Story Poster
Photo by Twitter / Cal Basketball
Cal Basketball

Bears Roll Over CS East Bay in Basketball exhibition

October 30, 2018
10,574

It wasn’t the most stylish of wins, and Cal will have to play a lot more effectively to win in the Pac-12, but the Bears did come out on top Tuesday night over Cal-State East Bay, 82-62,, at Haas Pavilion.

The game was an exhibition and will not count in win-loss record, nor will the stats be entered into the official record. But Wyking Jones, launching his second season as the Bears head coach, was able to see his young roster compete against someone besides themselves.

"I saw some good things, Jones said. "I told the guys throughout the course of the game when we move the ball and make the defense work, we get really good looks. We got in the lane and penetration for a dump off, penetration for a lob. But I think far too many times we came down, one dribble, handoff and a shot. One pass shot. I think we played too much one-on-one basketball. Moving forward we need to play more team basketball. 

"We’ve got room for improvement."

Point guard Paris Austin, the transfer from Boise State who had to sit out last year, finally got on the court and pretty much gave the Bearts what they had hoped for.

"Statistically he looked good," Jones said "He finished the game with eight assists and that is eomstheing that we didn't see last year. Any time you get eight assists from your point guard. Eight assists and 15 points..But I felt like he pushed the issue a little bit too much at times. Got in the lane and tried to score when he could have kicked out. But overall I thought he was solid."

The four freshmen Jones is counting on to help the Bears improve on last year’s 8-24 record --Matt Bradley, Andre Kelly, Connor Vanover and Jacobi Gordon --  all got meaningful minutes in their respective Cal debuts.

"I thought they were solid as well," Jones said. "There was a couple of times when Connor didn't get back on defense and they made us pay. I didn't feel like they were nervous, and for freshmen that's a big step. I felt Andre was very comfortable out there. I felt like Connor was comfortable out there. I was happy that I didn't see any fear in their eyes."

Bradley led the Bears with 18 points, while Austin and Sueing had 15 each."Tonight I knew playing in my first game I had to be really aggressive," Bradley said. "Get to the rim, play hard."

"I felt like as a team we need to get better in transition defense," Austin said, echoing his coach.  "Offensive rebounding. And we took a lot of rushed shots tonight. I think everybody is excited just to get out there and play. It is definitely something we have to work on."

The Bears did wind up shooting 54.9 per cent from the floor after hitting just 48 per cent in the first half. 

Cal was without guard Juhwan Harris-Dyson and forward Roman Davis. Harris-Dyson is officially listed as “day-to-day” with a hand injury, but he did not suit up for the Tuesday night game. A starter for most of last season Harris-Dyson averaged 6.2 points per game,

Davis has academic issues. The Bears news release said the school was working with the NCAA on an “eligibility waiver.” The 6-7 junior forward has been attending class and practicing with the team, but is not scheduled to travel to China for the official season opener against Yale in Shanghai. He played in 25 games last year all off the bench, averaging 1.9 points and 2.1 rebounds.

Cal took control of Tuesday night’s game early, opening a 12-point lead with an 11-0 run and the Pioneers did not get any closer the rest of the half. All of the freshmen had a hand in the spurt, as did sophomore Justic Sueing.

The Pioneers did take advantage of some cold Cal shooting and carelessness to get a little closer in the second half. Josh Dhatt hit a three and suddenly the visitors were within 11 and had a littoe momentum.  But in a remarkable sequence Sueing and Gordon hit treys within two seconds of elapsed time and ten seconds later Gordon was on the line for two free throws. That made the score 53-34 and that was pretty much that.

Vanover had only field goal, but it was a beauty. He took an alley-oop pass from Austin and slammed it home. “Me and Connor we work that in practice so much," Austin said. "I was reading the defense. We had gotten into our play and I rejected the screen. Someone came out on me and I saw Connor from the side of my eye and I put it up. He caught it and it was a great play by him.”

