Cal Loses To Arizona As Expected. Loses In Triple Overtime? Unexpected.
by Avinash Kunnath on Feb 5, 2011 7:15 PM PST
in California Golden Bears Men's Basketball
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PrintI've said that the Golden Bears couldn't be disappointed if they ran out of steam against the Pac-10 leading Wildcats. Somehow, they manage to defy that in the process of losing, because they didn't run out of steam despite all the starters playing forty-plus minutes. Cal played their hearts out, shut down Derrick Williams, had three Cal players top 25 points...and lose. It was a great game, an instant college basketball classic, and one team had to lose. It's too bad it had to be us.
So many things you can point to in terms of winning and losing.
- Arizona bench outscoring the Cal bench 52-3. Well, I guess that wasn't a surprise, but Arizona needed every bit of those 52 points. As fun as this team is to watch, I wouldn't mind fast forwarding to next year and having a bench for once.
- Jorge Gutierrez and Markhuri Sanders-Frison fouling out on questionable calls. Cancelled out the three Wildcats fouling out. The bigs defense on Derrick Williams should be noted.
- Allen Crabbe nailing pull up jumpers, getting to the free throw line, tying the game in double overtime. Kid is nails. (And I'm sure he's feeling like nails are being stuck all over his body after playing about 90 minutes of Division I basketball in 48 hours.)
- Arizona (the best three point shooting team in the conference) vs. Cal (the worst three point shooting defense in the conference) went exactly as expected. I kind of wish we'd just let Williams dominate inside and forced everyone else to make contested jumpers, because those fourteen threes negated our usual free throw advantage.
- Cal not fouling Momo Jones up three in double overtime to send him in for two free throws. Love Monty, but you can't let anyone shoot a three with Arizona out of timeouts and only a few seconds left on the clock.
- Brandon Smith missed a wide-open layup that would've put Cal up one with thirty seconds left in the triple overtime. I know Smith probably had lost a little bit off his legs and he just nailed a dagger three, but he didn't have his best game and we could've used a little bit more from him.
- Kamp being unstoppable down low, giving Cal the lead over and over...but pulling up for a flat jumper to try and tie the game with 10 seconds left and a timeout on the board.
In other words, it's really hard to come up with a reason why we should be super distressed about this one. Sure, we had our chances to close out this one, but really this game was pretty much a 50-50 shot for either team throughout. It was no more than a three point game for almost all the overtimes and the final minutes of regulation, which is pretty much all you can ask for from this overmatched and thin Cal team.
It's to our credit this game was a tossup, but it's another sign that the Bears are moving in the right direction and aren't rolling over for anyone. All these close games should improve our team DNA, and if we can keep on staying competitive against the best of the conference, we could be primed to making the next big step next season.
The Bear will not quit. The Bear will not die.
Here are five questions to ponder from tonight's game before a more official update comes in this post.
1. Who is the player of the game? Why?
2. What impressed you the most about tonight's performance by the Golden Bears?
3. The play of the game was _______________.
4. What Cal needs to improve on is _____________.
5. What worries me the most going into Washington week is __________ because _____________.
GO BEARS!
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Sometimes when you're having an absolutely shitty weekend
you get something good for an hour or so, and then it goes to shit. Woo Hoo. I’m depressed.
Maybe I need a new hobby (just kidding!)
Ryan Verdugo, my adopted son, strikes out 13.2 per 9 innings in his career. He has a 1.63 ERA in San Jose this year. Call him up to be a Flying Squirrel. He is also a member of the "Giants who went to LSU" club with Mike Fontenot, a.k.a Grant.
The outcome of this game is of course hugely disappointing, but I am damn proud to be a Cal fan tonight.
1) 4 way ties between Crabbe, Gutierrez, Sanders-Frison, and Kamp
2) An incredible effort performance
3) Sadly Arizona’s game tying play at the end of regulation
4) Depth
5) getting the team enough rest because tonight was brutal
by First and Ten on Feb 5, 2011 8:10 PM PST reply actions 2 recs
Bak Bak still has a lot of growing up to do, basketball-wise. He’s still not where Zhang was at the end of last year.
California Golden Bears: 2nd place is nothing to sneeze at!
by atomsareenough on Feb 5, 2011 8:11 PM PST up reply actions
yeah, that shot bak took with 2 minutes to play in the final OT
was terrible. OH ZHANG
Ryan Verdugo, my adopted son, strikes out 13.2 per 9 innings in his career. He has a 1.63 ERA in San Jose this year. Call him up to be a Flying Squirrel. He is also a member of the "Giants who went to LSU" club with Mike Fontenot, a.k.a Grant.
