RollOn;842824957 said:

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I'm willing to be patient to see how this all pans out. If he can end up keeping Moore in place, and re-affirm the current commitments that we have, then perhaps the sky is not falling after all.

Also curious to see if Sarr comes on board. No matter how this whole "search" played out - you have to admit that many of you were clamoring for someone with an understanding of how Cal works and were wary of going down the path of the re-tread. Give the guy a few weeks on the job before we start burning the place down......

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+1

with the crazy contracts Illinois and Mizzou etc were handing out, it's possible that higher-profile candidates were asking for unrealistic $$$.

tsuba, the New York Times reported WMD's in Iraq once upon a time. Do we know if these people are all reporting from the same source? Why hasn't Cal made an announcement?

Man, I feel like I'm being punked. WTF.

seattlebear02;842824973 said:

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Man, I feel like I'm being punked. WTF.

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You are. How's it feel? I wanna compare notes.

bearchamp;842824952 said:

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Does anyone have any reliable information that this is real?

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I got the official call from the AD's office. It's real.

I guess I am the minority but I like it. I'd rather give the job to a charismatic asst coach than a has been or a never was. We are not top of the basketball food chain so we gotta take risks or otherwise our goal is sustained mediocrity.

RollOn;842824957 said:

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I'm willing to be patient to see how this all pans out. If he can end up keeping Moore in place, and re-affirm the current commitments that we have, then perhaps the sky is not falling after all.

Also curious to see if Sarr comes on board. No matter how this whole "search" played out - you have to admit that many of you were clamoring for someone with an understanding of how Cal works and were wary of going down the path of the re-tread. Give the guy a few weeks on the job before we start burning the place down......

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Yeah. Why all the negativity? This could turn out well if the plan is to use the salary budget more for high profile assistants instead of all for the HC. Plus the current players and incoming recruits would seem likely to stay on board. I am cautiously optimistic.

Sebastabear;842824980 said:

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I got the official call from the AD's office. It's real.

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Did they tell you anything else of interest?

Sebastabear;842824980 said:

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I got the official call from the AD's office. It's real.

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They do understand it's underwhelming, yes?

I think it's a good choice. He was on my short list all along. Makes sense on many levels, and the players I've talked to like him.

Welp, better Jones than The Kicker, I suppose.

+1

CalEnviroLaw;842824990 said:

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Yeah. Why all the negativity? This could turn out well if the plan is to use the salary budget more for high profile assistants instead of all for the HC. Plus the current players and incoming recruits would seem likely to stay on board. I am cautiously optimistic.

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Lol, next year is a rebuilding year. The double-whammy is that few people will be optimistic about the what the future holds beyond next season due to this hire.

I'm cautiously optimistic too. People here tremendously undervalue his work with our post players imo. Would love to see Robertson, Gates and/or Abdur-Rahim in the mix as assistants. The idea that Jones was going to stay and be an assistant to a younger guy being promoted up from the same level was never realistic or viable imo, that's just not how the world works.

No one we wanted would take the job at the salary offered.

Is this the first sign the Administration is moving away from big-time sports?

58ballboy;842824997 said:

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I think it's a good choice. He was on my short list all along. Makes sense on many levels, and the players I've talked to like him.

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He is from LA, right? And since he went to LMU, he is unlikely to bolt for his alma mater if he is successful at Cal. Based on limited information, he seems like a "players' coach." Does anyone have any insight on his preferred style of play?

Does anyone know what Jones' responsibilities as an assistant coach at Cal have been? Or his responsibilities at Louisville or New Mexico? All I have ever heard is that he is a good communicator and a good recruiter. That is not enough, as was proven by the last three years. I hope Jones can do more in the way of coaching.

Hard to say, SFCity. I know when he was first hired here there was talk that his responsibility was working with the bigs. If so, that speaks at least moderately well, since both Kam and King have been improving. As for strategy, game management, etc., I know nothing. If he is a good recruiter, that's certainly a plus, although I agree with you that we need a coach who can coach. He did work under Pitino for several years, which is a good sign, but as you point out, we don't know what he did there, either.

CalEnviroLaw;842825020 said:

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He is from LA, right? And since he went to LMU, he is unlikely to bolt for his alma mater if he is successful at Cal. Based on limited information, he seems like a "players' coach." Does anyone have any insight on his preferred style of play?

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#2 (#3?) ssistants don't have a style of play. But he'll be developing one and it will be interesting to see how it evolves. Cuonzo and Pitino have some similarities and some significant differences. Both like to go deep into the bench with short intervals to keep defensive intensity high. A lot more pressing with Pitino.

