1. Ricky Kreklow is the unsung hero. Great defense on Bader in the second half and some clever work in the paint as the backup 4.
2. Kravish needs to rebound better. Solomon had 13 defensive boards to Kravish's 3. The wings also need to help more. Crabbe is missed more for this than anything else right now.
3. Solomon must be one of the best rebounders in the country right now. Amazing.
4. I worry about the defense.
5. Depth is a major concern. The starting 5 + Kreklow then ...
6. Bird is the word.

Sluggo

sluggo_Cal;842223535 said:

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1. Ricky Kreklow is the unsung hero. Great defense on Bader in the second half and some clever work in the paint as the backup 4.
2. Kravish needs to rebound better. Solomon had 13 defensive boards to Kravish's 3. The wings also need to help more. Crabbe is missed more for this than anything else right now.
3. Solomon must be one of the best rebounders in the country right now. Amazing.
4. I worry about the defense.
5. Depth is a major concern. The starting 5 + Kreklow then ...
6. Bird is the word.

Sluggo

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One observation of mine is
JC tends to want to dribble up on fastbreaks when he has wings ahead of him ready to receive his passes on wings as they are filling the lane. (specifically, get the ball to Bird when he is filling the lane on breaks, good things will happen) The window to receive the pass on wing on break a bit past mid court and then dribble into paint in transition is a Bird strong point in that he has way to glide past defenders while maintaining his control. Bird is a good passer on breaks as well and can pass back to JC (who would then end at FT line for an open 15 foot J) if more passing in transition vs the dribble dribble approach. Part of that is my view is JC's natural 2 guard skills vs the PG role he has now.

fastest way to advance the ball is to pass not dribble, and Bird has the talent to make something good happen when he receives the ball. I'm surprised we didn't run more considering they had no depth

gobears;842223570 said:

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One observation of mine is
JC tends to want to dribble up on fastbreaks when he has wings ahead of him ready to receive his passes on wings as they are filling the lane. (specifically, get the ball to Bird when he is filling the lane on breaks, good things will happen) The window to receive the pass on wing on break a bit past mid court and then dribble into paint in transition is a Bird strong point in that he has way to glide past defended while maintaining his control. Bird is a good passer on breaks as well and can pass back to JC (who would then end at FT line for an open 15 foot J) if more passing in transition vs the dribble dribble approach. Part of that is my view is JC's natural 2 guard skills vs the PG role he has now.

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sluggo_Cal;842223535 said:

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1. Ricky Kreklow is the unsung hero. Great defense on Bader in the second half and some clever work in the paint as the backup 4.
2. Kravish needs to rebound better. Solomon had 13 defensive boards to Kravish's 3. The wings also need to help more. Crabbe is missed more for this than anything else right now.
3. Solomon must be one of the best rebounders in the country right now. Amazing.
4. I worry about the defense.
5. Depth is a major concern. The starting 5 + Kreklow then ...
6. Bird is the word.

Sluggo

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I did not really study it, but I do recall Kravish's chasing a talented wing who played a perimeter/slashing game. Are you placing too much emphasis on a single, unique game?

Go Bears!

south bender;842223575 said:

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I did not really study it, but I do recall Kravish's chasing a talented wing who played a perimeter/slashing game. Are you placing too much emphasis on a single, unique game?

Go Bears!

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More precisely stated, Kravish needs to rebound better than he did last night. I didn't think he was very aggressive on the defensive boards. Not a statement about other games.

Sluggo

HoopDreams;842223574 said:

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fastest way to advance the ball is to pass not dribble, and Bird has the talent to make something good happen when he receives the ball. I'm surprised we didn't run more considering they had no depth

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I am surprised there was not more defensive pressure. They let Oakland walk it up.

Sluggo

The performance was unacceptable. That team was missing 2 key players and were on the verge of winning.

We really have no margin for error. Our supposed new found "depth" has not materialized thus far.

Our depth is 4 freshmen playing in their second game. They will improve.

It's a good post.

I'd only say you are being a little bit hard on Kravish. You are right, but he played only 26 minutes to Solomon's 37. If he plays another 11 minutes, he likely gets a total of 10 rebounds, and double figures is not bad for a PF.

As to wings getting rebounds, Bird got 5 and Kreklow got 5, a total of 10, and Crabbe only averaged 6-7 per game. We could do better, but Crabbe is missed for his shooting, especially last night. We had only one player who could make a three, Bird. It would have been nice to have two players making them.

