Madsen, Stojakovic and Sissoko Rep Cal at ACC Hoops Tipoff Media Day

Cal head coach Mark Madsen, soph wing Andrej Stojakovic and grad transfer center Mady Sissoko took the stage today in Charlotte to talk about Cal’s new roster and the program’s transition to the ACC this upcoming season.

“When the Pac-12 imploded, that was an incredibly upsetting and sad day,” Madsen said, kicking things off this morning. Not only for me, but for the community.

“There was anger. There was a lot of different emotions. And then you look at the teams and the players that have come from the Pac-10, Pac-12 as it grew over the years, that was frustration.

“And then a month or two later to be joining the premier basketball conference in the country, you went from absolute - all the emotions I described - to excitement, a feeling of anticipation. The knowledge that in going to such a great basketball conference, it's only going to enhance Cal's ability to recruit outstanding student-athletes like these two right here and like the rest of our team.

“So that was a journey. I mean, that was a journey. The pathway at Cal, in year one I think the experts picked us last or second to last. Well, we were within probably two or three games of finishing third or fourth in conference in year one in a very, very good league. That's a testament to our players. It's a testament to our assistant coaches. So we're excited about the trajectory. We're excited about the momentum, and we're excited about this coming season and the ACC.”

Madsen was asked about his Mad Dog nickname and if it still applies to him as a coach to this day. 

“I don't think so,” Madsen said. “I hope not. You can ask the players that question. Maybe they feel that way when we get them up at 5:00 in the morning to practice. But, no, they've been great.

“I think the thing that comes to my mind is tenacity and work ethic. It's something that is part of the ethos at Cal, and it's something honestly that we look for in all the players we recruit.

“When you look at the roster that we have, it's filled with very talented and very hard-nosed players, and very, very excited to be working with these players.”

“To us as a coach, we don't see him as that (Mad Dog),” Stojakovic said. “He's extremely quiet and patient. He's very calm now as a coach from our standpoint. He's very transparent with what he expects of us, and I think that's what makes him a great coach.”

Madsen’s arrival last season rescued the team from the pit of despair that prior head coach Mark Fox left the program and fanbase in after a record-breaking 3-29 season in 2022-23 for futility. Though the team experienced mixed results on the court, progress was made and excitement was restored in the fan base.

“Let's start with attendance,” Madsen said. “I don't know exactly what the average attendance was in some of the preceding years, but we had a sellout last year. We had several games that were probably a few dozen or a few hundred people shy of a sellout.

“So you have probably three games that are near sellouts or a sellout. You hear the students talking about it on campus when you walk down the street. Students are coming up to me asking me about our players, asking about the schedule. There's an excitement at Cal, and that excitement is real and palpable, and it's going to continue to build that momentum.”

Moving into a new conference, particularly one across the country, presents a series of unique challenges Madsen and the program needed to chart a course to navigate, particularly with a roster of almost entirely new players.

“We've looked at innovative ways of teaching this year at Cal, with bringing so many new players in, Madsen said. “Yes, there's going to be challenges in installing a complicated NBA system. We've attacked that from day one.

“We've brought the players out in early June. When we teach somethings, a lot of times we send the video the night before, a condensed teaching video so the players can see it once on their phone. They see it again in the film room in the morning. Then we walk through it. By the time we get to the drill, a lot of times these players know the majority of the concepts, so it really has accelerated the teaching and the learning.

“It's a tribute to the players' ability to pick up complicated concepts. These things will be shown throughout the year in live play.”

Madsen was asked if he expects the team to have fully-adjusted to the new system by the season’s tipoff in November.

“I think as a coach there are moments in every season where you're in a game, and you look out, and the fans look out, and every single thing is clicking perfectly. Then there are games when you're out there, sometimes those games are in January, February, or March, and nothing is clicking.

“Every single team experiences this. Phil Jackson's trusted assistant coach, Tex Winter, used to always tell us at the Lakers, in basketball, everything can turn on a trifle. Yes, we strive for perfection in everything we do, but we also tell our players, hey, those moments are going to come when it feels like you can't even throw a rock into the ocean. Those moments come in every sport in every way.

“When that moment comes, how do you react? Do you fold? Do you wither? Do you shrivel up, or do you rise to the occasion? Our players are going to rise to the occasion.”

Stojakovic - like Madsen - made the move across the bay from rival Stanford to Cal. Going to a new conference together makes future meetings between the programs even that much more interesting for the newest Bear.

“Yeah, of course,” the soph guard noted. “I think along with competing against new teams on the East Coast, I think having Stanford there, continuing that rival, you know, my old teammates over there. Obviously, a tremendous amount of respect for that program, but I'm extremely excited to compete against them this year.”

Stojakovic had the benefit of being around the NBA as the son of 13-year veteran and 3-time all-star players Peja Stojakovic and he talked about what he learned from his famous father.

“Just staying the course,” the soph transfer noted. “Obviously, understanding that kids in my class are going to go one and done or go overseas and whatnot, but I think everyone has their own journey. Being patient with myself, obviously, understanding that it's going to take different time for different players. Just continuing to grow for myself and when the time is right, it will come.

Stojakovic was asked to describe teammate and fellow attendee Sissoko.

“I would say Mady Sissoko, I would say he is a force offensively and defensively,” Stojakovic said. “He's a great rim protector, and he has great touch around the rim.”

Sissoko spent four years at Michigan State and is eager to cap off his collegiate career in a successful way.

“I'm very grateful for my time at Michigan State for four years, but coming to Cal, I have the same goal as the coach has, too, and everybody in our locker room.

“Coming to Cal, the coach is the reason, and the transition to going to the ACC and how we're going to be competing every single night with the high-level teams. I want to be part of that goal. I feel like we all have the same goal. And to grow as a player, too. I feel like I haven't seen the ceiling of me yet. I'm going to definitely grow as a player.”

Sissoku started the Mady Sissoko Foundation to help people back in his homeland and he had the opportunity to talk a little bit about what they do.

“I created a foundation three years ago with my guardian Mike Clayton, and the reason was because when NIL came, I wasn't able to make money for myself due to my visa. I was able to create a foundation. That way I can give back to my family, which lead to building a school and running water for my village.

“The progress I have seen has been just helping those kids to go to school because when I grew up, I had to walk a long way to go to school. I want to see them wake up to go to school just like walk five minutes, which is going to help them and their learning ability.

“Cleaner water is very, very important over there because there's not much clean water. For them to have the fresh running water, that was a very, very big-time for them.”

As one of the veterans on the team, Sissoki does his best to be an example for some of the younger players, particularly with his effort on the court.

“Just to understand, every single day, you have to bring it to practice every single day,” Sissoko noted as one of the areas he stresses. “The practice is something you can improve, and it's a chance for you to improve every single day, which our coaching staff and Coach Madsen are doing a very good job to help us, even though we have a lot of new faces, to help us to play together every single day.”