I'm pretty underwhelmed and disappointed by the hire but he's now a Cal HC and I'll get behind him and hope for the best just as I would with any of the other candidates. I hope he proves everyone wrong and wil be hoping he makes us all look dumb in a few years. That'll make him even easier to root for as it would make a great story.

Thinking about this, it seems to me that the optics of the hire might be the biggest problem. The hire itself makes some sense, but I'm not able to judge it because I don't really know much about Jones other than he's supposedly a good recruiter, has relationships with the current players and recruits, and worked with Pitino. He has enough of a Berkeley connection to make me hopeful he'd like to be here long-term, and in some ways it's to me about the same as hiring Pasternak. Might work well, might not. Clearly not a first choice or they would have done it sooner, I think, but I can see some potential benefits.

For whoever was saying he wasn't even associate HC, I'd have been way more bothered by a hiring of the former associate HC. I'm hopeful Jones will be more a Pitino than a Martin disciple. For now though, it's all about getting a good staff together, keeping the recruits, and getting out on the 2018 class hard. Can't do much but wait and see but I was always going to be underwhelmed given the choices mentioned and this at least might have some upside. I'm not gonna scream and cry just yet.

If Cal keeps Rooks, Moore, Okoroh, Lee and Davis, and holds the recruiting class, the Bears can be very competitive in the Pac12 next year. If Wyking Jones is the next coach, and he can hold that team, he is a very good choice.

Plus, if he is the next coach, the trashing of Wyking Jones by many contributors to this thread is so vile, so reprehensible, so damaging and mindless and hurtful, so ... what are you thinking? Please, just stop it!!!!!!!!

Exactly

bluesaxe;842825045 said:

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Thinking about this, it seems to me that the optics of the hire might be the biggest problem. The hire itself makes some sense, but I'm not able to judge it because I don't really know much about Jones other than he's supposedly a good recruiter, has relationships with the current players and recruits, and worked with Pitino. He has enough of a Berkeley connection to make me hopeful he'd like to be here long-term, and in some ways it's to me about the same as hiring Pasternak. Might work well, might not. Clearly not a first choice or they would have done it sooner, I think, but I can see some potential benefits.

For whoever was saying he wasn't even associate HC, I'd have been way more bothered by a hiring of the former associate HC. I'm hopeful Jones will be more a Pitino than a Martin disciple. For now though, it's all about getting a good staff together, keeping the recruits, and getting out on the 2018 class hard. Can't do much but wait and see but I was always going to be underwhelmed given the choices mentioned and this at least might have some upside. I'm not gonna scream and cry just yet.

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I brought up the Associate HC bit, but you're not getting the point. The point is that Wyking is not qualified this job. Name another HM program that elevated a lower tiered assistant to the HC spot. And not only that, he's apparently getting a 5-year deal. This may be unprecedented.

Well, he's prob getting paid sh*t, so his deal prob won't be too much of a hinderance, should he fail...

Juhwan Harris-Dyson is staying with Jones onboard.

tsubamoto2001;842825050 said:

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I brought up the Associate HC bit, but you're not getting the point. The point is that Wyking is not qualified this job. Name another HM program that elevated a lower tiered assistant to the HC spot. And not only that, he's apparently getting a 5-year deal. This may be unprecedented.

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The only examples I can think of are Todd Bozeman ascending from the #2 slot (albeit under unique circumstances) and a couple of the Duke assistants (also unique circumstances).

Would rather have Jones than Lavin,howland romar, or other knownnfailures. An unknown at least offers hope and continuity

oskidunker;842825055 said:

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Would rather have Jones than Lavin,howland romar, or other knownnfailures. An unknown at least offers hope and continuity

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Agreed

People need to stop. Here's why:

They had him here for a year, under their watchful eye. If you have ANY faith whatsoever that Mike Williams can make a good decision, you have to assume that they really, really liked what they saw.

If you have zero faith in Mike Williams, then all bets are out the window, including the football hire.

Congrats Coach Jones and Go Bears!

Maybe we can hire Porter Sr. away from Cuonzo.. hehehe

Vineyardview;842824814 said:

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Jon Rothstein posts:

BREAKING: Cal will promote assistant Wyking Jones to head coach, per a source. Was on staff with Cuonzo Martin. Also worked for Rick Pitino.

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Worst hire in Cal MBB history, after the worst hiring process in Cal sports history.
Mike Williams is an embarrassment to Cal and college athletics.

BearChemist;842825052 said:

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Baker is staying with Jones onboard.

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Looks more like Harris-Dyson from the tweet you've attached.

BearChemist;842825052 said:

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Baker is staying with Jones onboard.

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Actually, that tweet is about Harris-Dyson, which is also good news. Do we know about Baker yet?