first, congrates to the team, who was clutch tonight and got the W

This post is about Brandon Chauca
First a confession...after watching him play in the open scrimmage I didn't expect him to contribute much this game, but that open scrimmage was only their second practice, and it looks like he's adjusted to the college game after more practice time with the team

So what does this freshmen do in his first game?

hit is first college shot (a 3)
hits his second college shot (another 3)

hits two clutch FTs

His SIX assists were very impressive, easily the best passes in the game, including the assist that setup Jordan for the game tying 3 to get into the first OT

His on the ball defense was solid, although due to his height, opponents were able to throw the ball over his head into the post

He did make the first game/freshmen mistake of fouling in the backcourt at the end of the second OT (luckily it didn't cost the Bears, and actually turned out good)

Overall, it was an impressive debut for a freshmen, and his 41 minutes in a tight game showed he can run with these guys and can contribute this year (badly needed, especially with Bird out)

+1 from all reports it really seemed like Chauca wasn't ready..but he looked pretty darn good to me.

MinotStateBeav;842417157 said:

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+1 from all reports it really seemed like Chauca wasn't ready..but he looked pretty darn good to me.

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A lesson in this: let's see a guy in game time and not be quick to buy into sketchy info about his presumed readiness to play at D-1 level. There is speed and there is game quickness. They are not the same.

Hats off to the latest great addition to the squad!

The no look to Tarwater before halftime was showtime baby. Then that pick and roll for the flush to Kravish. Chauca Khan let me rock you baby. OK I will stop talking like Marcus Johnson.

Let's get to the important stuff he brings. He already has several preset cheers from BI posters:

BOOM CHAUCA LAKA!!
OOGA CHAUCA!!!
CHAUCA KHAN!!

Anymore?

Someone with a better understanding of how to search up broadcasters has to find out when Marcus Johnson is doing a Cal game cause that is going to be worth taping and making into a ring tone ;-)

A nice new addition. He has a bright future as a Bear. Love the energy he brings.

teknofreek;842417193 said:

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Let's get to the important stuff he brings. He already has several preset cheers from BI posters:

BOOM CHAUCA LAKA!!
OOGA CHAUCA!!!
CHAUCA KHAN!!

Anymore?

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Chau-ca-Go!

Chauca-Lot!

HoopDreams;842417148 said:

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first, congrates to the team, who was clutch tonight and got the W

This post is about Brandon Chauca
First a confession...after watching him play in the open scrimmage I didn't expect him to contribute much this game, but that open scrimmage was only their second practice, and it looks like he's adjusted to the college game after more practice time with the team

So what does this freshmen do in his first game?

hit is first college shot (a 3)
hits his second college shot (another 3)

hits two clutch FTs

His SIX assists were very impressive, easily the best passes in the game, including the assist that setup Jordan for the game tying 3 to get into the first OT

His on the ball defense was solid, although due to his height, opponents were able to throw the ball over his head into the post

He did make the first game/freshmen mistake of fouling in the backcourt at the end of the second OT (luckily it didn't cost the Bears, and actually turned out good)

Overall, it was an impressive debut for a freshmen, and his 41 minutes in a tight game showed he can run with these guys and can contribute this year (badly needed, especially with Bird out)

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IMO he played the best of any of the pg's for Cal in that game, right up until the brain fart foul. He attacked under control, his passing was sharp and actually hit guys where they were going instead of where they'd been, and his shooting was enough threat to make the defenders have to cover. He's quick, which is nice. He's small, which will have some drawbacks, but looked remarkably comfortable for someone in his first college game. We'll see what happens against better competition but he was the one nice surprise of the game.

one thing I forgot to post, was something I think he needs to clean up

on at least two occasions he tried to take it all the way to the hoop and score himself
both times resulted in a pretty ugly shot attempt
I don't think he's going to be successful doing that against D1 athletes
or at least, I think there are better options to score the ball

his feed to tarwater on the break was sweet.

does anyone think his entry passes to kravish are better than anyone elses? it seems like he delivered them quickly and accurately without really thinking about it, not giving the opponent a chance to break up the pass

ianbearnson;842417241 said:

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his feed to tarwater on the break was sweet.

does anyone think his entry passes to kravish are better than anyone elses? it seems like he delivered them quickly and accurately without really thinking about it, not giving the opponent a chance to break up the pass

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+1 Exactly. Compare his entry passes to Singer's attempt that was picked off and caused Kravish to hit the floor. That's an injury waiting to happen Cal does not need.