Not just that, but he’s still kinda lost on the court. He got very badly beat by Perram a couple of times in the lane on defense, his teammates don’t trust him with the ball (for good reason), and really, at this point he’s just a 5th body on the floor when he’s in the game.
California Golden Bears: 2nd place is nothing to sneeze at!
by atomsareenough on Feb 5, 2011 8:18 PM PST up reply actions
He's probably better than the other options at this point
which says a lot about the depth we have.
Ryan Verdugo, my adopted son, strikes out 13.2 per 9 innings in his career. He has a 1.63 ERA in San Jose this year. Call him up to be a Flying Squirrel. He is also a member of the "Giants who went to LSU" club with Mike Fontenot, a.k.a Grant.
…which is why I’m not saying “Bak shouldn’ tplay”, I’m saying, “he needs to grow up in a hurry” :)
California Golden Bears: 2nd place is nothing to sneeze at!
by atomsareenough on Feb 5, 2011 8:22 PM PST up reply actions
Yeah.
I just wish more of Braun’s big guys would have panned out so Bak could develop. For some reason I’m thinking of Harrison (was that his name?), who looked decently promising but got hurt. I don’t even know if he would have been eligible to play this year but I feel like Braun really stacked the senior class from last year a bit too much (understatement of the century)
Ryan Verdugo, my adopted son, strikes out 13.2 per 9 innings in his career. He has a 1.63 ERA in San Jose this year. Call him up to be a Flying Squirrel. He is also a member of the "Giants who went to LSU" club with Mike Fontenot, a.k.a Grant.
Well, we should still have Seeley and Omondi Amoke too. Ugh. Both of those guys would really have helped.
Sigh, yeah.
California Golden Bears: 2nd place is nothing to sneeze at!
by atomsareenough on Feb 5, 2011 8:29 PM PST up reply actions
Especially Amoke
sure could have used him…
Ryan Verdugo, my adopted son, strikes out 13.2 per 9 innings in his career. He has a 1.63 ERA in San Jose this year. Call him up to be a Flying Squirrel. He is also a member of the "Giants who went to LSU" club with Mike Fontenot, a.k.a Grant.
Yeah. I’m still not 100% sure what he did, but I sure wish he hadn’t done it.
California Golden Bears: 2nd place is nothing to sneeze at!
by atomsareenough on Feb 5, 2011 8:35 PM PST up reply actions
Answers
1. I don’t know. I’m still numb.
2. I don’t know. I"m still numb.
3. I don’t know. I’m still numb.
4. I don’t know. I’m still numb.
5. I don’t know. I’m still numb.
Yes, I am an Old Blue. Now get off my lawn.
1. Who is the player of the game? Why?
Kamp and Crabbe. But everyone was nails. Solomon came in a had some tough plays in OT. Smith made some mistakes, but stuck a dagger 3.
2. What impressed you the most about tonight’s performance by the Golden Bears?
Guts
3. The play of the game was _______________.
Crabbe scoring 6 in a row in overtime on floaters.
4. What Cal needs to improve on is _____________.
Scoring 1 more point than the opponent.
5. What worries me the most going into Washington week is __________ because _____________.
Nothing. This team has already surpassed expectations – everything is gravy from here on out.
Your final point is the most relevant one for me. I expected the worst this year and after the transfer i felt even worse. But, between Monty and the players they have made this a great team to root for
by First and Ten on Feb 5, 2011 8:15 PM PST up reply actions
I am very tired and am going to bed
Thank you for yeoman’s work on the keyboards, Kodiak.
Very disappointed, but very proud of our boys. HEART.
1. Kamp Crabbe Smith for playing 50 minutes.
2.Crabbe shooting well in 2nd half, and just the energy to be out there in 3OT with not really any help from the bench scoring wise.
3. Jorge Dunk!!!! seems like a week ago already. cant imagine it was in the same game.
4. Cal needs to improve on bench players esp. Bak and Solomon to contribute more. Smith needs to shoot better.
5. Players must be tired, but hopefully they will recover in few days.
1. Who is the player of the game? Why?
Effing Momo Jones, for beating us almost singlehandedly.
2. What impressed you the most about tonight’s performance by the Golden Bears?
NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SAY DIE.
