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Some updates on the injury that sidelined Jabari Bird from Cal Athletics:
California men’s basketball senior guard Jabari Bird suffered a concussion in Friday night's Pac-12 Tournament semifinal game against Oregon and is listed as day-to-day.
Bird, who was averaging a team-best 23.0 points per game in the Pac-12 Tournament, left the court less than two minutes into the game after falling to the floor. He was evaluated by T-Mobile Arena doctors and later taken to a hospital for concussion testing.
In our latest rundown of the Cal offseason coaching rumor mill, Cuonzo Martin is also being circulated with another coaching vacancy. Illinois fired Jim Groce and is now apparently considering Cuonzo Martin as a potential replacement.
The Cuonzo Martin sweepstakes begin now that Illinois is open as well as Mizzou. Does he stay at Cal or go back to the Midwest? Win win.
— Andy Katz (@ESPNAndyKatz) March 11, 2017
Potential names at Illinois include Baylor's Scott Drew, California's Cuonzo Martin, SMU's Tim Jankovich, among others.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) March 11, 2017
Martin, as we’ve mentioned multiple times, is from the Midwest, played his high school basketball in East St. Louis, Illinois and his college ball at Purdue. Illinois is right close to his neck of the woods.
If you’re keeping count, Martin has now been circulated with several head coaching vacancies, including Missouri, Illinois, and NC State.
Martin mentioned earlier this week that he is the coach at Cal, and offered further no comment on the rumors. But it might be getting to the point where athletic director Mike Williams might have to consider renegotiating with Martin. Can Williams pitch Cal Regents on how much Martin’s worth might be and raising the level of his salary?