Cal Basketball Rebuilds its Roster

HKBear97! said:

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ManBearLion123 said:

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HKBear97! said:

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Civil Bear said:

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HKBear97! said:

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Caleast said:

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Thanks "brevity" very informative.
On paper looks more promising than last year.
But building a new team every year with 8-10 new players is a challenge for any Coach.

---

On paper, I disagree. Aside from Dai Dai Ames, none of these players had any impact at the power conference level and based on the feedback from those who watched Ames last season, they were not terribly impressed. The ACC, even though not as strong as expected last year, is a far cry from the Patriot, Colonial, and Coastal leagues.

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How does this compare going into last season?

FWIW, Ames was a pretty efficient offensive player, particularly in ACC play (.514 fg%, .392 3pt%, 1.5:1 A/TO, averaged over 15ppg the second half of ACC play).

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Last year Cal brought in good power five players in Stojakovic and Sissoko that produced. And while they didn't pan out, Dort and JOJ played meaningful roles on their previous teams. Who exactly from the non-power five leagues came in and impressed? Blacksher, Omot, Campbell, Tucker? Petraitis may have been the only one that made that step up. Obviously Wilkinson had an incredible year, but can we expect that to happen again this year with the two freshmen?

Last year Cal finished 15th in an 18 team league with a roster that basically had three ACC-level players in Stojakovic, Wilkinson, and Sissoko. This year it's Stojakovic and maybe Ames?

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I was a bit critical of our transfer class this offseason earlier on (especially after Okereke and Hall fell through) but I'm actually quite happy with how everything turned out, especially given our NIL limitations.

Overall, I think our roster will be much improved next year.

Going into last season, the closest to "sure things" as P4 contributors were all fairly unproven or had low ceilings. Sissoko got pretty limited minutes and usage at Michigan State, JOJ was a known quantity as a guy who could occasionally score in bursts but didn't provide much beyond that, and Andrej was pretty much all potential still following an underwhelming freshman year at Stanford.

Going into next year, we already know that Andrej, Rytis and Ames can perform well at the ACC level. All of them have performed better in the ACC than any of last year's transfers had at the P4 level. Andrej is a certified star with a ton of untapped upside left, and Ames has plenty more upside as well.

Beyond the three listed above, I'm confident that we'll get at least 3 ACC level contributors out of Camden, Pippen, Ilic, Dort, Ruff, Dorsey, Carr and Yeanay.

The question that will determine our upside next year is whether the contributors who emerge will be just serviceable role players, or if we'll get at least a couple high-impact starters out of the bunch. The potential is certainly there for that to be a possibility.

---

So you think it will be "much improved"? Wow. Honestly, I will be shocked if this team eclipses 14 wins next year unless the OOC and ACC are absolute cupcakes. We would also have to see a massive improvement in the coaching schemes both offensively and defensively.

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HearstMining said:

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Johnfox said:

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In Camden is a phenomenal shooter. Just never got an oppurtunity.

We will hit over 16 wins, book it

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I'd love for it to be the case, but how many players have transferred into Cal with great 3pt stats from mid-majors only to come up short when defended by bigger, faster P4 athletes?

• Jalen Cone
• Grant Mullins
• Petraitis

EDIT - Maybe if Madsen ran an offense that actually got players some open 3pt shots . . . you know, off-ball screens, etc.

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HearstMining said:

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Johnfox said:

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Camden is a phenomenal shooter. Just never got an oppurtunity.

We will hit over 16 wins, book it

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I'd love for it to be the case, but how many players have transferred into Cal with great 3pt stats from mid-majors only to come up short when defended by bigger, faster P4 athletes?

• Jalen Cone
• Grant Mullins
• Petraitis

EDIT - Maybe if Madsen ran an offense that actually got players some open 3pt shots . . . you know, off-ball screens, etc.

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HKBear97! said:

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ManBearLion123 said:

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HKBear97! said:

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ManBearLion123 said:

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HKBear97! said:

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ManBearLion123 said:

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HKBear97! said:

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Civil Bear said:

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HKBear97! said:

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Caleast said:

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Thanks "brevity" very informative.
On paper looks more promising than last year.
But building a new team every year with 8-10 new players is a challenge for any Coach.

