That was a weak rebound attempt by grant… looked like he was trying to avoid a foul, but we need to go for broke at this point and that play was a disaster

Someone else said it: if we lose it is because of the sheer volume of easy shots we took that didn't drop. Seems close to 10 of them.

So many rebounds we just can't grab. Our hands are not good.

On the positive side, Lars is playing well.

I don't know how we can have almost an entire team of players who can't score. Mind boggling.

That was a goal tend on Celestine

Put a fork in it

How many rebounds have we allowed to get taken away?
How many sloppy, indifferent passes?
Just bad effort.

Grant looks asleep. Reflexes are slow AF. Joel Brown has been invisible.

I'm in favor of turning over 3/4 of the roster.

57-50 final. Cal wins 60-57, if they make some of their easy shots.

Golden One said:

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Worst game I've seen Grant play all season.

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He has been in a slump all of 2022. I'd love to see him close out his Cal career with a bang though.

If you enjoyed KK in the slightest you will really enjoy the series. The episodes also are great for washing away the stench of losing to furd.

KenBurnski said:

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If you enjoyed KK in the slightest you will really enjoy the series. The episodes also are great for washing away the stench of losing to furd.

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Coincidentally, a couple of weeks ago, I just watched the original with my kids (for the first time -- for me -- since it first came out), then watched "Next" last Friday night. Will check out "CK", thx.

Time for a new "Fan Poll" on the front page- not much to like about this team at the moment. Here's one: "What do you attribute the eight game losing streak to?"

Watching this team is like doing penance.

Big C said:

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KenBurnski said:

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If you enjoyed KK in the slightest you will really enjoy the series. The episodes also are great for washing away the stench of losing to furd.

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Coincidentally, a couple of weeks ago, I just watched the original with my kids (for the first time -- for me -- since it first came out), then watched "Next" last Friday night. Will check out "CK", thx.

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What you two be talking about?

Bear8995 said:

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HoopDreams said:

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They are jumping the pass… we aren't we learning !

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Exactly. Go back door.

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I've been waiting for the last two years for a Cal player to go back door on an overplaying defender. Still hasn't happened.

HearstMining said:

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Bear8995 said:

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HoopDreams said:

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They are jumping the pass… we aren't we learning !

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Exactly. Go back door.

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I've been waiting for the last two years for a Cal player to go back door on an overplaying defender. Still hasn't happened.

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But that might lead to a shot being taken with more than 5s left on the shot clock, and we all know how the coach feels about that...

polarbear said:

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Time for a new "Fan Poll" on the front page- not much to like about this team at the moment. Here's one: "What do you attribute the eight game losing streak to?"

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Better opponents.

SFCityBear said:

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polarbear said:

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Time for a new "Fan Poll" on the front page- not much to like about this team at the moment. Here's one: "What do you attribute the eight game losing streak to?"

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Better opponents.

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This. Sometimes the reporters get it wrong but not usually. This team has last place talent.

HearstMining said:

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Bear8995 said:

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HoopDreams said:

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They are jumping the pass… we aren't we learning !

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Exactly. Go back door.

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I've been waiting for the last two years for a Cal player to go back door on an overplaying defender. Still hasn't happened.

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That was exactly the answer in the second half, when the Furd defenders were overplaying our perimeter passes. I was screaming at the TV...

Well 2K has done it 3 times for a shepherd to 2K dunk

You do need a player to make the pass too, and so far the only Cal player who I've seen capable of those passes have been Shepherd

HearstMining said:

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Bear8995 said:

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HoopDreams said:

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They are jumping the pass… we aren't we learning !

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Exactly. Go back door.

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I've been waiting for the last two years for a Cal player to go back door on an overplaying defender. Still hasn't happened.

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blungld said:

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Big C said:

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KenBurnski said:

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If you enjoyed KK in the slightest you will really enjoy the series. The episodes also are great for washing away the stench of losing to furd.

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Coincidentally, a couple of weeks ago, I just watched the original with my kids (for the first time -- for me -- since it first came out), then watched "Next" last Friday night. Will check out "CK", thx.

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What you two be talking about?

