Cry, Laugh, or Cheer - We haven't won 16 games since 2016-2017. Can we get to 23 which is the best Zo did ;-)
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Cry Laught or Cheer - We haven't won 16 games since 2016-2017
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Last: 15 hrs ago by calumnus
socaltownie said:
Cry, Laugh, or Cheer - We haven't won 16 games since 2016-2017. Can we get to 23 which is the best Zo did ;-)
Other than Clemson, we should be favored in the rest of our remaining games, SMU at home is a tossup. If we win every game we're favored, we go 7-2 the rest of the way, 23-8/11-7 in the ACC, we're in.
I don't think we will be favored at Syracuse or at Wake Forest.
socaltownie said:
Cry, Laugh, or Cheer - We haven't won 16 games since 2016-2017. Can we get to 23 which is the best Zo did ;-)
I cheer. Mark Madsen took over a program that had gone 3-29. We were one of the worst power conference teams in the country. In year 3, Madsen has turned around the program so dramatically that it will post the best record since 2016-2017, and it is has a legitimate chance at making the NCAA tournament. There were a lot of questions at the time of Madsen's hiring about the role of former coach Mike Montgomery in the decision-making process. Well, it turned out Madsen was the right hire. He is doing a great job, and we are fortunate to have him after many years wandering in the wilderness!
mdbear said:socaltownie said:
Cry, Laugh, or Cheer - We haven't won 16 games since 2016-2017. Can we get to 23 which is the best Zo did ;-)
I cheer. Mark Madsen took over a program that had gone 3-29. We were one of the worst power conference teams in the country. In year 3, Madsen has turned around the program so dramatically that it will post the best record since 2016-2017, and it is has a legitimate chance at making the NCAA tournament. There were a lot of questions at the time of Madsen's hiring about the role of former coach Mike Montgomery in the decision-making process. Well, it turned out Madsen was the right hire. He is doing a great job, and we are fortunate to have him after many years wandering in the wilderness!
I'm probably in the minority here, but I'm still not sold on Madsen. Yes, he took over a terrible program, but unlike football, basketball rosters can be remade very quickly. I did not find the first two years very encouraging - rosters were unbalanced, the offensive and defensive sets were inconsistent at best, and based on comments here it appears there were some team cohesion issues as well.
This year has been a very pleasant surprise - much better team composition (although the front court is a work in progress), offensive and defensive sets are much more apparent (albeit there are some stretches when they disappear), and the team is clearly playing together and pulling for one another. Very fun to watch! If this were year two, I would be on the bandwagon. As it is, I'm hoping this season is not an anomaly and the staff can build upon this for next season. Unfortunately, with the portal, rosters can change in a heartbeat. If they show additional progress next year, I'll definitely be sold on the staff. Until then, personally still withholding judgement.
HaasCampOut said:
I don't think we will be favored at Syracuse or at Wake Forest.
As of today, we're #51 NET, vs #72 and 73 for Cuse and WF, so right now I would guess we would be slight road favorites.
Before WF plays us in March, they have Lville, Clemson, VT, UVA, Cuse, likely a losing record (currently 2-7/11-11).
Syracuse (4-5/13-9) has UNC, UVA before we travel there, they will likely be 4-7/13-11. If they manage to upset one of these two teams then they might indeed be favored to beat us on Feb. 11th.
HKBear97! said:mdbear said:socaltownie said:
Cry, Laugh, or Cheer - We haven't won 16 games since 2016-2017. Can we get to 23 which is the best Zo did ;-)
I cheer. Mark Madsen took over a program that had gone 3-29. We were one of the worst power conference teams in the country. In year 3, Madsen has turned around the program so dramatically that it will post the best record since 2016-2017, and it is has a legitimate chance at making the NCAA tournament. There were a lot of questions at the time of Madsen's hiring about the role of former coach Mike Montgomery in the decision-making process. Well, it turned out Madsen was the right hire. He is doing a great job, and we are fortunate to have him after many years wandering in the wilderness!