---

On paper, I disagree. Aside from Dai Dai Ames, none of these players had any impact at the power conference level and based on the feedback from those who watched Ames last season, they were not terribly impressed. The ACC, even though not as strong as expected last year, is a far cry from the Patriot, Colonial, and Coastal leagues.

---

How does this compare going into last season?

FWIW, Ames was a pretty efficient offensive player, particularly in ACC play (.514 fg%, .392 3pt%, 1.5:1 A/TO, averaged over 15ppg the second half of ACC play).

---

Last year Cal brought in good power five players in Stojakovic and Sissoko that produced. And while they didn't pan out, Dort and JOJ played meaningful roles on their previous teams. Who exactly from the non-power five leagues came in and impressed? Blacksher, Omot, Campbell, Tucker? Petraitis may have been the only one that made that step up. Obviously Wilkinson had an incredible year, but can we expect that to happen again this year with the two freshmen?

Last year Cal finished 15th in an 18 team league with a roster that basically had three ACC-level players in Stojakovic, Wilkinson, and Sissoko. This year it's Stojakovic and maybe Ames?

---

I was a bit critical of our transfer class this offseason earlier on (especially after Okereke and Hall fell through) but I'm actually quite happy with how everything turned out, especially given our NIL limitations.

Overall, I think our roster will be much improved next year.

Going into last season, the closest to "sure things" as P4 contributors were all fairly unproven or had low ceilings. Sissoko got pretty limited minutes and usage at Michigan State, JOJ was a known quantity as a guy who could occasionally score in bursts but didn't provide much beyond that, and Andrej was pretty much all potential still following an underwhelming freshman year at Stanford.

Going into next year, we already know that Andrej, Rytis and Ames can perform well at the ACC level. All of them have performed better in the ACC than any of last year's transfers had at the P4 level. Andrej is a certified star with a ton of untapped upside left, and Ames has plenty more upside as well.

Beyond the three listed above, I'm confident that we'll get at least 3 ACC level contributors out of Camden, Pippen, Ilic, Dort, Ruff, Dorsey, Carr and Yeanay.

The question that will determine our upside next year is whether the contributors who emerge will be just serviceable role players, or if we'll get at least a couple high-impact starters out of the bunch. The potential is certainly there for that to be a possibility.

---

So you think it will be "much improved"? Wow. Honestly, I will be shocked if this team eclipses 14 wins next year unless the OOC and ACC are absolute cupcakes. We would also have to see a massive improvement in the coaching schemes both offensively and defensively.

---

Maybe "much improved" is overstating things, but I think we'll definitely have an improved roster. The level to which it's improved depends on how guys like Camden transition to the ACC and whether a couple of our upside guys like Pippen and Yeanay can take big leaps and contribute.

It's also important to note that the ACC will be much better next season, so an improved roster won't necessarily translate to a better W/L record.

After the Camden addition though, I think there is enough talent on the roster that you can squint and see a relatively competitive team.

---

So the addition of Camden, a guy who never started a game or even really scored in his one year at Memphis and two years at Virginia Tech prior to playing for a Delaware team that finished 12 out of 14 teams in the CAA is an improvement? Love the optimism, but no amount of squinting will convince me this team is improved or will even sniff a winning record this season.

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That's fine if you want to look at things glass half empty, but there's plenty of reason to be optimistic for Camden. The schools Cal beat out for him are all good HM programs (Purdue, Miss State, SMU, OK State) so he's clearly viewed as a legit HM transfer target.

His best game of the season last year also came against the #2 defense in the country in St. John's. He scored 35 points on 13-18 shooting.

Oh and he's an elite shooter. Over 41% from 3 last year.

The only concern with him is defense, but we needed a secondary scorer behind Andrej and an elite shooter…and Camden fills both of those needs.

---

Let's look at that Delaware St. John's Game. St. John's won by 21 having never trailed after 3 minutes and 57 seconds into the game. Out of Camden's 35 points, 25 of those came in the second half when they were already down over 20. He is not the answer some here hope he is. Bottom line, this is bottom tier ACC team.

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ManBearLion123 said:

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You've clearly already just made up your mind about Camden. You've decided that you'll just spin whatever pieces of evidence work in Camden's favor to downplay them.

Unlike you, I'm not acting like I'm 100% sure about how well Camden will do next season. Because neither of us can be sure.

There are reasons to be very optimistic, and there are some reasons to be concerned.

