement out of are Jorge, Amoke, and Seeley; each has flashed potential, while at the same time demonstrating that they had plenty of room left to grow.
Until I see them play against college competition, I’m not expecting anything from the new guys coming in.
So, basically, you gotta Go Bears!
If he is healthy, I expect Kamp to really blossom this year. I have said this before, but I really think he is a future 12-8 guy. Jorge is currently a major major major plus on defense (and basically everything), but I would say he is a negative on offense. I am not expecting him to become Jerome Randle, but 2 things I really want from him next year: to get to the point where I don’t hold my breath every time he takes the ball upcourt (he really is a liability when handling the ball), and to be able to hit the occasional corner 3. If he could hit that shot every once in awhile, we become a lot more dangerous on offense.
All aboard the Jahvid Best rickshaw!
by rollonubears on Jul 3, 2009 12:09 AM PDT up reply actions
1) Think I should add that in? Because that is basically a fact.
3) Your comment about him being too efficient made me smile.
All aboard the Jahvid Best rickshaw!
by rollonubears on Jul 3, 2009 12:03 AM PDT up reply actions
It's possible that Robertson should have taken more 3s, but there's no real way of knowing
He’s not a particularly good shooter when he forces them and takes them out of rhythm.
The reason why the team was good was that, by and large, they didn’t force shots (as evidenced by the high 3% shooting percentage and low numbers of actual 3s attempted). It will often be the case that a 3 you pass up will lead to a higher EV 2 (or 3) for yourself or for someone else.
More than taking more shots, I’d actually like to see him step up the other parts of his game. He’s a big, physical dude— I’d like to see him up his rebounding rates to more like 5%/15% (offensive and defensive respectively). Putting the ball on the floor more would be nice, too. Maybe they could even try to work some post-ups with him, since most of the guys guarding him are likely to be shorter and/or thinner. It’d help the team and it’d help him out, too— I think he’s a fringe NBA candidate right now, but if he can combine a deadeye jumpshot with the ability to muscle up some rebounds and post up the occasional mismatch, he’s potentially an improved version of Kyle Korver.
As far as the team goes, the big thing is depth. If Seeley and Amoke (or, if they really hit the jackpot, Zhang) can turn into really significant bench options, the team becomes way more dangerous… and, obviously, the 2010 team looks a lot better too, which would be nice.
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
I really want Seeley and Amoke to get substantial PT this year (or at least during our OOC schedule). Amoke is a solid all around player, but there is nothing about his game that really sticks out. But he definitely has potential to be good. Seeley just needs more time on the court.
All aboard the Jahvid Best rickshaw!
by rollonubears on Jul 3, 2009 12:06 AM PDT up reply actions
I really dont think
Theo should be taking more 3 point shots.
We were an amazing 3 point shooting team last year – because we didn’t force shots. I forgot who did the analysis, but our 3 point shooting percentage went down last year the more shots we took.
Hmm, we seem to be pretty divided on this issue. I may throw together another fanpost with both sides of the argument and people decide which they think should happen.
All aboard the Jahvid Best rickshaw!
by rollonubears on Jul 3, 2009 11:13 AM PDT up reply actions
I don’t necessarily think that Theo should take more threes, but rather that he should be more involved in the offense generally. We know he can drive well and that he can hit a 12 footer…but he should be doing it consistently, not just in bursts.
That being said, I think everyone agrees that our three point shooting would go down if we took more shots. The question is whether having a player like Theo take more threes at a lower percentage will lead us to be a better team. Every time that Theo passes up a good opportunity, some else is shooting, and my sense is in most cases we would have been better off with Theo taking it.
CLANG CLANG
ZHANG TRAIN!!!!
Basketball: Max-ing out at World University Games
Max Zhang apparently has been transformed into Wilt Chamberlain at the World University Games in Belgrade.
Well, probably not. But the Bears’ 7-foot-3 redshirt sophomore center is standing the World University Games on its ear, averaging an astonishing 15.0 points, 17.3 rebounds and 6.7 blocked shots through three games.
And I lolled at this:
Given that Max totaled 20 points, 17 rebounds and 13 blocks in 15 games for the Bears last season, his performance in Belgrade calls into question the level of competition at the World University Games.
CGB: Optimism is dead to us.
well, to be fair, Max also only played 67 minutes last year, or about 3 games’ worth of starters’ minutes.
So, basically, you gotta Go Bears!
This is great news. As soon as he gets back, Monty needs to kidnap him, knock him unconscious, leave him in the weight room (with a week’s worth of water, power bars, granola bars, etc.), lock the doors so Max can’t get out, with a note that says “I will come for you in a week. If you don’t have 25 more pounds of muscle by the time I see you next, I am making you guard Jerome in practice.”
All aboard the Jahvid Best rickshaw!
On an unrelated note, I think we need to come up with a different method of transportation for each player. What we have so far:
Pain Train
Brock Mansion Party Yacht
BakBakcycle
Jahvid Best Rickshaw
For Zhang, I think it should be the Zhang Plane. Because he is tall. And planes are high up in the air. Like his head. Do you see where I am coming from?
Another proposed one: Nate Longshore Tanker… intercepted by Somalian Pirates!
All aboard the Jahvid Best rickshaw!
ZHANG ON A PLANE!!
CGB: Wasting Your Potential, Your Time, & Your Life Since 2006.
by BearStage on Jul 7, 2009 3:07 AM PDT up reply actions 3 recs
These games are being broadcast here
I didn’t even know he was on Team China. I’m going to try and watch.
20 blocks!!! Yao needs ten games to get to that number! Do we have a new Chinese star?
Wonder what players he were blocking up. Was it just players driving at him or was it in the low block?
by Avinash Kunnath on Jul 7, 2009 1:29 AM PDT up reply actions
Interesting
I’d be overjoyed to get “Steven Hill lite” out of him next year (referring to the recently graduated Arkansas center)— 10-15 minutes of interior shotblocking to help rest the better perimeter defenders on the squad, plus the occasional stick-back.
When you’re thin at forward like the Bears, every little bit helps.
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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