3/22/19 Update: DARIUS MCNEILL TRANSFERRING:

Back on Feb. 18, 2019, I shared with you that there will be key transfers from Cal as has been each of the last two years under the current coach (see the last two paragraphs in my 2/22/19 post below). Some of you criticized me for pointing out the ugly realities of Cal MBB under the current coach. Well, Today, many of you are acting shocked that Darius McNeill (a starter and one of the top two scoring leaders in the team) has announced his transfer (does anyone recall the Casablanca movie scene, "shocked, just shocked"?). Next time, please don't kill the messenger. Unfortunately, more bad news about Cal MBB is coming. Now, we can all expect a five paragraph explanation from SFCityBear (like his 3/15/19 post helow) telling us everything is well with Cal MBB and all is needed is another year or two under this coach. Go Bears!

2/18/19 ORIGINAL POST:
Some apologists for the current coach have tried to create a myth that he is doing well in recruiting and that should be the reason for retaining him.

The fact is that Cal MBB recruiting is NOT SO GOOD.

Here are the facts (all data according to Rivals.com).

. 2019 Cal MBB Recruiting: Ranked #9 in Pac-12
(Arizona and USC are ranked #1 and #2 in the nation. Cal is around #60 in the nation with three 3 star recruits-nothing to write home about).

. 2018 Cal MBB Recruiting: Ranked #9 in Pac-12
(Again, nothing to write home about).

Also, please consider the retention record of this coach.

Each of the two years under this coach a key starter from the prior year has transfered. Additionally the top recruit who had already signed a LOI with Cal went to another school. Two players were forced out by the same coach only 10 months after he gave them a four year scholarship. And, then there is how Theo Robertson, a Cal hero from nearby DLS, was treated.

So, do you really think players and recruits who are good enough to be desirable by schools with good coaches will stay and play for a coach who has lost 21 consecutive conference games?

Go Bears!

So let me get this straight Calbear80. Is this post suggesting that you're not happy with our current coach?

No Cal fan is happy with the current 0-13 this year and 21 consecutive conference losses.

Then, when we look to the future, things are not looking much better.

Well below average recruiting, bad retention record and poor* coaching skills are not the recipe for a winning program.

Something has to change.

Go Bears!

* Did you see how open USC's Boatwright was time and again last Saturday? After he smirked at our bench and our fans in our home court for scoring 36 points, he said he could not believe how open he was all game. Mercifully, USC coach took him out of the game with about 10 minutes to go to avoid embarrassing us even further (yes, he did allow him to come back in later for a minute just to break the record before sitting him down for good).

Ok, now I completely understand that your point is you believe Cal needs to fire their coach. My guess is that other posters understand it as well.

Perhaps in the future you will be able to comment on other issues concerning the basketball program.

I truly look forward to it.

There is nothing left to talk about with cal basketball. We know what the outcome of the games will be and there is no sign of change coming.

Just mute the program.

RedlessWardrobe said:

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So let me get this straight Calbear80. Is this post suggesting that you're not happy with our current coach?

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Talk about a tortured and twisted interpretation of Calbear80's intentions. Good God, Sir, have you no common decency?

RedlessWardrobe said:

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Ok, now I completely understand that your point is you believe Cal needs to fire their coach.

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I don't know where you're getting that. It really destroys the openness of the forum if we start jumping to conclusions, reading between the lines, and putting words in each other's mouths. Let Calbear80 speak for himself and lay down another one of his fresh takes.

RedlessWardrobe said:

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So let me get this straight Calbear80. Is this post suggesting that you're not happy with our current coach?

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Good grief. No need to project hasty conclusions.

Yes, to all of you out there I plead guilty for hastily jumping to the conclusion that calbear80 wants the current coach removed.

I just thought that with a little bit of motivation, I might persuade him to comment on other aspects of Cal Basketball. As mentioned, there not be much else to talk about, but I must admit that the postings from cb80 have become, may I dare say - a bit repetitious.

Good one Bearister!

Now that our season has ended prematurely, it is time to talk about our recruiting.

Go Bears!

calbear80 said:

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Some apologists for the current coach have tried to create a myth that he is doing well in recruiting and that should be the reason for retaining him.

The fact is that Cal MBB recruiting is NOT SO GOOD.

Here are the facts (all data according to Rivals.com).

. 2019 Cal MBB Recruiting: Ranked #9 in Pac-12
(Arizona and USC are ranked #1 and #2 in the nation. Cal is around #60 in the nation with three 3 star recruits-nothing to write home about).

. 2018 Cal MBB Recruiting: Ranked #9 in Pac-12
(Again, nothing to write home about).

Also, please consider the retention record of this coach.

Each of the two years under this coach the top scorers from the prior year have transfered. Additionally the top recruit who had already signed a LOI with Cal went to another school. Two players were forced out by the same coach only 10 months after he gave them a four year scholarship. And, then there is how Theo Robertson, a Cal hero from nearby DLS, was treated.

So, do you really think players and recruits who are good enough to be desirable by schools with good coaches will stay and play for a coach who has lost 21 consecutive conference games?

Go Bears!

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I won't bother to go into recruit rankings, because I don't believe them, especially team rankings (see Cal, 2003). But if you think the incoming 2019 class is bad, then wait until you get Wyking Jones fired, and see what the 2019 class looks like then, after one or two recruits get flipped, and the new coach fails to get anyone, or anyone good in his first few months on the job, with most of the good recruits already committed. That would be typical of most coaches in their first season.

You lied about the program under Wyking Jones. Again. And I am getting sick and tired of looking up things on the internet to prove it. Wyking Jones may stink as a coach, but that doesn't excuse telling lies about him to make him any worse than he may be.

"Each of the top scorers from the previous year have transferred" A flat-out lie. I give you sports-reference.com Tsubamoto's Bible for college statistics. In Jones first year, the top scorer from the previous team was Ivan Rabb with 434 points. He did not transfer. He left to play in the NBA. Everybody and his brother thought young Ivan would leave for the NBA after his freshman year. He fooled us and stayed for a second, blowing up his chance at a decent draft pick. There was no way in the world he would stay for another year, even if Steve Kerr would come to Cal and be the coach. Or maybe if his mom demanded it. I say no way he would chance staying another year and maybe lose his NBA chance altogether. And I would remind you once again that Ivan Rabb declared for the NBA draft THREE DAYS BEFORE Wyking Jones was named Cal head coach. Rabb was never on Jones' Cal roster, EVER.

And if you are going to tell us you agreed with that, and Charlie Moore was the top scorer (414 points) who left, well I would kindly ask you to stop dragging Cal's good name, and Wyking Jones name through the mud continuing to say that Moore and Rooks left Cal because they did not want to play for Wyking, instead of the real reason which was they were needed to be near their families in a time of sorrow and healing. It was beneath despicable to hint that, let alone say it. The best scorer in points/game was Jabari Bird, and he finished his 4th year and went to the Celtics. No transfer there either.

As for Jones's second year, the leading scorer from the first year was Justice Sueing with 442 points. Last time I looked, he played all of this season, and is still on the roster for next season. If you are thinking of Coleman, whose points per game was tops at 14.2 ppg, well he had the worst 2-point shooting percentage in the rotation, at 0.361, and the worst 3-point shooting percentage at 0.243. He only scored high because he took more shots than anyone on the team. He was a one-man wrecking crew, when it came to wrecking the Cal offense. I guess I should expect that someone who liked Coleman would not like Jones. The reason Coleman played 2 less games than Sueing was that Jones suspended him. Real team player, that one. I'm glad he transferred.