Johnfox said:

---

One player I'm watching is Myles Che. He's wilkinson's friend and the dude knows how to play ball the right way

---

Yes on Myles Che. His stats are impressive...good shooter.

eastcoastcal said:

---

Not to bang the NIL drum, but if we want top 1/3 performance, we need top 1/3 funding. Some whales need to sign checks

---

Stop wishing for something that's never going to happen.
Yes, more $$ would be great, but it's not the only reason Cal could get better and shouldn't be the focus of Operation Bears Go Dancing 2027.
Two points in support:
1.
I count 6 games this year we lost by 5 points or less, two of those in OT. Closing games is not about your talent level or NIL kitty. Closing games is about the half dozen intangibles that we know about, game management, ice in your veins as a shooter, clutch plays, hustle, a little bit of luck thrown in, I could name others. Those are things that can be fixed, not fundamental talent problems. Imagine if we won even half of those nail-biter games. Now you have 16 wins and you ARE in the middle third of the ACC. Now imagine we won all six games. Basketball can turn on a team attitude at the end of a game. I saw that grit from this team, but not often enough.
2.
I'm watching USF play tough against Wash St. in the WCC tourney. The team is 23-8, 16-1 at home, they are blazing. Wouldn't be surprised at all to see them win the tournament. Why are they better than us, is it all the NIL money they spend?
Look at the roster. Six guys from six different countries, including China, Greece, England, Georgia, Australia and Estonia. Why are we not looking around the world, why is it only about the portal? I think there's talent out there, and we can get more creative about finding it… without having to harpoon any whales.

Don't know how accurate this is, but this gives you an idea of where we stand on NIL compared to other Power 5s
https://nil-ncaa.com/power5/

Johnfox said:

---

Helps a LOT to have maxime raynaud as your center. If sissoko was on that team, they have the same record as Cal. Also this is blakes' last year so it also helps bringing in a 5th year guy for one year

---

Raynaud is an elite college center, but again Sissoko is the last of our problems. He's one of our best players and one of the top centers in the ACC.

What we need is some athletes that can shoot and defend, for example Omot

USF wouldn't survive an ACC schedule. They lost by 15 to Clemson and "played WSU tough" (WSU is below us in KenPom). They'd be bottom third in the conference (not cellar but bottom third) if they played an ACC schedule.

Obviously we can do things better, but if you're in a power conference you need to attract top talent because you can't go the mid major route of winning a weak conference and getting an auto-bid; you need to simply win a huge volume of games vs very deep opponents for 4+ months. It costs money. The minute the portal opens after we lose our lsat game (reality is it's already begun), Anrej and JW are going to be fielding offers to poach them. Several other players too.

And you say it can't happen- we have multiple billionaires who sit at Haas and take in the games. The average networth of many of the floor seat donors is... large to say the least. The excuses have been removed- tax deductibility, title IX questions, etc (written about by Sebastabear here, I won't leak premium content). As SB says, "We've now given [the donors] a chance to do so. We'll see if they take it."

This idea that we can moneyball our way to the tournament is foolish, IMO. Your post insinuates that there's some gold mine of talent in foreign countries that we're refusing to look at. I am here to plainly tell you that of course the staff is looking at them. Madsen took an Asia trip and inquired about acquiring a Chinese player, e.g. Every solid program in NCAA has deep scouting abroad. We aren't moneyballing this. If we want a top 1/3 roster we need donors to sign checks, good coaching, and strong rapport/continuity among a core that plays together multiple years.

eastcoastcal said:

---

USF wouldn't survive an ACC schedule. They lost by 15 to Clemson and "played WSU tough" (WSU is below us in KenPom). They'd be bottom third in the conference (not cellar but bottom third) if they played an ACC schedule.

Obviously we can do things better, but if you're in a power conference you need to attract top talent because you can't go the mid major route of winning a weak conference and getting an auto-bid; you need to simply win a huge volume of games vs very deep opponents for 4+ months. It costs money. The minute the portal opens after we lose our lsat game (reality is it's already begun), Anrej and JW are going to be fielding offers to poach them. Several other players too.

And you say it can't happen- we have multiple billionaires who sit at Haas and take in the games. The average networth of many of the floor seat donors is... large to say the least. The excuses have been removed- tax deductibility, title IX questions, etc (written about by Sebastabear here, I won't leak premium content). As SB says, "We've now given [the donors] a chance to do so. We'll see if they take it."

This idea that we can moneyball our way to the tournament is foolish, IMO. Your post insinuates that there's some gold mine of talent in foreign countries that we're refusing to look at. I am here to plainly tell you that of course the staff is looking at them. Madsen took an Asia trip and inquired about acquiring a Chinese player, e.g. Every solid program in NCAA has deep scouting abroad. We aren't moneyballing this. If we want a top 1/3 roster we need donors to sign checks, good coaching, and strong rapport/continuity among a core that plays together multiple years.

---

Some good points. But I do think there is some moneyball component to this that should not be overlooked. Every program needs to find the right fit. You need to spend to be sure, but as we saw in football with FSU you can look good on paper and have it blow up. Conversely ASU and Indiana went to the CFP after both had miserable 2023 seasons. Neither were super high spenders in the portal. But both spent wisely.

This ACC hoops season has seen Louisville rise from the dead to be a very strong team. They completely turned over the roster and coaching staff. They won more conference games this season than total games in the previous 2 seasons combined. Pat Kelsey brought in 13 new players. Several including Terrance Edwards Jr came from mid major programs. Including a few from his former school (Charleston). They are also senior laden.

IMO Madsen may need to evaluate how he fills out his roster. I may be more inclined to try and find a strong 8 and fill out the rest with "moneyball" types and role playing seniors that may wish for a Cal certificate or grad degree. It is really hard to keep everyone happy but you absolutely have to have a strong 8 if you hope to play competitively in a power conference.

This team is really poor shooting the ball. But equally as poor defending. I think a greater emphasis has to be placed on defense. Defense travels generally. Shots do not always fall but good defense allows you to have a chance. I do not expect lockdown defense but you cannot be ranked in the 300's and expect to win more than you lose.

I think the staff may need some change. And I think a GM may be needed as well. Matt Scherbenske on staff may be a good fit there. There will be a lot of coaching turnover once the season is over. A coach that may be able to bring a player with him is worth looking at.

The House settlement should provide $3M for NIL. The outside collective has some money but the lack of tax deductability may prove to be a big hurdle in securing outside collective funds. The House settlement places a cap on University revenue payments. If you want to play with the big dogs the outside collective will need to be a lot more robust than it appears to be.

Madsen will need to try and keep the top guys. Wilkinson and Stojakovic likely will cost. Can Cal match? How much is left to compensate the balance of the roster. I expect a player or two Madsen likely would like to keep to enter the portal. 2 players worth keeping an eye on IMO are Ola-Joseph and Omot.

The program is once again at a crossroads. There is very little building of programs these days. It is win now. The donor base will need to be activated if the program is to truly ascend. But in the end Cal's athletic fortunes and staying in the P4 is much tied to football. I think getting Cal to the upper tier of the ACC in hoops is going to be a major challenge.