Bear19 said:

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And it's great it is to apologize to WJ and his supporters.

The team played their second game in a row with great effort, good execution, and made the Cougars sorry they visited Cal. I just didn't think such a thing would be possible this year.

But WJ had proven that under his tutelage, the team can improve and eventually become competitive in the Pac-12.

Bravo WJ and the Bears!

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I was thinking the same thing myself, and wondering how I could come on the board and apologize. I actually watched most of the Wash game and all of today's game. A very marked improvement in play. I always disliked the venom that was tossed at WJ but seriously questioned whether we would be any better off if we kept WJ as lately as last week.

But having played a lot of BB, and loving the game, and additionally recognizing that we played the best and second worst of the Pac 12, still the players played in sync, looked reasonably well coached. So my assumption at the moment is that we have a spirited group of players who wish the opportunity to show what they can, who also need one or two recruiting classes to help out with talent.

Well played WJ, Thursday and Saturday, you have made your case.

"I have seen the shadow of a coachman, with the shadow of a broom, brush the shadow of a carriage . . . ."

don't fire until you can see the whites of their powder dry, or something

bearister said:

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When a team drops 16 in a row, I don't think the critics of the coach have to over do the self flagellation when there are signs of a turnaround.

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Yeh, even tho not ever nasty to WJ, I sure brought his performance to task. These two games have given some guilt. What I saw of late is improvement. The players are the same players. What they are doing is better. Bring in more troops.

oskidunker said:

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Baloney. A change will be made. 2 wins, one against the second worse team missing three players doesnt mean snything. Wsu looked terrible. I was there. Glad you sundshine pumpers are not making decisions.

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If we regress, you probably win. If the arrow is still going up, he stays. If he stays he has to hit a certain W level next year, for sure. What that threshold is can be debated here

bearister said:

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It is possible that Coach's biggest failing is that his lack of experience hurt him in bringing a young team along as quickly as a more experienced coach could have....but perhaps once the team hit the experience sweet spot he can ably handle the reins. As I have said many times, he is a better coach than Cuonzo.* We will see if this upward trend continues against Furd (which will be under the Maples Nuclear homer umbrella Thursday) and then at the PAC 12 Tourney. If the trend continues then the players are willing to play hard for him and I would keep him and look see after next season.

*By way of example, Wyking is more effectively managing Vanover than Cuonzo managed Rabb (and Rabb had more talent).

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These two wins are nice, but we might be getting a little carried away here...

I think you hit on a key factor: Are almost all the players excited and optimistic about next year? To me, I would weigh that more heavily than a couple of late-season wins. After all, we're still 2-13. (Edit: 2-15, even worse).

Don't get me wrong, I'll LOVE hearing less talk of "all-time worst this" and "all-time worst that".

we are short of funds to change coaches. we have 3 pretty good recruits coming in next season. the arrow is pointing to keeping wyking one more season and see what happens. will renew my season tickets. have had them for 50 years plus. go bears.

Been here 33 years. Wont renew.

The double fucla would be keep jones and raise prices.

calgo430 said:

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we are short of funds to change coaches. we have 3 pretty good recruits coming in next season. the arrow is pointing to keeping wyking one more season and see what happens. will renew my season tickets. have had them for 50 years plus. go bears.

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33 years and will upgrade figuring fire sale will be in effect.

say what you want about this game, but don't give them the excuse of having 3 players out. no one ever gives cal that excuse, and by the way, Gordan was out today.

Big C said:

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bearister said:

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It is possible that Coach's biggest failing is that his lack of experience hurt him in bringing a young team along as quickly as a more experienced coach could have....but perhaps once the team hit the experience sweet spot he can ably handle the reins. As I have said many times, he is a better coach than Cuonzo.* We will see if this upward trend continues against Furd (which will be under the Maples Nuclear homer umbrella Thursday) and then at the PAC 12 Tourney. If the trend continues then the players are willing to play hard for him and I would keep him and look see after next season.

*By way of example, Wyking is more effectively managing Vanover than Cuonzo managed Rabb (and Rabb had more talent).

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These two wins are nice, but we might be getting a little carried away here...

I think you hit on a key factor: Are almost all the players excited and optimistic about next year? To me, I would weigh that more heavily than a couple of late-season wins. After all, we're still 2-13.

Don't get me wrong, I'll LOVE hearing less talk of "all-time worst this" and "all-time worst that".

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2-15 in conference

calgo430 said:

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we are short of funds to change coaches. we have 3 pretty good recruits coming in next season. the arrow is pointing to keeping wyking one more season and see what happens. will renew my season tickets. have had them for 50 years plus. go bears.

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I would like to nominate calgo430 to the Berkeley hall of fame fan club!
Way to go!!

Grigsby said:

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Still need a new coach. Anyone changing their opinion based on the last two games needs their head examined.

