Bear Insider Video: Cal Basketball Assistant Coach Isaiah Wilkins
The Bears brought in a combination of successful basketball pedigree and defensive excellence in new assistant coach Isaiah Wilkins.
"It's been phenomenal," Wilkins said of his transistion to Cal. "We just finished up this summer, so our eight weeks, it was a great time. The adjustment for me was pretty smooth, like the staff was great. The players worked hard, so it was a good summer."
As a collegiate player, Wilkins was a standout on the defensive end, earning ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2018 and was a two-time All-ACC Defensive team honoree. He helped the Cavaliers win two ACC regular-season titles and one ACC Tournament title in addition to making four NCAA tournament appearances and a 113-26 record during his four seasons played from 2015-18.
"The first time we made the tournament would have been the Elite 8 in '15-16, which was a great run," Wilkins said. "We had a great game vs Syracuse and came up a little bit short. But, yeah, it was a great, great time in my life. Good basketball, good family, good people. It was awesome."
Wilkins got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant at his alma mater in 2021 and held that position for two seasons before he was promoted to assistant coach prior to the 2023-24 season. Virginia won 20-plus games three times and played in the NCAA tournament twice with Wilkins on staff.
Head coach Mark Madsen’s passion for defense as a collegiate and NBA player helped the newest Cal assistant to bond with his new boss when interviewing for his new position at Cal.
"That's kind of what we talked about a bunch in my interview process and getting to know him early on," the new Cal assistant said. ."Like different defensive thoughts, learning from each other, pulling from each other. You know that type of stuff."
With an entirely new roster seeking to gel, chemistry and effort are high on the staff’s agenda heading into the season.
"Yeah, I think what we've done this summer really obviously started with Coach Madsen," Wilkins noted. "He's put a really big emphasis on becoming better defensively. But effort, obviously, is the entry point to being a good defensive team or a good defensive player at all, so that's got to be there. But attention to detail, toughness, really buying into whatever we're selling. So if we're emphasizing one thing, having the players buy in and staying with our stuff."
In addition to Wilkins, the Bears added a former Bear as a grad assistant with the addition of new grad assistant Matt Bradley in the offseason, a former player known for his intensity on the court.
"You've got to have a personality on the floor," Wilkins noted. "Matt's been great. He's been great for the guys to be around. He obviously knows the area. Was a hell of a player. We played together the other day for the first time, kind of towards the end of the summer, and it'll be good for us throughout the year, because he'll have to help carry us. We were actually on the same team, just doing some things in practice, trying to help the guys get better. And I got to see him come out and do his thing."
As for what Cal fans can expect to see this season on the floor, the new Bears assistant emphasized that based on summer workouts, they should see an unselfish team on the same page with each other and the staff who will give full effort on the court as well as better perimeter skills than seen in recent seasons.
"Based on the summer, I think you'll see a group that's really committed to playing hard and playing for each other,” Wilkins said. “We've got a really good and unselfish team and I think that's really important now with today's era of the transfer portal, having guys committed and playing for each other. From there, we'll see. We'll continue to work hard. And these guys have bought into kind of what we're pushing. So hopefully it'll be a good year.
"I think it's a team that shoots the ball well. I think these guys did a really good job going and getting shooting and things that they wanted to improve on from from last year. And I think we have a chance to be solid defensively. We've got guys who are good, natural one-on-one defenders. You've got Lee Dort and some of the other big men in the paint. So, yeah, I think it'll be a good team effort."
The 2025-26 team’s identity is yet to be determined but is rapidly developing through summer workouts and practices.
"I think that's something we'll continue to see as time goes on," Wilkins said. "Right now, I'd say really unselfish. We had a good summer, and we played a bunch and you could see that there, and then a desire to win. I think that's one thing that stuck out for me this summer. Like, everybody seems to be on the same page when it comes to like the goal is to win and perform at a high level."
The newest Cal assistant has started to get into the groove on the recruiting front and is happy with what he has to sell in his new program.
"I've been out a few times over the summer," Wilkins noted. "We've got some visits coming up soon. But Cal's a phenomenal place, right? You know it better probably than I do. But from academics to community to success that's been had in this arena, the head coach's liNBA background. I think it has everything that you want as a player. Like, it's a place where you can go and get it all in one spot.You're just across the bay from San Francisco. So it's just phenominal."