Shocky1 said:

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andrew francis would be the best interim head coach choice due to his positive relationships with the players, fire fox & most of the staff & bump up andrew pay's thru the end of the season

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I think he'd be the best choice for interim coach, but don't think removing the 'interim' title next year would be our best option

we played better than the Lakers!

https://instagr.am/p/CnvhQbah_KJ

HoopDreams said:

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wouldn't hiring Francis be a lot like hiring Wyking?

I'm pretty sure Francis is the 3rd assistant

i understand we hired Wyking over the first two assistants because he had the best relationship with the players.

From observations, Francis probably has the best relationship with our current team, but his coaching credentials aren't better than Wyking's (and maybe worse)

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I'm pretty sure the Assistants aren't "ranked", except in the cases where they designate one to be Associate Head Coach or some such. To the extent that they are ranked, de facto, I always figured Francis was number one, Harriman was number two and Wilson was on the staff because he knew Fox (okay, he had HC experience, but not at all successful HC experience). The reason I thought Francis was number one was because it was spoken of as something of a coup that Fox was able to get him.

Big C said:

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HoopDreams said:

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wouldn't hiring Francis be a lot like hiring Wyking?

I'm pretty sure Francis is the 3rd assistant

i understand we hired Wyking over the first two assistants because he had the best relationship with the players.

From observations, Francis probably has the best relationship with our current team, but his coaching credentials aren't better than Wyking's (and maybe worse)

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I'm pretty sure the Assistants aren't "ranked", except in the cases where they designate one to be Associate Head Coach or some such. To the extent that they are ranked, de facto, I always figured Francis was number one, Harriman was number two and Wilson was on the staff because he knew Fox (okay, he had HC experience, but not at all successful HC experience). The reason I thought Francis was number one was because it was spoken of as something of a coup that Fox was able to get him.

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In addition to the coaching connection with Fox, Wilson was also the holdover from Wyking's staff, theoretically to hold the class and current players together.

Francis is impressive in interviews. Clearly knows the game well and has the charisma to be a good recruiter and head coach. He has been interim head coach once before, but I think it would help him build his resume and maybe finally get a shot somewhere if he does a good job. It is definitely what we should do this week if we had just a competent AD.

when i met jim for the 1st time at a football game in corvallis i told him the story of my termination from cal's monster class & how it involved wyking jones being blackballed by the aau powerhouse las vegas stars which cost us duke transfer chase jeter

anyways, knowlton's eyes glazed over when when i mentioned the las vegas stars, he had no idea who they are...there is not an active sitting athletic director in the united states of america with a basketball program that's never heard of the las vegas stars

and that's why fox got the same staff every year, did you know it's combined age of 200 years makes it the oldest coaching staff in collegiate basketball?...do you think knowlton knows that?

Bennett probably lives in Moraga as well. I grew up there and went thru elementary thru high school there.
He ain't leaving to come to Cal, though I wish he would. here is a big difference comparing Berkeley to Moraga.

sonofabear51 said:

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Bennett probably lives in Moraga as well. I grew up there and went thru elementary thru high school there.
He ain't leaving to come to Cal, though I wish he would. here is a big difference comparing Berkeley to Moraga.

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Plenty of Cal coaches live east of the Caldecott If that is what they prefer. Bennett has a good life and has tenure at St. Mary.'s,

$525k a year until you retire living and working in Moraga? Able to recruit California (plus an assistant with great connects in Australia). With as good a shot at the Sweet 16 as anywhere?

Post from Oregon State fan site

First road victory for men's hoops in approximately a decade. As much as people like to pile on, the team is better this year......and so so so incredibly young. I like some of these players....and they deserve a little love ...even if it was just Cal.

Big C said:

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calumnus said:

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sluggo said:

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calumnus said:

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sluggo said:

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calumnus said:

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sluggo said:

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wifeisafurd said:

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sluggo said:

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Alkiadt said:

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sluggo said:

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calumnus said:

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ncbears said:

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It's hard to imagine what person would want to take over this program - the roster is .... what it is. The person would have to be a dynamic recruiter - more than dynamic - would have to be heroic.

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There will be roster openings.

If you had 2 or 3 top level players added to the returning core of Celestine, Newell, Alajiki, Okafor and Askew, I think you could have a decent team if they also had a good, smart, positive coach. Then you build from that.

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Incoming freshman Brown is good and adds to ball handling and shooting. Need one or two more incoming plus a good, smart, positive coach.

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You are assuming we don't lose a Newell or Okafor.
Both should have multiple NIL h transfer options from schools that support hoops much better than Cal does….,

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In football Cal just got the message that NIL was more important than the other ways booster money was being used. Right now a 100 million dollar basketball practice facility has been suggested. Perhaps there will be a pivot?