I don't know why you're choosing to focus solely on the negative.

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RedlessWardrobe said:

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HKBear97! said:

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ManBearLion123 said:

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HKBear97! said:

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ManBearLion123 said:

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HKBear97! said:

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ManBearLion123 said:

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HKBear97! said:

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Civil Bear said:

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HKBear97! said:

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Caleast said:

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Thanks "brevity" very informative.
On paper looks more promising than last year.
But building a new team every year with 8-10 new players is a challenge for any Coach.

---

On paper, I disagree. Aside from Dai Dai Ames, none of these players had any impact at the power conference level and based on the feedback from those who watched Ames last season, they were not terribly impressed. The ACC, even though not as strong as expected last year, is a far cry from the Patriot, Colonial, and Coastal leagues.

---

How does this compare going into last season?

FWIW, Ames was a pretty efficient offensive player, particularly in ACC play (.514 fg%, .392 3pt%, 1.5:1 A/TO, averaged over 15ppg the second half of ACC play).

---

Last year Cal brought in good power five players in Stojakovic and Sissoko that produced. And while they didn't pan out, Dort and JOJ played meaningful roles on their previous teams. Who exactly from the non-power five leagues came in and impressed? Blacksher, Omot, Campbell, Tucker? Petraitis may have been the only one that made that step up. Obviously Wilkinson had an incredible year, but can we expect that to happen again this year with the two freshmen?

Last year Cal finished 15th in an 18 team league with a roster that basically had three ACC-level players in Stojakovic, Wilkinson, and Sissoko. This year it's Stojakovic and maybe Ames?

---

I was a bit critical of our transfer class this offseason earlier on (especially after Okereke and Hall fell through) but I'm actually quite happy with how everything turned out, especially given our NIL limitations.

Overall, I think our roster will be much improved next year.

Going into last season, the closest to "sure things" as P4 contributors were all fairly unproven or had low ceilings. Sissoko got pretty limited minutes and usage at Michigan State, JOJ was a known quantity as a guy who could occasionally score in bursts but didn't provide much beyond that, and Andrej was pretty much all potential still following an underwhelming freshman year at Stanford.

Going into next year, we already know that Andrej, Rytis and Ames can perform well at the ACC level. All of them have performed better in the ACC than any of last year's transfers had at the P4 level. Andrej is a certified star with a ton of untapped upside left, and Ames has plenty more upside as well.

Beyond the three listed above, I'm confident that we'll get at least 3 ACC level contributors out of Camden, Pippen, Ilic, Dort, Ruff, Dorsey, Carr and Yeanay.

The question that will determine our upside next year is whether the contributors who emerge will be just serviceable role players, or if we'll get at least a couple high-impact starters out of the bunch. The potential is certainly there for that to be a possibility.

---

So you think it will be "much improved"? Wow. Honestly, I will be shocked if this team eclipses 14 wins next year unless the OOC and ACC are absolute cupcakes. We would also have to see a massive improvement in the coaching schemes both offensively and defensively.

---

Maybe "much improved" is overstating things, but I think we'll definitely have an improved roster. The level to which it's improved depends on how guys like Camden transition to the ACC and whether a couple of our upside guys like Pippen and Yeanay can take big leaps and contribute.

It's also important to note that the ACC will be much better next season, so an improved roster won't necessarily translate to a better W/L record.

After the Camden addition though, I think there is enough talent on the roster that you can squint and see a relatively competitive team.

---

So the addition of Camden, a guy who never started a game or even really scored in his one year at Memphis and two years at Virginia Tech prior to playing for a Delaware team that finished 12 out of 14 teams in the CAA is an improvement? Love the optimism, but no amount of squinting will convince me this team is improved or will even sniff a winning record this season.

---

That's fine if you want to look at things glass half empty, but there's plenty of reason to be optimistic for Camden. The schools Cal beat out for him are all good HM programs (Purdue, Miss State, SMU, OK State) so he's clearly viewed as a legit HM transfer target.

His best game of the season last year also came against the #2 defense in the country in St. John's. He scored 35 points on 13-18 shooting.

Oh and he's an elite shooter. Over 41% from 3 last year.

The only concern with him is defense, but we needed a secondary scorer behind Andrej and an elite shooter…and Camden fills both of those needs.

