HoopDreams said:

---

WK was probably the worst cal coach ever, and that is safe moving forward too

Fox was better defensively, but not only was his offense poor, but he wouldn't survive in the NIL era

I like Madsen as our coach, and that's from someone who wanted Abdur Rahim.

I'm however not sold on his assistants, and we need more NIL

---

Ironically, fox is in charge of NIL at Georgetown.

oski003 said:

---

HoopDreams said:

---

WK was probably the worst cal coach ever, and that is safe moving forward too

Fox was better defensively, but not only was his offense poor, but he wouldn't survive in the NIL era

I like Madsen as our coach, and that's from someone who wanted Abdur Rahim.

I'm however not sold on his assistants, and we need more NIL

---

Ironically, fox is in charge of NIL at Georgetown.

---

Fox is now asst coach at UK

most teams has a tough guy enforcer. that's probably Fox's role (and maybe defense)

Andrej seemed distant and not happy in post game. I hope it doesn't mean anything, just fatigue.

"One ball and two baskets with my boys."

Would be Christian Tucker starting and dj campbell also running the point

Wyking and Fox share a school record that hopefully will never be broken. At least they will always have that.

CalLifer said:

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HoopDreams said:

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WK was probably the worst cal coach ever, and that is safe moving forward too

Fox was better defensively, but not only was his offense poor, but he wouldn't survive in the NIL era

I like Madsen as our coach, and that's from someone who wanted Abdur Rahim.

I'm however not sold on his assistants, and we need more NIL

---

I know everyone likes to bash on Wyking Jones, and picking the worse of Jones and Fox is a fool's battle, but I still think saying that Fox was a better "coach" completely disregards the full responsibility of the role, which includes recruiting, among other things. Like as bad as Wyking Jones was, he *never* had a 3-29 season. That Fox was allowed to get as many years as he did where we could build up to that 3-29 season is a travesty of the highest order, but Wyking recruited well enough that he never touched that incredibly low bar. I just struggle to say any coach (when considering the full scope of what the job entails) is worse than one that "achieved" a 3-29 record.

Yes, they are 1A and 1B on the list of worst cal coaches, but Wyking never came close to the level of futility of Fox's last season.

---

Agreed that it takes something very, very special to achieve a 3 win season. Fox definitely sucked, but at least his teams could inbound the ball, knew how to break a press, no assistant coaches got into fights (remember Theo?) and players weren't kicked out over night with their belongings placed in trash bags (or so the rumor goes if I remember correctly). So yeah, both sucked, but despite Fox's last year, I still think there's a decent delta between the two. (And apologies for rehashing this argument).

Of course, if I was putting together the Mount Rushmore of Terrible Cal Head Coaches, Fox actually might be the fourth one selected behind Wyking, Sonny, and Holmoe! LOL

Go out and get a shooting threat and good center.

Maybe Myles Che, Elijah Mahi and Austin Rapp

barsad said:

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Strykur said:

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Not that it matters but we haven't had a 14-win season in 5 years until today, and if we win tomorrow that would be our best result since Cuonzo (2016-2017)

---

It really does matter…. a lot.
What we saw today is a window into the kind of team Cal can be next year. If we have a big man as good (or hopefully slightly better on offense) as Mady, Andrej ups his game and keeps dropping 20-30 points, and Wilkinson does his thing, we can get to 18-20 wins next year, March Madness in 2027.
Win 14 is psychologically important for the players, coaches and fans. Any Cal fan who tries to dump on the team for ONLY 14 and play Debbie Downer at the end of this season should just turn in his diploma and go root for Duke.

---

Agree.

1. Getting a conference tournament win and increasing our overall win total counts for something.
2. We can actually retain some of our better players this time, so we don't have to begin again from square one.

Now we need to make further roster improvements -- one way or another -- and the staff needs to figure a few things out (which I think they will do).

GO BEARS!!!

It should also be noted that Wyking squandered the Philippine talent pipeline which the con so successfully built.

It was idiotic. Seemed like he just had the need to sneak a Trump reference in for some reason. Felt forced and awkward and was far from accurate, as you call out. Never liked Boeheim.

Exactly. We don't need this crap during a basketball broadcast. I hope the ESPN folks had a word with him about it.

HKBear97! said:

---

CalLifer said:

---

HoopDreams said:

---

WK was probably the worst cal coach ever, and that is safe moving forward too

Fox was better defensively, but not only was his offense poor, but he wouldn't survive in the NIL era

I like Madsen as our coach, and that's from someone who wanted Abdur Rahim.