3. The play of the game was _______________.
Either Momo’s 3-point play on MSF at the end of regulation, or his 3-pointer at the end of the first OT. Without either of those, Bears win.
4. What Cal needs to improve on is _____________.
Not giving us heart attacks! Seriously, um, Cal need some more depth. Solomon seems to be maturing bit by bit, but we need another reliable player in the rotation to help. We had just 3 bench points or something to Arizona’s 47 or so, and that’s with 2 starters fouling out in regulation. It’s hard to win close games against good teams like that.
5. What worries me the most going into Washington week is __________ because _____________.
…That they are going to demolish us because they lost 2 games this weekend to the Oregons of all teams and I imagine they will have the proverbial fire lit under their posteriors.
California Golden Bears: 2nd place is nothing to sneeze at!
1. Who is the player of the game? Why?
Momo Jones. According to Zona fans, they love the shots he makes, but they hate to fucking hell his attitude.
2. What impressed you the most about tonight’s performance by the Golden Bears?
NEVER SURRENDERING.
3. The play of the game was _______________.
Brandon Smith’s missed layup. That one.
4. What Cal needs to improve on is _____________.
BAK NEEDS TO BE SMARTER WITH THE BALL. It’s like he’s afraid of it or something. And call a timeout to set up another play when you get the rebound when we’re down by 2 and there’s like 10 seconds left. That’s plenty of time. Don’t take some illadvised shot.
5. What worries me the most going into Washington week is __________ because _____________.
…That they are going to demolish us because they lost 2 games this weekend to the Oregons of all teams. And that we’ll be mentally demoralized. That was a tough game to lose.
Holy crap.
Either you copyed part of atom’s #5 or you too are the same people.
Ryan Verdugo, my adopted son, strikes out 13.2 per 9 innings in his career. He has a 1.63 ERA in San Jose this year. Call him up to be a Flying Squirrel. He is also a member of the "Giants who went to LSU" club with Mike Fontenot, a.k.a Grant.
LOL, I think he just copied/pasted :)
California Golden Bears: 2nd place is nothing to sneeze at!
by atomsareenough on Feb 5, 2011 8:30 PM PST up reply actions
Haha, yeah...
I copied so I wouldn’t have to copy the questions from the top, then decided it was almost exactly what I wanted to say…
1. Who is the player of the game? Why?
Momo Jones. According to Zona fans, they love the shots he makes, but they hate to fucking hell his attitude.
Who told you that? Because that’s not true at all.
"That guy mvhsbball is really an insufferable schmuck." - FuquaManuel
by Scott Coleman on Feb 5, 2011 8:28 PM PST up reply actions
I really doubt they’re true fans. He gets the 2nd loudest ovation of anyone at McKale when the players are introduced.
"That guy mvhsbball is really an insufferable schmuck." - FuquaManuel
by Scott Coleman on Feb 5, 2011 8:37 PM PST up reply actions
I still hate Harbaugh, but it doesn’t mean I won’t cheer on the 49ers. Applause does not equal liking the player or how they act.
Ryan Verdugo, my adopted son, strikes out 13.2 per 9 innings in his career. He has a 1.63 ERA in San Jose this year. Call him up to be a Flying Squirrel. He is also a member of the "Giants who went to LSU" club with Mike Fontenot, a.k.a Grant.
I would think most fans could.
Anyways, cheers guys. Maybe we’ll see each other in the Pac 10 tournament.
"That guy mvhsbball is really an insufferable schmuck." - FuquaManuel
by Scott Coleman on Feb 5, 2011 8:42 PM PST up reply actions
Doubt they're true fans?
They just happened to be Walking by Haas on a Sat. Night 1000 miles from home and stopped in and bought some AZ shirts to cheer for the favored team? C’mon dude.
I'd like to smell the Roses before I die.
Great game guys.
I know it wasn’t the outcome you wanted, but that was a phenomenal 55 minutes of basketball. You’re set with Kamp and Crabbe, and Montgomery will get you guys back to the top of the Pac-10 soon.
Cheers. Kill Washington, please.
"That guy mvhsbball is really an insufferable schmuck." - FuquaManuel
I'd assume day off tomorrow, plus
Monday-Wednesday should give us some time to recover. At least I’d hope so.
Ryan Verdugo, my adopted son, strikes out 13.2 per 9 innings in his career. He has a 1.63 ERA in San Jose this year. Call him up to be a Flying Squirrel. He is also a member of the "Giants who went to LSU" club with Mike Fontenot, a.k.a Grant.