I'm probably in the minority here, but I'm still not sold on Madsen. Yes, he took over a terrible program, but unlike football, basketball rosters can be remade very quickly. I did not find the first two years very encouraging - rosters were unbalanced, the offensive and defensive sets were inconsistent at best, and based on comments here it appears there were some team cohesion issues as well.
This year has been a very pleasant surprise - much better team composition (although the front court is a work in progress), offensive and defensive sets are much more apparent (albeit there are some stretches when they disappear), and the team is clearly playing together and pulling for one another. Very fun to watch! If this were year two, I would be on the bandwagon. As it is, I'm hoping this season is not an anomaly and the staff can build upon this for next season. Unfortunately, with the portal, rosters can change in a heartbeat. If they show additional progress next year, I'll definitely be sold on the staff. Until then, personally still withholding judgement.
I think MM gets a huge pass on year 1 since the hire was late and the portal near closed. Year 2 was a lot of learning and I think the biggest one is that in the NIL era the attitude of your star is near critical _AND_ there is a lot to be said for brining in guys that have played 3-4 years.
I remain convinced that there WAS a solid long term play for the kicker. I am deeply concerned that the traditional supporters of BB are AWOL _AND_ some that might give have drunken the kool-aide (and always happy to debate that) being "all in" really does mean being ":all in".
But h20 under the strawberry creek bridge. He is showing progress, will be extended and we HAVE to find a way ourselves to give some $$$ for NIL. REmembver - I am and I live 500 miles away and rarely can get there for a game.
mdbear said:socaltownie said:
Cry, Laugh, or Cheer - We haven't won 16 games since 2016-2017. Can we get to 23 which is the best Zo did ;-)
I cheer. Mark Madsen took over a program that had gone 3-29. We were one of the worst power conference teams in the country. In year 3, Madsen has turned around the program so dramatically that it will post the best record since 2016-2017, and it is has a legitimate chance at making the NCAA tournament. There were a lot of questions at the time of Madsen's hiring about the role of former coach Mike Montgomery in the decision-making process. Well, it turned out Madsen was the right hire. He is doing a great job, and we are fortunate to have him after many years wandering in the wilderness!
3-29 was the worse record in the country much less the Power 4, worst in Cal history. We were also the lowest scoring team in the entire country.
I still wish we had hired Dennis Gates or Jason Kidd when we had the chance, and still think Kyle Smith would have been better, but I am happy enough with Madsen considering it was Knowlton doing the hiring. It could have been another disaster like Mark Fox. Madsen was not a home run, but he is solid, he has great energy and for a Stanford guy he has embraced Cal and has beat Stanford, more than Monty did even.
As far as Madsen long term, I want to see a strong finish this year and further improvement next year in year 4. NIT this year would be a little disappointing at this point but clear improvement and fine if we are stronger next year and a clear top ACC team headed to the Tournament next year. Upward trajectory that would warrant a contract extension.
It appears to me that in general, MM knows the game. Is he the greatest X and O's guy? I'm sure not even close. But I've been watching college basketball for 60 years now and it's quite obvious that coaches don't "control" the game the way they did - even ten years ago. It's so much more about talent in this day and age, which means the real question is how good will MM be able to attract top talent in the portal, and bring in a great HS recruit from time to time.
Just look at what next season is. Petraitis has indicated he will be back. Will Pippen and Ames leave? Will Dort get an extra year of eligiblity? And will ever get to see Yeaney in a uniform, and if we do how good will he really be? And then there's Ruff, what happens with him? Right there, the status of those six guys are key to MM having success next year. And the portal seems to be a crapshoot. It feels impossible to predict if next year at this time we will praising Madsen or jumping on him. I sure can't figure it out anymore.
Just look at what next season is. Petraitis has indicated he will be back. Will Pippen and Ames leave? Will Dort get an extra year of eligiblity? And will ever get to see Yeaney in a uniform, and if we do how good will he really be? And then there's Ruff, what happens with him? Right there, the status of those six guys are key to MM having success next year. And the portal seems to be a crapshoot. It feels impossible to predict if next year at this time we will praising Madsen or jumping on him. I sure can't figure it out anymore.