The crowd was announced as 3568, but that was a genrous count.

The Bears next take the court in China, November 9. They return to the mainlaind for two games, Nov. 13 and 15 before taking off for Brooklyn and two games there. They are certainly racking up the miles

 

Discussion from...

Bears Roll Over CS East Bay in Basketball exhibition

9,733 Views | 12 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by stu
calfanz
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Glad to have hoops back!!

3 point defense...no bueno

Free throw shooting better

Frosh look good, great bodies on Kelly, Gordon and Bradley.

Sophs were disappointing.
stu
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Juniors:

I thought Austin played pretty well, and he put up good numbers. But this was not a PAC-12 opponent - hope he'll be adequate against those.

Davis DNP.

Sophs:

To me Sueing looked like the best player on the floor.

McNeill did not have a good game offensively, but we've seen him do better.

Anticevich took a while to get going but later in the game looked OK. Against CSUEB. He has added a lot of good weight.

Harris-Dyson DNP. I think his defense and hustle would have helped us.

Freshies:

Bradley played a lot of minutes and did a lot of good things. Looks to me like a good get.

Kelly seems to have a variety of skills, a big body, and decent athleticism. I was pleasantly surprised. I think he'll become a solid power forward but not a Pac-12 center.

Gordon did some good things and showed no evidence of injury.

I'm afraid Vanover has a long way to go. He may get there but I'm not expecting much this season.

Overall:

It should take some time for this team to come together, especially on defense which looked disorganized tonight. We're very young and not very deep so I'm not expecting a good record this season. I hope we look like we're progressing.
graguna
How long do you want to ignore this user?
stu said:

Juniors:

I thought Austin played pretty well, and he put up good numbers. But this was not a PAC-12 opponent - hope he'll be adequate against those.

Davis DNP.

Sophs:

To me Sueing looked like the best player on the floor.

McNeill did not have a good game offensively, but we've seen him do better.

Anticevich took a while to get going but later in the game looked OK. Against CSUEB. He has added a lot of good weight.

Harris-Dyson DNP. I think his defense and hustle would have helped us.

Freshies:

Bradley played a lot of minutes and did a lot of good things. Looks to me like a good get.

Kelly seems to have a variety of skills, a big body, and decent athleticism. I was pleasantly surprised. I think he'll become a solid power forward but not a Pac-12 center.

Gordon did some good things and showed no evidence of injury.

I'm afraid Vanover has a long way to go. He may get there but I'm not expecting much this season.

Overall:

It should take some time for this team to come together, especially on defense which looked disorganized tonight. We're very young and not very deep so I'm not expecting a good record this season. I hope we look like we're progressing.

I was at the game and agree with your assessment. I really like our freshman class. This team will be better than last year but not good. Next year we should be solid.
calbearinamaze
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Thanks for the comments. Is it true that Matt Bradley played point guard and
center...and played the trumpet at halftime?

That's meant to be somewhat funny....I'm just glad he's at CAL


If you believe in forever
Then life is just a one-night stand
If there's a rock and roll heaven
Well you know they've got a hell of a band
Big C
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Matt Bradley looks like a guy you would NOT want to mess with. Glad he's on our side.
helltopay1
How long do you want to ignore this user?
random thoughts:
1) The announced crowd was 3, 568. The person who added up the customers was not a math major. The actual crowd was 12 people. There were more cheerleaders than customers. The customers were better looking.
2) The team will be slightly improved this year.
3) The team will be better next year
4) the team will be better the following year.
5) MacNeil needs to adjust in a hurry.
6) Gordon was a surprise. He probably is a year away.
7) vanover is probably 2 years away. Happy to have him.
8) Kelly will prove useful but he is undersized.
9) I like the Aussie but he will always be a rotation player. Nothing wrong with that.
10) Thorpe needs to be a better player than Kelly and the Aussie.
11) Thank God for Sueing.
12) Bradley is a baller. Sweet pull-up jumper who also drives hard to the hoop. Our zone continues to be very spotty and gives up way too many perimeter shots.
13) We still need more pure shooters. Hopefully Smith will fill that gap next year.
14) Hopefully the emergence of Brown next year will allow MacNeil to concentrate on one position.
15) all and all, a good experience. Was only mugged three times walking home. Two druggies and one Democrat . The druggies needed drug money and the democrat needed money for the next parade.
joe amos yaks
How long do you want to ignore this user?
". . . fans mugged by boofs and politicians. . ." That's not good, but they draw from the same well.

