Cal Basketball Rebuilds its Roster

With the roster close to being complete (complete?), we take a look at the roster as currently comprised.

Returners:

Andrej Stojakovic - Junior Wing - 6’6, 200, 17.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.8 assists, 1.2 bpg

Advanced Metric Comments:   Elite shot blocker for a wing, rarely fouls, draws fouls at a high rate, an elite FT shooter.   

Comments:  Capable of being the top scorer in the ACC.  A plus athlete with great body control and a solid handle.   Flirted at times with being a defensive stopper but was plagued by inconsistency.  Needs to establish a better three point shot and improve his assist to turnover ratio

Rytis Petraitis - Senior Combo Forward - 6’7, 210, 8.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.7 assists, 1.3 steals

Advanced Metric Comments:   Solid Offensive efficiency, near elite offensive rebounder and steals, elite at getting to FT line

Comments:  The versatile hustling Petraitis fought through a shoulder injury and struggled to shoot as well as he had at Air Force.   A healthy Rytis could easily be a double digit scorer.

Lee Dort - Junior PF/C - 6’10, 245, 3.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.1 bpg

Advanced Metric Indicators:   Top 10 post defensive rating nationally, elite level rebounder, near elite shot blocker.   

Comments:  Big, strong and very athletic, Dort was a strong defensive and rebounding presence for Cal in 24-25.   Needs to improve his hands, his court awareness, avoiding fouling and become a more efficient scorer.

DJ Campbell - Senior Combo Guard - 6’2, 205, 7.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.6 assists

Advanced Metric Indicators:   Inefficient scorer, poor assist to TO ratio, good at avoiding fouling on defense.  

Comments:  Tough, physical guard who had moments with his midrange game and plus defense.  Has to improve his outside shot and his overall shot selection

Spencer Mahoney - RS Sophomore Stretch PF - 6’9, 230, 1.5ppg, 1.0 rpg, 0.2 assists

Advanced Metric Indicators:  (Limited Minutes) Well below average offensive player, poor assist to TO ratio

Comments:  Good length and strength player with a sweet looking jumper.  Slow footed and very limited athletically.  All about his jump shot, if he can make threes, he may be able to contribute

Transfers:

John Camden - Senior Combo Forward - 6’8, 220, 16.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.0 assists, 

Advanced Metric Indicators:   Elite offensive player, 42% from three, very low TO rate, rarely fouls, below average rebounder, 42% from three

Comments:   One of the best offensive stretch fours in the game.  Great release and range on his jump shot, can use the bounce to beat overplaying defenders, good athlete, average defender

Recruiting Resume:  Top 125 National Player with offers from Florida, Indiana, Texas A&M, etc

Milos Illic - Senior PF/Center - 6’10, 235, 14.4, 7.5 rpg, 3.0 assists

Advanced Metric Indicators:   Good shooter, efficient scorer, near elite rebounder, elite post passer, 33% from three

Comments:  Skilled and productive big man both facing the basket and in the post, gifted passer and rebounder.  Not super physical, defense is a question mark.

Recruiting Resume:  Unrated international player

Dai Dai Ames - Junior Combo Guard - 6’1, 185, 8.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.4 assists

Advanced Metric Indicators:   Very good shooter, particularly from three and the FT line, a plus steal percentage, subpar rebounder and less than ideal assist to TO ratio.   40% from three

Comments:  Became a starter the back third of the season for Virginia and excelled.  15+ ppg as a starter, strong and quick with a knack for scoring

Recruiting Resume:  Consensus top 65 player, offers from Michigan State, Illinois, LSU, etc

Justin Pippen - Sophomore Point Guard - 6’3, 180, 1.6 ppg, .6 rpg, .7 assists

Advanced Metric Indicators:  (Limited Minutes) Inefficient shooter save for FTs.  Solid assist and rebound percentages, a plus defender

Comments:  A late bloomer in HS, has good length, excellent instincts and vision and very good form on his jump shot.

Recruiting Resume:  Top 75 player nationally, offers from Georgia Tech, Michigan, Stanford, and Texas A&M

Nolan Dorsey - Senior Shooting Guard - 6’5, 205, 9.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.2 assists

Advanced Metric Indicators:  Solid efficiency on offense, plus rebounder and near elite steal rate.  36% from three

Comments:  Rangy wing who plays very hard.  Average athlete.  Outstanding defender, decent spot up shooter, with a a limited offensive skill set.  