---

Let's look at that Delaware St. John's Game. St. John's won by 21 having never trailed after 3 minutes and 57 seconds into the game. Out of Camden's 35 points, 25 of those came in the second half when they were already down over 20. He is not the answer some here hope he is. Bottom line, this is bottom tier ACC team.

---

So you're going to base your entire evaluation on the circumstances of this one game? And the 25 points that Camden scored in the second half should be devalued just because St. John's had a big lead? I guess they just let the guy score, right?

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HKBear97! said:

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RedlessWardrobe said:

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HKBear97! said:

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ManBearLion123 said:

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HKBear97! said:

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ManBearLion123 said:

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HKBear97! said:

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ManBearLion123 said:

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HKBear97! said:

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Civil Bear said:

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HKBear97! said:

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Caleast said:

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Thanks "brevity" very informative.
On paper looks more promising than last year.
But building a new team every year with 8-10 new players is a challenge for any Coach.

---

On paper, I disagree. Aside from Dai Dai Ames, none of these players had any impact at the power conference level and based on the feedback from those who watched Ames last season, they were not terribly impressed. The ACC, even though not as strong as expected last year, is a far cry from the Patriot, Colonial, and Coastal leagues.

---

How does this compare going into last season?

FWIW, Ames was a pretty efficient offensive player, particularly in ACC play (.514 fg%, .392 3pt%, 1.5:1 A/TO, averaged over 15ppg the second half of ACC play).

---

Last year Cal brought in good power five players in Stojakovic and Sissoko that produced. And while they didn't pan out, Dort and JOJ played meaningful roles on their previous teams. Who exactly from the non-power five leagues came in and impressed? Blacksher, Omot, Campbell, Tucker? Petraitis may have been the only one that made that step up. Obviously Wilkinson had an incredible year, but can we expect that to happen again this year with the two freshmen?

Last year Cal finished 15th in an 18 team league with a roster that basically had three ACC-level players in Stojakovic, Wilkinson, and Sissoko. This year it's Stojakovic and maybe Ames?

---

I was a bit critical of our transfer class this offseason earlier on (especially after Okereke and Hall fell through) but I'm actually quite happy with how everything turned out, especially given our NIL limitations.

Overall, I think our roster will be much improved next year.

Going into last season, the closest to "sure things" as P4 contributors were all fairly unproven or had low ceilings. Sissoko got pretty limited minutes and usage at Michigan State, JOJ was a known quantity as a guy who could occasionally score in bursts but didn't provide much beyond that, and Andrej was pretty much all potential still following an underwhelming freshman year at Stanford.

Going into next year, we already know that Andrej, Rytis and Ames can perform well at the ACC level. All of them have performed better in the ACC than any of last year's transfers had at the P4 level. Andrej is a certified star with a ton of untapped upside left, and Ames has plenty more upside as well.

Beyond the three listed above, I'm confident that we'll get at least 3 ACC level contributors out of Camden, Pippen, Ilic, Dort, Ruff, Dorsey, Carr and Yeanay.

The question that will determine our upside next year is whether the contributors who emerge will be just serviceable role players, or if we'll get at least a couple high-impact starters out of the bunch. The potential is certainly there for that to be a possibility.

---

So you think it will be "much improved"? Wow. Honestly, I will be shocked if this team eclipses 14 wins next year unless the OOC and ACC are absolute cupcakes. We would also have to see a massive improvement in the coaching schemes both offensively and defensively.

---

Maybe "much improved" is overstating things, but I think we'll definitely have an improved roster. The level to which it's improved depends on how guys like Camden transition to the ACC and whether a couple of our upside guys like Pippen and Yeanay can take big leaps and contribute.

It's also important to note that the ACC will be much better next season, so an improved roster won't necessarily translate to a better W/L record.

After the Camden addition though, I think there is enough talent on the roster that you can squint and see a relatively competitive team.

---

So the addition of Camden, a guy who never started a game or even really scored in his one year at Memphis and two years at Virginia Tech prior to playing for a Delaware team that finished 12 out of 14 teams in the CAA is an improvement? Love the optimism, but no amount of squinting will convince me this team is improved or will even sniff a winning record this season.

---

That's fine if you want to look at things glass half empty, but there's plenty of reason to be optimistic for Camden. The schools Cal beat out for him are all good HM programs (Purdue, Miss State, SMU, OK State) so he's clearly viewed as a legit HM transfer target.

