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Cal Basketball

Bears Defeat Spirou In Belgium

August 18, 2022
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CHARLEROI, Belgium – Four Golden Bears scored in double figures as the California men's basketball team defeated Spirou Basket 92-62 on Thursday to earn the first win of its foreign tour of Europe.
 
Two days after Cal saw its tour-opening contest against the Chinese National Team canceled in Noisy-le-Grand, France, the Bears raced out to a 15-0 advantage less than five minutes into Thursday's exhibition and maintained control throughout the evening. Kuany Kuany led Cal with a team-high 21 points and was one of four Bears to score double figures, including Devin Askew (15 points), ND Okafor (15) and Lars Thiemann (11).


 
Grant Newell and Monty Bowser added nine and seven points, respectively.
 
"It's just really good to finally play; after the cancellation the other night everyone was frustrated, but it was great to finally play against somebody else," Cal head coach Mark Fox said. "I thought our defense was terrific to start the game. We had a lot of unselfish plays throughout the night, but we certainly made a lot of mistakes that we can learn from. It was a good first outing here in Europe and a good first step for our team."


 
Cal owned a 45-33 lead at halftime and pulled away with a dominant third quarter, outscoring Spirou 25-8 over 10 minutes. The Bears scored the first 11 points of the quarter while Kuany notched eight of his 21 points in the frame, including a dunk off of an assist by Askew in the final seconds.
 
Cal knocked down six 3-pointers throughout the exhibition, including a pair from both Kuany and Askew as well as one apiece by Sam Alajiki and Obinna Anyanwu. Okafor and Thiemann scored 12 of their combined 26 points at the free throw line. All nine Bears who saw the floor scored at least three points.


 
Jalen Celestine, DeJuan Clayton, Jarred Hyder and Marsalis Roberson did not play.
 
"We have a group that's very unselfish and they enjoy playing with one another," Fox added. "We have a lot of interchangeable parts so there were a lot of disjointed lineups, but ultimately we'll get comfortable playing together. We're really excited about that potential with our team."
 
SCORING
Cal: 24-21-25-22 – 92
Spirou: 13-20-8-21 – 62
 
UP NEXT
Cal will play the second and final game of its foreign tour against Bayer Giants Leverkusen in Leverkusen, Germany at 8 p.m. local/11 a.m. PT on Saturday. There will not be a live stream available. Thiemann, a four-year senior for Cal, formerly played for Leverkusen prior to joining the Bears as a freshman for the 2019-20 season.
 
"I'm super excited for Lars (Thiemann) to get close to home and I know he's excited for his teammates to be able to see where he's from and experience his culture along with meeting his family and friends," Fox said. "Our time in Germany will be something we all really enjoy."

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Discussion from...

Bears Defeat Spirou In Belgium

4,362 Views | 14 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by calumnus
stu
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Thanks for the story!

From the above: Jalen Celestine, DeJuan Clayton, Jarred Hyder and Marsalis Roberson did not play.
Are all four Injured?
Big C
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stu said:

Thanks for the story!

From the above: Jalen Celestine, DeJuan Clayton, Jarred Hyder and Marsalis Roberson did not play.
Are all four Injured?


Yeah, we know about Celestine and have heard inklings about Hyder, but what of Clayton and Roberson?

Looking like Askew is going to play a big role this year: glad he didn't have to sit out the season.
RedlessWardrobe
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Big C said:

stu said:

Thanks for the story!

From the above: Jalen Celestine, DeJuan Clayton, Jarred Hyder and Marsalis Roberson did not play.
Are all four Injured?


Yeah, we know about Celestine and have heard inklings about Hyder, but what of Clayton and Roberson?

Looking like Askew is going to play a big role this year: glad he didn't have to sit out.
Agreed. Askew is a guy who started for Kentucky, he's got to play a big part. Also, very excited about Okafor, have a gut feeling this guy is the real deal.
4thGenCal
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Big C said:

stu said:

Thanks for the story!

From the above: Jalen Celestine, DeJuan Clayton, Jarred Hyder and Marsalis Roberson did not play.
Are all four Injured?


Yeah, we know about Celestine and have heard inklings about Hyder, but what of Clayton and Roberson?