I'm however not sold on his assistants, and we need more NIL

---

I know everyone likes to bash on Wyking Jones, and picking the worse of Jones and Fox is a fool's battle, but I still think saying that Fox was a better "coach" completely disregards the full responsibility of the role, which includes recruiting, among other things. Like as bad as Wyking Jones was, he *never* had a 3-29 season. That Fox was allowed to get as many years as he did where we could build up to that 3-29 season is a travesty of the highest order, but Wyking recruited well enough that he never touched that incredibly low bar. I just struggle to say any coach (when considering the full scope of what the job entails) is worse than one that "achieved" a 3-29 record.

Yes, they are 1A and 1B on the list of worst cal coaches, but Wyking never came close to the level of futility of Fox's last season.

---

Agreed that it takes something very, very special to achieve a 3 win season. Fox definitely sucked, but at least his teams could inbound the ball, knew how to break a press, no assistant coaches got into fights (remember Theo?) and players weren't kicked out over night with their belongings placed in trash bags (or so the rumor goes if I remember correctly). So yeah, both sucked, but despite Fox's last year, I still think there's a decent delta between the two. (And apologies for rehashing this argument).

Of course, if I was putting together the Mount Rushmore of Terrible Cal Head Coaches, Fox actually might be the fourth one selected behind Wyking, Sonny, and Holmoe! LOL

---

Let's also not forget that Fox turned down donor $. Seriously, might be the most egregious act he committed.

oskidunker said:

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Any opinions on this. I don't get it.

Jim Boeheim made a bizarre, wrong Donald Trump reference during Cal win
11:56 am UTC Mar. 12, 2025
I'm not really sure what former Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim was going for here, but it was weird.
The notoriously cranky Boeheim was calling the Cal win over Virginia Tech in the ACC tournament on Tuesday night that went to two overtimes, and he dropped this nugget: "It's 8 o'clock in Iceland. Our president says that we're going to own that country, anyway. So, we can make that exception."
First off: What? What does that have to do with what's going on in this college basketball game?
Second off: I think he's referring to Greenland, which makes slightly more sense if you think that's what he was trying to say.
But still ... weird.

---

Whatever. Telecasts are often boring as hell and the game was a real slog to watch, I'm glad someone brought some weirdness to shake it up.

I don't necessarily mind someone making a joke about Trump, but it should probably make sense if you're going to do it.

barsad said:

---

Strykur said:

---

Not that it matters but we haven't had a 14-win season in 5 years until today, and if we win tomorrow that would be our best result since Cuonzo (2016-2017)

---

It really does matter…. a lot.
What we saw today is a window into the kind of team Cal can be next year. If we have a big man as good (or hopefully slightly better on offense) as Mady, Andrej ups his game and keeps dropping 20-30 points, and Wilkinson does his thing, we can get to 18-20 wins next year, March Madness in 2027.
Win 14 is psychologically important for the players, coaches and fans. Any Cal fan who tries to dump on the team for ONLY 14 and play Debbie Downer at the end of this season should just turn in his diploma and go root for Duke.

---

When the season is over I hope we get clarity one Andrej's injury. He looked healthy yesterday for the first time in a long time and I love that he (and the team) have found his "spot" on the left wing. I would love to see a shot tracking for him on that shot.

6956bear said:

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HKBear97! said:

---

CalLifer said:

---

HoopDreams said:

---

WK was probably the worst cal coach ever, and that is safe moving forward too

Fox was better defensively, but not only was his offense poor, but he wouldn't survive in the NIL era

I like Madsen as our coach, and that's from someone who wanted Abdur Rahim.

I'm however not sold on his assistants, and we need more NIL

---

I know everyone likes to bash on Wyking Jones, and picking the worse of Jones and Fox is a fool's battle, but I still think saying that Fox was a better "coach" completely disregards the full responsibility of the role, which includes recruiting, among other things. Like as bad as Wyking Jones was, he *never* had a 3-29 season. That Fox was allowed to get as many years as he did where we could build up to that 3-29 season is a travesty of the highest order, but Wyking recruited well enough that he never touched that incredibly low bar. I just struggle to say any coach (when considering the full scope of what the job entails) is worse than one that "achieved" a 3-29 record.

Yes, they are 1A and 1B on the list of worst cal coaches, but Wyking never came close to the level of futility of Fox's last season.

---

Agreed that it takes something very, very special to achieve a 3 win season. Fox definitely sucked, but at least his teams could inbound the ball, knew how to break a press, no assistant coaches got into fights (remember Theo?) and players weren't kicked out over night with their belongings placed in trash bags (or so the rumor goes if I remember correctly). So yeah, both sucked, but despite Fox's last year, I still think there's a decent delta between the two. (And apologies for rehashing this argument).