HKBear97! said:
I'm probably in the minority here, but I'm still not sold on Madsen. Yes, he took over a terrible program, but unlike football, basketball rosters can be remade very quickly. I did not find the first two years very encouraging - rosters were unbalanced, the offensive and defensive sets were inconsistent at best, and based on comments here it appears there were some team cohesion issues as well.
This year has been a very pleasant surprise - much better team composition (although the front court is a work in progress), offensive and defensive sets are much more apparent (albeit there are some stretches when they disappear), and the team is clearly playing together and pulling for one another. Very fun to watch! If this were year two, I would be on the bandwagon. As it is, I'm hoping this season is not an anomaly and the staff can build upon this for next season. Unfortunately, with the portal, rosters can change in a heartbeat. If they show additional progress next year, I'll definitely be sold on the staff. Until then, personally still withholding judgement.
I can't argue with anything after your first sentence. Not sure we need to rush to judgement on Madsen until at least the end of the season. But a couple thoughts...
Does he deserve a lengthy and costly extension? I don't think so. (BTW - Knowlton did so with Fox, when many of us were begging him to replace FOX at season's end - Madsen doesn't demonstrate any of the issues FOX had in year 2 and the again in year 3).
Does he deserve to be replaced after this season? I don't think so. I do think he's a good fit for the current Cal Program. I guess if JKidd retires from the NBA and begs for the Cal job, we should consider it.
IF another program comes offering him a truck full of cash (a la Mizzou and Cuonzo), do we get in a bidding war? hmmmm - depends on the cost, I guess.
I think the hard part for judgement comes after next season, if he has another good year and continues to improve. Then, what does Cal do? IF the team regresses back next season - does that prove this season was a fluke?
Hopefully we have a GM in place next season to sort through these things.
BeachedBear said:HKBear97! said:
I'm probably in the minority here, but I'm still not sold on Madsen. Yes, he took over a terrible program, but unlike football, basketball rosters can be remade very quickly. I did not find the first two years very encouraging - rosters were unbalanced, the offensive and defensive sets were inconsistent at best, and based on comments here it appears there were some team cohesion issues as well.
This year has been a very pleasant surprise - much better team composition (although the front court is a work in progress), offensive and defensive sets are much more apparent (albeit there are some stretches when they disappear), and the team is clearly playing together and pulling for one another. Very fun to watch! If this were year two, I would be on the bandwagon. As it is, I'm hoping this season is not an anomaly and the staff can build upon this for next season. Unfortunately, with the portal, rosters can change in a heartbeat. If they show additional progress next year, I'll definitely be sold on the staff. Until then, personally still withholding judgement.
I can't argue with anything after your first sentence. Not sure we need to rush to judgement on Madsen until at least the end of the season. But a couple thoughts...
Does he deserve a lengthy and costly extension? I don't think so. (BTW - Knowlton did so with Fox, when many of us were begging him to replace FOX at season's end - Madsen doesn't demonstrate any of the issues FOX had in year 2 and the again in year 3).
Does he deserve to be replaced after this season? I don't think so. I do think he's a good fit for the current Cal Program. I guess if JKidd retires from the NBA and begs for the Cal job, we should consider it.
IF another program comes offering him a truck full of cash (a la Mizzou and Cuonzo), do we get in a bidding war? hmmmm - depends on the cost, I guess.
I think the hard part for judgement comes after next season, if he has another good year and continues to improve. Then, what does Cal do? IF the team regresses back next season - does that prove this season was a fluke?
Hopefully we have a GM in place next season to sort through these things.
On the extension front, remember he was extended by Knowlton in March 2024. He's signed up through 2030. I don't know the details, but if I had to guess based on Knowlton's contracts, it's probably fully guaranteed.