1. Who is the player of the game? Why?
Kamp and Crabbe, mainly because I don’t believe in giving it to opposing players. Both were awesome and it’s fun watching a guy like Crabbe grow up before your very eyes as the year goes on.
2. What impressed you the most about tonight’s performance by the Golden Bears?
The heart. This team might not have the players to win every game, but they certainly have the heart and intensity.
3. The play of the game was _______________.
Any one of the shots they hit when we were up 3, under 10 seconds.
4. What Cal needs to improve on is _____________.
Free throw shooting, depth, and finishing. Bench did nothing. Free throws could have iced the game, but that obviously didn’t happen. Kamp and Smith both had pretty easy shots that could have changed the course of the game.
5. What worries me the most going into Washington week is __________ because _____________.
A weary Bear team gets blown out by the fired up Washington schools. Don’t think it’ll happen with Wazzu, but I’m worried about U-Dub, no matter how bad they’ve been recently.
Ryan Verdugo, my adopted son, strikes out 13.2 per 9 innings in his career. He has a 1.63 ERA in San Jose this year. Call him up to be a Flying Squirrel. He is also a member of the "Giants who went to LSU" club with Mike Fontenot, a.k.a Grant.
by MadBum on Feb 5, 2011 8:30 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
But seriously
what’s happened to UW?
Ryan Verdugo, my adopted son, strikes out 13.2 per 9 innings in his career. He has a 1.63 ERA in San Jose this year. Call him up to be a Flying Squirrel. He is also a member of the "Giants who went to LSU" club with Mike Fontenot, a.k.a Grant.
They could not have played any bettet.
1.all the starters who played what seemed to be 1000 minutes
2. what really impressed me that they didn’t give up after regulations and lasted 3 OTs
3. we didn’t win, so we don’t get a play of the game
4. mongomery knows this one better than me, just develop the freshman, (usually i would say free-throws but I though they did OK tonight)
5. fatigue
This is probably the easiest loss to take, because they gave their 100%. Hard not to love this team
Voice....is...gone...
Body…is…breaking….down…
Yet I wouldn’t really care if we had won.
*Insert something witty here*. Oh, and Stanfurd Sucks.
ZOMG. I’m glad you’re still alive. I thought you’d need to be put on life support or something.
Old Toothwrangler
Before the game, FrankCohent old me there was a 0% chance that Derrick Williams would lead Az toa victory over Cal. He was right!
I jokingly said that that meant there was a 100% chance somebody else would. Momo Jones is somebody else! I was right!
The internet's most successful troll!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
WE HAVE A GENIUS ON OUR HANDS!
Ryan Verdugo, my adopted son, strikes out 13.2 per 9 innings in his career. He has a 1.63 ERA in San Jose this year. Call him up to be a Flying Squirrel. He is also a member of the "Giants who went to LSU" club with Mike Fontenot, a.k.a Grant.
Just got back from the game. NOBODY SHOULD HANG THEIR HEAD TONIGHT!
Yes, we lost. Yes, it sucks. yes, only Cal could lose in 3OT.
But we took the future Pac10 champs (admit it, with UW reeling, it gonna be Az) to the limit. Again. We gave them the best punch we had. Unfortunately, it was not enough.
There is a lot more to unpack abou this game. A lot more discussion to be had. But for now, all I’ll say is that if this is a supposed “rebuilding year,” then I want more and more rebuilding years. I fully anticipated going 3-1 on this home stand. Yes, the 1 sucks a little bit more than I anticipated, but it is just 1. We got a lot more games to go.
And this team grew up tonight. Kamp looked amazing. Crabbe looked great. The future is bright, my friends. The atmosphere was electric. The place was packed. The Cal fans were on their feet.
And Montgomery is amazing. Amazing coach. He is atoning for years of Stanfurdosity.
GO BEARS!
PS Fuck Momo Jones!
The internet's most successful troll!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
There are so many ifs in this game. We can’t get caught up in them, yknow?
I mean we are lucky that Williams fouled out before the end of regulation. We played 3OT without potentially the best player in the Pac10. I’ll take that every day and twice on Sundays.
The internet's most successful troll!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
yes, only Cal could lose in 3OT.
No. I seem to recall that Washington can also lose in 3OT.
How ya gonna keep 'em down on the Farm, after they've seen Berkeley?
by CalBear81 on Feb 5, 2011 10:18 PM PST up reply actions 2 recs
Too bad we couldn't take it to a 4th OT
We own Arizona in 4 OT games!