:beer:

tsubamoto2001;842223602 said:

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The performance was unacceptable. That team was missing 2 key players and were on the verge of winning.

We really have no margin for error. Our supposed new found "depth" has not materialized thus far.

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It's looking to me like the slim hopes for depth at the 4/5 reside in Behrens regaining confidence in his body and game. Maybe Kreklow can play some PF but not a lot.

I think he only took one three.Singer made a three. He is now 3-3 in his last two games.

Love kravish but he looked like a bumbling...way too many times yesterday. He has to play stronger.

sluggo_Cal;842223535 said:

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1. Ricky Kreklow is the unsung hero. Great defense on Bader in the second half and some clever work in the paint as the backup 4.

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I thought Kreklow was a little inconsistent last night. There were times he looked great, other times he disappeared or looked lost. Hopefully, he will gain confidence as the season progresses and he finds his role on this team.

sluggo_Cal;842223535 said:

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4. I worry about the defense.
5. Depth is a major concern. The starting 5 + Kreklow then ...

---

sluggo_Cal;842223593 said:

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I am surprised there was not more defensive pressure. They let Oakland walk it up.

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tsubamoto2001;842223602 said:

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The performance was unacceptable. That team was missing 2 key players and were on the verge of winning.

We really have no margin for error. Our supposed new found "depth" has not materialized thus far.

---

diva1;842223620 said:

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Our depth is 4 freshmen playing in their second game. They will improve.

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Sounds like our football team when they played against portland state. oh god.

but I disagree regarding depth. We have no post depth; that is a given, but Singer gave 12 solid minutes (freethrow shooting not withstanding), and Matthews will be a contributor down the road. We will have a solid 8 man rotation; the post is the issue.

As for the defense: it was lousy last night, but I thought the effort on both offense and defense weren't there. Overall, the game was perfect in terms of what this team needed: a wake-up call but not a loss. Hopefully they will learn.

UCBerkGrad;842223791 said:

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I thought Kreklow was a little inconsistent last night. There were times he looked great, other times he disappeared or looked lost. Hopefully, he will gain confidence as the season progresses and he finds his role on this team.

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Cal doesn't win that game with Kreklow's defense on Bader the last 10 minutes of the second half.

tsubamoto2001;842223602 said:

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The performance was unacceptable. That team was missing 2 key players and were on the verge of winning.

We really have no margin for error. Our supposed new found "depth" has not materialized thus far.

---

Oakland just played harder last night, plain & simple. Cal doesn't have the luxury of not playing 100%.

Here's what I see.
1. A win is a win.
2. We have an incredible future pro with a killer instinct.
3. We have a good core of starters.
4. We have multiple weapons. Good if one of them goes cold.
5. We have youngsters backing up who seem to be getting their feet wet a bit. They need time to really get things down.
6. A whole lot more potential than we have had.

Are we going to the final four? No. Are we going to make some noise in the tournament? I think so.

Are we going to get embarrassed by Chaminade? Can't see that happening.

Just growing pains. Not time to freak out yet.

parentswerebears;842224988 said:

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Here's what I see.
1. A win is a win.
2. We have an incredible future pro with a killer instinct.
3. We have a good core of starters.
4. We have multiple weapons. Good if one of them goes cold.
5. We have youngsters backing up who seem to be getting their feet wet a bit. They need time to really get things down.
6. A whole lot more potential than we have had.

Are we going to the final four? No. Are we going to make some noise in the tournament? I think so.

Are we going to get embarrassed by Chaminade? Can't see that happening.

Just growing pains. Not time to freak out yet.

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In my opinion, this is a bubble team without the "emergence" of at least two of the freshmen players. Could happen.

I agree. If no one steps up. But I am going to start believing that in january if we haven't made some strides.

My take-away from this game: I was shocked that Cobbs did not show the ability to control a game that i expect from a 5th year senior point guard.
He hit his free throws (that is critical, certainly), but otherwise he went 2 for 8 and seemed to be bobbling the ball all night long -- and unable to get his team into its offensive rhythm. What we needed in that game was poise and focus -- someone to say: we need to respect our opponent and exploit our advantages.

i hope this was just a hiccup for JC -- and thank goodness for our spectacular freshman JB!

