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Bears Make Another Big Portal Add in NAU PG Jalen Cone

April 11, 2023
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The Bears made another huge pickup this week, with the addition of NAU PG Jalen Cone through the transfer portal. The electric PG averaged 17.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game last season.

The 5’11/170 senior out of Walkertown, NC averaged 25.7 points and 6.6 assists per game in 2018-19 and 35.5 points per game in 2017-18 and led the state of North Carolina and was top five scorer in the country in 2017-18 before signing with Virginia Tech, where he played two seasons before transferring to NAU, where he earned Newcomer of the Year his first year in the program.

Cone joins 6’11 Texas Tech portal transfer Fardaws Aimaq as the most recent portal addition to the program under new head coach Mark Madseon. Stay tuned for more on Cone’s commitment to Cal.

Related:

Texas Tech 6'11 Center Portal transfer Aimaq Commits to Cal

March Madness? No, April Madsen-ness

Curtis, Brown Anxious For Arrival at Cal, Reaffirm Their Commitment

 

Discussion from...

Bears Make Another Big Portal Add in NAU PG Jalen Cone

17,632 Views | 41 Replies | Last: 11 mo ago by bearmanpg
oskidunker
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https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4431698/jalen-cone
Go Bears!
89Bear
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Coach is absolutely killing it out of the gate!!!
This is awesome.
evanluck
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A point guard with elite offensive capabilities! Coach Madsen is blazing forward! Love all the positive momentum and good vibrations!

Let's Go Bears!
HKBear97!
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evanluck said:

A point guard with elite offensive capabilities! Coach Madsen is blazing forward! Love all the positive momentum and good vibrations!

Let's Go Bears!


Nice to see a recruit who can actually shoot the ball. Something Fox completely disregarded his entire time here.
bearsandgiants
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These are two guys who just missed on a tourney bid losing their conference championship games, right? Hungry for success. Perfect!
Big C
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Welcome to Cal, Jalen! I can hardly wait for next season to start. Go Bears!!!
BearSD
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Some ice cream shop needs to step up and give Cone an NIL deal.
oskidunker
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BearSD said:

Some ice cream shop needs to step up and give Cone an NIL deal.
Call Seth Fenton.
Go Bears!
Bearly Clad
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40% shooter from 3 too. You absolutely need guys like Jalen to make an offense work and create space in this era of basketball unless you have 2-3 dominant big men. I expect Jalen to lead our team in scoring this season.

Mad dog is crushing it so far, the big question surrounding his hire was recruiting but he's been killing it. Landed one of the top centers in the portal in Fardaws Aimaq (averaged 11/8/2 while being hampered by injury most of the year), one of the top shooters in Jalen Cone (18/3/3 with the aforementioned 40% from deep), and there are rumors he has us in pole position to land Freddy Hicks the star forward from Tarleton State (averaged 16/6).

That's how you turn a program around! Welcome to The University of California to Jalen and the whole Cone family. You tell the whole damn world this is Bear Territory!
CALiforniALUM
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BearSD said:

Some ice cream shop needs to step up and give Cone an NIL deal.


Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream Is headquartered on College Avenue in Oakland.
Los Gatos
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Given the P5 interested in Cone, I suspect, the NIL deal has already been lined up.
MoragaBear
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Staff
Los Gatos said:

Given the P5 interested in Cone, I suspect, the NIL deal has already been lined up.

Yes he's all set
Cal Junkie
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CALiforniALUM said:

BearSD said:

Some ice cream shop needs to step up and give Cone an NIL deal.


Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream Is headquartered on College Avenue in Oakland.
Now, now, we don't need him mushrooming up to Charles Barkley proportions. Think Allen Iverson.
Big C
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Cone Heads: Think of the possibilities...
bearmanpg
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evanluck said:

A point guard with elite offensive capabilities! Coach Madsen is blazing forward! Love all the positive momentum and good vibrations!

Let's Go Bears!
I don't want to dampen the enthusiasm but Cone is not a point guard even though he may be played there....he can play some point but he is an undersized 2 guard who gets his shot off against bigger guys because of his elite jumping ability....He has one of the highest release points you will ever see.....Randle is a good comparison without Randle's passing ability...Don't get me wrong, I love Cone coming to the Bears, he just has a few limitations...
oskidunker
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bearmanpg said:

evanluck said:

A point guard with elite offensive capabilities! Coach Madsen is blazing forward! Love all the positive momentum and good vibrations!

