Shocky1;842383084 said:

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good evening ladies & gentlemen, i'm sir william shocky shakeyspeare & welcome to english 23, the study of the oakland super hero...i'm substituting for professor dr kelly thompson as she is away getting a brazilian wax in preparation for the san francisco opera's magnificient production of la boheme but i digress...tonight's seminar will focus on the words and the meaning behind those words with respects to oakland super hero, mr ivan rabb


let us examine the most recent comments by mr rabb regarding the arizona basketball program

"they told me that they feel like that they have everything as a program that i need to reach my goals"

one must wonder how the arizona coaching staff thinks a mediocre education from the university of arizona and it's 2014 88% acceptance rate will help mr rabb achieve his goals...do they think he wants to be a shift supervisor at the chipotle on country club?


"showed me a lot of clips of aaron gordon and derrick williams and how they utilized them and how i could make a similar impact"

interesting to note that mr miller did not show any clips of former bishop o'dowd superstar brandon ashley who has not developed as expected in tuscon...earlier comments from chance comanche, caleb swanigan & steven zimmerman reveal that they have been show the exact same clips and promised the same glorious utilization and false nba dreams of stardom


"they told me that they fly on charter flights and how it would be easier to get home instead of waiting in an airport to be able to get to class the next morning"

did mr miller also explain that most airlines don't fly nonstop to tuscon without a stop first at the phoenix airport because it's a second rate city?


"it's (the relationship with the arizona staff) gotten a lot better since i told them i wanted to visit (on an official trip)"

this is clearly a manipulative and dysfunctional relationship...mr miller and his staff's interest in mr rabb is limited to whatever he can do for them on the basketball court...as long as he acquiesces to their demands, he will be in favor with them


"i talked to aaron gordon...he told me to at least take a visit and that i would have the time of my life...he said i wouldn't want to leave...he said every game is on tv, the fans are the best in the country and that every game is a sell out"

this is predictable advice from a non student athlete baller who had zero interest in academics and/or business development skills during his 8 months in tuscon...it is possible that mr gordon doesn't even realize that there is a university component of the arizona basketball program

in summary, one can only conclude that arizona is a glorified junior college with a successful basketball program and that tuscon is a dump


i will be more than happy to visit with any of you during office hours but mostly this comment is directed at the brunette with the shapely legs sitting in the 7th row...yes, i'm talking about you, don't make me growl like a bear


good evening


the university of california, berkeley=#1 ranked public (#3 overall) university in the world

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who is the most biased & least informed sideline reporter in college basketball?

that would be espn's jeff goodman who "reported" last nite:
**that cuonzo martin was rejected for the marquette job, not true
**that the tennessee pro cheater bruce pearl petition was signed by 30,000 students, not adult redneck fans
**that cuonzo & the staff's lack of west coast ties will hurt cal recruiting, let's see how this plays out

goodman (who is a proud owner of 3 chins & a degree from the university of arizona) gets half of his cal "info" from josh pasternak


bear down (on twinkies)#

cal's fast start this season in large part can be attributed to the developmental coaching up by the bears bigs coach, jon harris...harris is working his guys extra sessions (within ncca guidelines), he will not be outworked

*****christian behrens, the bears most improved player, dude is fearless in taking the charge & his intensity is now off the charts
*****kingsley okoroh, the king's footwork around the basket is improving daily (sure helps matter that the king doesn't think he's a stretch 4)
*****david kravish, 12 points, 9 boards, 3 blocks & tough interior d (without getting into foul trouble) & an emerging perimeter game knocking down a 3 pointer

huge challenge for jon & his angry bigs bears vs texas tonite & the 2014 class #2 ranked player, myles turner

