Cal guard Rodney Brown Jr. has entered the transfer portal, a source tells @On3sports.

The 6-6 freshman is a former 4⭐️ recruit. Appeared in all 32 games and shot 40% from three. https://t.co/XX0nAFCghK pic.twitter.com/HaIeUT6avj

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) March 19, 2024

Kind of weird to see the entire team bail. I really hope this is because none of these guys fit the culture and vision of Madsen and not that the NIL account is so depleted we can't even hang onto role players.

Dominos!

Anyone have any insight as to what Madsen's plan is??

Johnfox said:

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Anyone have any insight as to what Madsen's plan is??

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He got the contract extension (perhaps knowing that next year would be even more of a rebuilding year than this one)

ncbears said:

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Johnfox said:

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Anyone have any insight as to what Madsen's plan is??

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He got the contract extension (perhaps knowing that next year would be even more of a rebuilding year than this one)

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He must have better players lined up.

Big C said:

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Okafor: okay, it happens
Askew: best of luck to him
Newell: hey, he could've fit into our plans... but it's all good, i hope...
Brown? Okay, what's going on?

You see, I can spot a trend when I see it!

8.7% chance there is something serious going on there. Could there be somebody on staff that the players hate? Could Madsen have favored the grad transfers and irked the rest of the team?

I'm pretty curious now.

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My guess is they wanted nil money which we were unwilling to pay much to non starters. This means a short bench again, probably

Next rodcast should be interesting.

If I had to guess, Madsen told these players they would have to compete with high level players he's bringing in.

oskidunker said:

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Big C said:

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Okafor: okay, it happens
Askew: best of luck to him
Newell: hey, he could've fit into our plans... but it's all good, i hope...
Brown? Okay, what's going on?

You see, I can spot a trend when I see it!

8.7% chance there is something serious going on there. Could there be somebody on staff that the players hate? Could Madsen have favored the grad transfers and irked the rest of the team?

I'm pretty curious now.

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My guess is they wanted nil money which we were unwilling to pay much to non starters. This means a short bench again, probably

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Or we just don't have any.

~ If professionalized college sports are overrated and shoot their wad, could Cal Berkeley become an IM, maybe some self-funded Club sports, wonderland . . . ?

Good god, the mid seventies were awful.

Here's the thing with something like NIL:

If you have, 1-2 guys making big bucks (say, high six figures)... then you have 2-3 guys making pretty decent bucks (say, low six figures)... then you have the rest of the team making nothing, or hardly anything, there are probably going to be problems with the team chemistry.

Not saying this is happening at Cal -- because I have no idea -- but I am saying that the "new era" is fraught with opportunity... but also potential problems.

Big C said:

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Here's the thing with something like NIL:

If you have, 1-2 guys making big bucks (say, high six figures)... then you have 2-3 guys making pretty decent bucks (say, low six figures)... then you have the rest of the team making nothing, or hardly anything, there are probably going to be problems with the team chemistry.

Not saying this is happening at Cal -- because I have no idea -- but I am saying that the "new era" is fraught with opportunity... but also potential problems.

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Absolutely, but that's always the case with players who get paid to play where the funds are limited. Even going back to the Chicago Black Sox, one of the issues was that many of the players were getting paid peanuts but the college educated Eddie Collins was making more. The solution isn't to move to a system where the players receive nothing. Rather, the distribution of revenue should be such that the players receive the bulk of the revenue. This will incentivize better performance by the players, as this leads to more revenue.

The better criticism is that under the system I propose, the B1G and SEC teams will be able to pay their players more money because their media deals are greater. However, I fully suspect that the B1G and SEC media deals will not pay out as drafted. Instead, I expect the deals will be breached early for inability to pay and the B1G and SEC schools will find themselves overcommitted. There's likely to be a mass exodus of student athletes from the B1G and SEC in five years as a result.

The Utah football team gave every player a new leased Powerwagon for just being on the team. It's just business.

6956bear said:

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Oakbear said:

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NIL is like free agency, guy wants more bucks, go in the portal, maybe your current team ups the offer, who knows, but the landscape is changed and in my opinion not better for the fans

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I think there are multiple layers of fandom here. Some just want to win while many others want to feel like the players are a part of the Cal family. It is what it is right now. The players have a lot of leverage and are using it. There is something missing IMO but once the games start I want to win them. I root for these guys like they have been a part of this from the beginning.

Not everyone will be on board with this. And not just the NIL but the comings and goings of every roster every single season.

What once seemed like a game played by college students mostly is now a professional business. So if that is what it is, then lets win. Maybe someday this NIL and transfer portal thing will get some guardrails and most teams will be in a similar position.

If they are going to be wearing Cal gear I will root for them. But I do understand that not everyone does or will feel that way. Some will tune out.

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I think some of the turmoil is from the coaching change. I think going forward more players who come to Cal will stay to play for Madsen and get a Cal degree.

We do not even know that Brown is leaving. He is entering the Portal while he can still leverage his 4 star prep rating, if Madsen has a role for him and there is NIL for him, he could very well come back. That said, Brown might do better in a more structured offense, where he can be primarily a shooter, like Mathews found with Mark Few and Gonzaga?

This is sarcasm, right?

Richmondbear2 said:

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This is sarcasm, right?

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kinda seems like it, comparing the kinda lost low energy/zero defense rodney brown to a hard nosed competitor that drained 3 point moneyballs in a national championships game seems like sarcasm but who knows richmond?

Richmondbear2 said:

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This is sarcasm, right?

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Which comment do you think is sarcastic?

In any case, I was sincere in my comments. But it'd be helpful to know with which comment you disagreed.

Shocky1 said:

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Richmondbear2 said:

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This is sarcasm, right?

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kinda seems like it, comparing the kinda lost low energy/zero defense rodney brown to a hard nosed competitor that drained 3 point moneyballs in a national championships game seems like sarcasm but who knows richmond?

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Unlike certain jerks in this forum, I don't enjoy talking crap about players just because they opt to transfer from Cal. I've been up front in my praise and criticism of Rodney Brown, Jr. He definitely has has NBA potential re athleticism and build. The rest of the equation (really, the crux of it) depends on Rodney, himself. He needs to develop a great deal more before he gets there. Mark Madsen could've probably helped him with that, but he's leaving for some unknown coach. For Rodney's sake, I hope the new coaching staff can develop him sufficiently.

^ if someone gets kicked out of harvard law school & is later handing out towels at ballys, yeah then they ****** up

if someone with a ged & a prison record is handing towels out at ballys, then they are on an upward trajectory in life

life is not linear#

Shocky1 said:

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^ if someone gets kicked out of harvard law school & is later handing out towels at ballys, yeah then they ****** up

if someone with a ged & a prison record is handing towels out at ballys, then they are on an upward trajectory in life

life is not linear#

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So which is Rodney and/or Grant? Neither have been to prison. You couldn't possibly be suggesting that a Cal undergrad degree is comparable to a Harvard law degree.

Wow this thread is getting steamy. Good thing we're talking about towels.

They could always change the laundry.

Oh, they did.

bearsandgiants said:

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As Cal fans, we're all in a prison of sorts.

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You got that right!