HKBear97! said:BeachedBear said:HKBear97! said:
I'm probably in the minority here, but I'm still not sold on Madsen. Yes, he took over a terrible program, but unlike football, basketball rosters can be remade very quickly. I did not find the first two years very encouraging - rosters were unbalanced, the offensive and defensive sets were inconsistent at best, and based on comments here it appears there were some team cohesion issues as well.
This year has been a very pleasant surprise - much better team composition (although the front court is a work in progress), offensive and defensive sets are much more apparent (albeit there are some stretches when they disappear), and the team is clearly playing together and pulling for one another. Very fun to watch! If this were year two, I would be on the bandwagon. As it is, I'm hoping this season is not an anomaly and the staff can build upon this for next season. Unfortunately, with the portal, rosters can change in a heartbeat. If they show additional progress next year, I'll definitely be sold on the staff. Until then, personally still withholding judgement.
I can't argue with anything after your first sentence. Not sure we need to rush to judgement on Madsen until at least the end of the season. But a couple thoughts...
Does he deserve a lengthy and costly extension? I don't think so. (BTW - Knowlton did so with Fox, when many of us were begging him to replace FOX at season's end - Madsen doesn't demonstrate any of the issues FOX had in year 2 and the again in year 3).
Does he deserve to be replaced after this season? I don't think so. I do think he's a good fit for the current Cal Program. I guess if JKidd retires from the NBA and begs for the Cal job, we should consider it.
IF another program comes offering him a truck full of cash (a la Mizzou and Cuonzo), do we get in a bidding war? hmmmm - depends on the cost, I guess.
I think the hard part for judgement comes after next season, if he has another good year and continues to improve. Then, what does Cal do? IF the team regresses back next season - does that prove this season was a fluke?
Hopefully we have a GM in place next season to sort through these things.
On the extension front, remember he was extended by Knowlton in March 2024. He's signed up through 2030. I don't know the details, but if I had to guess based on Knowlton's contracts, it's probably fully guaranteed.
Knowlton (grrrrr)
If he is signed up through 2030 we just need to hope this, and the next two (or three) years, show continued progress and we don't have another Wilcox situation.
MM's third year at Utah Valley State was his first good season (20 wins). Seems that's the same track he's at at Cal.
I'm much more worried about losing Madson than anybody specific to the portal.
He has an eye for talent, is putting guys in spots to be successful despite limited depth and guys are playing really hard.
He's got the player pedigree, success at multiple programs as a coach and great enthusiasm so I can see programs with much greater NIL resources be very interested.
He has an eye for talent, is putting guys in spots to be successful despite limited depth and guys are playing really hard.
He's got the player pedigree, success at multiple programs as a coach and great enthusiasm so I can see programs with much greater NIL resources be very interested.
northbay said:
I'm much more worried about losing Madson than anybody specific to the portal.
He has an eye for talent, is putting guys in spots to be successful despite limited depth and guys are playing really hard.
He's got the player pedigree, success at multiple programs as a coach and great enthusiasm so I can see programs with much greater NIL resources be very interested.
He didn't jump to BYU or Stanford when they had openings and were interested so I am not worried. Those were the exact two programs I thought we were at risk to when we hired him.
Would an NBA team want him? I could see it, but I also think his energy and personality is better at the college level.
In any case, IF he were to leave he/his new employer would owe us 4 years of buyout which would leave the program in a pretty good place anyway.
HKBear97! said:mdbear said:socaltownie said:
Cry, Laugh, or Cheer - We haven't won 16 games since 2016-2017. Can we get to 23 which is the best Zo did ;-)
I cheer. Mark Madsen took over a program that had gone 3-29. We were one of the worst power conference teams in the country. In year 3, Madsen has turned around the program so dramatically that it will post the best record since 2016-2017, and it is has a legitimate chance at making the NCAA tournament. There were a lot of questions at the time of Madsen's hiring about the role of former coach Mike Montgomery in the decision-making process. Well, it turned out Madsen was the right hire. He is doing a great job, and we are fortunate to have him after many years wandering in the wilderness!
