Golden Nuggets: Cal AD Offers No Sign That He Will Fire Wyking

Men’s Basketball

• Jim Knowlton expressed a vote of confidence in the Men’s Basketball team and says that he still believes in them. He said he doesn’t see a mid-season firing of Wyking Jones, but doesn’t say much about going forward. (Other than finances will be a factor)

Knowlton left himself an out by saying he’s consistently evaluating all 30 of the school’s sports teams, but the general takeaway from a wide-ranging interview with The Chronicle on Thursday was that increasing frustration among fans about the basketball team’s futility won’t force a coaching change.

“We all need to get better,” Knowlton said. “I need to get better as an AD and a resourcer, I want our coaches to get better in matchups and preparation, and I want our kids to be focused and to play for 40 minutes. We know the future is bright, but we’re going to have to grind this year.”

About an hour after meeting with the basketball team’s coaching staff to discuss a spectrum of “big-muscle movements to small refinements toward being exceptional,” Knowlton offered a vote of confidence for a program that hasn’t elicited much since Jones was promoted to replace Cuonzo Martin in March 2017.

Super Bowl LIII

• Jared Goff and Jaylen Brown were close friends at Cal.

Outside of their competitive “FIFA’’ clashes, the two kept things simple, every so often grabbing a bite to eat together or chilling in their apartments like typical college students. Brown said he related to Goff because neither of them “really say too much,’’ but as they got to know each other better, he became keen on Goff’s sense of humor.

“I think he’s funny,’’ Brown said. “People don’t get his comedy, but he’s funny to me because it’s like a dry humor. He’ll say something with like a straight face, but he’ll be joking. I know he’s joking and I know he’s messing with me, but he’ll try to keep a straight face for as long as he can.’’

Brown said Goff — or, as he likes to refer to him, “J-Gizzy’’ — also imparted his wisdom and advice on navigating college, managing the media, and handling the pressure of being a highly touted prospect. Both were expected to be selected within the top five of their respective drafts that year.

Football

• Jon Wilner ranks the Pac-12 schedules. Cal is in the middle of the pack, with some tough stretches against Ole Miss, Arizona State and Oregon in a row (one of which comes after a 6 day break) and the California gauntlet to end the season.
• Andrew Wild is not happy about the coaching “changes”.

Baseball

• Cal Baseball returned to camp (you can see their scrimmages in person too) and there’s a lot of reason for excitement this year.

BEAT STANFORD!