TV: CSN California
Radio: 1550 KFAM
Online: Post stream links in the comments
Last game before the battle for the Pac-10 starts. Discuss the game here.
Check out PaulThomas's thoughts on the first day of the Classic here and after the jump.
UCSB’s zone defense is odd and not a standard 2-3 look. Cal should be able to get open shots on defensive mixups, of which there were a lot. Furman’s game plan was terrible. Luckily the Bears will not be stubbing their RPI on that particular abomination. Though I suppose UCSB isn’t much better. Theo Robertson spent the first 8 minutes playing 1-on-5. The good thing is, the game was actually competitive despite that fact. Eventually he was joined by 4 other Golden Bears and the rout was on.
Sanders-Frison might have lost a bunch of weight since showing up, but he still has slow feet. Any kind of small lineup totally neutralizes him because he can’t guard anyone.
Brandon Smith didn’t really impact the boxscore, but he handled the ball cleanly and generally looked competent. He needs to get more aggressive about taking open shots.
Gutierrez made some nice plays including a jumpshot, but he was also badly beaten off the dribble twice and drew unnecessary fouls. Bodying guys up just for the sake of bodying them up is not "defense," it’s just a way to get the other team in the bonus.
If you are 6-7 or shorter, throwing weak shit up there against Zhang, or even Bak Bak, is idiocy.
Christopher is hurting himself by fading away unnecessarily on certain jumpers that he could be shooting straight-up-and-down.
I’m excited by Bak Bak’s upside, even though he didn’t score in this one. His athleticism is pretty evident. Just, you know, don’t overdo it on the three-pointers. And by "overdo it," I mean "shoot any."