I'm probably in the minority here, but I'm still not sold on Madsen. Yes, he took over a terrible program, but unlike football, basketball rosters can be remade very quickly. I did not find the first two years very encouraging - rosters were unbalanced, the offensive and defensive sets were inconsistent at best, and based on comments here it appears there were some team cohesion issues as well.
This year has been a very pleasant surprise - much better team composition (although the front court is a work in progress), offensive and defensive sets are much more apparent (albeit there are some stretches when they disappear), and the team is clearly playing together and pulling for one another. Very fun to watch! If this were year two, I would be on the bandwagon. As it is, I'm hoping this season is not an anomaly and the staff can build upon this for next season. Unfortunately, with the portal, rosters can change in a heartbeat. If they show additional progress next year, I'll definitely be sold on the staff. Until then, personally still withholding judgement.
3-29 to 16-6...An accident?
I seriously don't know what some of you are watching.
Mark Madsen is a damn gift. And somehow there are still posters acting like he's a problem? That's wild.
The guy bleeds energy. He recruits nonstop. He coaches like his hair's on fire. Players buy in, fans feel it, and for the first time in a long time we have an identity that actually translates to winning. That matters way more than armchair X's and O's.
This program was dead in the water. NIL mess, roster churn, zero momentum. Madsen walks in and immediately raises the floor and the ceiling. Competes every night. No whining. No excuses. Just work and wins.
He's a unicorn. NBA champ. Grinder. Culture guy. And yes, that's EXACTLY what the Golden Bears need to win in modern college hoops.
And the Pasternack crowd… please. Joe Pasternack can't even win the Big West anymore. (We don't need whales running our department. This was the best thing that JK ever did.) That argument is cooked. We didn't need a safe mid-major nostalgia pick. We needed juice, belief, and a coach who can actually build a winner.
If you think coaching today is just drawing plays on a whiteboard, you're stuck in 2005. This era is about leadership, recruiting, NIL navigation, and getting guys to run through walls. Madsen checks every box.
We're lucky as hell to have him.
If you always do what you've always done,
You'll always get what you've always gotten.
You'll always get what you've always gotten.
calumnus said:northbay said:
I'm much more worried about losing Madson than anybody specific to the portal.
He has an eye for talent, is putting guys in spots to be successful despite limited depth and guys are playing really hard.
He's got the player pedigree, success at multiple programs as a coach and great enthusiasm so I can see programs with much greater NIL resources be very interested.
He didn't jump to BYU or Stanford when they had openings and were interested so I am not worried. Those were the exact two programs I thought we were at risk to when we hired him.
Would an NBA team want him? I could see it, but I also think his energy and personality is better at the college level.
In any case, IF he were to leave he/his new employer would owe us 4 years of buyout which would leave the program in a pretty good place anyway.
This will make some folks scoff or laugh, but I could picture Madsen taking over for Steve Kerr... and Kerr might be leaving sooner rather than later.
This wouldn't be because MM is one of the greatest college coaches in the land, or on a par with Kerr, but rather...
- he has NBA experience as a player and an assistant coach
- being an NBA coach is more about having credibility and managing egos
Anyway, our program is currently ascending; no way we would be okay with Madsen leaving now. Let see how far he can take us. When we reach a plateau, we can assess where we're at.
calfanz said:
I seriously don't know what some of you are watching.
Mark Madsen is a damn gift. And somehow there are still posters acting like he's a problem? That's wild.
The guy bleeds energy. He recruits nonstop. He coaches like his hair's on fire. Players buy in, fans feel it, and for the first time in a long time we have an identity that actually translates to winning. That matters way more than armchair X's and O's.
This program was dead in the water. NIL mess, roster churn, zero momentum. Madsen walks in and immediately raises the floor and the ceiling. Competes every night. No whining. No excuses. Just work and wins.
He's a unicorn. NBA champ. Grinder. Culture guy. And yes, that's EXACTLY what the Golden Bears need to win in modern college hoops.