Let's Go Bears!
I don't want to dampen the enthusiasm but Cone is not a point guard even though he may be played there....he can play some point but he is an undersized 2 guard who gets his shot off against bigger guys because of his elite jumping ability....He has one of the highest release points you will ever see.....Randle is a good comparison without Randle's passing ability...Don't get me wrong, I love Cone coming to the Bears, he just has a few limitations...

Will he play point at Cal with Askew at shooting guard or will Askew be a back up?
Go Bears!
Boot
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Looks like he gets a little hang time on his J.
calumnus
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oskidunker said:

bearmanpg said:

evanluck said:

A point guard with elite offensive capabilities! Coach Madsen is blazing forward! Love all the positive momentum and good vibrations!

Let's Go Bears!
I don't want to dampen the enthusiasm but Cone is not a point guard even though he may be played there....he can play some point but he is an undersized 2 guard who gets his shot off against bigger guys because of his elite jumping ability....He has one of the highest release points you will ever see.....Randle is a good comparison without Randle's passing ability...Don't get me wrong, I love Cone coming to the Bears, he just has a few limitations...

Will he play point at Cal with Askew at shooting guard or will Askew be a back up?


I think it depends on the final roster, who else we have at PG, how fully back Celestine is from injury, and how quickly a guy like Rodney Brown adjusts to the college game. Askew developing a good 3pt shot in the off-season would a huge plus.
Civil Bear
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oskidunker said:

bearmanpg said:

evanluck said:

A point guard with elite offensive capabilities! Coach Madsen is blazing forward! Love all the positive momentum and good vibrations!

Let's Go Bears!
I don't want to dampen the enthusiasm but Cone is not a point guard even though he may be played there....he can play some point but he is an undersized 2 guard who gets his shot off against bigger guys because of his elite jumping ability....He has one of the highest release points you will ever see.....Randle is a good comparison without Randle's passing ability...Don't get me wrong, I love Cone coming to the Bears, he just has a few limitations...

Will he play point at Cal with Askew at shooting guard or will Askew be a back up?
Cone apparently left the ACC for the Big Sky in order to play point guard. I would assume that is the plan Madsen laid out for him, but you know what they say when we assume.
bearmanpg
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oskidunker said:

bearmanpg said:

evanluck said:

A point guard with elite offensive capabilities! Coach Madsen is blazing forward! Love all the positive momentum and good vibrations!

Let's Go Bears!
I don't want to dampen the enthusiasm but Cone is not a point guard even though he may be played there....he can play some point but he is an undersized 2 guard who gets his shot off against bigger guys because of his elite jumping ability....He has one of the highest release points you will ever see.....Randle is a good comparison without Randle's passing ability...Don't get me wrong, I love Cone coming to the Bears, he just has a few limitations...

Will he play point at Cal with Askew at shooting guard or will Askew be a back up?
I'm sure they are going to try to play him at point and I wish him the best of luck but if they can come up with someone who can game manage, I think he will play the 2 more than the 1.....He will definitely get time at the 1 even if they find someone else....He is not a great facilitator...He is a scorer, which is something that is desperately needed...
Big C
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bearmanpg said:

oskidunker said:

bearmanpg said:

evanluck said:

A point guard with elite offensive capabilities! Coach Madsen is blazing forward! Love all the positive momentum and good vibrations!

Let's Go Bears!
I don't want to dampen the enthusiasm but Cone is not a point guard even though he may be played there....he can play some point but he is an undersized 2 guard who gets his shot off against bigger guys because of his elite jumping ability....He has one of the highest release points you will ever see.....Randle is a good comparison without Randle's passing ability...Don't get me wrong, I love Cone coming to the Bears, he just has a few limitations...

Will he play point at Cal with Askew at shooting guard or will Askew be a back up?
I'm sure they are going to try to play him at point and I wish him the best of luck but if they can come up with someone who can game manage, I think he will play the 2 more than the 1.....He will definitely get time at the 1 even if they find someone else....He is not a great facilitator...He is a scorer, which is something that is desperately needed...