What about:
  • sparse attendance
  • "cold shooting and carelessness"
  • progress on defense
  • conditioning
  • do we have a slasher, an enforcer, and overall perimeter shooting?

Are we looking for significant progress or the tournament?

With all the talk about next year and the sparse attendance, how many conference wins will these Bears have in 2018-19 . . . 2, 5, 10, 12?
"Those who say don't know, and those who know don't say." - LT
oskidunker
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Lucky you were not at Bart at 4 am. Bloody man closed down system. Why do all the creeps go to Bart?
Go Bears!
BeachedBear
How long do you want to ignore this user?
I agree with all the positive and realistic player assessments. I also agree that defense and rebounding need to improve IN A WEEK. This team is still searching for an identity, but I wanted to see more of an aggressive take from the outset. I know its just an exhibition, but it should have been more of a blow out and the players need to be more focused and hungry. They were lucky the opponent was smaller, slower and not as talented - it was the last time that will happen this season.

Now, it may be the staff was trying to play a lot of different lineups and taken away from the 'flow'. And for that, I'm glad - because I really wanted to see what all the new players can do - and I did.

Last year, we won 8 games. A real good coach, may have been able to win 10 or 12 and avoid most of the embarrassments. After this brief glimpse, I'm not seeing more than 12 wins this season - and I think that's mostly due to mediocre motivation, scheme and preparation (aka coaching). In other words, I think a real good coach could probably get 16-18 wins out of this team and this schedule.
stu
How long do you want to ignore this user?
BeachedBear said:

After this brief glimpse, I'm not seeing more than 12 wins this season - and I think that's mostly due to mediocre motivation, scheme and preparation (aka coaching).

I would add inexperience. Last night we had exactly TWO players (Sueing and McNeill) on the court with significant experience playing together. One more (Anticevich) had played just a few minutes with those two. The others, one transfer and four freshies, had never before played in Cal uniforms. I expect that situation to improve as the season progresses. If it doesn't then I'll wonder about the coaching.
SFCityBear
How long do you want to ignore this user?
stu said:



........To me Sueing looked like the best player on the floor.......



I was unable to see the game, but this sounds good. I would like to see Sueing pass more to teammates than he did last season. He averaged the fewest number of assists (1.7) per 40 minutes of any player in the rotation except Okoroh. Even Winston and Davis had as many assists per 40 minutes. Last year, he too often looked like he was playing by himself. He often had to, as our offense had little else. Hopefully this season Cal will share the ball more,
stu
How long do you want to ignore this user?
SFCityBear said:

stu said:



........To me Sueing looked like the best player on the floor.......



I was unable to see the game, but this sounds good. I would like to see Sueing pass more to teammates than he did last season. He averaged the fewest number of assists (1.7) per 40 minutes of any player in the rotation except Okoroh. Even Winston and Davis had as many assists per 40 minutes. Last year, he too often looked like he was playing by himself. He often had to, as our offense had little else. Hopefully this season Cal will share the ball more,
I didn't notice much passing from Sueing but the rest of his game looked good. The stats show our team had only 12 assists on 28 baskets and 8 of those 12 came from Austin. I expect the passing to improve as our players get to know one another better. At least our scoring was balanced with 5 players in double figures.
Refresh
Page 1 of 1
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.