His best game of the season last year also came against the #2 defense in the country in St. John's. He scored 35 points on 13-18 shooting.

Oh and he's an elite shooter. Over 41% from 3 last year.

The only concern with him is defense, but we needed a secondary scorer behind Andrej and an elite shooter…and Camden fills both of those needs.

---

Let's look at that Delaware St. John's Game. St. John's won by 21 having never trailed after 3 minutes and 57 seconds into the game. Out of Camden's 35 points, 25 of those came in the second half when they were already down over 20. He is not the answer some here hope he is. Bottom line, this is bottom tier ACC team.

---

So you're going to base your entire evaluation on the circumstances of this one game? And the 25 points that Camden scored in the second half should be devalued just because St. John's had a big lead? I guess they just let the guy score, right?

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Nope. Just pointing out that holding up his performance against St. John's when the game was basically over and likely their second team was playing doesn't suggest he's ready for the ACC. As noted elsewhere, we have four years to look at and it doesn't appear he'll succeed at this level. Is there a chance he'll outperform expectations? Sure, but not likely.

It's the offseason, so feel free to be optimistic and hope these additions are diamonds in the rough and the staff will finally institute successful offensive and defensive sets. That would be awesome. Unfortunately, history and reality suggest this will most likely be yet another disappointing season.

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ManBearLion123 said:

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HKBear97! said:

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RedlessWardrobe said:

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HKBear97! said:

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ManBearLion123 said:

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HKBear97! said:

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ManBearLion123 said:

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HKBear97! said:

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ManBearLion123 said:

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HKBear97! said:

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Civil Bear said:

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HKBear97! said:

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Caleast said:

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Thanks "brevity" very informative.
On paper looks more promising than last year.
But building a new team every year with 8-10 new players is a challenge for any Coach.

---

On paper, I disagree. Aside from Dai Dai Ames, none of these players had any impact at the power conference level and based on the feedback from those who watched Ames last season, they were not terribly impressed. The ACC, even though not as strong as expected last year, is a far cry from the Patriot, Colonial, and Coastal leagues.

---

How does this compare going into last season?

FWIW, Ames was a pretty efficient offensive player, particularly in ACC play (.514 fg%, .392 3pt%, 1.5:1 A/TO, averaged over 15ppg the second half of ACC play).

---

Last year Cal brought in good power five players in Stojakovic and Sissoko that produced. And while they didn't pan out, Dort and JOJ played meaningful roles on their previous teams. Who exactly from the non-power five leagues came in and impressed? Blacksher, Omot, Campbell, Tucker? Petraitis may have been the only one that made that step up. Obviously Wilkinson had an incredible year, but can we expect that to happen again this year with the two freshmen?

Last year Cal finished 15th in an 18 team league with a roster that basically had three ACC-level players in Stojakovic, Wilkinson, and Sissoko. This year it's Stojakovic and maybe Ames?

---

I was a bit critical of our transfer class this offseason earlier on (especially after Okereke and Hall fell through) but I'm actually quite happy with how everything turned out, especially given our NIL limitations.

Overall, I think our roster will be much improved next year.

Going into last season, the closest to "sure things" as P4 contributors were all fairly unproven or had low ceilings. Sissoko got pretty limited minutes and usage at Michigan State, JOJ was a known quantity as a guy who could occasionally score in bursts but didn't provide much beyond that, and Andrej was pretty much all potential still following an underwhelming freshman year at Stanford.

Going into next year, we already know that Andrej, Rytis and Ames can perform well at the ACC level. All of them have performed better in the ACC than any of last year's transfers had at the P4 level. Andrej is a certified star with a ton of untapped upside left, and Ames has plenty more upside as well.

Beyond the three listed above, I'm confident that we'll get at least 3 ACC level contributors out of Camden, Pippen, Ilic, Dort, Ruff, Dorsey, Carr and Yeanay.

The question that will determine our upside next year is whether the contributors who emerge will be just serviceable role players, or if we'll get at least a couple high-impact starters out of the bunch. The potential is certainly there for that to be a possibility.

---

So you think it will be "much improved"? Wow. Honestly, I will be shocked if this team eclipses 14 wins next year unless the OOC and ACC are absolute cupcakes. We would also have to see a massive improvement in the coaching schemes both offensively and defensively.