We didn't pass much last year, either. At least this year, we will have somebody who can score.

Baby steps. We will have Cone for a year, while Mark "Qwik Study" Madsen figures out the NIL donor to approach to get a guy who can score and pass!
carnicelat
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6956bear
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bearmanpg said:

oskidunker said:

bearmanpg said:

evanluck said:

A point guard with elite offensive capabilities! Coach Madsen is blazing forward! Love all the positive momentum and good vibrations!

Let's Go Bears!
I don't want to dampen the enthusiasm but Cone is not a point guard even though he may be played there....he can play some point but he is an undersized 2 guard who gets his shot off against bigger guys because of his elite jumping ability....He has one of the highest release points you will ever see.....Randle is a good comparison without Randle's passing ability...Don't get me wrong, I love Cone coming to the Bears, he just has a few limitations...

Will he play point at Cal with Askew at shooting guard or will Askew be a back up?
I'm sure they are going to try to play him at point and I wish him the best of luck but if they can come up with someone who can game manage, I think he will play the 2 more than the 1.....He will definitely get time at the 1 even if they find someone else....He is not a great facilitator...He is a scorer, which is something that is desperately needed...


He is a great FT shooter. Will want the ball in his hands late.
movielover
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Bearly Clad said:

40% shooter from 3 too. You absolutely need guys like Jalen to make an offense work and create space in this era of basketball unless you have 2-3 dominant big men. I expect Jalen to lead our team in scoring this season.

Mad dog is crushing it so far, the big question surrounding his hire was recruiting but he's been killing it. Landed one of the top centers in the portal in Fardaws Aimaq (averaged 11/8/2 while being hampered by injury most of the year), one of the top shooters in Jalen Cone (18/3/3 with the aforementioned 40% from deep), and there are rumors he has us in pole position to land Freddy Hicks the star forward from Tarleton State (averaged 16/6).

That's how you turn a program around! Welcome to The University of California to Jalen and the whole Cone family. You tell the whole damn world this is Bear Territory!


Hicks is great bc of his size and remaining eligibility.
parentswerebears
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Hope we get Hicks.
BearGreg
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Staff
bearmanpg said:

evanluck said:

A point guard with elite offensive capabilities! Coach Madsen is blazing forward! Love all the positive momentum and good vibrations!

Let's Go Bears!
I don't want to dampen the enthusiasm but Cone is not a point guard even though he may be played there....he can play some point but he is an undersized 2 guard who gets his shot off against bigger guys because of his elite jumping ability....He has one of the highest release points you will ever see.....Randle is a good comparison without Randle's passing ability...Don't get me wrong, I love Cone coming to the Bears, he just has a few limitations...

Did you consider Tyrone Wallace a PG when he was at Cal? I suspect you'll see Cone's assist #'s similar to Ty Wallaces'.
oskidunker
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See what players are being paid.

<a href="https://ibb.co/Qfzhg24"><img src="" alt="IMG-0810" border="0"></a>
Go Bears!
Civil Bear
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Robbie Beran maybe headed to Stanfurd?
bearmanpg
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BearGreg said:

bearmanpg said:

evanluck said:

A point guard with elite offensive capabilities! Coach Madsen is blazing forward! Love all the positive momentum and good vibrations!

Let's Go Bears!
I don't want to dampen the enthusiasm but Cone is not a point guard even though he may be played there....he can play some point but he is an undersized 2 guard who gets his shot off against bigger guys because of his elite jumping ability....He has one of the highest release points you will ever see.....Randle is a good comparison without Randle's passing ability...Don't get me wrong, I love Cone coming to the Bears, he just has a few limitations...

Did you consider Tyrone Wallace a PG when he was at Cal? I suspect you'll see Cone's assist #'s similar to Ty Wallaces'.
You may be right about assist numbers with regard to Wallace but I am basing my opinion on watching at least 15 of Cone's games over the last 2 years....While Cal has been in the dumpster for the last 4-5 years, I added to my number of Big Sky Conference games that I watch. A good friend was the head coach at Sac State until a health problem forced him to retire so I had already made a connection to BSC basketball...Comparing Wallace and Cone is not really a good comparison....Cone, even though he led his team in minutes played in '22-'23, he didn't lead his team in assists. In '21-'22 he also led his team in minutes but not assists. Generally speaking, a point guard who leads his team in minutes played will also lead his team in assists....I'm happy that Cone is here and he will definitely start and play a major role for the Bears (one of the top 3 scorers and will play a good number of minutes at the point) but IN MY OPINION, he is not what we need in a point guard. No disrespect intended, just what I've observed over the last 2 years.
Big C
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bearmanpg said:

BearGreg said:

bearmanpg said:

evanluck said:

A point guard with elite offensive capabilities! Coach Madsen is blazing forward! Love all the positive momentum and good vibrations!

