Time: 7:30 PM PT/10:30 PM ET
Video: Cal Bears All-Access ($)
Stream: Post links in comments (I believe Channel Surfing had a scoreboard link last year)
Preview links: Point guards, wings (shooting guards and small forwards), big men (power forwards and centers), season expectations, practice report.
Starting lineup: Montgomery hinted at Allen Crabbe and Gary Franklin playing the wing positions in his presser. Jorge Gutierrez will start at point guard, and Harper Kamp would play at power forward and Markhuri Sanders-Frison at center.
Start getting used to...slower-paced games. With Jerome Randle, Patrick Christopher and Theo Robertson, Cal was always a pretty good fastbreak team when they got their opportunities. This year, we don't have anyone who will have any breakaway movement. If we get turnovers, expect us to walk the ball up the court rather than push the pace. In other words, don't expect aesthetically pleasing hoops. Expect mudfights.
Quick looks at each players
Sanders-Frison. We get our first look at the slimmed-down Markhuri. He worked all offseason to improve his core strength, particularly on his always injured back.
Gutierrez. See how well he can handle the ball going up the court or how well. Montgomery has said he's worried if he can handle all these responsibilities (in addition to being a lockdown defender). Jorge laughed it off at the presser and said he didn't understand Coach's concerns, but we'll get our first taste of whether Monty's concerns are justified.
Kamp. Defense, Bears, defense. It'll just be good to see Harper back on the court doing his thing. He's probably not going to be as polished offensively as Jamal Boykin was last season, but he can definitely defend.
Crabbe. In practice, he has reportedly been very tentative and has passed up shot opportunities; Coach Montgomery has constantly urged him to get more aggressive. This will be our first look at whether Crabbe can shake it off and build up his confidence. Down the road, we're need Crabbe to score.
Franklin. Almost the exact opposite of Crabbe, Franklin has been quite happy to take any shot he can get his hands on (and you're soon going to get your first look at one of the funkiest releases in college hoops). They admitted in their joint press conference that they could learn a little bit from each other (Crabbe being more aggressive, Franklin being more conscientious of when he should or shouldn't be taking a shot). Franklin will probably be playing the two-guard most of this season, but could see some minutes at the point against zone defenses.
Brandon Smith. He's our backup point guard. How will he handle the responsibility? He definitely has what it takes to be a pest defensively, but can he make good decisions with the ball with the second unit? He'll be playing with a bunch of freshmen, so it'll be a tough assignment for him.
Bak Bak. Monty admitted that Bak will probably be our third main post player behind Sanders-Frison and Kamp, which will probably mean Richard Solomon and Robert Thurman provide the second age. Bak showed some impressive range in practice.
Solomon. Dude's long. He'll probably put the ball on the floor and drive on offense. Body-wise, he reminds me a lot of Anthony Randolph, to be honest.
Nigel Carter. Carter's going to have to eat a lot of minutes this year. I thought he made some good decisions in practice, but against other teams it's anyone's guess what he can do. I'm rooting for the walk-on to make some noise.
Thurman. Biggest guy on our team. Can he bring anything to the table?
Emerson Murray. Hasn't practiced much, so not expecting much for a few games.
Justin Cobbs. I'm not sure if he can play, but I believe all the Golden Bears suited up for the exhibition last year regardless of eligibility. Can someone check up on this?
Your Sonoma State fact of the day. Courtesy of Wikipedia.
The Sonoma State mascot is Lobo the Seawolf, lobo being Spanish for ‘wolf’. The mascot is derived from the Jack London novel entitled The Sea-Wolf in which the protagonist is pressed into service aboard a boat captained by a man named "Wolf". The mascot was taken from the book for London’s ties with Sonoma County, specifically the nearby town of Glen Ellen. Some resent the fact that the mascot is not a representation of a real animal and sometimes choose to equate it more readily to the Seawolf class attack submarine in the United States Navy.
The previous mascot of Sonoma State University was the Cossack, an eastern European community of fur traders known for superior horsemanship and ferocity in battle. The Cossacks held ties to the area through the 1812 fur trading posts at Fort Ross. This mascot was to be removed in the fall of 2002 by a vote of the academic senate after the mascot was deemed offensive to Jewish and women’s groups on campus. This being due to the fact that Cossacks were reportedly notorious for historically oppressing Jewish people and women.