And the Pasternack crowd… please. Joe Pasternack can't even win the Big West anymore. (We don't need whales running our department. This was the best thing that JK ever did.) That argument is cooked. We didn't need a safe mid-major nostalgia pick. We needed juice, belief, and a coach who can actually build a winner.
If you think coaching today is just drawing plays on a whiteboard, you're stuck in 2005. This era is about leadership, recruiting, NIL navigation, and getting guys to run through walls. Madsen checks every box.
We're lucky as hell to have him.
hmmmm.....
I do not think this is an alpha and omega choice of MM vs. the Kicker. They are DIFFERENT.
And here is where I would challenge you....why is it BAD if the whale run our BB and GOOD that they run our FB one? In the current modern era you NEED people with 100 million plus net worth (Very few of them) to donate 1% of that on an annual basis to make 18 year olds millionaires.
I don't want to make this a 12 month thing but if MM isn't able to retain Pippen then we need to revisit this. The modern era - love it, hate it, whatever - is coaches that connect with those with the deepest pockets.
Lets be honest. Among the MYRIAD of flaws of WIlcox was his "meh" ability to do that and the portal find from Tosh is as much about the work Tosh is doing with 50,60 70 year olds with financial advisors and home offices as it is with 18 year olds that play Madden 25 on x boxes.
calfanz said:
I seriously don't know what some of you are watching.
Mark Madsen is a damn gift. And somehow there are still posters acting like he's a problem? That's wild.
The guy bleeds energy. He recruits nonstop. He coaches like his hair's on fire. Players buy in, fans feel it, and for the first time in a long time we have an identity that actually translates to winning. That matters way more than armchair X's and O's.
This program was dead in the water. NIL mess, roster churn, zero momentum. Madsen walks in and immediately raises the floor and the ceiling. Competes every night. No whining. No excuses. Just work and wins.
He's a unicorn. NBA champ. Grinder. Culture guy. And yes, that's EXACTLY what the Golden Bears need to win in modern college hoops.
And the Pasternack crowd… please. Joe Pasternack can't even win the Big West anymore. (We don't need whales running our department. This was the best thing that JK ever did.) That argument is cooked. We didn't need a safe mid-major nostalgia pick. We needed juice, belief, and a coach who can actually build a winner.
If you think coaching today is just drawing plays on a whiteboard, you're stuck in 2005. This era is about leadership, recruiting, NIL navigation, and getting guys to run through walls. Madsen checks every box.
We're lucky as hell to have him.
Thank you! Best post I've read here in a long time. Go Bears.
calfanz said:
...
And the Pasternack crowd… please. Joe Pasternack can't even win the Big West anymore. (We don't need whales running our department. This was the best thing that JK ever did.) That argument is cooked. We didn't need a safe mid-major nostalgia pick. We needed juice, belief, and a coach who can actually build a winner.
If you think coaching today is just drawing plays on a whiteboard, you're stuck in 2005. This era is about leadership, recruiting, NIL navigation, and getting guys to run through walls. Madsen checks every box.
We're lucky as hell to have him.
Not to poke the bear(s) - but I would like to add the Travis Decuire crowd as well.
Hey - at least no other aspiring program has been able to pry him from Montana yet.
Sure there may have been issues with the process (look at the chancelor/ADs at the time), and Cuonzo Martin may not have been perfect, but the TD bandwagon didn't age well.
As for Pasternak - he was hands down a better option than Jones or Fox. Not sure about Martin or Madsen (personally - I don't think so in hindsight - but could have seen him being hired over either of those two). Who knows, if he had replaced Martin - he still may be our coach.
calfanz said:
I seriously don't know what some of you are watching.
Mark Madsen is a damn gift. And somehow there are still posters acting like he's a problem? That's wild.
The guy bleeds energy. He recruits nonstop. He coaches like his hair's on fire. Players buy in, fans feel it, and for the first time in a long time we have an identity that actually translates to winning. That matters way more than armchair X's and O's.
This program was dead in the water. NIL mess, roster churn, zero momentum. Madsen walks in and immediately raises the floor and the ceiling. Competes every night. No whining. No excuses. Just work and wins.