Let's Go Bears!
I don't want to dampen the enthusiasm but Cone is not a point guard even though he may be played there....he can play some point but he is an undersized 2 guard who gets his shot off against bigger guys because of his elite jumping ability....He has one of the highest release points you will ever see.....Randle is a good comparison without Randle's passing ability...Don't get me wrong, I love Cone coming to the Bears, he just has a few limitations...

Did you consider Tyrone Wallace a PG when he was at Cal? I suspect you'll see Cone's assist #'s similar to Ty Wallaces'.
You may be right about assist numbers with regard to Wallace but I am basing my opinion on watching at least 15 of Cone's games over the last 2 years....While Cal has been in the dumpster for the last 4-5 years, I added to my number of Big Sky Conference games that I watch. A good friend was the head coach at Sac State until a health problem forced him to retire so I had already made a connection to BSC basketball...Comparing Wallace and Cone is not really a good comparison....Cone, even though he led his team in minutes played in '22-'23, he didn't lead his team in assists. In '21-'22 he also led his team in minutes but not assists. Generally speaking, a point guard who leads his team in minutes played will also lead his team in assists....I'm happy that Cone is here and he will definitely start and play a major role for the Bears (one of the top 3 scorers and will play a good number of minutes at the point) but IN MY OPINION, he is not what we need in a point guard. No disrespect intended, just what I've observed over the last 2 years.

Agree. I am a little concerned with Cone being our primary point guard and Askew probably filling in. That's two combo guards. I suspect we will add somebody else to the roster. Of course, I am not "3-29 concerned".
oskidunker
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At least he can make free throws
Go Bears!
graguna
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Big C said:

bearmanpg said:

BearGreg said:

bearmanpg said:

evanluck said:

A point guard with elite offensive capabilities! Coach Madsen is blazing forward! Love all the positive momentum and good vibrations!

Let's Go Bears!
I don't want to dampen the enthusiasm but Cone is not a point guard even though he may be played there....he can play some point but he is an undersized 2 guard who gets his shot off against bigger guys because of his elite jumping ability....He has one of the highest release points you will ever see.....Randle is a good comparison without Randle's passing ability...Don't get me wrong, I love Cone coming to the Bears, he just has a few limitations...

Did you consider Tyrone Wallace a PG when he was at Cal? I suspect you'll see Cone's assist #'s similar to Ty Wallaces'.
You may be right about assist numbers with regard to Wallace but I am basing my opinion on watching at least 15 of Cone's games over the last 2 years....While Cal has been in the dumpster for the last 4-5 years, I added to my number of Big Sky Conference games that I watch. A good friend was the head coach at Sac State until a health problem forced him to retire so I had already made a connection to BSC basketball...Comparing Wallace and Cone is not really a good comparison....Cone, even though he led his team in minutes played in '22-'23, he didn't lead his team in assists. In '21-'22 he also led his team in minutes but not assists. Generally speaking, a point guard who leads his team in minutes played will also lead his team in assists....I'm happy that Cone is here and he will definitely start and play a major role for the Bears (one of the top 3 scorers and will play a good number of minutes at the point) but IN MY OPINION, he is not what we need in a point guard. No disrespect intended, just what I've observed over the last 2 years.

Agree. I am a little concerned with Cone being our primary point guard and Askew probably filling in. I suspect we will add somebody else to the roster. Of course, I am not "3-29 concerned".
Of course, I am not "3-29 concerned"

haha
philbert
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oskidunker said:

See what players are being paid.

<a href="https://ibb.co/Qfzhg24"><img src="" alt="IMG-0810" border="0"></a>
I don't think that's what they're getting paid. I think it's On3's estimation of their NIL value.
BeachedBear
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bearmanpg said:

BearGreg said:

bearmanpg said:

evanluck said:

A point guard with elite offensive capabilities! Coach Madsen is blazing forward! Love all the positive momentum and good vibrations!