Of course, if I was putting together the Mount Rushmore of Terrible Cal Head Coaches, Fox actually might be the fourth one selected behind Wyking, Sonny, and Holmoe! LOL

---

We can believe that Fox was a better technical coach. But when he won but 3 games it erased any doubt in my mind about the worst HC in Cal history. I am interested in and believe in results. Sure Wyking was terrible. But 3 wins? Fox takes the cake IMO as worst ever.

Madsen needs to improve his coaching IMO. But he cannot be used in the same sentence with the previous 2 disasters. I am critical of how the team defends and how much they rely on individual play on offense but I think his other qualities gives him a chance to turn the corner with this program.

This offseason is a critical one. I think the portal will be very important. And I would like to see some turnover on the staff and a GM (player personnel director) could be helpful.

---

I buy what Rod said 6 weeks ago. The Madsen era is going to be one which is going to drive long time bears fans crazy but which has high risk/rewards - adopt a system that prepares kids for the jump to the NBA by emphasizing the GAME that they will see there (and not the game that wins coaches NCAA titles).

On that point consider Syracuse under Jimmy B. Their match up zone with a bunch of lanky 6.6 guys was really effective. It won championships and 4 seeds for the dance. But learning that system really DIDN"T prepare kids to get to the NBA where you can't play zone and so much of the game remains 1 on 1.

Recruits are NOT stupid. They want to go play college ball at a palce that maximizes their earnings - just like 99% of Cal students today are picking Cal because it is seen as a place that propels them to a successful adult life. I think you can absolutely argue that both Wilkerson and Andej have gotten a chance this year to dramatically increase the sniffs they will see when the time comes for the NBA.

But that is going to mean Madsen continuing to up the level of recruiting and portal attraction, even in light of meager NIL funds....forgo a bigger paycheck today ffor NBA prep.

socaltownie said:

---

6956bear said:

---

HKBear97! said:

---

CalLifer said:

---

HoopDreams said:

---

WK was probably the worst cal coach ever, and that is safe moving forward too

Fox was better defensively, but not only was his offense poor, but he wouldn't survive in the NIL era

I like Madsen as our coach, and that's from someone who wanted Abdur Rahim.

I'm however not sold on his assistants, and we need more NIL

---

I know everyone likes to bash on Wyking Jones, and picking the worse of Jones and Fox is a fool's battle, but I still think saying that Fox was a better "coach" completely disregards the full responsibility of the role, which includes recruiting, among other things. Like as bad as Wyking Jones was, he *never* had a 3-29 season. That Fox was allowed to get as many years as he did where we could build up to that 3-29 season is a travesty of the highest order, but Wyking recruited well enough that he never touched that incredibly low bar. I just struggle to say any coach (when considering the full scope of what the job entails) is worse than one that "achieved" a 3-29 record.

Yes, they are 1A and 1B on the list of worst cal coaches, but Wyking never came close to the level of futility of Fox's last season.

---

Agreed that it takes something very, very special to achieve a 3 win season. Fox definitely sucked, but at least his teams could inbound the ball, knew how to break a press, no assistant coaches got into fights (remember Theo?) and players weren't kicked out over night with their belongings placed in trash bags (or so the rumor goes if I remember correctly). So yeah, both sucked, but despite Fox's last year, I still think there's a decent delta between the two. (And apologies for rehashing this argument).

Of course, if I was putting together the Mount Rushmore of Terrible Cal Head Coaches, Fox actually might be the fourth one selected behind Wyking, Sonny, and Holmoe! LOL

---

We can believe that Fox was a better technical coach. But when he won but 3 games it erased any doubt in my mind about the worst HC in Cal history. I am interested in and believe in results. Sure Wyking was terrible. But 3 wins? Fox takes the cake IMO as worst ever.

Madsen needs to improve his coaching IMO. But he cannot be used in the same sentence with the previous 2 disasters. I am critical of how the team defends and how much they rely on individual play on offense but I think his other qualities gives him a chance to turn the corner with this program.

This offseason is a critical one. I think the portal will be very important. And I would like to see some turnover on the staff and a GM (player personnel director) could be helpful.

---

I buy what Rod said 6 weeks ago. The Madsen era is going to be one which is going to drive long time bears fans crazy but which has high risk/rewards - adopt a system that prepares kids for the jump to the NBA by emphasizing the GAME that they will see there (and not the game that wins coaches NCAA titles).

On that point consider Syracuse under Jimmy B. Their match up zone with a bunch of lanky 6.6 guys was really effective. It won championships and 4 seeds for the dance. But learning that system really DIDN"T prepare kids to get to the NBA where you can't play zone and so much of the game remains 1 on 1.