He's a unicorn. NBA champ. Grinder. Culture guy. And yes, that's EXACTLY what the Golden Bears need to win in modern college hoops.
And the Pasternack crowd… please. Joe Pasternack can't even win the Big West anymore. (We don't need whales running our department. This was the best thing that JK ever did.) That argument is cooked. We didn't need a safe mid-major nostalgia pick. We needed juice, belief, and a coach who can actually build a winner.
If you think coaching today is just drawing plays on a whiteboard, you're stuck in 2005. This era is about leadership, recruiting, NIL navigation, and getting guys to run through walls. Madsen checks every box.
We're lucky as hell to have him.
Great post, we dodged the bullet with Pasternack. Madsen was the silver lining in JK's disastrous tenure.
I always give former college players a bonus when it comes to coaching
And Madsen proved he can play and achieve success at the highest college and pro level by being a grinder and doing things the right way
My dawg in the coaching hire was Abdur-Rahim but when we hired Madsen I was good with it
Abdur-Rahim demonstrated he would have been a great hire too, but Madsen probably is a better match for Cal at this particular time
And I'm very relieved we didn't hire the Kicker
And Madsen proved he can play and achieve success at the highest college and pro level by being a grinder and doing things the right way
My dawg in the coaching hire was Abdur-Rahim but when we hired Madsen I was good with it
Abdur-Rahim demonstrated he would have been a great hire too, but Madsen probably is a better match for Cal at this particular time
And I'm very relieved we didn't hire the Kicker
HoopDreams said:
My dawg in the coaching hire was Abdur-Rahim..
who, turns out, died young..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amir_Abdur-Rahim
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/46702248/amir-abdur-rahim-legacy-1-year
calumnus said:mdbear said:socaltownie said:
Cry, Laugh, or Cheer - We haven't won 16 games since 2016-2017. Can we get to 23 which is the best Zo did ;-)
I cheer. Mark Madsen took over a program that had gone 3-29. We were one of the worst power conference teams in the country. In year 3, Madsen has turned around the program so dramatically that it will post the best record since 2016-2017, and it is has a legitimate chance at making the NCAA tournament. There were a lot of questions at the time of Madsen's hiring about the role of former coach Mike Montgomery in the decision-making process. Well, it turned out Madsen was the right hire. He is doing a great job, and we are fortunate to have him after many years wandering in the wilderness!
3-29 was the worse record in the country much less the Power 4, worst in Cal history. We were also the lowest scoring team in the entire country.
I still wish we had hired Dennis Gates or Jason Kidd when we had the chance, and still think Kyle Smith would have been better, but I am happy enough with Madsen considering it was Knowlton doing the hiring. It could have been another disaster like Mark Fox. Madsen was not a home run, but he is solid, he has great energy and for a Stanford guy he has embraced Cal and has beat Stanford, more than Monty did even.
As far as Madsen long term, I want to see a strong finish this year and further improvement next year in year 4. NIT this year would be a little disappointing at this point but clear improvement and fine if we are stronger next year and a clear top ACC team headed to the Tournament next year. Upward trajectory that would warrant a contract extension.
I'll add Todd Golden as another missed opportunity for a HC replacement. He wouldn't have chosen Cal over his Florida offer, but if Cal had offered the previous year, I'll bet he would have jumped at it.
calfanz said:
I seriously don't know what some of you are watching.
Mark Madsen is a damn gift. And somehow there are still posters acting like he's a problem? That's wild.
The guy bleeds energy. He recruits nonstop. He coaches like his hair's on fire. Players buy in, fans feel it, and for the first time in a long time we have an identity that actually translates to winning. That matters way more than armchair X's and O's.
This program was dead in the water. NIL mess, roster churn, zero momentum. Madsen walks in and immediately raises the floor and the ceiling. Competes every night. No whining. No excuses. Just work and wins.
He's a unicorn. NBA champ. Grinder. Culture guy. And yes, that's EXACTLY what the Golden Bears need to win in modern college hoops.
