Cal basketball has had a positive 2014 so far, and they could get Jabari Bird back this week. He seems healthy enough to see minutes (although I doubt he'll start until he's ready to play regular minutes).
Freshman Jabari Bird of @CalMensBBall, who missed past 4 games with sprained ankle, practiced Mon and will play Wed at home vs. Washington.
— Jeff Faraudo (@JeffFaraudo) January 14, 2014
Cal has managed just fine without Bird, going 4-0 in his absence and 3-0 in Pac-12 games. The Bears have beaten Stanfurd, Oregon and Oregon State thanks to a reliable frontline of Richard Solomon and David Kravish, solid contributions from Tyrone Wallace, impressive explosions from Jordan Matthews and Jeff Powers, and great finishing efforts from Justin Cobbs. But if the Bears are going to make any sort of run for the regular season title or postseason accolades, they need Bird back in a hurry.
This will hopefully be the best week to gradually reintroduce him into the lineup to get him ready for the crucial matchups with the LA and Arizona schools the next two weeks. However, the Washington Huskies have been playing excellent basketball in conference play and won't be an easy matchup.