Looking like Askew is going to play a big role this year: glad he didn't have to sit out.
Jalen - mcl/acl recovery period, Hyder back/disc issues that are tbd but definitely ongoing pain that precludes him from playing near term. Clayton has a minor hamstring issue that will heal and Roberson had an earlier knee scope that is healing very well, but no rush to have him playing full speed.
CalLifer
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4thGenCal said:

Big C said:

stu said:

Thanks for the story!

From the above: Jalen Celestine, DeJuan Clayton, Jarred Hyder and Marsalis Roberson did not play.
Are all four Injured?


Yeah, we know about Celestine and have heard inklings about Hyder, but what of Clayton and Roberson?

Looking like Askew is going to play a big role this year: glad he didn't have to sit out.
Jalen - mcl/acl recovery period, Hyder back/disc issues that are tbd but definitely ongoing pain that precludes him from playing near term. Clayton has a minor hamstring issue that will heal and Roberson had an earlier knee scope that is healing very well, but no rush to have him playing full speed.
4thGenCal, any insight from people who were there on how the game was? I posted on the premium hoops board that I was a little disappointed that they only made 6 threes (as we've talked about ad nauseum on the board, many of us here think the bears should be shooting more threes). It's a good sign that the bears were still able to score so much; just curious if you have heard anything about how the game went and what went well for the team.
Civil Bear
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CalLifer said:

4thGenCal said:

Big C said:

stu said:

Thanks for the story!

From the above: Jalen Celestine, DeJuan Clayton, Jarred Hyder and Marsalis Roberson did not play.
Are all four Injured?


Yeah, we know about Celestine and have heard inklings about Hyder, but what of Clayton and Roberson?

Looking like Askew is going to play a big role this year: glad he didn't have to sit out.
Jalen - mcl/acl recovery period, Hyder back/disc issues that are tbd but definitely ongoing pain that precludes him from playing near term. Clayton has a minor hamstring issue that will heal and Roberson had an earlier knee scope that is healing very well, but no rush to have him playing full speed.
4thGenCal, any insight from people who were there on how the game was? I posted on the premium hoops board that I was a little disappointed that they only made 6 threes (as we've talked about ad nauseum on the board, many of us here think the bears should be shooting more threes). It's a good sign that the bears were still able to score so much; just curious if you have heard anything about how the game went and what went well for the team.
Interesting the Bears score 92 and the complaint is there weren't enough 3's. I believe Alajiki is the only one on the roster that shoots them over 30%. Who is it you want launching more 3's?
SFCityBear
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Civil Bear said:

CalLifer said:

4thGenCal said:

Big C said:

stu said:

Thanks for the story!

From the above: Jalen Celestine, DeJuan Clayton, Jarred Hyder and Marsalis Roberson did not play.
Are all four Injured?


Yeah, we know about Celestine and have heard inklings about Hyder, but what of Clayton and Roberson?

Looking like Askew is going to play a big role this year: glad he didn't have to sit out.
Jalen - mcl/acl recovery period, Hyder back/disc issues that are tbd but definitely ongoing pain that precludes him from playing near term. Clayton has a minor hamstring issue that will heal and Roberson had an earlier knee scope that is healing very well, but no rush to have him playing full speed.
4thGenCal, any insight from people who were there on how the game was? I posted on the premium hoops board that I was a little disappointed that they only made 6 threes (as we've talked about ad nauseum on the board, many of us here think the bears should be shooting more threes). It's a good sign that the bears were still able to score so much; just curious if you have heard anything about how the game went and what went well for the team.
Interesting the Bears score 92 and the complaint is there weren't enough 3's. I believe Alajiki is the only one on the roster that shoots them over 30%. Who is it you want launching more 3's?
I always figured that if the other team is giving us that many wide open twos, why shoot threes?

Maybe for practice in shooting them in games, except if an opponent can't defend two point shots, they are not likely going to be any better defending threes.
SFCityBear
SFCityBear
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RedlessWardrobe said:

Big C said:

stu said:

Thanks for the story!

From the above: Jalen Celestine, DeJuan Clayton, Jarred Hyder and Marsalis Roberson did not play.
Are all four Injured?


Yeah, we know about Celestine and have heard inklings about Hyder, but what of Clayton and Roberson?