/1996 football
Yes, I am an Old Blue. Now get off my lawn.
Anybody having trouble where their new comments are autoloading?
The internet's most successful troll!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
I think this quote characterizes this team the most:
“The Bear will not quit, the Bear will not die”
In other words, Go Bears!
from Ryan Gorcey's live blog
Keenan Allen was standing in the tunnel on the left side of the basket where the Bears are shooting, but now he’s gone. Had a few folks with him, likely other football players, but I couldn’t see them clearly.
from Marvin Jones twitter:
MarvJones1
Mad at that dam cal game we had it! But whateva im resolving it with a Gypsy’s CalZone! Leggoo!
F%@*#! Momo Jones
"I’ve played like this my whole life," said Jones, the confident sophomore guard who hails from Harlem, N.Y. "To other people it might be something new, but to me it’s just another day in the life of MoMo Jones."
+
California Golden Bears: 2nd place is nothing to sneeze at!
by atomsareenough on Feb 5, 2011 9:38 PM PST up reply actions
more Momo
"I said before I came here that when I came here Arizona was going to get a clutch player. Arizona was going to get a big-time player," Jones said. "Things take time."
Momo could eat a peach for hours.
Momo means peach in japanese.
Updated it with scattered postgame thoughts
Refresh & check it out.
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Feb 5, 2011 10:02 PM PST reply actions
Still not over this game
and it’s been a couple of hours already…
I agree that I was shocked that Monty didn’t have someone foul at the end of 2nd OT, especially right when Momo Jones was about to make a move. Otherwise this was a great effort by the team.
We had two great opportunities to beat the clear favorite to win the regular season Pac-10 title but fall short both times. Hopefully that will not be my only memory of this season years from now.
by LEastCoastBears on Feb 5, 2011 10:24 PM PST reply actions
I was surprised at how far behind the line Crabbe was on the Jones pullup three
I thought he was a lot closer, but watching the replay he was WAY behind the line. What was he thinking Momo was going to do?
Rookie mistake. I’m sure if you look back at some of our losses, you’ll see rookie mistakes that cost us in the final minute. (Although you’ll see just as many rookie success moments in our wins, so it goes both way.)
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Feb 5, 2011 10:28 PM PST up reply actions
Pain
I know how well Cal played and that as a fan it’s ridiculous to expect anything more from the wonderful performance that they put up today..but i’m sorry—this hurts. So bad.
On to the next one.
Go Bears
by ATO Golden Bear on Feb 5, 2011 11:15 PM PST reply actions
Cal not fouling Momo Jones up three in double overtime to send him in for two free throws. Love Monty, but you can’t let anyone shoot a three with Arizona out of timeouts and only a few seconds left on the clock.
I really thought that Jones pulled up with about 6 to 8 seconds left on the clock. With that much time left, you don’t usually foul. The foul when up by 3 is usually situationally applied when 3 seconds or fewer remain. Or am I misremembering the play?
No, you’re correct, eight seconds left. But either foul him or get the ball out of his hands, especially since Arizona can no longer stop the clock. Arizona would have had to hurry up a shot even if there was time left for another possession for them.
Whatever, hindsight and blah-blah.
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Feb 5, 2011 11:40 PM PST up reply actions
One positive thing I took away from being at the game: the fans got loud AND stayed through three overtimes. It helped that the team was playing as well as they were, but it was nice to see Haas getting excited, even if it was partly motivated by being annoyed at the Arizona (U-of-A!) fans there.
On that note, the game also reminded me how much I hate hearing opposing cheers in Haas (and Memorial, really). I’m not looking forward to the UCLA game.
I’m feeling good about the UCLA game. I really, really want to put those silly Bruins in their place.
California Golden Bears: 2nd place is nothing to sneeze at!
by atomsareenough on Feb 6, 2011 9:09 AM PST up reply actions
forty plus is far from 55
Avinash
I don’t think “all the starters playing forty-plus minutes” does justice to the guys who kept it going through the overtimes, and MSF only played 27 min, I would rather have you acknowledge that 3 of are starters played a million minutes, more particularly:
Harper Kamp, F 55
Brandon Smith, G 53
Allen Crabbe, G 54
I believe 55 is more than 40, last I checked.
The point is they played a lot, not some random number.
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Feb 6, 2011 1:43 AM PST up reply actions
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