Recruits are NOT stupid. They want to go play college ball at a palce that maximizes their earnings - just like 99% of Cal students today are picking Cal because it is seen as a place that propels them to a successful adult life. I think you can absolutely argue that both Wilkerson and Andej have gotten a chance this year to dramatically increase the sniffs they will see when the time comes for the NBA.

But that is going to mean Madsen continuing to up the level of recruiting and portal attraction, even in light of meager NIL funds....forgo a bigger paycheck today ffor NBA prep.

---

I can live with the style of play, but coaching is also skill development. Our defensive attention to detail and shot selection would get most NBA players benched.

concernedparent said:

---

socaltownie said:

---

6956bear said:

---

HKBear97! said:

---

CalLifer said:

---

HoopDreams said:

---

WK was probably the worst cal coach ever, and that is safe moving forward too

Fox was better defensively, but not only was his offense poor, but he wouldn't survive in the NIL era

I like Madsen as our coach, and that's from someone who wanted Abdur Rahim.

I'm however not sold on his assistants, and we need more NIL

---

I know everyone likes to bash on Wyking Jones, and picking the worse of Jones and Fox is a fool's battle, but I still think saying that Fox was a better "coach" completely disregards the full responsibility of the role, which includes recruiting, among other things. Like as bad as Wyking Jones was, he *never* had a 3-29 season. That Fox was allowed to get as many years as he did where we could build up to that 3-29 season is a travesty of the highest order, but Wyking recruited well enough that he never touched that incredibly low bar. I just struggle to say any coach (when considering the full scope of what the job entails) is worse than one that "achieved" a 3-29 record.

Yes, they are 1A and 1B on the list of worst cal coaches, but Wyking never came close to the level of futility of Fox's last season.

---

Agreed that it takes something very, very special to achieve a 3 win season. Fox definitely sucked, but at least his teams could inbound the ball, knew how to break a press, no assistant coaches got into fights (remember Theo?) and players weren't kicked out over night with their belongings placed in trash bags (or so the rumor goes if I remember correctly). So yeah, both sucked, but despite Fox's last year, I still think there's a decent delta between the two. (And apologies for rehashing this argument).

Of course, if I was putting together the Mount Rushmore of Terrible Cal Head Coaches, Fox actually might be the fourth one selected behind Wyking, Sonny, and Holmoe! LOL

---

We can believe that Fox was a better technical coach. But when he won but 3 games it erased any doubt in my mind about the worst HC in Cal history. I am interested in and believe in results. Sure Wyking was terrible. But 3 wins? Fox takes the cake IMO as worst ever.

Madsen needs to improve his coaching IMO. But he cannot be used in the same sentence with the previous 2 disasters. I am critical of how the team defends and how much they rely on individual play on offense but I think his other qualities gives him a chance to turn the corner with this program.

This offseason is a critical one. I think the portal will be very important. And I would like to see some turnover on the staff and a GM (player personnel director) could be helpful.

---

I buy what Rod said 6 weeks ago. The Madsen era is going to be one which is going to drive long time bears fans crazy but which has high risk/rewards - adopt a system that prepares kids for the jump to the NBA by emphasizing the GAME that they will see there (and not the game that wins coaches NCAA titles).

On that point consider Syracuse under Jimmy B. Their match up zone with a bunch of lanky 6.6 guys was really effective. It won championships and 4 seeds for the dance. But learning that system really DIDN"T prepare kids to get to the NBA where you can't play zone and so much of the game remains 1 on 1.

Recruits are NOT stupid. They want to go play college ball at a palce that maximizes their earnings - just like 99% of Cal students today are picking Cal because it is seen as a place that propels them to a successful adult life. I think you can absolutely argue that both Wilkerson and Andej have gotten a chance this year to dramatically increase the sniffs they will see when the time comes for the NBA.

But that is going to mean Madsen continuing to up the level of recruiting and portal attraction, even in light of meager NIL funds....forgo a bigger paycheck today ffor NBA prep.

---

I can live with the style of play, but coaching is also skill development. Our defensive attention to detail and shot selection would get most NBA players benched.

---

I would have to really break things down on that point.

I have seen us add a new wrinkle to our high ball screen defense - Monty and Dort as both hedging a LOT more aggressively than in the past.

Any updates on Blacksher and Wilkinson yet?

kc1121 said:

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Any updates on Blacksher and Wilkimson yet?