Looking like Askew is going to play a big role this year: glad he didn't have to sit out.
Agreed. Askew is a guy who started for Kentucky, he's got to play a big part. Also, very excited about Okafor, have a gut feeling this guy is the real deal.
What about Kuany? 21 points? I didn't figure he could score 21 points against any team, based on past performance. He has reach double figures only 4 times in 3 seasons. As a freshman, he scored 11 against OSU, as a soph he scored 11 against Seattle, and as a junior, he scored 10 points twice, in back to back games vs Utah and Colorado. So either the opponent was pretty weak, or Kuany has made major improvement, or Fox and the team have designed ways to get him the ball in good spots, or some combination of those reasons. He has the athleticism, and he has progressed a little each season. Hopefully, he will make that big jump in performance that so many tall players make in their 3rd or 4th season. I'm really looking forward to seeing him make a big contribution this season.
SFCityBear
stu
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SFCityBear said:

What about Kuany? 21 points? I didn't figure he could score 21 points against any team, based on past performance. He has reach double figures only 4 times in 3 seasons. As a freshman, he scored 11 against OSU, as a soph he scored 11 against Seattle, and as a junior, he scored 10 points twice, in back to back games vs Utah and Colorado. So either the opponent was pretty weak, or Kuany has made major improvement, or Fox and the team have designed ways to get him the ball in good spots, or some combination of those reasons. He has the athleticism, and he has progressed a little each season. Hopefully, he will make that big jump in performance that so many tall players make in their 3rd or 4th season. I'm really looking forward to seeing him make a big contribution this season.
I'd love to see Kuany break out.

Regarding the competition, the last time we scored 92 was against Cal State LA to begin last season. Nothing over 78 since. In his first two seasons Fox's teams scored in the 80s a few times and 98 against Saint Martin's.
CalLifer
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SFCityBear said:

Civil Bear said:

CalLifer said:

4thGenCal said:

Big C said:

stu said:

Thanks for the story!

From the above: Jalen Celestine, DeJuan Clayton, Jarred Hyder and Marsalis Roberson did not play.
Are all four Injured?


Yeah, we know about Celestine and have heard inklings about Hyder, but what of Clayton and Roberson?

Looking like Askew is going to play a big role this year: glad he didn't have to sit out.
Jalen - mcl/acl recovery period, Hyder back/disc issues that are tbd but definitely ongoing pain that precludes him from playing near term. Clayton has a minor hamstring issue that will heal and Roberson had an earlier knee scope that is healing very well, but no rush to have him playing full speed.
4thGenCal, any insight from people who were there on how the game was? I posted on the premium hoops board that I was a little disappointed that they only made 6 threes (as we've talked about ad nauseum on the board, many of us here think the bears should be shooting more threes). It's a good sign that the bears were still able to score so much; just curious if you have heard anything about how the game went and what went well for the team.
Interesting the Bears score 92 and the complaint is there weren't enough 3's. I believe Alajiki is the only one on the roster that shoots them over 30%. Who is it you want launching more 3's?
I always figured that if the other team is giving us that many wide open twos, why shoot threes?

Maybe for practice in shooting them in games, except if an opponent can't defend two point shots, they are not likely going to be any better defending threes.
How many games this year do you think we are going to get enough open twos to score 72 (let alone 92) points? One reason I was asking for any sense of how the game went was to understand this. If we just went in and had an enormous physical/athletic advantage over the opposition, does the team learn anything at all from the game? Would that dominance that will likely disappear when the games count prepare the team at all? So even if we could cakewalk to a win with our physical dominance, wouldn't we be better served working on running sets that would get us the types of shots we need to be competitive against better competition? Even if it comes with the risk of only winning by 10 points instead of 30?

Maybe I'm crazy and asking too much of the team and coaches. Maybe we are so physically dominant that we will be able to cakewalk to wins against all our competition this season and so we should be playing that way. Maybe I'm wrong to think that the coaches should have any higher plan for this extra time with the players other than "use your physical advantage to take your guy 1-on-1". I certainly hope we are able to score 92 points on 6 made threes during the regular season (in 1 game, not spread across multiple).
calfanz
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you weren't there
the game wasn't live cast
there was no boxscore.

