Golden Nuggets: Catching Up with Leon Powe

The latest rankings came out and Cal is ranked 22nd...according to the US News and World Report.  Stanford beat us, of course, and finished tied for 5th.  UCLA fans can't be happy that USC was just ahead of them, at 25th and 23rd, respectively.  No other Pac-10 schools are in the top-25.  Washington is 41st, our new comrades at Colorado are 86th, Oregon and Washington State are 111th, Arizona is 120th, Pac-12 newcomer Utah is 129th, Oregon State is 139th, and Arizona State is 143rd.

Daily Cal recently interviewed Leon Powe and asked him about preparing for the upcoming season (without LeBron), his time at Cal, and returning to home to the Bay Area.

JW: You mentioned that you still follow Cal basketball. Did you get to watch the game against Arizona State where they clinched the Pac-10 championship?

LP: I've seen the confetti and stuff after. I forgot where I was; I was playing a game somewhere, but I caught the end of it. It was a big moment for Cal and a big moment for that team. Everybody was going crazy. Everybody was jumping up and down, having fun, and that's the way it's supposed to be.

JW: Do you ever think about what it would've been like to play under Mike Montgomery instead of Ben Braun?

LP: Well, I never thought Mike Montgomery would end up at Cal. He's a Stanford guy and you know how I feel about Stanford people and how Cal nation feels about Stanford people. But I gave him a pass, talked to him when he first got here and he seems like a pretty good guy.

JW: Any advice for Patrick Christopher and Jerome Randle on making it to the NBA?

LP: My advice would be just stick with it. No matter what happens, no matter what you go through, just stick with it. Keep believing in your dream, keep working hard, and eventually success will come to you.

After the jump JO interviews Riley, Stevens, Schwartz, and Sofele, two more players earn spots on preseason watch lists, and various journalists fill us in on days 9 and 10 of fall camp.

Football

• Riley is one of five Pac-10 QBs on the Manning Award watch list.
• Anthony Miller was named to the Mackey Award watch list.
• Daily Cal looks at the questions and answers on both offense and defense heading into the 2010 season.
• Uncle Ted looks at which true freshman will likely get playing time this fall.  Not surprisingly, Cal's quartet is Keenan Allen, Kaelin Clay, Tevin Carter, and David Wilkerson.
• JO has transcripts from Mitchell Schwartz and Isi Sofele.  Schwartz talks about competition and fluidity in the O-line and Sofele talks about working to be the backup RB.  Scout also talked to Mitchell Schwartz about being the leader of the O-line and the line's improvement in the offseason.
  
• JO also has a transcript from his recent interview with Kevin Riley.
• A busy man, JO also interviews Eric Stevens who talks about transitioning from tight end to fullback and filling in for the injured Will Kapp.  Here's the story version of JO's interview.
• Practice recap, Day 9:  The Bears moved to a much warmer Monte Vista High for practice.  The incoming freshman continue to impress and Tedford says the team will play more freshmen this year than in previous years.  Michael Calvin (groin) and Cameron Jordan (shoulder) were the latest to go down with injuries.  Jordan is day-to-day, but Calvin's status is uncertain.  Vereen should return to practice sometime this week.  Although he clearly has the talent and experience to start, he says he wouldn't be comfortable in a game-situation until he's put in a least a week's worth of practice.  In addition to Allen, Clay, and Carter, Tedford confirmed that LB Dave Wilkerson and TE Jacob Wark will also definitely play.  LB Nick Forbes will "most likely" play this season and DE Gabe King has a chance.  Lupoi and Pendergast have been pushing every player on defense--from starting seniors to incoming freshman--to play as hard as they can, as if they were starters.  Mohamed is impressed with the team's progress, but he knows they need more practice before the season.  It sounds like he's doing a solid job as a leader for the defense.
• Practice recap, Day 10: The defense dominated in a series of simulated game-winning drives attempted by the offense.  Marc Anthony said Pendergast's defense is doing a great job of forcing QBs into making mistakes.  He says all the defense has to do is wait for that mistake.  The defense's consistent pressure caused Marshall to be quite displeased with the O-line.  While Marc Anthony says the front-seven makes life easier for the DBs, he praised the skill of the young receivers.  If the DBs aren't prepared to handle that group of WRs, they'll get burned.  Tedford talks about David Wilkerson's chances for playing as a true freshman.
  
• Being a football player has always been a family matter for Keith Browner, reports John Crumpacker. He also believes Sofele is emerging as the likely backup to Vereen.