[video=youtube;_wDVF0Hlfj4][/video]
i'm the sketchy looking fan in the blue & gold jacket and cal golf cap clapping courtside at the 8-10 second mark

we attack#

texas will be without the services of starting point guard & leading scorer isaiah taylor (15.0 ppg) with an injured left wrist...taylor was talking **** to the iowa players all nite & then was clownpunked when he tried to throw down a dunk with around 2 minutes in the game which resulted in the hawkeye player receiving a flagrant 2 & ejection

the undefeated & 10th ranked longhorns are led by #10 6'8" 240 lbs jonathan holmes 14.3 ppg & 6.7 rpg and #52 6'10" 240 lbs freshman sensation myles turner 10.0 ppg & 6.0 rpg...texas is crushing opponents on the boards by a +13 margin, the bears putting a body on guys & boxing out will be critical...the longhorns are long, athletic & deep, they will rotate fresh players throughout the contest

10 blocked shots + non effective teammate facilitation (6 assists)=1st loss of the season for the bears



back to work#

Shocky1;842407011 said:

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10 blocked shots + non effective teammate facilitation (6 assists)=1st loss of the season for the bears



back to work#

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shockster….We are not as good as we thought we may be after trouncing 'cure, but we are better than we think right now……I think it is "Yanni Time"…..

12 of 22 free throws=55%=extra free throw practice

David K came to Cal as a skinny freshmen and has improved every year
However this year, Coach Martin has given him more freedom and encouraged David to extend his shooting to the 3

David was 2-3 from behind the arc in the 2K Classic, and won tournament team honors while battling against some of the top front line players in college basketball.

HoopDreams;842407076 said:

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David K came to Cal as a skinny freshmen and has improved every year
However this year, Coach Martin has given him more freedom and encouraged David to extend his shooting to the 3

David was 2-3 from behind the arc in the 2K Classic, and won conference team honors while battling against some of the top front line players in college basketball.

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You mean he won TOURNAMENT team honors.
And, yes, that is awesome.

Shocky1;842406621 said:

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[video=youtube;_wDVF0Hlfj4][/video]
i'm the sketchy looking fan in the blue & gold jacket and cal golf cap clapping courtside at the 8-10 second mark

we attack#

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Nice.
How come you didn't yell at Boeheim asking if he knew about his pervert assistant?
Did you look up Robin Ficker?

Jordan Matthews has got to put some arch on his foul shot. He is giving up 2 to 5 pts a game if he doesn't. He shoots his foul shots with the same arch as his jumper but on his jumper he is at least 2 ft off the ground giving him a higher arch. The flat free throw will cost him and Cal dozens of pts and possibly even a few games this year.

eddie at the front desk of my hotel calls this morning with the requested 4:30 am wake out up call so i can catch an early morning flight from jfk to sfo in time for the big game after our epic victory (and also a loss to texas) vs the hometown crowd syracuse orangemen on the biggest stage on earth, madison square garden...i tell eddie i'm in a hurry & if he can line up a taxi for me in 5-10 minutes...he tells me sure, no problem, he'll take care of it himself

get downstairs, check out & sure enough hustling eddie's got the taxi ready to roll & the door open for me...so i slide smooth eddie a fiver & he gives me a sly thank you with a nod of the head as he closes the door to the taxi

so we are driving the deserted streets of manhattan & as we cross broadway sayeed the cab driver lets me know that eddie shook him down for $5 in order to keep the coveted airport run...i tell sayeed no problem, i'm gonna take care of him

15 minutes later as we cross thru a toll sayeed is telling me that toll doesn't automatically charge him, that's gonna be a $5 extra charge...sure sayeed, whatever

gotta love nyc...i don't got no worries, i'm gonna charge you 5 bucks for reading this post




city never sleeps#

bearmanpg;842407202 said:

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Jordan Matthews has got to put some arch on his foul shot. He is giving up 2 to 5 pts a game if he doesn't. He shoots his foul shots with the same arch as his jumper but on his jumper he is at least 2 ft off the ground giving him a higher arch. The flat free throw will cost him and Cal dozens of pts and possibly even a few games this year.

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This was one game, and he went 3-6. Last year, as a true freshman, JM hit over 76% of his free throws on 84 attempts. Less than 24 hours before this game, he went 8-10 against Syracuse, and he was shooting 10-14 (71%) so far this season in total. As a team, the Bears definitely need to pick it up, but I don't think Jordan Mathews is the biggest concern. Bird, Mathews and Kravish are probably the most solid FT shooters on the team.

not a pretty sight (at all)



cal is a basketball school#

Shocky1;842408016 said:

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cal is a basketball school#

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+1.

