The Genuine Excitement for Mark Madsen and What He'll Need to Win at Cal

Before we get into his resume, let’s focus on Mark Madsen the person. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone as widely respected by his former playing peers and his current coaching peers as Coach Madsen. The word “genuine” gets thrown around a lot, though you rarely see it as universally applied as it is when people are asked about Mark. That attribute has allowed him to quickly connect with his players and potential recruits as he’s built on the success Mark Pope established at Utah Valley State before him.

Perhaps more importantly for Cal, Madsen brings a unique energy level and the type of indefatigable passion that will almost certainly be required to turn around the fortunes of the Bear’s basketball program.  In contrast to the quiet, thoughtfulness of outgoing Coach Mark Fox, Madsen is a true extrovert whose personality can fill a room.   He appears to have the type of creative, can-do attitude that is essential in navigating Berkeley’s unique challenges.

LA Lakers

A commanding presence at 6’9, with an understated confidence that belies his NBA playing resume, Madsen has all the ingredients necessary to rebuild and rejuvenate a sagging program and fan base.   While it may take him time to build relationships, he seems both undaunted and well-equipped to create lasting and meaningful connections with key donors.  

While former NBA players have not had much success as Power 5 coaches, Madsen took a longer and far more unique path than the most recent NBA to College Head Coaching hires.  He did a true apprenticeship as a coach, first in a brief stint as an assistant in the NBA’s D League and then at Stanford under Johnny Dawkins before becoming a Head Coach in the D League and then a six-year run as an assistant for the Los Angeles Lakers under Byron Scott and Luke Walton.   Utah Valley State then hired him in 2019 where he had to rebuild the roster before producing two WAC titles in the last three years.

Madsen has won and won big as a player in both college and the NBA.   His coaching tenures at Stanford and the Lakers were less successful with the staffs he was a part of but not unduly so before he arrived at Utah Valley.   He’s young and early enough in his coaching career to be hungry and ambitious yet with the confidence and network of relationships that emanate from his long playing and coaching career to date. Also, don’t sleep on the value of his relationships with former NBA stars, which speaks to an ability to likely connect with former Cal stars such as Ivan Rabb, Jaylen Brown, Tyrone Wallace, as well as Jason Kidd and Shareef Abdur-Rahim.   Bringing former players back into the Cal tent will be essential to turning the program around and Madsen has the background to do just that.  

The numerous testimonials on Madsen’s behalf speak of a coach on the rise with a lot to bring to the table to help resuscitate Cal’s struggling program.

"Mark is one of the hardest working, most knowledgeable coaches I have ever had the pleasure of working with. His attention to detail, his passion for the game and his ability to teach have led him to have great success as a coach. On top of that, he’s a great man, great friend, and parents will be lucky to have him help lead their kids.” – Luke Walton, Three-time NBA champion and former NBA head coach

“Mark was not just my teammate but my friend. I’m excited to witness all of his success both playing and coaching the game. Mark’s love for basketball is over the top; his willingness to learn the game from coaches and teammates throughout his career has set him up to be a great coach. I’m excited to see what this next chapter brings him.” – Robert Horry, Seven-time NBA champion

Madsen did well in the transfer portal at Utah Valley and has a solid understanding of how NIL will impact recruiting.   He comes to Cal with a clear plan in place for a roster rebuild.  He’s identified players on the current roster (and incoming recruiting class) that he’d like to retain and he has very specific and clear ideas on players he’d like to add.

That will require significant NIL money.   And the efforts to raise that are already underway with Coach Madsen taking an aggressive approach to outreach in sharp contrast to the Bears’ former leader.   Initial reports from donors are positive though optimism should be muted given that the

Utah Valley Athletics

transfer portal has been open for over a week and the timeline to raise those funds is very short.

Madsen still has things to prove.  He’s never had the opportunity to recruit at the Power 5 level, which requires swimming in a different pool of players and handling egos and competition unlike what’s seen at the low and mid-major levels.   He’s not been involved in a turnaround before nor seen the combination of admissions and bureaucratic challenges unique to Berkeley.   And most importantly in the near term, he doesn’t arrive following a process that united the Cal donor and player alumni base.   Yet, there are plenty of reasons to believe he’s up for the challenge on all of the above.  

Keep an eye on how he pulls his staff together.   John Montgomery looms as a possibility given his father’s involvement in Madsen’s selection and their long-standing relationship.   Should Mark choose to add John to the staff, it won’t be without plenty of second-guessing and adding salt to the wounds of what was a less-than-ideal selection process.  We sense that he will go in a different direction.   Some lead assistant candidates include former P5 head coaches, and for the junior assistant role, a former Cal great has been mentioned.   Mark has a strong relationship with one of the leading transfer portal/NIl recruiting gurus who will likely take the third chair.  

Ideally, Madsen will add someone who knows what life looks like inside a Power 5 program and can provide an additional layer of experience to the staff.  The other two assistants need to be top-flight recruiters and the addition of a former Cal player gives him the ability to sell recruits on what Haas Pavilion was like for much of its first 20 years of existence - loud and full.  

A practice facility becomes a lower priority behind NIL fundraising, the building of a staff, and the rebuilding of the roster.  The hiring process will significantly slow down or cause there to be a re-boot on the fundraising side though again Madsen’s engaging personality and clear vision for the program will likely generate momentum in the medium term (e.g. After a first season where he demonstrates significant progress for the program on and off the court).  

While the selection process was less than ideal, the end result was a positive one.  Cal has found a capable and promising younger Head Coach who brings a strong resume and an even stronger personality to Berkeley.  

Related:

Mark Madsen Named Cal Men's Basketball Head Coach