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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

 

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Bears Make Another Big Portal Add in NAU PG Jalen Cone

17,784 Views | 41 Replies | Last: 11 mo ago by bearmanpg
Civil Bear
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9:28a, 4/19/23
Since Cone left the ACC for the Big Sky in order to play pg to showcase his abilities to NBA scouts, I gotta believe he came here with some assurances he would get the opportunity to play the position.

Regardless, two combo guards that can handle the rock in the same backcourt can't be a bad thing. Wallace never had another guard with Askew's ballhandling skills playing alongside him.
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BearGreg
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In reply to oskidunker • 2:28p, 4/19/23
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oskidunker said:
See what players are being paid.

IMG-0810
I can't believe they are using outright guess work on NIL dollars. Hugely irresponsible. I'll take a guess that the majority of these numbers aren't even close.
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BearGreg
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In reply to bearmanpg • 2:31p, 4/19/23
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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.
Completely fair comment and respect your viewership of his games. I watched a few of his Va Tech games and saw a player who was seeking his own shot far less often while trying to set up his teammates. That may reflect the fact that there were other good scoring options with the Hokies that simply didn't exist at NAU. He may even have been asked by his coach to score first and second and only pass as his third option. At Cal, with Madsen providing NBA mentorship, you may see him approach the game differently. It will be fun to watch
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sosheezy
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In reply to BearGreg • 11:49a, 4/20/23
BearGreg said:
oskidunker said:
See what players are being paid.

<a href="https://ibb.co/Qfzhg24"><img src="" alt="IMG-0810" border="0"></a>
I can't believe they are using outright guess work on NIL dollars. Hugely irresponsible. I'll take a guess that the majority of these numbers aren't even close.


"Valuation" whatever that means. https://www.on3.com/nil/news/about-on3-nil-valuation-per-post-value/
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calumnus
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In reply to Civil Bear • 2:56p, 4/22/23
Civil Bear said:
Since Cone left the ACC for the Big Sky in order to play pg to showcase his abilities to NBA scouts, I gotta believe he came here with some assurances he would get the opportunity to play the position.

Regardless, two combo guards that can handle the rock in the same backcourt can't be a bad thing. Wallace never had another guard with Askew's ballhandling skills playing alongside him.


Under Monty, Wallace played alongside Cobbs who was the primary PG. . Martin could have played Singer or Chauka with Wallace for their ball handling, but playing Mathews, Bird, and Brown and living with Wallace as PG made more sense.

Similarly, based on the roster so far, I am hoping we can play Celestine and Allen at SG with Cone at PG and with Askew coming off the bench (unless his 3 pt shot has improved in the off-season).

It will be interesting to see who else is added to the roster as that could very well change the dynamic, but right now my completely conjectured starting lineup is:
1 Cone
2. Celestine or Allen
3. Newell
4. Okafor
5. Aimaq
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bearmanpg
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4:43p, 12/1/23
As long as there is a lot of talk about Cone, I thought I would bump this thread...please reread the posts....
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