Despite missing out on playing in a promising year for Cal basketball, Harper Kamp believes he made the right decision to redshirt.
"Especially with these seniors — I love that core group of guys, and it would have been nice to be able to play their final year with them," Kamp said of his five teammates in their final seasons. "It was tough not to be able to."
Kamp is sitting out this season, taking a redshirt year while trying to get healthy after offseason surgery on his right knee for the second straight year. A 6-foot-8 forward from Mesa, Ariz., he was expected to compete for a starting job even after undergoing a procedure April 1 to correct a kneecap tilt that caused painful grinding.
...The knee did not recover as quickly as Kamp hoped, and he came to the conclusion earlier this season that playing a second straight year at partial effectiveness did not make sense.
Kamp, who will be a redshirt junior next season, is content he made the right decision.
"I think I'll be at 100 pecent as far as my health goes," he said, looking ahead to next season. "I'll be able to do things that a lot of people have never seen me do."
Last season was a daily struggle, Kamp said. He wouldpractice a day or two, then have to take time off to let the knee recover.
"I would have a week or, if I was lucky, two good weeks where I felt like it was getting better," he said. "Then it would go downhill. Dealing with those ups and downs, I wasn't able to find a rhythm."
This season, Kamp practices most days and sees gradual but steady progress. At times, he wonders if he could play.
"I'll get a good practice in and it'll be very tempting," he said.
Kamp admits to occasionally feeling guilty about not being there for his teammates in a season with so much promise. But before deciding to shut it down, he talked with seniors Patrick Christopher and Theo Robertson — who has had two hip surgeries — and said he knows he has their support.
After the jump men's bball narrowly defeats OSU, Monty and co. are disappointed with Cal's performance, and Alexis-Gray Lawson drops 47 as Cal defeats OSU in double overtime. Tomorrow I'll recap the rest of the weekend in Cal sports.
Cal Basketball
- Faraudo's live thread follows the progression of the game as Cal took a commanding lead in the second half, but let OSU come back and make a game of it.
- Jorge made his first appearance since the UCLA game. Monty says this week Jorge needs to "get out to practice and run around and get back to being crazy man." Although he hadn't practiced at all, Jorge said he felt fine after the game. Despite the win, Monty, Randle, Boykin, and the rest of the team are not happy with how they played.
- During the postgame press conference Monty expressed his disappointment with Cal's tendency to lose a big lead during the second half. Turnovers, soft defense, and a lack of aggression have hurt Cal's ability to close out games.
- Behind Alexis Gray-Lawson's ridiculous 47 points, Cal held on to defeat Oregon St 79-75 in double OT. Having won four straight, Cal has gone from last in the conference to fourth. Lexi set the school record for most points scored in a game. When asked how she felt about setting the record, she said "I am really excited. Ashley (Walker) has broken every record possible here. I finally got one!"