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If I was a basketball fan (admittedly, they lost me), I would spend my money on NIL than basketball facility. Of course, I would need to see a good coaching change, otherwise I would feel like I'm just burning money. For big dollars, players will practice in a large tent if need be, but they have to feel good about the coaching staff. No dollar payment can override that.

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If I was AD I would bring together the whoever is left as a basketball booster, or whoever can be brought back into the fold, along with the people behind CAlegends.com. I would say "help me rebrand/reboot Cal basketball. I need X dollars to get rid of the fraud and bring in someone good, and you will have a big input in hiring. I will stop trying to collect for my from a different era practice facility, and you will work together on NIL to make Cal competitive in basketball recruiting. Who is in?"

And if Pasternack is the only way to do this, then make it Pasternack, though he would not be my choice otherwise.

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Agreed. Though I would start by showing Fox the door (call it "administrative leave") and promoting Andrew Francis to interim head coach. That costs nothing, but signals change. The boosters can then be involved in what the new staff is going to look like, but it would be smart to go with a young charismatic coach making less than $1 million (maybe a lot less) and spend the money on NIL instead.

The remainder of the season would be Francis' opportunity to try out for that role, but no obligation on Cal's side. It would at least be a relief for everyone, make the rest of the season more interesting and would eliminate the current ambivalence fans have about showing up and supporting the team, fearing that would be seen as support for Fox.

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He is owed something like 4 million dollars. I am not sure you can jump off the cliff of putting him on leave before you have the money, even it would feel good to do it.

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He gets the same money either way. I'd rather have Andrew Francis coaching the team the rest of the season or even next year too until someone puts up the money to give Fox his lump sum payment and hire a new guy.

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If you serve the whole year you are not interim. Next year they would have to pay Francis at least a million if he was the head coach, and probably you have to give him multiple years. Not literally true, but it is already getting awkward that Jones was fired after two years and Fox who is equally bad (worse imo) got an extension.

Not sure what Francis makes now. You can't spend money you don't have.

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Pretty sure Bozeman did not get a raise (or it was minimal) when we fired Campanelli, even when we removed the interim label.

I'm pretty sure there is no law we have to pay $1 million. Randy Bennett makes half that at St. Mary's.

Francis could continue next year at essentially the same contract plus incentives. If worst came to worst.

Labaugh gets less than $100k at CCSF, I'm pretty sure he'd take the Cal job for double.

Pasternak makes $375,000 at UCSB

Again, these are worst case scenarios if we have no money.

Moreover, firing Fox this season saves at least $900,000 in future obligations to him under his contract. If Francis is paid $80,000 now, you could fire Fox and pay Francis, or Labaugh, or DeCuire, or Legans or… the same as Randy Bennet for next year and the year following for zero net cost to Cal. You would then be done with Fox's contract and could give raises or to center pay someone the $1.9 million per year you were paying to Fox.

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I'm pretty sure the reality of coaches' salaries nowadays is that all coaches have agents and schools in our conference pay "Pac 12 market value". The absolute floor is what Wyking Jones made (a million per year). Whatever DeCuire makes in Montana (or wherever he is) is irrelevant. He would be making probably 1.5 here. Otherwise, why didn't they hire Wyking for half of what they gave him?

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Wyking recieved a $5m guarantee. It was a no-brainer for him.

Big C said:

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sluggo said:

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Big Dog said:

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sluggo said:

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wifeisafurd said:

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sluggo said:

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Alkiadt said:

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sluggo said:

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calumnus said:

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ncbears said:

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It's hard to imagine what person would want to take over this program - the roster is .... what it is. The person would have to be a dynamic recruiter - more than dynamic - would have to be heroic.

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There will be roster openings.

If you had 2 or 3 top level players added to the returning core of Celestine, Newell, Alajiki, Okafor and Askew, I think you could have a decent team if they also had a good, smart, positive coach. Then you build from that.

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Incoming freshman Brown is good and adds to ball handling and shooting. Need one or two more incoming plus a good, smart, positive coach.

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You are assuming we don't lose a Newell or Okafor.
Both should have multiple NIL h transfer options from schools that support hoops much better than Cal does….,

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In football Cal just got the message that NIL was more important than the other ways booster money was being used. Right now a 100 million dollar basketball practice facility has been suggested. Perhaps there will be a pivot?

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If I was a basketball fan (admittedly, they lost me), I would spend my money on NIL than basketball facility. Of course, I would need to see a good coaching change, otherwise I would feel like I'm just burning money. For big dollars, players will practice in a large tent if need be, but they have to feel good about the coaching staff. No dollar payment can override that.