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Normally, I would say game-thread-H2O-under-the-bridge, but since we play Furd at home in a few weeks, this might have some future relevance:

Earlier in the thread, I posted the shrewd observation that Furd PG O'Connell looks like a movie "frat boy villain" and KB referenced the current series Cobra Kai, which is a Karate Kid spin-off.

socaltownie said:

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SFCityBear said:

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polarbear said:

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Time for a new "Fan Poll" on the front page- not much to like about this team at the moment. Here's one: "What do you attribute the eight game losing streak to?"

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Better opponents.

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This. Sometimes the reporters get it wrong but not usually. This team has last place talent.

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You and I have had this discussion before. I have felt that for many many years it has been true that if you have two outstanding players, you can get to the final four and win the thing. Of course those two talented players need some very good supporting players to fill out the starting lineup and the rotation. You may need a little more than that today, say also one or more very good players in case of injuries, because there are more injuries in college basketball than ever before. If one or two of your better players goes down, your team's chances can go down the drain. What used to be true and still is true is that it takes most players a year or two of D1 experience to be at a level to start for the better teams. Big players usually take 2 or 3 years to reach that level, because smaller players' bodies usually mature faster.

The problem of putting a team together today, not just for one year but for a program which wants to be successful is that it has to face the uncertainty of both the player leaving early for the NBA or leaving via the transfer portal. What you have argued for, the pursuing of the players with the elite ranking, is so difficult to achieve success, because first the player may be a year or two away from being capable of living up to the elite ranking for you, and second, he may leave after his first year, and leave you with a hole to fill. We saw this with Jaylen Brown. He was not quite good enough to take over games, put the team on his back, and did not reach that level until after a few years of development in the NBA system. Then there is the problem of a recruit ranking being overestimated, like Ivan Rabb, for example. Like Jaylen, he was very good at Cal, but not capable of putting the team on his back. Even after two years, he had not reached that level. He could start and be a very good player on any of the best teams, but not as one of the two outstanding players you need to make a Final Four team. Being a big man, perhaps Ivan would have reached that level in year 3 or 4, but we do not know.

The other problem in recruiting the elite recruits, besides their leaving after one year, is the problem of collecting all the very good supporting players to surround them. You can either try and recruit them in the same freshman class as that of your one-and-dones, or try and recruit and hold in school coachable players who will agree to be supporting players. To be successful over the course of a few seasons, you have to recruit well every single season. You will lose some players to the NBA and some to the transfer portal, and you will lose some players to injury and other reasons. Take Brown and Rabb's team for example. They had a few good supporting players, Bird, Wallace, Mathews, but the rest was average at best, and not enough of them. Okoroh and Rooks were just average big men. Bird was a very good player, but fragile physically. Wallace a fine shooter, but one dimensional, and had disagreements which caused him to leave the team later. Wallace was a very good player, but then he gets injured and that greatly hurt the team's chances. RMB, Domingo, and Chauca were mistaken evaluations by whoever recruited them. RMB and Domingo learned to play some defense, but not enough to give Cal a lot of meaningful minutes. Things soon got worse, and two years later, the whole program collapsed, and has not yet recovered.

Finally, the job to put a team together which can reach that Final Four has become harder and more complex. You are right about Cal needing talent, and I think it is still important to have talent in the coach's seat as well, to be able to recruit players he wants and thinks he can build a team around, and then to keep as many of them in school as long as possible, along with always looking out for replacements. He already has his hands full with scheming for games and with tactics in games, and now preparing for all the infections and postponements caused by Covid. When I look at Fox's face behind that mask, I hope I don't see a blood vessel about to burst or and ulcer starting. He looks very stressed. I'll bet he may think now that the money isn't worth it.

Big C said:

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blungld said:

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Big C said:

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KenBurnski said:

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If you enjoyed KK in the slightest you will really enjoy the series. The episodes also are great for washing away the stench of losing to furd.

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Coincidentally, a couple of weeks ago, I just watched the original with my kids (for the first time -- for me -- since it first came out), then watched "Next" last Friday night. Will check out "CK", thx.

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What you two be talking about?

---

Normally, I would say game-thread-H2O-under-the-bridge, but since we play Furd at home in a few weeks, this might have some future relevance:

Earlier in the thread, I posted the shrewd observation that Furd PG O'Connell looks like a movie "frat boy villain" and KB referenced the current series Cobra Kai, which is a Karate Kid spin-off.

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Ahh.