Yet you can still tell how bad we were winning by 40?

calumnus
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CalLifer said:

SFCityBear said:

Civil Bear said:

CalLifer said:

4thGenCal said:

Big C said:

stu said:

Thanks for the story!

From the above: Jalen Celestine, DeJuan Clayton, Jarred Hyder and Marsalis Roberson did not play.
Are all four Injured?


Yeah, we know about Celestine and have heard inklings about Hyder, but what of Clayton and Roberson?

Looking like Askew is going to play a big role this year: glad he didn't have to sit out.
Jalen - mcl/acl recovery period, Hyder back/disc issues that are tbd but definitely ongoing pain that precludes him from playing near term. Clayton has a minor hamstring issue that will heal and Roberson had an earlier knee scope that is healing very well, but no rush to have him playing full speed.
4thGenCal, any insight from people who were there on how the game was? I posted on the premium hoops board that I was a little disappointed that they only made 6 threes (as we've talked about ad nauseum on the board, many of us here think the bears should be shooting more threes). It's a good sign that the bears were still able to score so much; just curious if you have heard anything about how the game went and what went well for the team.
Interesting the Bears score 92 and the complaint is there weren't enough 3's. I believe Alajiki is the only one on the roster that shoots them over 30%. Who is it you want launching more 3's?
I always figured that if the other team is giving us that many wide open twos, why shoot threes?

Maybe for practice in shooting them in games, except if an opponent can't defend two point shots, they are not likely going to be any better defending threes.
How many games this year do you think we are going to get enough open twos to score 72 (let alone 92) points? One reason I was asking for any sense of how the game went was to understand this. If we just went in and had an enormous physical/athletic advantage over the opposition, does the team learn anything at all from the game? Would that dominance that will likely disappear when the games count prepare the team at all? So even if we could cakewalk to a win with our physical dominance, wouldn't we be better served working on running sets that would get us the types of shots we need to be competitive against better competition? Even if it comes with the risk of only winning by 10 points instead of 30?

Maybe I'm crazy and asking too much of the team and coaches. Maybe we are so physically dominant that we will be able to cakewalk to wins against all our competition this season and so we should be playing that way. Maybe I'm wrong to think that the coaches should have any higher plan for this extra time with the players other than "use your physical advantage to take your guy 1-on-1". I certainly hope we are able to score 92 points on 6 made threes during the regular season (in 1 game, not spread across multiple).



While the team we played was small (probably why we went small for the defensive matchups, lol) and I am sure they would have trouble against a D3 team, I believe we get extra time for the trip. So if the team is getting in practices, those are extra. Beating up some club teams and touring Europe is a good opportunity for the team to get to know each other and bond. I am not a Fox fan, but the only criticism I can make is the expense. From a basketball standpoint it is likely a positive,.even if only marginally.
CalLifer
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calfanz said:

you weren't there
the game wasn't live cast
there was no boxscore.

Yet you can still tell how bad we were winning by 40?


Man there are some easily offended people on this board. I never said the bears were bad; they clearly dominated. We can tell almost nothing from what we've heard (and in fact, that's what I asked 4thGenCal about). I noted that it was strange to me that we only made 6 3s, and I was curious as to how the game went that we only made 6 threes. Maybe there was no practice time and the coaches had nothing to plan for other than Todd Bozeman's "Two Baskets and a ball, Just play" motto. If so, then that is what it is.
calumnus
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CalLifer said:

calfanz said:

you weren't there
the game wasn't live cast
there was no boxscore.

Yet you can still tell how bad we were winning by 40?


Man there are some easily offended people on this board. I never said the bears were bad; they clearly dominated. We can tell almost nothing from what we've heard (and in fact, that's what I asked 4thGenCal about). I noted that it was strange to me that we only made 6 3s, and I was curious as to how the game went that we only made 6 threes. Maybe there was no practice time and the coaches had nothing to plan for other than Todd Bozeman's "Two Baskets and a ball, Just play" motto. If so, then that is what it is.


6 made threes is actually kind of good for us considering: 1. we have no great shooters (our best returning from last year is Alajiki and he didn't start) and 2. We had a big size advantage and could score easily inside.

Bottom line is there is not much to take away from a game like this other than that the players are likely having fun, bonding, getting a feel for each other's game and gaining confidence.
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