Lets not get carried away he did have 4 or 5 turn overs which is way too many but I believe that's because he was unfairly trying too hard and maybe even cared more than the others about a game some took for granted. I do like him equal to singer now because singer can not or is afraid to score. I would have no problem with him starting if he could bring this every game but this was just one game. We need that exciting point guard and if playing time makes him this then lets give it to him.

Marcus Johnson says: Yacka, Yacka, Chauca
Rather, after Chauca goes 6-6 from THREE Marcus quips: "gosh, Ted, I didn't realize that Chauca was the original Yacka."

He did hit two FT's but I think missed the front end of a 1and1 we very much needed at the time.
The other two FG attempts, one of which was a wild midrange runner and a closer "take" that was stuffed by a mile were not pretty.
All in all though, considering the minutes and the readiness to come out and play and even put up a game winning 3FGA I believe, all portends quite well. His game should clean up nicely.

Teams with big guards are going to post him up, however, and then I fear our lack of interior depth could be exposed (foul trouble as bigs rush to help). So, his PT could depend on match ups. I liked that Martin trusted him vs Montana, as someone else said elsewhere. See what the kid can do!

Holmoephobic;842417211 said:

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Chau-ca-Go!

Chauca-Lot!

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Chauca like basketball. Chauca play basketball well.

I picture by senior year Chauca being Jerome Randle except with better vision and good D.

KoreAmBear;842417374 said:

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I picture by senior year Chauca being Jerome Randle except with better vision and good D.

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+1

Maybe sooner.

Kid is already a crowd favorite.

KoreAmBear;842417374 said:

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I picture by senior year Chauca being Jerome Randle except with better vision and good D.

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Picture, or Dream?

Very impressive indeed. Loved his confident demeanor. He did not look overwhelmed by the moment at all.

KoreAmBear;842417374 said:

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I picture by senior year Chauca being Jerome Randle except with better vision and good D.

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I picture him coming off the bench. Cal will be recruiting better players starting next year. At that height and athletic ability, there is only so much he can do. Randle was a much, much better athlete.

He reminds me of Shantay Legans. Legans did not improve in three years because he was athletically challenged and because his skills were so developed when he arrived. But he was still useful, as Chauca is and will be. Chauca is much more fun to watch.

Sluggo

He does nearly everything a point guard needs to do better than anyone else on our team, except perhaps defend. The entry passes are SO much better than anyone else's. As a matter of fact, ALL of his passes are the best. Sam Singer is a lesser passer but is a better defender and knows the offense better, so I think he should start. Wallace sucks as a distributor and does not seem to care much about turnovers. Matthews sucks when he is not shooting and should consider never putting the ball on the floor ever again. The shot selection of Wallace and Matthews is so frustrating that I have a hard time even watching them at times.

I said from the beginning that Chauca was our best PG the moment he got here. You could tell that in his film. I am a Sam Singer fan and love his aggression and attitude, so for that reason I think he is a game changer that should continue to be on the floor a lot. If neither of these guys are on the floor at any point, there is either a coaching mistake happening or serious foul trouble. So when Bird comes back, I continue to believe that Matthews should be instant offense off the bench.

concordtom;842417269 said:

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Teams with big guards are going to post him up, however, and then I fear our lack of interior depth could be exposed (foul trouble as bigs rush to help). So, his PT could depend on match ups. I liked that Martin trusted him vs Montana, as someone else said elsewhere. See what the kid can do!

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my memory is pretty hazy, but how did we deal with that when we had Randle? I don't remember him getting posted up too much, but i could be wrong. i really don't remember.