Recruiting Resume:  Unranked, only low major offers

Sammie Yeanea - RS Freshman PF/C - 6’9, 245, Redshirted at GCU in 24-25

Comments:  Effectively a third HS recruit as Yeanea is only 18 years old.   Great combination of athleticism and size.   Raw but promising skill set including a good face up jumper with range to three

HS Resume:  Top 100 National Player with offers from Kansas, Florida, Houston, Alabama, et al

High School Recruits:

Jovani Ruff:  6’5, 185 Shooting Guard - Long Beach Poly’s all time leading scorer.  Top 125 National Recruit with offers from Kansas, UCLA, Oregon, USC, LSU, etc

Comments:  Long, rangy shooting guard with a refined mid range game.  Good, not great athlete.  Unorthodox release on his jumper, a knack for scoring

Semetri (TT) Carr:  6’, 170 Point Guard - All Bay Area performer, Top 200 National Recruit with offers from Washington, San Diego State, and Stanford

Comments:  Athletic lead guard who can score.  Very good form and release on his jump shot, good not great handle, can use both hands with solid court awareness

What’s potentially improved against last years roster?

Shooting:   This is, on paper, a far better shooting team.  Dorsey made 47 threes last year at 36%+ which would have made him Cal’s top marksmen (tied with JOJ while making 2x the number of threes); Camden was among the nation’s leaders in three pointers made at 42%, Ames made 39% of his attempts from three, Illic, a post player, made 21 threes at a 33% clip whilst Pippen, Carr and Yeanea all come in with reputations as very strong shooters for their positions.  

Perimeter Defense:  Reputationally and based on film, the team meaningfully improved on the perimeter with defense.   Dorsey was the Defensive POY in his conference last season with an elite steal rate and good length.  Advanced metrics suggest he would have been Cal’s best perimeter defender last season.  Ditto for Dai Dai Ames who had strong advanced defensive metrics on the perimeter.   Pippen was viewed by Michigan’s staff as a near term stopper with his length, athleticism and tenacity.  

Passing/Sharing the Ball:  The assist rate for the new group of transfers is materially higher than the players they are replacing.   Illic is elite with his post passing, Camden is a plus passer on the baseline as well.  Dai Dai’s assist rate is very solid and while Dorsey’s wasn’t great it was better than either Wilkinson or Stojakovic in comparison.  Of the younger players, Pippen and Carr have reputations as very good passers.    

How does this group compare in terms of athleticism to last years?

There’s only one potential elite athlete in the incoming group and that’s PF/C Sammie Yeanea.  Where the team improved is the depth of plus athletes - Ames, Pippen, Carr and Ruff are all in that category.  Camden is likely an average ACC level athlete for his position whilst Dorsey and Illic look to have sufficient athleticism.   Thus the floor rises compared to last year based on who is likely to get minutes in 25-26  vs the 24-25 season but the ceiling likely falls as Wilkinson, JOJ and Omot were all plus to elite athletes for their size/position. 

What are the question marks for this roster heading into the Summer?

First and most importantly is the question of whether Cal has enough true two way players.  Ames and Stojakovic have that potential and with some projection so does Pippen.  Dort would need to make a meaningful jump in his offensive game whilst Camden will need to improve his defense prowess to qualify.   The youngsters beyond Pippen have the upside to do so.  Yeanay was very much a dynamic two way player in HS, Ruff has the length, and athleticism to be a strong defender as well.   Secondly, can the team replace Sissoko’s rebounding and defense in the post?   Metrics suggest the Bears will be an improved rebounding team as Dort gets more minutes (he was top 10 nationally in rebound %), Illic is a near elite rebounder and Dorsey for his position was also a near elite rebounder.   Defense may be tougher as Illic, while solid, was not at Mady’s level and there are unknowns with Yeanay’s youth and Camden’s ability to play quality post defense.

Any other meaningful observations and questions?

Who other than Andrej can consistently create their own shot?   Ostensibly Ames can as well as Camden and Illic.  TBD with the youngsters.   How much potential NBA talent is there on this roster?  Perhaps more than is obvious, a lot depends on Pippen, Yeanea and the two HS players who seemingly have high ceilings.  Andrej and Dort have the potential and Camden may get a look as a speciliast if he can improve his defense.