Let's Go Bears!
I don't want to dampen the enthusiasm but Cone is not a point guard even though he may be played there....he can play some point but he is an undersized 2 guard who gets his shot off against bigger guys because of his elite jumping ability....He has one of the highest release points you will ever see.....Randle is a good comparison without Randle's passing ability...Don't get me wrong, I love Cone coming to the Bears, he just has a few limitations...

Did you consider Tyrone Wallace a PG when he was at Cal? I suspect you'll see Cone's assist #'s similar to Ty Wallaces'.
You may be right about assist numbers with regard to Wallace but I am basing my opinion on watching at least 15 of Cone's games over the last 2 years....While Cal has been in the dumpster for the last 4-5 years, I added to my number of Big Sky Conference games that I watch. A good friend was the head coach at Sac State until a health problem forced him to retire so I had already made a connection to BSC basketball...Comparing Wallace and Cone is not really a good comparison....Cone, even though he led his team in minutes played in '22-'23, he didn't lead his team in assists. In '21-'22 he also led his team in minutes but not assists. Generally speaking, a point guard who leads his team in minutes played will also lead his team in assists....I'm happy that Cone is here and he will definitely start and play a major role for the Bears (one of the top 3 scorers and will play a good number of minutes at the point) but IN MY OPINION, he is not what we need in a point guard. No disrespect intended, just what I've observed over the last 2 years.

Thanks for the take, bearmanpg. It will be interesting to see how this all works out with Madsen's scheme. What a PG does (stats, functions) and how he compares to prior Cal PG depends alot on the offensive scheme, depth, teammates, etc.

Sounds like he wouldn't be a good fit for Fox regime (or Martin vis a vis Wallace comparison). Any way you can project your observations to what he would have done at Utah Valley under Madsen?
bearmanpg
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BeachedBear said:

bearmanpg said:

BearGreg said:

bearmanpg said:

evanluck said:

A point guard with elite offensive capabilities! Coach Madsen is blazing forward! Love all the positive momentum and good vibrations!

Let's Go Bears!
I don't want to dampen the enthusiasm but Cone is not a point guard even though he may be played there....he can play some point but he is an undersized 2 guard who gets his shot off against bigger guys because of his elite jumping ability....He has one of the highest release points you will ever see.....Randle is a good comparison without Randle's passing ability...Don't get me wrong, I love Cone coming to the Bears, he just has a few limitations...

Did you consider Tyrone Wallace a PG when he was at Cal? I suspect you'll see Cone's assist #'s similar to Ty Wallaces'.
You may be right about assist numbers with regard to Wallace but I am basing my opinion on watching at least 15 of Cone's games over the last 2 years....While Cal has been in the dumpster for the last 4-5 years, I added to my number of Big Sky Conference games that I watch. A good friend was the head coach at Sac State until a health problem forced him to retire so I had already made a connection to BSC basketball...Comparing Wallace and Cone is not really a good comparison....Cone, even though he led his team in minutes played in '22-'23, he didn't lead his team in assists. In '21-'22 he also led his team in minutes but not assists. Generally speaking, a point guard who leads his team in minutes played will also lead his team in assists....I'm happy that Cone is here and he will definitely start and play a major role for the Bears (one of the top 3 scorers and will play a good number of minutes at the point) but IN MY OPINION, he is not what we need in a point guard. No disrespect intended, just what I've observed over the last 2 years.

Thanks for the take, bearmanpg. It will be interesting to see how this all works out with Madsen's scheme. What a PG does (stats, functions) and how he compares to prior Cal PG depends alot on the offensive scheme, depth, teammates, etc.

Sounds like he wouldn't be a good fit for Fox regime (or Martin vis a vis Wallace comparison). Any way you can project your observations to what he would have done at Utah Valley under Madsen?
If you are asking for my evaluation of how Cone will fit within Madsen's system I can't do that because I only saw UVU play one time, 2 years ago under Madsen. What I did see was Fardaws dominating the boards on both ends....I love rebounders so I was focused on him. Bears got a great rebounder in Aimaq....
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