Without Chauca, we would have lost to Montana in regulation time. Singer was making too many errors and passing ineffectively. Even though it was his first college game, Chauca is clearly totally into the game and brings pg skills and confidence that no other guard has. And he is not afraid to attack and shoot when he is open. Even his final foul that everyone is criticizing was strategically smart. He fouled a player who shot only 2/7 FTs and was exhausted from probably his first 2 OT game and had to shoot with a lot of pressure and in front of a screaming hostile crowd. The alternative would have been a two point shot to possibly tie or a 3 pointer to win. If we flip the scenario around, suppose Montana had a two point lead and Wallace was bringing the ball up court. A Montana player fouling Wallace would be considered a smart play even though Wallace shot 6/11 FTs for the game.

Chauca plays fast. He made a highlight film pass in his first college game. He hit 66% of his 3 point shots and hit 2 clutch free throws. Also, he plays fast.

sluggo_Cal;842417405 said:

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I picture him coming off the bench. Cal will be recruiting better players starting next year. At that height and athletic ability, there is only so much he can do. Randle was a much, much better athlete.

He reminds me of Shantay Legans. Legans did not improve in three years because he was athletically challenged and because his skills were so developed when he arrived. But he was still useful, as Chauca is and will be. Chauca is much more fun to watch.

Sluggo

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The dude can pass the ball.....his court vision is much better than Randle's. He's as quick as Randle with the ball, so penetration shouldn't be an issue. I'm definitely pumped after seeing Chauca play last night.

tenplay;842417436 said:

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Even his final foul that everyone is criticizing was strategically smart. He fouled a player who shot only 2/7 FTs and was exhausted from probably his first 2 OT game and had to shoot with a lot of pressure and in front of a screaming hostile crowd. The alternative would have been a two point shot to possibly tie or a 3 pointer to win. If we flip the scenario around, suppose Montana had a two point lead and Wallace was bringing the ball up court. A Montana player fouling Wallace would be considered a smart play even though Wallace shot 6/11 FTs for the game.

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Just because it worked out in the end doesn't mean it was the smart play at the time. Jordan Gregory was an 85% free throw shooter coming in to this game. Maybe you foul Andrew Bogut in that situation...maybe.

Civil Bear;842417473 said:

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Just because it worked out in the end doesn't mean it was the smart play at the time. Jordan Gregory was an 85% free throw shooter coming in to this game. Maybe you foul Andrew Bogut in that situation...maybe.

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+1

jyamada;842417465 said:

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The dude can pass the ball.....his court vision is much better than Randle's. He's as quick as Randle with the ball, so penetration shouldn't be an issue. I'm definitely pumped after seeing Chauca play last night.

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Chauca also threw a perfect alley-oop pass to Ty on a backscreen/back cut that should have brought down the house (I think we were down 2 or 3), but Ty looked like he was surprised anyone would actually throw him the ball on that -- so Ty muffed it.

KoreAmBear;842417511 said:

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Chauca also threw a perfect alley-oop pass to Ty on a backscreen/back cut that should have brought down the house (I think we were down 2 or 3), but Ty looked like he was surprised anyone would actually throw him the ball on that -- so Ty muffed it.

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I did see that play.......I just assumed Chauca threw the pass too high and didn't go back to review it. I didn't realize the pass was a good one. Wow, even more reason to be excited!

jyamada;842417527 said:

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I did see that play.......I just assumed Chauca threw the pass too high and didn't go back to review it. I didn't realize the pass was a good one. Wow, even more reason to be excited!

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I think Ty was in between wanting to do an alley oop flush in one motion or catch, go back on the floor and gather. So I think that got his timing off.

I think it's arguable whether the pass was on the mark or not, whether Wallace was ready for it or not. I just saw the play again and thought it was behind Wallace, who was expecting it closer to the rim. Wallace should have caught in, landed, and gone back up again. It was too far behind for an alley-oop in one motion. I thought.

concordtom;842417540 said:

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I think it's arguable whether the pass was on the mark or not, whether Wallace was ready for it or not. I just saw the play again and thought it was behind Wallace, who was expecting it closer to the rim. Wallace should have caught in, landed, and gone back up again. It was too far behind for an alley-oop in one motion. I thought.

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OK maybe not perfect, but enough to work with. Probably the best bet -- as Belloumoni also said -- was to catch, gather, then go up strong. No one was there.

Actually, he had 3.

Chauca on pixie dust + milk = Steph Curry?

Really nice passes and supposedly a very good 3 pt shooter.