LOUMFSG2;842407902 said:

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This was one game, and he went 3-6. Last year, as a true freshman, JM hit over 76% of his free throws on 84 attempts. Less than 24 hours before this game, he went 8-10 against Syracuse, and he was shooting 10-14 (71%) so far this season in total. As a team, the Bears definitely need to pick it up, but I don't think Jordan Mathews is the biggest concern. Bird, Mathews and Kravish are probably the most solid FT shooters on the team.

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Then he is now shooting 65% on the year. I still think he needs more arch but time will tell.

We didn't know what we had with Kingsley
Was he a project that would enter the game with a minute to go in a blowout win?
Was he cement boots slow?
Was his encouraging play vs Alcorn State and Kennesaw State due more to the competition?

Well, I think Cal's got a real player...going up against the top front court talent of Syracuse and Texas he showed he belongs.
He helped Cal beat Syracuse by holding their star senior 6-9 250 lb Rakeem Christmas to just six points, and matched him with 5 rebounds

Look at him battle for the ball against 3 orange players...



Cal will have two legit centers next year. Future Power Forwards looking at Cal should take note. You won't be expected to play the center position at Cal

NVBear78;842406215 said:

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Ok Shocky, what will it take to get one of these gems to commit and have the rest follow like dominoes. Come on Ivan, you know the Cal coaches and players like family. Makes the commitment and the others will follow.

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recruiting is kinda like kissing the girl of your dreams, if it's gonna happen it will happen when the timing is authentically right for everybody

HoopDreams;842408327 said:

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We didn't know what we had with Kingsley
Was he a project that would enter the game with a minute to go in a blowout win?
Was he cement boots slow?
Was his encouraging play vs Alcorn State and Kennesaw State due more to the competition?

Well, I think Cal's got a real player...going up against the top front court talent of Syracuse and Texas he showed he belongs.
He helped Cal beat Syracuse by holding their star senior 6-9 250 lb Rakeem Christmas to just six points, and matched him with 5 rebounds

Look at him battle for the ball against 3 orange players...

Cal will have two legit centers next year. Future Power Forwards looking at Cal should take note. You won't be expected to play the center position at Cal

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The King was who I thought he'd be!

Shocky1;842407246 said:

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eddie at the front desk of my hotel calls this morning with the requested 4:30 am wake out up call so i can catch an early morning flight from jfk to sfo in time for the big game...i tell eddie i'm in a hurry & if he can line up a taxi for me in 5-10 minutes...he tells me sure, no problem, he'll take care of it himself

get downstairs, check out & sure enough hustling eddie's got the taxi ready to roll & the door open for me...so i slide smooth eddie a fiver & he gives me a sly thank you with a nod of the head as he closes the door to the taxi

so we are driving the deserted streets of manhattan & as we cross broadway sayeed the cab driver lets me know that eddie shook him down for $5 in order to keep the coveted airport run...i tell sayeed no problem, i'm gonna take care of him

15 minutes later as we cross thru a toll sayeed is telling me that toll doesn't automatically charge him, that's gonna be a $5 extra charge...sure sayeed, whatever

gotta love nyc...i don't got no worries, i'm gonna charge you 5 bucks for reading this post




city never sleeps#

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I woke up this morning looking out at the sparkling dew covering the pasture, the sun rising over the ridge, shining thru the trees and creating dapples of light on the back lawn. 4 deer had wandered thru the open fence gate and were nibbling innocently.

