That is the key to all of this. The one narrative that keeps coming up all of these years is that the University just doesn't care about football and basketball. Until the institutional support is there, the teams are probably going to be BDWs with momentary bright spots.
Photo by © Kelley L Cox USA Today
Cal Basketball
Early Look at Basketball as Bears Start Practice
The Cal men’s basketball team started its preseason practice this week, and coach Mark Fox is getting his first hands-on look at his four newcomers who will be counted on to help the Bears improve on last year’s 9-20 record and fill a gaping hole left by a departure.
The Bears have four roster additions in 2021transfer Jordan Shepherd from Charlotte and three freshmen, Sam Alajiki from Ireland, Obinna Anyanwu from San Diego, and Marsalis Robinson from down the road in Oakland.
Of course, there is one significant loss. Guard Matt Bradley who led the Bears in scoring at 18.5 points per game last season has transferred to San Diego State. Fox believes the Bears can make up for Bradley’s points by spreading the offense through the roster.
“I think that for us we want to be a balanced offensive team and we have a group that is excited about playing together,” Fox said. “We need to have scoring balance. And we also need to play well at the other end.. We need to have our returning guys like Grant (Anticevich) and Andre (Kelly) be productive.
“Makale (Foreman) shot the ball well last year. We need to be an offensive team that helps each other, that works together on that end of the floor. And if we can do that, I think we will have scoring from a variety of places.”
Shepherd, who also was on a call with the media, started his career at Oklahoma before moving to Charlotte, averaged 13.0 points per game the last two seasons.
“My role is just to come here and put the ball in the basket, any way I can,” Shepherd said. “And make plays for others.”
Fox appreciates his talents. “He is a good scorer from the wing. He’s a good athlete,” Fox said of Shepherd. “I think his experience has really been welcome, too. He’s an older, wiser guy who understands what it takes. He has been very well-coached at his previous stops. He is positioning himself to make an immediate impact.
“What’s really valuable is his ability to score, but he can also pass. Some guys pass as a last resort, other guys pass and make people better. He’s one of those guys that has the ability to score but also has the ability as a passer to make people better. He’s really off to a great start.”
Fox said there is a chance that all three freshmen could contribute this year, or that one or more of them could redshirt. That will sort itself out over the next few weeks of practice.
“They are three very talented young guys. They all have a level of athleticism that fits into this league,” he said. “I think for their position they all three will be guys who athletically check the box. They are all very different in the skill sets they bring. We are are excited about this year’s freshman class. The fact they were allowed to have an offseason unlike last year’s freshmen has been great to see.
“With any freshman the transition is hard, the game is faster, it’s more complex at this level. There is no fear in their eyes. They have the basic athletic talent to become really good players.
© Kelley L Cox USA Today
Makale Foreman (10)
Foreman, who shot 33.2 percent from the floor last year, tailed off a bit in the latter part of the season. Both player and coach offered some reasons.
As the season went on word got out that this guy can shoot. Teams began paying closer attention to him. “I think any player, once you make a few shots you get guarded closer,” Fox said.
Foreman noticed. “There were a lot more closeouts and they were more attached to me,” he said. “I had to deal with different defenses.”
And Fox feels the abbreviated offseason conditioning took its toll. “With all these guys there was the durability factor,” Fox said. “When you take away an offseason of conditioning, guys can wear down. I think that happened to Makale a little bit last season.”
And Foreman disclosed that he was dealing with a back injury late in the season.
The Bears are coming off a full offseason of workouts and conditioning, something prevented last year by COVID restrictions, and are able to actually practice in the gym. All those things fall into the category of “You don’t know what you’re missing until you’re missing it.”
“This year is far closer to normal than what we’ve experienced. We;ve had a relatively normal offseason, which is the first time since I got to Cal,” Fox said. “That was welcome. We started practice a little later than most of the country because we had a couple of guys that needed to clear COVID situation. We had our first practice yesterday. We had a really good fall. I think our players and our coaches are really excited about having the opportunity to be together again. And with the team we have I think they’re excited with the opportunity.”
And of course it is a marked contrast to where things stood in October, 2020. “We didn’t have a spring of weight training or skill development, we did not have a summer of weight lifting or development. We did not have a fall. So we missed an entire offseason last year and, if you’ll recall, after 13 practrices last year we had to shut down. That might have been the most costly of all. We just started playing games after basically no offseason and 13 practices and there you go.”
For improvement, this team certainly passes the eye test. “What's most evident about this group is that physically we look entirely different. Our conditioning level, our functional ability to practice is much greater than it was a year ago because we have been able to have a true offseason. Physically the first thing that jumps out is that we are in much better condition than we were.”
According to Fox, one player who really benefited from the full offseason was forward Kuany Kuany.
“Kuany probably had the best offseason of anyone on our team,” Fox said. “We are really excited about the work he put in.”
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