Geez, I am a starry-eyed romantic: I read the above -- knowing quite well what it is (preseason hype) -- and I get a little more optimistic about the upcoming season.
Photo by calbears.com
Cal Basketball
Pac-12 Men's Basketball Media Day: Fox, Kelly & Anticevich Talk Cal Hoops
SAN FRANCISCO, CA -Cal head coach Mark Fox and forwards Andre Kelly and Grant Anticevich took the podium to talk about Cal's expectations for the 2021-22 season at today’s Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Media Day at Pac-12 headquarters.
The Bears' 2020-21 season was a rough one to say the least, with Cal going 8-20 (3-17) and finishing last in the Pac-12.
The program faced more significant challenges than the other programs in the league, with several long stoppages in practice halted by covid protocols along the early loss of key contributor Anticevich to emergency gall bladder surgery and the absense in several games of leading scorer Matt Bradley.
However, as poor as the team’s Pac-12 record in particular were, there were encouraging signs of life late in the season, with the Bears taking NCAA tourney teams Colorado, Oregon and Oregon State down to the wire and defeating Stanford in the first round of the Pac-12 tourney before falling in a tight 61-58 loss to the Buffs. They also beat a 23-9 Colorado team late in the season.
Jenny Chuang
Andre Kelly
“I would say if you really knew what the team had to endure last year, I was pretty proud at the way they kept improving and stayed competitive and scratched out a few wins,” said Fox. “It was a challenging set of circumstances. But what I think it’s allowed to let us do this year -not with our eyes on last year- is that these guys have a grateful approach to what they’re able to do every day. Last year, a lot of that was taken away. Where in past years, guys might’ve complained about lifting weights or extra workouts but when those things are taken away from you, you miss it and realize those were things you shouldn’t have complained about.
“The response I've gotten from this year’s team -the guys who returned from last year- has just been that they're grateful and really focused on moving forward and creating an environment on our team that will allow us to improve.”
To view today’s Cal media session, click here
The Bears will be missing a big piece with the transfer of leading scorer Matt Bradley (18 ppg) to Sand Diego State. How do they expect to fill the void?
“I think in college basketball, the best players are going to leave, whether by transfers or by someone leaving early for the pros," said Fox. “What we’ve done with our group is we’ve continued to develop our team. We had to play a little slower in the last couple years because we weren't as deep talent-wise. Our teams have been better when we've played together. We’re going to need scoring across the lineup. I think we have enough depth. And I think we're a little quicker, which will result in hopefully a good offensive group.”
The Bears added four new pieces this season in grad transfer 6-4/190 wing Jordan Shepherd and a trio of frosh - 6-6/190 wing Marsalis Roberson, 6-7/225 SF Sam Alajiki and 6-7/220 SF Obinna Anyanwu.
John McGillen
Kelly and Anticevich
“Let me start with Jordan Shepherd,” said Fox. “He's a very instinctive player who has the abiltiy to score the ball and he makes everyone around him better. He's mature and he's been very well-coached at his previous spots. I think he'll make an immediate impact on our team.
“And then our three freshmen -they've all made some dynamic plays (since camp has opened). They're long, they're athletic. They’re all a bit different. They have an unbridled spirit but there's been times when there's times that you can really see the quality of player they’re going to be.
“I’m excited about all three of the freshmen. I think they have bright futures. I think they're going to be really, really impactful players for us. Mix in Jordan’s experience and certainly, they've improved our team.”
Stay tuned for more from Pac-12 Media Day.
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