Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected Cal with no Andre Kelly to crush a very good Oregon team in their gym.
Yes, Jordan Shepherd had the best game of his career. He had never scored 30 before, and had very few 20 point games before. Not only that, he shot 60% for the game, 67% from three, 87% on free throws. He was in the zone. He had 3 nice assists, 4 steals, and 7 rebounds.
But it was Fox who can't recruit, who brought him to Berkeley, and the offense that Fox used for this game, the high ball screen was perfect for the skills of Shepherd, which was able to get Shepherd openings in the paint over and over. Shepherd and the team executed the offense perfectly. Lars had one of his best games.
But more than all that, it was Cal's defense that rattled Oregon, forcing them to take bad shots, and making them nervous when they did have an open look. It was defense that won that game, coupled with Oregon's poor shooting. They sure did not look like a team that beat USC and UCLA back to back. This defense is Mark Fox's defense, and I think we might want to give Fox some of the credit for this win, coaching the players in his offense and defense, and the players executing it all so well.
Cal basketball is really fun to watch when this kind of thing happens.
Yes, Jordan Shepherd had the best game of his career. He had never scored 30 before, and had very few 20 point games before. Not only that, he shot 60% for the game, 67% from three, 87% on free throws. He was in the zone. He had 3 nice assists, 4 steals, and 7 rebounds.
But it was Fox who can't recruit, who brought him to Berkeley, and the offense that Fox used for this game, the high ball screen was perfect for the skills of Shepherd, which was able to get Shepherd openings in the paint over and over. Shepherd and the team executed the offense perfectly. Lars had one of his best games.
But more than all that, it was Cal's defense that rattled Oregon, forcing them to take bad shots, and making them nervous when they did have an open look. It was defense that won that game, coupled with Oregon's poor shooting. They sure did not look like a team that beat USC and UCLA back to back. This defense is Mark Fox's defense, and I think we might want to give Fox some of the credit for this win, coaching the players in his offense and defense, and the players executing it all so well.
Cal basketball is really fun to watch when this kind of thing happens.
SFCityBear