---

Maybe "much improved" is overstating things, but I think we'll definitely have an improved roster. The level to which it's improved depends on how guys like Camden transition to the ACC and whether a couple of our upside guys like Pippen and Yeanay can take big leaps and contribute.

It's also important to note that the ACC will be much better next season, so an improved roster won't necessarily translate to a better W/L record.

After the Camden addition though, I think there is enough talent on the roster that you can squint and see a relatively competitive team.

---

So the addition of Camden, a guy who never started a game or even really scored in his one year at Memphis and two years at Virginia Tech prior to playing for a Delaware team that finished 12 out of 14 teams in the CAA is an improvement? Love the optimism, but no amount of squinting will convince me this team is improved or will even sniff a winning record this season.

---

That's fine if you want to look at things glass half empty, but there's plenty of reason to be optimistic for Camden. The schools Cal beat out for him are all good HM programs (Purdue, Miss State, SMU, OK State) so he's clearly viewed as a legit HM transfer target.

His best game of the season last year also came against the #2 defense in the country in St. John's. He scored 35 points on 13-18 shooting.

Oh and he's an elite shooter. Over 41% from 3 last year.

The only concern with him is defense, but we needed a secondary scorer behind Andrej and an elite shooter…and Camden fills both of those needs.

---

Let's look at that Delaware St. John's Game. St. John's won by 21 having never trailed after 3 minutes and 57 seconds into the game. Out of Camden's 35 points, 25 of those came in the second half when they were already down over 20. He is not the answer some here hope he is. Bottom line, this is bottom tier ACC team.

---

So you're going to base your entire evaluation on the circumstances of this one game? And the 25 points that Camden scored in the second half should be devalued just because St. John's had a big lead? I guess they just let the guy score, right?

---

Nope. Just pointing out that holding up his performance against St. John's when the game was basically over and likely their second team was playing doesn't suggest he's ready for the ACC. As noted elsewhere, we have four years to look at and it doesn't appear he'll succeed at this level. Is there a chance he'll outperform expectations? Sure, but not likely.

It's the offseason, so feel free to be optimistic and hope these additions are diamonds in the rough and the staff will finally institute successful offensive and defensive sets. That would be awesome. Unfortunately, history and reality suggest this will most likely be yet another disappointing season.

---

If you actually look at the box score, you'd see that St. John's pretty much just played their normal rotation for that game. But don't let facts get in the way of your narrative.

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ManBearLion123 said:

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And do you think Purdue, Miss State, SMU and OK State all are delusional in pursuing Camden and thinking of him as a HM contributor?

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Bobodeluxe said:

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Reality sucks.

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barsad said:

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HKBear97! said:

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ManBearLion123 said:

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HKBear97! said:

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Civil Bear said:

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HKBear97! said:

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Caleast said:

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Thanks "brevity" very informative.
On paper looks more promising than last year.
But building a new team every year with 8-10 new players is a challenge for any Coach.

---

On paper, I disagree. Aside from Dai Dai Ames, none of these players had any impact at the power conference level and based on the feedback from those who watched Ames last season, they were not terribly impressed. The ACC, even though not as strong as expected last year, is a far cry from the Patriot, Colonial, and Coastal leagues.

---

How does this compare going into last season?

FWIW, Ames was a pretty efficient offensive player, particularly in ACC play (.514 fg%, .392 3pt%, 1.5:1 A/TO, averaged over 15ppg the second half of ACC play).

---

Last year Cal brought in good power five players in Stojakovic and Sissoko that produced. And while they didn't pan out, Dort and JOJ played meaningful roles on their previous teams. Who exactly from the non-power five leagues came in and impressed? Blacksher, Omot, Campbell, Tucker? Petraitis may have been the only one that made that step up. Obviously Wilkinson had an incredible year, but can we expect that to happen again this year with the two freshmen?

Last year Cal finished 15th in an 18 team league with a roster that basically had three ACC-level players in Stojakovic, Wilkinson, and Sissoko. This year it's Stojakovic and maybe Ames?

---

I was a bit critical of our transfer class this offseason earlier on (especially after Okereke and Hall fell through) but I'm actually quite happy with how everything turned out, especially given our NIL limitations.

Overall, I think our roster will be much improved next year.