RicoRico;842225713 said:

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My take-away from this game: I was shocked that Cobbs did not show the ability to control a game that i expect from a 5th year senior point guard.
He hit his free throws (that is critical, certainly), but otherwise he went 2 for 8 and seemed to be bobbling the ball all night long -- and unable to get his team into its offensive rhythm. What we needed in that game was poise and focus -- someone to say: we need to respect our opponent and exploit our advantages.

i hope this was just a hiccup for JC -- and thank goodness for our spectacular freshman JB!

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He was coming off an injury in the previous game -- I wonder if that affected him.

RicoRico;842225713 said:

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My take-away from this game: I was shocked that Cobbs did not show the ability to control a game that i expect from a 5th year senior point guard.
He hit his free throws (that is critical, certainly), but otherwise he went 2 for 8 and seemed to be bobbling the ball all night long -- and unable to get his team into its offensive rhythm. What we needed in that game was poise and focus -- someone to say: we need to respect our opponent and exploit our advantages.

i hope this was just a hiccup for JC -- and thank goodness for our spectacular freshman JB!

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+1

Cobbs did not convey the urgency required as the game advanced and we continued to struggle big time. We came perilously close to losing that game. He needs to show more leadership skills out there. Also, he IS one of our most best offensive weapons. He showed vey little evidence of that against a relatively weak opponent (UCLA beat thm by 30!!!). I guess this was because of the zone. In fact the torpor on the floor for the Bears for much of the game reminded me of the the first 3 quarters of the Syracuse game last year. I hope they figure out a solution to the zone or we are in for a long year.

sycasey;842225716 said:

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He was coming off an injury in the previous game -- I wonder if that affected him.

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Very likely true. He seemed to limp a bit late in the game as well.

One big takeaway from this game is that Cal barely beat a team that had suspended two of its main players, and that team with all of its players had just lost to UCLA by 30 points! It shows we have work to do.

:beer:

IMO Cobbs is better suited for the two .

SFCityBear;842225897 said:

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One big takeaway from this game is that Cal barely beat a team that had suspended two of its main players, and that team with all of its players had just lost to UCLA by 30 points! It shows we have work to do.

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I wouldn't put too much stock in that considering UCLA was coming off a scare to Drexel and Cal was likely way too overconfident after seeing the score of the UCLA game and the suspensions (just like most of us fans were).

Now if Cal comes out flat against Southern Utah you may on to something, but I would give the points, regardless of the spread.

SFCityBear;842225897 said:

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Very likely true. He seemed to limp a bit late in the game as well.

One big takeaway from this game is that Cal barely beat a team that had suspended two of its main players, and that team with all of its players had just lost to UCLA by 30 points! It shows we have work to do.

:beer:

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Well, we've played three patsies and have 2 comfortable wins and 1 close one. Could be it was just a bad game but not an indicator of future performance.

sycasey;842226110 said:

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Well, we've played three patsies and have 2 comfortable wins and 1 close one. Could be it was just a bad game but not an indicator of future performance.

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Oakland is down by 8 with a little more than 7 minutes to go against #15 Gonzaga. Maybe Oskland had a bad game against UCLA.

Both teams torched the nets with 11-20 on threes, but the Zags hit a few more twos and free throws. Looks like it was a much better game than ours.

R.Hobbs;842225965 said:

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IMO Cobbs is better suited for the two .

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Not to say he is not a valuable Bear, but point guard instincts are not his long suit.

Go Bears!

Przemek Karnowski has been playing consistently well as the back-up 5 for the Zags. 12 points and 6 rebounds today against Oakland. He would be starting for us or first off the bench.

south bender;842226360 said:

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Not to say he is not a valuable Bear, but point guard instincts are not his long suit.

Go Bears!

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I agree about the instincts. They could be better. However, catch and shoot, which most off guards do pretty well, is not Cobbs' strong suit either. He creates his own shots off the dribble, and seems to play best with the ball in his hands, not catching passes from others. It has always been a question as to where to play him. The bottom line is that with the current roster, Cal does not win without him playing a lot of minutes.

Cobbs is trying to push his assist totals this season, announcing that he wants to break Jason Kidd's record. His 8 assists against Southern Utah was a good start. If he can do that every night, that would be a huge plus for this team. Last year, Cobbs' had to score a bunch, with Crabbe getting doubled often. This year, he will not need to score as much, and can focus on playing point.

Go Bears!

tenplay;842226418 said:

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Przemek Karnowski has been playing consistently well as the back-up 5 for the Zags. 12 points and 6 rebounds today against Oakland. He would be starting for us or first off the bench.

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Karnowski was a big miss for MM and Co. We prob could go deep in the dance this year with him as a Bear.