[Basketball season is right around the corner.  Can you believe it?  Let's ramp up our MBB coverage with a look at the Guards in the 2011-2012 season.  GO BEARS!]

Kodiak:  Will Jorge Gutierrez win Pac-12 POY?  What do we expect out of newcomer Justin Cobbs?  Is Brandon Smith going to still start at point?  What will we need out of the point guard position for us to compete for the league championship and post-season play?

NorCalNick:  I can't help but feel that Justin Cobbs is the key player that will determine how far Cal goes this year.

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Oh! The wonders of the Pac-12 network(s)!  Every game viewable!  Wall-to-wall coverage!  Streams all over the internets!  . . . Next year.

But this year?  We’re stuck with the same old horrible Tom Hansen TV plan, and that means lots of Comcast Sports Net and lots of finger crossing.  Here are the depressing details:

To start, CBS gets to pick six games involving Pac-12 teams to air nationally. Those games are as follows: Washington at Duke, Arizona at Gonzaga, Oregon at Arizona, UCLA at St. Johns, UCLA at Arizona, and one wildcard game that is guaranteed to be Washington at UCLA and is guaranteed not to be Cal because the Bears aren’t even one of the wildcard options.

Then, ESPN gets to pick four games.  They chose Oregon at Washington, Washington at Arizona, UCLA at Washington and one wildcard game that is going to be Stanford at UCLA or Washington at Oregon.  At least Cal is an option this time around, but I somehow doubt ESPN will pick a bad USC team over JOHN WOODEN PAULEY PAVILION HISTORIC HISTORY VENERABLE WOW HISTORY.  Yes, I know that Pauley will be closed this year for renovations.  No, that doesn’t change the TV decision making process.

So, what do the TV choices tell us?

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For the weekend re-match against the Danish national team, the Golden Bears would have to get it done without starting big men Harper Kamp (knee) and Richard Solomon. (eye)  Although both players could probably have made a go of it for a regular season game, it was a great experience for the youngsters to step up.  Starters Robert Thurman and David Kravish did not disappoint going for 17 and 14 and 7, respectively.  After a relatively slow start that saw the Bears establish a slim 26-24, 1st quarter lead, they steadily pulled away.  It was 50-44 at half, 71-61 after three, and then the young Bears blew it open in the 4th to close with a thirteen point margin.  It's unknown how much playing time the younger players will get once Monty shortens his rotation towards the regular season.  However, it's great to see that many of them might be ready to contribute sooner rather than later.  In particular, Robert Thurman has had a really strong trip and looks to challenge Bak Bak to be the 1st big off the bench this year.  We really appreciate assistant Coach John Montgomery's willingness to update us via his twitter account, @JohnMontyCal.  And, a special shout-out to adminstrative assistant, Jenna Hall, for her in-game tweets.  After the jump, the actual live tweets and the rest of the stats.

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The Cal men played the fourth of their five-game Eurotrip earlier this morning against the Danish National Team.  Depth in the frontcourt was a concern from the beginning with Richard Solomon a no-go because of a scratch on his eye.  However, senior leader Jorge Gutierrez felt sufficiently recovered from his sprained ankle to return to action.  The Bears roared out to an early 1st quarter lead, 21-11, and never gave it back.  The Danes hung around, but weren't able to sustain enough runs for a comeback.  Solomon's replacement, Robert Thurman, had a huge game, scoring 17 points in just the 1st half and a team-high 21 overall.  Four other Bears were in double-digits:  Gutierrez 13, Cobbs 10, Behrens 10, Kravish 10.  It's great to see a balanced attack and plenty of contributions from the younger players.

Next up, the Bears have a re-match with the Danes tomorrow morning at 4am PST.  After the jump, we'll post the actual live-tweets from Assistant Coach John Montgomery's feed, @JohnMonty. (S/O to Cal Admin Assistant Jenna Hall for tweeting the updates!)

