A really nice follow for a basket, and a total of 3 rebounds and 2 points in 9 minutes. And near the end with both Solomon and Kravish getting 4 fouls, Montgomery had the confidence in Behrens to put him in at center, and go small with four out. This allowed Montgomery to rest Solo and Kravish for a couple of minutes, not risking them getting their 5th fouls too early, and saved them for the final couple of minutes of the game. Without Behrens' good performances against Furman and Stanford, Montgomery would likely have been reluctant to play him alone at center with no other big in the lineup in those crucial minutes against Oregon.

:gobears:

SFCityBear;842259257 said:

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A really nice follow for a basket, and a total of 3 rebounds and 2 points in 9 minutes. And near the end with both Solomon and Kravish getting 4 fouls, Montgomery had the confidence in Behrens to put him in at center, and go small with four out. This allowed Montgomery to rest Solo and Kravish for a couple of minutes, not risking them getting their 5th fouls too early, and saved them for the final couple of minutes of the game. Without Behrens' good performances against Furman and Stanford, Montgomery would likely have been reluctant to play him alone at center with no other big in the lineup in those crucial minutes against Oregon.

:gobears:

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+1, great to see him progressing

If my short term memory serves me correct, Monty mentioned on the post game show how he had no choice but to play the guys he had as many minutes as he did AND Christian did a nice job but is still slowed by his injury.

Nice to see him getting a few minutes and contributing

SFCityBear;842259257 said:

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A really nice follow for a basket, and a total of 3 rebounds and 2 points in 9 minutes. And near the end with both Solomon and Kravish getting 4 fouls, Montgomery had the confidence in Behrens to put him in at center, and go small with four out. This allowed Montgomery to rest Solo and Kravish for a couple of minutes, not risking them getting their 5th fouls too early, and saved them for the final couple of minutes of the game. Without Behrens' good performances against Furman and Stanford, Montgomery would likely have been reluctant to play him alone at center with no other big in the lineup in those crucial minutes against Oregon.

:gobears:

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Good post, completely agree. Those were important minutes that he played for us tonight and v. Furd.

I don't think the contributions from Behrens can be overstated enough.

Without Behrens, we would have had to play Rooks, which would have been an awful awful awful matchup against Oregon, especially since we were switching on every ball screen.

Can you imagine Rooks on Artis or Lloyd?

If Rooks played, we would probably had to switch to a zone, and who knows how well that would have gone.

I can get behind that. Cheers to Christian!

Based on Monty's post-game comments, OSU emphasizes banging inside much more than Oregon, which should give Rooks more opportunity. He would have been lost against the Duck speed last night. Great job by Behrens.

I hope CB gets some more minutes. He has some athletic ability and the potential to contribute offensively. He needs minutes, experience and confidence for that to come out, though. Right now I like him better than Moute bc he's a bigger body, and better than Rooks because he's more athletic and more skilled.

completely agree

SFCityBear;842259257 said:

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A really nice follow for a basket, and a total of 3 rebounds and 2 points in 9 minutes. And near the end with both Solomon and Kravish getting 4 fouls, Montgomery had the confidence in Behrens to put him in at center, and go small with four out. This allowed Montgomery to rest Solo and Kravish for a couple of minutes, not risking them getting their 5th fouls too early, and saved them for the final couple of minutes of the game. Without Behrens' good performances against Furman and Stanford, Montgomery would likely have been reluctant to play him alone at center with no other big in the lineup in those crucial minutes against Oregon.

:gobears:

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Great to see Christian joining the fray, for his sake and the team's as well.

Go Bears!

Completely agree with this sfcb. It appears that he's finally comfortable with the stability of that twice injured knee. That is letting us see what Monty & co. saw in him when they recruited him in the first place. Hopefully, some of us lumped him in with players who didn't work out will appreciate what he's bringing to the court.

I am bumping this thread b/c I thought Behrens played another nice game. Solo in foul trouble again and Behrens came in and made some nice plays. That's 3 good games in a row for him. Getting consistent solid play off the bench from him is huge. Cobbs, Wallace, Solo, DK and Behrens playing consistently, then Matthews, Singer or Powers steps up.

Looperbear;842260399 said:

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I am bumping this thread b/c I thought Behrens played another nice game. Solo in foul trouble again and Behrens came in and made some nice plays. That's 3 good games in a row for him. Getting consistent solid play off the bench from him is huge. Cobbs, Wallace, Solo, DK and Behrens playing consistently, then Matthews, Singer or Powers steps up.