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My ex would agree with you. The examination wouldn't be because I've changed my mind about giving WJ another year though.

oskidunker said:

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Baloney. A change will be made. 2 wins, one against the second worse team missing three players doesnt mean snything. Wsu looked terrible. I was there. Glad you sundshine pumpers are not making decisions.

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Nice post. This sunshine pumper has been a critic of WJ for some time and posted how I wished him gone. Having somewhat of an open mind does not hurt, and standing up to what could have been a mistake is as it should be.

The jury is still out on WJ, but the players sure played better Thursday and Saturday. I do not think it all has to do with them waking up.

ps. Needing my head examined has been a life long proposition. First off, I am a Cal fan of 60+ years.

Gotta love Bears fans. WSU is a team that lost by nearly 50 against the Furd Thursday. We hung on for the W.

It is great that we won TWO games. I really dreaded going through the season winless in the pac-12. My Moraga Top Dogs could be in danger (though getting 3 more wins will be hard) but this weekend is largely meaningless (or should be) for making this decision.

Now lets say I lose my bet to Moroga. That would mean that we got to the conference semi-finals. OK. i think you could argue that what that shows, with a VERY short bench, is that there is some hope here and that you could make the pumpers argument about youth. But, as I expect, we lay turds on the road in PaloAlto and in Vegas then I think you are happy about the past 2 games but they don't factor into how you were leaning before the Washington Game.

bearister said:

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When a team drops 16 in a row, I don't think the critics of the coach have to over do the self flagellation when there are signs of a turnaround.

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In the worst conference in memory. I'm not on this particular bandwagon after one decent home win and one home win over a very bad team.

bluesaxe said:

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bearister said:

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When a team drops 16 in a row, I don't think the critics of the coach have to over do the self flagellation when there are signs of a turnaround.

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In the worst conference in memory. I'm not on this particular bandwagon after one decent home win and one home win over a very bad team.

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I have to agree.

Now, I was at the game yesterday, and there is no question in my mind that the team has improved on defense. Better timing on rotations to cut off drives or close out on shooters. Franks and Elleby hit some long, sometimes contested, 3s to keep the Cougs in striking distance.

Overall a fun afternoon and I'm happy for the players.

But it is too little, too late for WJ. The 2018-2019 Cal MBB Bears will have a 2-16 or 3-15 regular season Conference record against a Pac-12 that is perhaps worse than it has ever been. Wazzu is a terrible team that got steamrolled by Stanford, which itself is mediocre at best. Almost every team in the league can be described as a bad team, and the Bears until recently were far worse than that even. And all that with remarkably good luck with our best players' health compared to a typical season.

So this team is (thankfully) not the worst ever and Jones and crew have never been worse than some rec league coach at the YMCA as some have said in their insults. But even if we win a couple more, the body of work indicates that we have to make a change.

Cal MBB needs objectively good coaching. Not 8-24 and 7-22 (against a weak schedule and benefiting from great health) coaching with just a couple bright spots, however tough the situation and however young the team.

Absurd.

"Brush aside all the buzz about firing Wyking Jones.

The Cal head men's basketball coach is probably going to want a contract extension after this week."


From the article in today's SF Chronicle

GoCal80 said:

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"Brush aside all the buzz about firing Wyking Jones.

The Cal head men's basketball coach is probably going to want a contract extension after this week."


From the article in today's SF Chronicle

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If Sandy was still in charge, it would be a no-brainer. Or maybe it is something we do at Cal, prior to firing a coach. First Tedford, then Braun, and maybe now............................

100% wrong? My math says you were at worse 13% wrong (2/15).

Congratulations to Bear basketball fans everywhere. Progress.

We can feel good about what this fine young team is accomplishing. I look for this team to win the next five games. Indeed, I believe they can do it..

However, I do not see where this changes anything regarding the future coaching scenarios. In spite of our fine AD K's full support through the end of the season, I feel a change in the coaching leadership will happen. That's just the way it is.

I have been and I currently support Coach Jones and these young Bears. Thank you, Lads, and go Bears!

GoCal80 said:

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"Brush aside all the buzz about firing Wyking Jones.

The Cal head men's basketball coach is probably going to want a contract extension after this week."


From the article in today's SF Chronicle

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Well, with regard to any talk of an extension, no one said it better than Mr. Wolfe:

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World used to play drunk.

joe amos yaks said:

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Congratulations to Bear basketball fans everywhere. Progress.

We can feel good about what this fine young team is accomplishing. I look for this team to win the next five games. Indeed, I believe they can do it..

However, I do not see where this changes anything regarding the future coaching scenarios. In spite of our fine AD K's full support through the end of the season, I feel a change in the coaching leadership will happen. That's just the way it is.

I have been and I currently support Coach Jones and these young Bears. Thank you, Lads, and go Bears!

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Best post in this thread! My takeaway from this weekend is that the new staff will have a higher value of roster talent.