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If I was AD I would bring together the whoever is left as a basketball booster, or whoever can be brought back into the fold, along with the people behind CAlegends.com. I would say "help me rebrand/reboot Cal basketball. I need X dollars to get rid of the fraud and bring in someone good, and you will have a big input in hiring. I will stop trying to collect for my from a different era practice facility, and you will work together on NIL to make Cal competitive in basketball recruiting. Who is in?"

And if Pasternack is the only way to do this, then make it Pasternack, though he would not be my choice otherwise.

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and if I was one of those big boosters, I'd respond, "thank you so much for the offer, John, but no way I will contribute as long as you remain in your current position." (The covid contract extensions are just inexcusable.)

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Yes, it probably would not work, but what is there to lose?

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Knowlton was schmoozing what were presumably the big donors in the second half. There were a lot of smiles going around.

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He came to schmooze in my area but I had to leave because I spilled my nachos all over the place

Smiles about what? The half timeentertainment?

sonofabear51 said:

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Bennett probably lives in Moraga as well. I grew up there and went thru elementary thru high school there.
He ain't leaving to come to Cal, though I wish he would. here is a big difference comparing Berkeley to Moraga.

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I grew up in Lafayette, which was and is lot like Moraga. Just more businesses and more traffic on Mt. Diablo Blvd. After about two days in Berkeley I never wanted to go back but I understand everyone has different preferences.

sonofabear51 said:

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Bennett probably lives in Moraga as well. I grew up there and went thru elementary thru high school there.
He ain't leaving to come to Cal, though I wish he would. here is a big difference comparing Berkeley to Moraga.

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While I agree that Bennett ain't leaving to come to Cal, it isn't because he lives in Moraga. Lou Campanelli lived in Moraga and coached the Cal basketball team, Bennett could easily do the same.

Cal8285 said:

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sonofabear51 said:

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Bennett probably lives in Moraga as well. I grew up there and went thru elementary thru high school there.
He ain't leaving to come to Cal, though I wish he would. here is a big difference comparing Berkeley to Moraga.

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While I agree that Bennett ain't leaving to come to Cal, it isn't because he lives in Moraga. Lou Campanelli lived in Moraga and coached the Cal basketball team, Bennett could easily do the same.

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Exactly. Especially with the salary increase.

oskidunker said:

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Post from Oregon State fan site

First road victory for men's hoops in approximately a decade. As much as people like to pile on, the team is better this year......and so so so incredibly young. I like some of these players....and they deserve a little love ...even if it was just Cal.

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That demonstrates how low we have fallen, when an OSU fan looks down upon Cal. Who would have thunk?

HoopDreams said:

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Shocky1 said:

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andrew francis would be the best interim head coach choice due to his positive relationships with the players, fire fox & most of the staff & bump up andrew pay's thru the end of the season

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I think he'd be the best choice for interim coach, but don't think removing the 'interim' title next year would be our best option

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Make Francis interim until the rest is figured out and donors are ready to step up. Francis next year is not anyone's choice and might be the second to worst option, but it is better than retaining Fox. Just fire Fox now.

sonofabear51 said:

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Bennett probably lives in Moraga as well. I grew up there and went thru elementary thru high school there.
He ain't leaving to come to Cal, though I wish he would. here is a big difference comparing Berkeley to Moraga.

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This makes absolutely no sense, and not because he wouldn't come here.

socaliganbear said:

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sonofabear51 said:

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Bennett probably lives in Moraga as well. I grew up there and went thru elementary thru high school there.
He ain't leaving to come to Cal, though I wish he would. here is a big difference comparing Berkeley to Moraga.

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This makes absolutely no sense, and not because he wouldn't come here.

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Exactly. Berkeley vs Moraga has ZERO to with Bennett's decision to stay at St. Mary's (and Cal is not the only bigger program that has inquired about his interest).

BTW, St. Mary's is #7 in Ken Pom right now. That could EASILY be Cal.

calumnus said:

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socaliganbear said:

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sonofabear51 said:

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Bennett probably lives in Moraga as well. I grew up there and went thru elementary thru high school there.
He ain't leaving to come to Cal, though I wish he would. here is a big difference comparing Berkeley to Moraga.

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This makes absolutely no sense, and not because he wouldn't come here.

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Exactly. Berkeley vs Moraga has ZERO to with Bennett's decision to stay at St. Mary's (and Cal is not the only bigger program that has inquired about his interest).

BTW, St. Mary's is #7 in Ken Pom right now. That could EASILY be Cal.

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Instead, Fox would be extended if Cal got to 7 wins.