---

We will find out in 20 minutes. My guess is Pavolvic will begetting a few minutes if neither can play. .Spread just went up to 7.5. Not a good sign. One likely not playing.

out

socaltownie said:

---

6956bear said:

---

HKBear97! said:

---

CalLifer said:

---

HoopDreams said:

---

WK was probably the worst cal coach ever, and that is safe moving forward too

Fox was better defensively, but not only was his offense poor, but he wouldn't survive in the NIL era

I like Madsen as our coach, and that's from someone who wanted Abdur Rahim.

I'm however not sold on his assistants, and we need more NIL

---

I know everyone likes to bash on Wyking Jones, and picking the worse of Jones and Fox is a fool's battle, but I still think saying that Fox was a better "coach" completely disregards the full responsibility of the role, which includes recruiting, among other things. Like as bad as Wyking Jones was, he *never* had a 3-29 season. That Fox was allowed to get as many years as he did where we could build up to that 3-29 season is a travesty of the highest order, but Wyking recruited well enough that he never touched that incredibly low bar. I just struggle to say any coach (when considering the full scope of what the job entails) is worse than one that "achieved" a 3-29 record.

Yes, they are 1A and 1B on the list of worst cal coaches, but Wyking never came close to the level of futility of Fox's last season.

---

Agreed that it takes something very, very special to achieve a 3 win season. Fox definitely sucked, but at least his teams could inbound the ball, knew how to break a press, no assistant coaches got into fights (remember Theo?) and players weren't kicked out over night with their belongings placed in trash bags (or so the rumor goes if I remember correctly). So yeah, both sucked, but despite Fox's last year, I still think there's a decent delta between the two. (And apologies for rehashing this argument).

Of course, if I was putting together the Mount Rushmore of Terrible Cal Head Coaches, Fox actually might be the fourth one selected behind Wyking, Sonny, and Holmoe! LOL

---

We can believe that Fox was a better technical coach. But when he won but 3 games it erased any doubt in my mind about the worst HC in Cal history. I am interested in and believe in results. Sure Wyking was terrible. But 3 wins? Fox takes the cake IMO as worst ever.

Madsen needs to improve his coaching IMO. But he cannot be used in the same sentence with the previous 2 disasters. I am critical of how the team defends and how much they rely on individual play on offense but I think his other qualities gives him a chance to turn the corner with this program.

This offseason is a critical one. I think the portal will be very important. And I would like to see some turnover on the staff and a GM (player personnel director) could be helpful.

---

I buy what Rod said 6 weeks ago. The Madsen era is going to be one which is going to drive long time bears fans crazy but which has high risk/rewards - adopt a system that prepares kids for the jump to the NBA by emphasizing the GAME that they will see there (and not the game that wins coaches NCAA titles).

On that point consider Syracuse under Jimmy B. Their match up zone with a bunch of lanky 6.6 guys was really effective. It won championships and 4 seeds for the dance. But learning that system really DIDN"T prepare kids to get to the NBA where you can't play zone and so much of the game remains 1 on 1.

Recruits are NOT stupid. They want to go play college ball at a palce that maximizes their earnings - just like 99% of Cal students today are picking Cal because it is seen as a place that propels them to a successful adult life. I think you can absolutely argue that both Wilkerson and Andej have gotten a chance this year to dramatically increase the sniffs they will see when the time comes for the NBA.

But that is going to mean Madsen continuing to up the level of recruiting and portal attraction, even in light of meager NIL funds....forgo a bigger paycheck today ffor NBA prep.

---

I am not against playing an NBA type style. But you need more athletes to do it. Wilkinson due to his height is likely not an NBA dude. So he will likely be seeking a very good NIL package. Here or somewhere else. Stojakovic has some real game. But does he want to play at Cal and sacrifice playing in the NCAA tournament.

Cal needs to try and keep both here and supplement via the portal. I think keeping both will be tough. And both will be getting lots of calls from programs with $$$.

oskidunker said:

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kc1121 said:

---

Any updates on Blacksher and Wilkimson yet?

---

We will find out in 20 minutes. My guess is Pavolvic will be getting a few minutes if neither can play. .Spread just went up to 7.5. Not a good sign. One likely not playing.

---

Good call on Vlad the Impaler. I had almost forgotten about him, but there he was, on the court for a few minutes.

Big C said:

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oskidunker said:

---

kc1121 said:

---

Any updates on Blacksher and Wilkimson yet?

---

We will find out in 20 minutes. My guess is Pavolvic will be getting a few minutes if neither can play. .Spread just went up to 7.5. Not a good sign. One likely not playing.

---

Good call on Vlad the Impaler. I had almost forgotten about him, but there he was, on the court for a few minutes.

---

He is a scholarship player. Since he has been injured not sure how Madsen rates him but my guess is he leaves