And the Pasternack crowd… please. Joe Pasternack can't even win the Big West anymore. (We don't need whales running our department. This was the best thing that JK ever did.) That argument is cooked. We didn't need a safe mid-major nostalgia pick. We needed juice, belief, and a coach who can actually build a winner.
If you think coaching today is just drawing plays on a whiteboard, you're stuck in 2005. This era is about leadership, recruiting, NIL navigation, and getting guys to run through walls. Madsen checks every box.
We're lucky as hell to have him.
I've seen this type of post about various Cal coaches for years. No coach is a gift and Cal is not lucky to have them. This is the same "this is the best Cal can do" belief many seem to subscribe to.
These coaches get paid extremely well for doing their job. If Madsen was hired away, Cal would receive a decent buyout and if (sadly, a big "if") a competent AD is in place, they should be able to identify another promising candidate. Cal's problem is that doesn't always happen and when it does, they screw up the hire (see Wyking). I don't think he's a "problem", but he's definitely not a "unicorn".
Look, this year has been exciting and promising. The first two years were not. If Madsen and staff can build upon the success, that would be awesome and show he's the right guy for the program. I certainly hope they do, but we'll see.
The first two years were vast improvements over the previous six
I will just leave it at that I am pleased as punch with MM but the reason you hire (and we should have hired) Pasternack is that even if he flames out he cant take the now nearly completed practice facility with him.
I would assume (cause it is like a main part of the job) that MM is working those donors hard and hopefully get them to put their name on the building and move from being the ONLY p4 program in the country without a practice facility to be the p4 with the newest facility. Fingers crossed. But that is the logic for the hire and it still makes ALL the sense in the world if that donor was really ready to step up. We will never know, it is water long under SC bridge but if true it would be a no brainer to hire the kicker.
I would assume (cause it is like a main part of the job) that MM is working those donors hard and hopefully get them to put their name on the building and move from being the ONLY p4 program in the country without a practice facility to be the p4 with the newest facility. Fingers crossed. But that is the logic for the hire and it still makes ALL the sense in the world if that donor was really ready to step up. We will never know, it is water long under SC bridge but if true it would be a no brainer to hire the kicker.
I know Amir died which is a tragedy especially because he was young
Doesn't change my opinion of him which is he would have been a great coach for us
Doesn't change my opinion of him which is he would have been a great coach for us
smh said:HoopDreams said:
My dawg in the coaching hire was Abdur-Rahim..
who, turns out, died young..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amir_Abdur-Rahim
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/46702248/amir-abdur-rahim-legacy-1-year
I've been somewhat critical and skeptical of Madsen and co at points in the past, but I don't know how anyone can't be thrilled with where he has this program at the moment. To have us positioned as a bubble team in February in year 3 is a coup given where the program was when he took over, and the limited NIL resources he has been granted.
At this point, I'm only concerned about our NIL situation. Even if we get it to just about the median NIL pot in the ACC, I'm confident that Madsen can bring in the talent necessary to have us competitive every year. It's clear that he and his staff are gifted recruiters and talent evaluators.
On top of the success we've had this year, this roster is also Madsen's first that has a potential returning core to build off of. If we're able to keep that core, the sky will be the limit moving forward.
At this point, I'm only concerned about our NIL situation. Even if we get it to just about the median NIL pot in the ACC, I'm confident that Madsen can bring in the talent necessary to have us competitive every year. It's clear that he and his staff are gifted recruiters and talent evaluators.
On top of the success we've had this year, this roster is also Madsen's first that has a potential returning core to build off of. If we're able to keep that core, the sky will be the limit moving forward.
HoopDreams said:
I know Amir died which is a tragedy especially because he was young
Doesn't change my opinion of him which is he would have been a great coach for ussmh said:HoopDreams said:
My dawg in the coaching hire was Abdur-Rahim..
who, turns out, died young..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amir_Abdur-Rahim
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/46702248/amir-abdur-rahim-legacy-1-year
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