I respectfully disagree, I think this is (so far) worse than the 78-79 Kuchen team, which, until now, was the worst of the 43 Cal basketball teams I have watched. .
There might be more more talent than the 78-79 Kuchen team, but (so far) the performances have been more horrific than the performances from 78-79.
The only game in 78-79 that really made me say *** was the 5 point home loss to Cal St. LA. There were some pretty good efforts by that team, in spite of the losses and lack of talent.
So far, I have seen WAY more on the court confusion, indifference (especially defensive indifference), and sloppy, careless, and fundamentally poor play from this year's Bears than I did in 78-79.
I saw every home game in 78-79, and at least read about the road performances, since most games weren't on TV back then. Especially once Doug True got moved from forward and replaced Schneiderjohn as starting center, the team played with some heart. The Cal career leader in floor burns didn't take that year off effortwise, he was busting his butt every game and playing with sound fundamentals. The home win over WSU remains one of my favorite Cal basketball games of all time. That Raveling coached team probably would have made the NCAA's in a 68 team field, and the crowd, with the late Tom Caselli (brother of John) leading it, greatly helped will the Bears to come back and win that game, easily the best win of the year. The effort against USF in a December 9 point loss was a good one. While they weren't an incredibly well coached team and they lost a lot of games, outside of the Cal St. LA game, nothing made me pissed that that they didn't show up, or didn't give a damn, or didn't have any clue as to what they were doing.
For this team, I was OK with the St. Mary's effort once we got past the opening 10-1 deficit, but still, Cal didn't play St. Mary's nearly as well as the 78-79 team played USF. Wofford, CSUN, they were OK efforts. But Riverside, Chaminade, Central Arkansas? Hooboy.
I know the Bears are inexperienced, but there is no excuse for the defensive indifference shown, and while our inexperience will make us simply overmatched in some games, there is no excuse for how the team has played against some teams that do not have superior talent. A one time happening I could accept, but when it happens multiple times, then I am going to point my finger at the coach.
The season isn't over, the conference season has yet to start, and there is time yet for me to decide this season isn't as bad as 78-79. However, I'm an old man and by the time I drive and park, it takes me close to an hour to get to Haas, as opposed to the short walk from the dorm in 78-79, and I can see every game on TV. I have a feeling I'll be missing some games this year.