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Vincent S: It's nice to see Ricky back. Kreklow's effect on our defensive intensity, spacing, and overall basketball IQ reminds me of the way Andre Iguodala affects the Warriors - he may not be the star scorer or the thieving mastermind, but he makes the smart plays and raises our overall intensity. I like that he's starting over Jabari and Jordan, given the above.
TwistNHook: It was great to see Kreklow back. He didn't play well against UW, but he did play over 30 minutes. He played over 20 minutes against WSU. He just needs to round back into fighting shape as we careen helplessly towards March.
Also, it was great to see Tyrone Wallace play really well against UW. He had 20 points and 8 rebounds. If he can be a great scoring option for Cal, I'm feeling a lot better about our chances against UCLA.
Dick Solo getting a double double against UW was encouraging. As he goes, the team goes, in my view. We'll need a big game out of him against UCLA.
Leland Wong: I think the best performance from last week's slate of games was Tyrone Wallace's 20-point day on Saturday. Of course it's always going to help when one of your guys puts up 20 (a good ole deucey teny), but I also think it's important to establish that we have a scoring threat besides Justin Cobbs.
Reef: Road wins are good. Period. We're getting close to the time of year when performance arc matters way less than on-court results. We're not quite there yet -- I'd still like to see this team develop a stronger sense of purpose -- but toward the back half of the season I start to care way more about Ws.
boomtho: The biggest positive I saw the resolve the team showed. I've been frustrated by how listless our team has seemed at times this year, and I saw flashes of that same trait during the Washington trip. However, the team managed to overcome those periods and come up with two important wins. The games weren't always pretty (Davonte Lacy is good... but 39 points is pretty hard to swallow), but at the end of the day we found a way to win.
The second positive I saw was the return of excellent play from Solomon and Kravish.Solomon shot a combined 13-18 with 18 rebounds while Kravish shot a combined 11-20 with 11 rebounds. Our bigs (in particular Kravish) have been so consistent for so long that their poor play at times this year has shocked me. Glad they are rounding back into form!
I'd also like to call out Ricky Kreklow for great play in the UW game. While his shooting wasn't great, I thought he moved the ball efficiently, defended well, and generally provided great wing minutes.