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Although they raced out to an early 1st quarter lead 24-12, our guys struggled when the Norwegian National team switched to a 1-2-2 zone.  Norway grabbed a one point lead at the half, 37-36, and extended it to 56-49 by the end of the 3rd.  Cal hung tough, but just couldn't get all the way back.  Assistant Coach John Montgomery described it as a "physical game." He also mentioned that "this trip is all about experience for everyone."  I'm sure if this was a must-win game, that Monty would have leaned more heavily on his starters.  It can be painful watching younger players struggle with turnovers, but these are minutes which will play dividends in conference play.

The silver lining from this game is that Harper Kamp was no longer bothered by his achy knee and was able to play significant minutes.  Jorge Gutierrez was still out with his sprained ankle.  It had to have been a good learning experience for the young Cal team with regards to ball movement and poise against a tough zone.

Photo from Asst. Coach John Montgomery's Twitter Feed:  http://lockerz.com/s/130511014

Next up for the Golden Bears, a few days off and then games against the Danish National Team.  Again, audio/video/online coverage is unknown, put we'll post if we here anything.

- Saturday, Aug. 20: vs. Danish National Team at Copenhagen, Denmark, 8 a.m. PDT.

– Sunday, Aug. 21: vs. Danish National Team at Copenhagen, 4 a.m. PDT.

After the jump, the actual live tweets from @JohnMonty's account:

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It was a good early test for a young Cal team.  Upsala Basket had plenty of size and clearly knew how to ball.  This was a team that the Bears simply couldn't out-athlete and held their attention right up to the final buzzer.  Neither Harper Kamp (knees) nor Jorge Gutierrez (ankle) played, and their absence was significant on both ends.  The Cal defense was often porous, and the offensive ball movement was inconsistent at best.  However, with the game in the balance, Allen Crabbe, Brandon Smith, and Richard Solomon all asserted themselves to ensure a Cal victory.  

The Ugly:  Cal's defense.  We gave up open shots on the perimeter, and more egregiously, Upsala had their way with easy shots inside.  Had the Upsala shooters been more accurate, we would have been blown out.  Just like last year, we really had issues with denying dribble penetration.  Although it's early, I'm concerned that this Cal team is going to have its struggles defensively like last year.  We only have one shot-blocker (Solomon), and our biggest player (Thurman) has slow feet.  Crabbe is smart and has length, but lacks lateral quickness.  Smith wants to play tough D, but is undersized.  Cobbs is a better athlete, but appears more interested in offense.  Kamp and Jorge are tough, but can't do everything on their own.  If any of our starters get in foul trouble, it looks like the bench has a ways to go.

After the jump, we go more in-depth.

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A win is a win, right?  In an ugly, uneven game, the Cal Bears outlasted Upsala Basket by a slim, two-point margin.  Allen Crabbe, Richard Solomon, and Brandon Smith lead the way.  To be fair, senior standouts Jorge Gutierrez(ankle) and Harper Kamp (knees) did not play.  Both Justin Cobbs and Robert Thurman had rough games, particularly on the defensive end.  More thoughts after the jump:

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It's on!  After defeating the Solna Vikings 89-71 this past Sunday, the Cal men play the 2nd game of their whirlwind European tour against the Swedish club team Upsala Basket.  

In theory, you can watch the game through a live web stream.  (Not confirmed.  If that link doesn't work, the Cal basketball twitter says to go to the www.uppsalabasket.se website for the video stream.)

Rivals has a good overview of the trip here.

Over 10 days, Montgomery will take his Bears on a five-game, three-city swing which will give his Bears plenty of time to bond, as well as to integrate newcomers David Kravish, Christian Behrens and now-eligible guard Justin Cobbs, who sat out last season after transferring from Minnesota.

Who exactly is Upsala Basket?  They are a club team who was founded in 1960 through a YMCA affiliation.  When the Swedish Basketball league formed in 1992, Upsala Basket was one of the founding members.  As a professional club team, Upsala has a reputation for developing talent.  One of their best young players, Sebastian Norman, received a scholarship offer from Lamar University and will play for Pat Knight.  Another of their players, forward Johan Jeansson, plays for the Swedish national team and recently put up 17 points against Georgia.(Russia)

After the jump, projected starting lineups.  This game is supposed to be broadcast on Web-TV.  I'll try to update with links when I find them.  If anyone finds them first, please post in the comments.  Go Bears!

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