I like living in the country!
The view was free.

zach collins, a top 50 2016 6'10" 215 lbs power forward from bishop gorman (coached by zach's father, mike) in las vegas has narrowed his finalists to 8 schools with arizona, unlv, gonzaga & new mexico assured official visits...the collins family intends to make an unofficial visit to cal this weekend when bishop gorman plays a monster opening game vs ivan rabb's bishop o'dowd dragons on saturday november 29th at 8:30 pm at newark memorial in the nor cal tip off classic



zach was 6'8" as a freshman & has grown another 2 inches and is continuing to grow into his body...he is extremely blue collar physical & also possesses a strong pick & pop game with an accurate shooting touch

zach & his dad have built strong relationships with both cuonzo martin & jon harris...cal is the only academically prestigious school on the finalist list & zach has also stated he is interested in staying close to home if possible...relationships with coaches & style of play will be key factors in this decision



the collins family isn't turning zach's recruitment into a circus, he's gonna decide very early with a targeted decision date of march 2015 with a signing date of november 2015


the university of california, berkeley=#1 ranked public (#3 overall) university in the world

key bears targets will be starting the new season at the 8th annual nor cal tip off classic next saturday november 29th at newark memorial high school
http://www.ibabuzz.com/prepcorner/2014/09/24/elite-matchups-headline-norcal-tip-off-winter-classic-basketball-tournaments/

moreau catholic's 2016 cal commit oscar "the ringleader" frayer


moreau catholic's 2017 damari milstead


berkeley yellow jackets


modesto christian's richard midgley (along with 2016 athletic christian ellis-needs work on shooting skills)


folsom's 2016 jordan ford


bishop gorman's 2015 zach collins


bishop o'dowd's 2015 ivan rabb

http://vimeo.com/45797764

rep nor cal#

[SIZE=7][COLOR="#000080"]Rep the Bay[/COLOR][/SIZE]

No. 14 Cal Women basketball
at the Rainbow Wahini Classic tournament in Honolulu, Hawaii



Living proof that you can build a championship team at Cal, signing top 100 talent against the powerhouse programs in the nation, and players who can succeed in the Cal classroom

Shocky1;842368772 said:

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ivan, if you continue to become mentally stronger/unbreakable, further develop your already devastating post finishing moves & add perimeter shooting skills, tirelessly work to achieve much needed (by nba standards) s&c strength & learn financial management skills along with a strong education re: real estate development, you have a unique opportunity to potentially live a very glamorous life




but like all athletes, your sports career could be over in a split second, a career ending injury in a blink of an eye...at that point you would need a world class education in order to still pursue & achieve your dreams in life

do you really think slick salesmen like john calipari, sean miller, steve alford or bill self would stay in touch with you if you had a serious injury or would they move on to their next all american prospect on speed dial?...cuonzo martin & his staff are men of integrity, they are truly mentors

your mom wants you to be happy & is therefore not going to impose her will on you, the college decision will be 100% your choice...you are free to pursue your dreams

but you know that deep down inside that tami wants her oldest son to stay home for college at cal, to stay close to her & your younger bro tamarik, to loudly/proudly cheer for you during your games at haas & then give you a bear hug after every game...she is a mom, she wants to keep her family together as long as possible, not endure a long distance relationship

when your mom owned & ran delancy's welcome table on park boulevard in the eastlake district your mom worked a million hours with the hope of creating better lives for both you & tamarik...and when biz hit a hard turn in the road, she did not give up that dream, she gave up the home & you all moved into the restaurant...the restaurant eventually closed but that's not because she didn't tirelessly work to try to make it happen, there is never any shame when we pursue our dreams & quests and come up a little short...and she never gave up & now her new restaurant is doing well & she is building an outstanding reputation for her sensational tasty dishes

regardless of your decision, ivan, your mom is gonna love you with all her heart

so it all really boils down to, what are your priorities in life, what is gonna be your legacy?

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tami rabb update: interested in bigs development & coach's honesty/transparency
http://zagsblog.com/articles/ivan-rabb-says-cal-is-in-top-3-of-his-top-5/#more-124696

Wow, this bodes well for Cal if Ivan and Mom saw Kingsley when he first arrived vs the young man who played so much better than expected vs Syracuse and Texas.

I have never seen such rapid development of a young big man.

p.s. and Christian Behrens has upped his game this year as well.