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This.

I also thought (but again, it may be blue and gold haze and that second glass of vino) that Rooks is making a LOT of progress from where he was even in November. If he continues to progress he has the body to do some good things in future years.

socaltownie;842260408 said:

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This.

I also thought (but again, it may be blue and gold haze and that second glass of vino) that Rooks is making a LOT of progress from where he was even in November. If he continues to progress he has the body to do some good things in future years.

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I also agree about Rooks. He looked better in November than on his HS tape. He played pretty good minutes tonight. He's been useful v. teams who pound it in.

Yah he looks really good out there. I had no idea what kind of game he's had since we've never really seen him do his thing. I like what I see. Looks like he has some athleticism and basketball instinct. He'll be needed.

KoreAmBear;842260420 said:

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Yah he looks really good out there. I had no idea what kind of game he's had since we've never really seen him do his thing. I like what I see. Looks like he has some athleticism and basketball instinct. He'll be needed.

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KAB, as I recall there are some video highlights of him in high school on YouTube. He can handle the ball as I recall. I have not looked at one since he first came aboard.

KoreAmBear;842260420 said:

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Yah he looks really good out there. I had no idea what kind of game he's had since we've never really seen him do his thing. I like what I see. Looks like he has some athleticism and basketball instinct. He'll be needed.

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Someone posted a long HS highlight video when he signed. He appeared to be a dominant offensive player. That's not surprising on a HS highlight video, but the point is that he showed the potential to contribute offensively. Glad he's getting minutes. Hopefully it blossoms into confidence on the court.

bearister;842260426 said:

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KAB, as I recall there are some video highlights of him in high school on YouTube. He can handle the ball as I recall. I have not looked at one since he first came aboard.

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Whoops you beat me to it. We must be remembering the same video.

The more the season wears on, the better and quicker he looks. It is not that he has miraculously gotten faster afoot. Rather, it is he is understanding the speed of the game and what is going on on the court. Knowing is more than half the battle in basketball, and he is putting it together.

I am really glad we have him. He is a huge man, and will be a stronger huge man over time. From having lost so much weight so quickly when he came to Cal, we can conclude from that that he has the mental discipline to succeed.

He had a nice block tonight as well as one rebound in his 6 minutes.

Go Bears!

Bumping this. Behrens' play on this road trip has been a confidence booster for all. Makes me think we have another big option other than Rooks (who is also developing quite well). Behrens may not be lighting up the stat line but he sure looks more aggressive on rebounds and even had a nice put back. Seems like a different guy than I remember. Great development!

Kudos to Christian indeed. Such a thread cannot be complete without an understanding of what the young man has battled to get to where he is now:

I can't be happier for Christian. Hard to really understand the pain, hard work and frustration this guy has gone through. He was a top athlete but has had the two knee injuries, which is one of the hardest to come back from. He still isn't 100% healthy, and I would guess that after every game (and maybe practice) he has to recover. But he is getting more confident on his knee, and is jumping well again. In last night's game he was 2-3 with 2 rebounds. Therefore, he was able to rest some starters, and we were able to win the game with Solo on the bench must of the night.

How big was that?!?!!

Cal89;842260695 said:

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Kudos to Christian indeed. Such a thread cannot be complete without an understanding of what the young man has battled to get to where he is now:

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To concur with the OP, it is great to see him contributing. When I watch on TV, I sometimes wonder--who is that guy?--because he looks athletic out there. At the beginning of the season, he looked so unstable he almost fall over for no apparent reason on one occasion. I admit that I did not expect him to be a contributor this year. Great to see him rise to the occasion

are small, so far, but really important.

To me, he looks like he will embrace whatever role he is given and give it all he's got -- which is a serious contribution in itself.

Powers seems like that as well.

calgldnbear;842259293 said:

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If my short term memory serves me correct, Monty mentioned on the post game show how .......Christian did a nice job but is still slowed by his injury. .......

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I take this to mean that Monty still sees more upside potential from Behrens, as he gains strength and confidence in his knee. Good to hear- very encouraging.

Behren's HS hos career was interrupted by his knee injury, and he was ignored by Romar and the Dawgs despite being in UW's backyard. Obviously, Monty and the Bears saw Christian's upside and signed him. It's entirely likely Behrens will see important minutes against the Dawgs and he can demonstrate how much he's developed.

+1

The light is coming on