Going into last season, the closest to "sure things" as P4 contributors were all fairly unproven or had low ceilings. Sissoko got pretty limited minutes and usage at Michigan State, JOJ was a known quantity as a guy who could occasionally score in bursts but didn't provide much beyond that, and Andrej was pretty much all potential still following an underwhelming freshman year at Stanford.

Going into next year, we already know that Andrej, Rytis and Ames can perform well at the ACC level. All of them have performed better in the ACC than any of last year's transfers had at the P4 level. Andrej is a certified star with a ton of untapped upside left, and Ames has plenty more upside as well.

Beyond the three listed above, I'm confident that we'll get at least 3 ACC level contributors out of Camden, Pippen, Ilic, Dort, Ruff, Dorsey, Carr and Yeanay.

The question that will determine our upside next year is whether the contributors who emerge will be just serviceable role players, or if we'll get at least a couple high-impact starters out of the bunch. The potential is certainly there for that to be a possibility.

---

So you think it will be "much improved"? Wow. Honestly, I will be shocked if this team eclipses 14 wins next year unless the OOC and ACC are absolute cupcakes. We would also have to see a massive improvement in the coaching schemes both offensively and defensively.

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We will eclipse 14 wins. You heard it here first.

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HKBear97! said:

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barsad said:

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HKBear97! said:

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ManBearLion123 said:

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HKBear97! said:

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Civil Bear said:

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HKBear97! said:

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Caleast said:

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Thanks "brevity" very informative.
On paper looks more promising than last year.
But building a new team every year with 8-10 new players is a challenge for any Coach.

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On paper, I disagree. Aside from Dai Dai Ames, none of these players had any impact at the power conference level and based on the feedback from those who watched Ames last season, they were not terribly impressed. The ACC, even though not as strong as expected last year, is a far cry from the Patriot, Colonial, and Coastal leagues.

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How does this compare going into last season?

FWIW, Ames was a pretty efficient offensive player, particularly in ACC play (.514 fg%, .392 3pt%, 1.5:1 A/TO, averaged over 15ppg the second half of ACC play).

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Last year Cal brought in good power five players in Stojakovic and Sissoko that produced. And while they didn't pan out, Dort and JOJ played meaningful roles on their previous teams. Who exactly from the non-power five leagues came in and impressed? Blacksher, Omot, Campbell, Tucker? Petraitis may have been the only one that made that step up. Obviously Wilkinson had an incredible year, but can we expect that to happen again this year with the two freshmen?

Last year Cal finished 15th in an 18 team league with a roster that basically had three ACC-level players in Stojakovic, Wilkinson, and Sissoko. This year it's Stojakovic and maybe Ames?

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I was a bit critical of our transfer class this offseason earlier on (especially after Okereke and Hall fell through) but I'm actually quite happy with how everything turned out, especially given our NIL limitations.

Overall, I think our roster will be much improved next year.

Going into last season, the closest to "sure things" as P4 contributors were all fairly unproven or had low ceilings. Sissoko got pretty limited minutes and usage at Michigan State, JOJ was a known quantity as a guy who could occasionally score in bursts but didn't provide much beyond that, and Andrej was pretty much all potential still following an underwhelming freshman year at Stanford.

Going into next year, we already know that Andrej, Rytis and Ames can perform well at the ACC level. All of them have performed better in the ACC than any of last year's transfers had at the P4 level. Andrej is a certified star with a ton of untapped upside left, and Ames has plenty more upside as well.

Beyond the three listed above, I'm confident that we'll get at least 3 ACC level contributors out of Camden, Pippen, Ilic, Dort, Ruff, Dorsey, Carr and Yeanay.

The question that will determine our upside next year is whether the contributors who emerge will be just serviceable role players, or if we'll get at least a couple high-impact starters out of the bunch. The potential is certainly there for that to be a possibility.

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So you think it will be "much improved"? Wow. Honestly, I will be shocked if this team eclipses 14 wins next year unless the OOC and ACC are absolute cupcakes. We would also have to see a massive improvement in the coaching schemes both offensively and defensively.

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We will eclipse 14 wins. You heard it here first.

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So now what are we thinking about number of wins? Is the Fox three win disaster in danger of being repeated? Depending on the OOC schedule, I could see the Wyking 8-win special coming up!

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oskidunker said:

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It would appear there is more hope for basketball than football but who knows.

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