Seems a possible common thread in the last few years of under performing Cal basketball teams is the lack of a vocal on-court leader. Seems like the upper classmen that we've had lately have not been vocal leader types or have not commanded the respect of the rest of the team because of their playing ability.

Of all the players on the current team Marcus Lee seems like he could be that guy. Wonder if he'll step up, and fill the leadership vacuum and steady a team desperately in need of a Senior leader.

Sorry, I don't agree at all

While I laud Lee's general intelligence and have no doubt that he'll be successful in life, his hoops IQ seems to be a "work in progress".

Lee is a senior. He should be more polished than he is,although he did sit out a year

Interesting OP and EricBear's comment about CM probably justifies my gut reaction of "Yeah, not really since Justin Cobbs". I thought Rabb and Wallace were going to be more leaderish, but CM dominated.

However, I think the impact of a 'leader' varies from program to program and year to year (maybe this is what HD was not agreeing with).

EricBear said:

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.... Cuonzo was the obvious Alpha when he was here, not only during games but in practice. Didn't seem like anyone on the court was similar in personality. Wyking obviously a different personality....

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I take my hate off to the C Man. He is one of the most successful self promoters I have ever seen. He secured a $21 million dollar guaranteed contract and he has sub CYO 6th grade basketball coaching skills on the offensive end. You have to respect that.

evanluck said:

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Seems a possible common thread in the last few years of under performing Cal basketball teams is the lack of a vocal on-court leader. Seems like the upper classmen that we've had lately have not been vocal leader types or have not commanded the respect of the rest of the team because of their playing ability.

Of all the players on the current team Marcus Lee seems like he could be that guy. Wonder if he'll step up, and fill the leadership vacuum and steady a team desperately in need of a Senior leader.

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You talk about "vocal leadership," as if that's what's required. I do think this year's team needs someone to step up and lead. I disagree that a leader has to be outwardly vocal, i.e. talking on the court where we can all hear it. And I disagree that he has to be an upperclassman. In fact, it would be better if it came from someone like McNeil, since he's going to be the floor general and will be playing for a while. And frankly we don't have an upperclassman who's got a track record that alone would command respect. But leadership can occur in practice and in the locker room without manifesting itself in talk during a game and still be effective leadership.

I do agree with the suggestion that Cuonzo sort of dominated that role on the court the last couple of years, probably to the team's detriment.

Good thread.
Good stuff mentioned.

I have a hunch that Paris Austin is going to get good run next year. He's a small fast penetrating point guard. I saw him a bit at Bishop O'Dowd with Ivan and I like his game! I think he'd be giving us a different look already this year if he were eligible.

We are going to be stacked at the 1, 2, and 3 next year!
PG: McNeil, Austin
SG: Coleman, JHD
SF: Bradley, Gordon
PF: Sueing, Kelly
C: Incoming recruit or transfer, Ivanicevich

That's my current 2018 2-deep. A lot will depend on what other BIG(S) we bring in, and if Jacobi Gordon heals up well enough to play next November. Since we currently don't know, I've slid Bradley into the lineup in front of him.

I don't currently see how McCullough and Winston get play going forward. Davis may get fill up top where we are bare.

Those are good players 1 thru 4. Ivanicevich would be clearly out of position at the 5. Or Kelly the same if we flip he and Ivanicevich on my chart.

But back to the OP, I definitely can envision Austin coming in and being your traditional floor general, though I have not much basis to claim that. He and McNeil could be on the floor together were it not for the fact that we'll want to get the other SG's out there; as it is, I've slid Bradley from the 2 to the 3 for this reason. And pushed Sueing to the 4 to make room for the talent to fit (not to mention not having any other TRUE bigs).

EricBear said:

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https://twitter.com/McDonoughEric/status/933115460966428674/video/1

Working with O'Toole post-VCU. Impressed O'Toole immensely.

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Nice looking kids. Congrats.
And that's a beautiful rainbow photo as well.
Thanks.

concordtom said:

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Ivanicevich would be clearly out of position at the 5. Or Kelly the same if we flip he and Ivanicevich on my chart.

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Are you talking about Anticevich or about a deal we made with the Trump campaign?

I agree with you that leadership is more important than vocal leadership. Leading by example is always the most effective. However, when a respected leader is willing to be vocal then the effectiveness is enhanced.

Some things I would expect to see if an effective leader emerges:

Team should be better on the road. For the past few years we've been very good at home and much worse on the road. I know most college teams are better at home but the difference between home and road performance has been exaggerated in the last few years.

Team should be better in tournaments. When we've participated in higher stakes games like tournaments, we have under performed. When the rest of the guys are uncomfortable having a leader with confidence to spare gives the rest of the guys an anchor.

Team should be less susceptible to streaks by the opposing team. When the other teams goes on a run, especially late in the game, we haven't been great at drawing a line in the sand.

I would agree from what I've seen of Marcus Lee that he is not a natural, alpha-type leader. However, he's been in big time situations being part of the Kentucky program. He is likely the most gifted athlete on the team and he is a senior. These are all things that should make is possible for him to stretch out of his comfort zone and assume a leadership role. If he were a true leader, with his athletic gifts I would have expected him to play a bigger role in Kentucky and have figured out his own game to a greater extent than he has demonstrated so far at Cal. I also saw something interesting at a press conference where is was playing with the press saying something like, "Oh you're one of us, you're on our side." That indicates that he is aware that the team is likely going to get lots of criticism and scrutiny from the press and that he is trying to rally the guys in an "us versus the world" type of way.

Better for the future of the program that it is one of the younger guys, but it will likely take half the season or more for one of them to develop into a leadership role.

In general it is an interesting puzzle to figure this year out and how the year should be utilized for the greatest long term benefit for the program. I hope Coach Jones maximizes the opportunities.

Go Bears!

The leader of this team is McNeill. I don't hink there is another choice at the moment. It either has to be a go to guy like Coleman or Sueing, or a take charge guy like McNeill. Marcus Lee is athletic, exciting sometimes, and perhaps the team's best cheerleader, but a leader has to be able to stay on the floor, and he has had beaucoup problems doing that. You can't be the team leader if you are on the bench. I think a lot of it is all the defenses we run, and he has played mostly man-to-man defense all his life, I'd wager. So he is not comfortable on defense, I'd guess, and he makes too many errors on offense. As to Coleman, he has two speeds, very fast, and out-of-control fast, and makes too many errors. Your leader should be the calmest guy on the floor. That is how to instill confidence. Nothing should bother him.

McNeill is only a freshman, but he is already a better leader on the floor than anyone Cal had under Cuonzo, IMO. McNeill is doing OK at running offense, starting and directing the play. I'd like him to get more assists, but he often gets hot with his shooting hand, and when a player gets hot, you pretty much have to give him the ball to shoot until he cools off. Defensively, he needs to be a better man defender and in zone, he needs to learn when not to leave his zone and trap. But he is aggressive with his own play, his shooting, his play-making and his defense. And he has no one behind him who can do much of that. We do need to see a lot more of a healthy Harris-Dyson to see if he might be in the mix for team leader.

Next year, Austin might fit the bill, and if he is more of a leader than McNeill, then maybe McNeil slides to the two. They tried last night with Winston at the one. Winston is playing with a little more confidence, but he is lacking in size and aggressiveness. I think the leader job is McNeill's until he loses it. He is our best player at the moment, IMO.

Have a feeling that McNeil will be the best player on this team for years to come...that was a key recruiting flip!

He needs to have the confidence to demand that this is his team. DC is great but I don't think it bodes well to have a high volume shooter to be your leader.