HoopDreams;842408959 said:

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No. 14 Cal Women basketball
at the Rainbow Wahini Classic tournament in Honolulu, Hawaii



Living proof that you can build a championship team at Cal, signing top 100 talent against the powerhouse programs in the nation, and players who can succeed in the Cal classroom

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FWIW: That picture looks to me like Lindsay's program of encouraging her charges to be most strongly who they are has produced an extraordinary group of interesting individual, strong people, most confluent I believe with the values of the institution.

mikecohen;842409079 said:

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FWIW: That picture looks to me like Lindsay's program of encouraging her charges to be most strongly who they are has produced an extraordinary group of interesting individual, strong people, most confluent I believe with the values of the institution.

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^excellent post.

[COLOR="#0000CD"][SIZE=7]Congratulations, and ALOHA![/SIZE][/COLOR]

mikecohen;842409079 said:

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FWIW: That picture looks to me like Lindsay's program of encouraging her charges to be most strongly who they are has produced an extraordinary group of interesting individual, strong people, most confluent I believe with the values of the institution.

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100% agreed

head coach lindsay gottlieb is an extraordinary person with her enthusiasm, compassion & vision for her players & program...after talking with her on the cal's gilligan's island boat cruise in the chicago harbor the nite before the northwestern football game, i bought floor seats to support her program

when are you gonna go to a women's basketball game at haas?

the bears play next friday nite vs san jose state in the cal classic at 5:30 pm...then they will play again presumably vs the winner of the creighton/cincinnati game on saturday nite at 7:00 pm which is perfect timing after the cal/byu football kick off at 1:30 pm

the undefeated 3-0 bears are #14 ranked & have the senior leadership with all american candidates #15 brittnay boyd & #21 reshanda gray to dethrone stanford for the pac 12 championship & return again to the final four

if you've never been to a cal women's basketball game, this weekend is your opportunity to check them out

i love this foto, it captures the relentless passion of cal women's basketball

best wishes to gregg gottlieb & his family on the passing of his dad doug, a longtime highly respected figure in so cal basketball
http://norcalbasketball.blogspot.com/

Shocky1;842377902 said:

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cal basketball practice#

clarification: i've been asked quite a few questions re: my recent visit to cuba as the united states government restricts its citizens from travelling there (there are no commercial flights from the usa to cuba) because of the castro regime...tommy & i chartered a plane from cap cana to havana and were welcomed by the cuban government because of our "humanitarian intent" (we brought with us a significant cache of baseball equipment, bats, balls & gloves)...it is very important to have a local guide as there is no united states embassy or consulate in havana, you are truly on your own

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today's mail included a package with 50+ thank you heartwarming letters written in spanish & a little broken english from young cubans

it's true, helping others is more rewarding than helping yourself...gonna write a handwritten letter of encouragement to each person

year of the cat#

Shocky1;842405338 said:

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my daughter taylor took the above game action foto last weekend, she's convinced that #24 is staring at her fashionable jacket, whatever

listening to taylor discuss the game isn't exactly the same as listening to mike montgomery in terms of insightful basketball analysis:

"why aren't the bears guarding him?" (during an opponent's free throws)

"did they forget to put a chair out for the bald guy in the suit?" (referencing cuonzo martin's preference for standing all game)

"how come the bears are wearing grey and not blue & gold, those are better colors" (i dunno)

"is oksi a male or a female?" (who knows, oski is a mascot, ok?)

"brenden glapion is very cute plus he's left handed" (wow, i did not know that)

pretty sure roxy isn't going to seek out taylor as his broadcast color partner anytime soon

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more taylor cal basketball commentary:

pointing at the scorer's table, "how come we aren't sitting over there?" (because we don't have black & white zebra striped shirts)

"why isn't brenden playing the whole game, is the coach mad at him?" (better question is why do you socialize with your friends all the time instead of taking 5 honors classes like shay?)

"don't you think nick hamilton looks like kyle (her big brother?)" (yeah but i think both guys are scaring off females with their 1000 days deserted island survivor facial hair, no wonder they both have 4.0+ gpas")

"when we go to the city after the game can we go to union square in san francisco?" (sweetie, the stores are all closed, nice try)


good times at haas#