- Publish date:
13 | CALIFORNIA
RE-STARTING A TREND
The contrast of old-school ideals and new-age vibe was on display at a recent practice as coach Cuonzo Martin spent 10 minutes directing a hard-nosed defensive close-out drill while Rich Homie Quan provided the background music. The Bears' success this season will depend on just such a blend of old and new: They have the Pac-12's best returning player, 6'5" senior point guard Tyrone Wallace, and the conference's top NBA prospect, 6'7" freshman wing Jaylen Brown.
Expect Cal to attempt to recapture the up-tempo magic Jason Kidd brought to Haas Pavilion in the early 1990s. Everything starts with Wallace, who spent his summer polishing his pull-up game, adding 12 pounds of muscle and addressing his poor foul shooting (59.8% for his career). He averaged a team-high 4.0 assists last year and should blow past that mark. "With the weapons we have," Wallace says, "it's easy to dish the ball off."
Brown, a slasher who can finish through contact with ease, will serve as his top new target. Both he and five-star freshman forward Ivan Rabb have bought into Martin's defense-first philosophy, which has helped them jell with junior guards Jabari Bird and Jordan Mathews. Veteran savvy and fresh talent should send Cal to its first Sweet 16 since 1997.
PROJECTED TEAM STATS
OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY 113.7 (21st)
DEFENSIVE EFFICIENCY 94.3 (28th)
PAC-12 RECORD 12--6 (T-2nd)
X-FACTOR
Stephen Domingo, a 6'7" junior transfer, barely played at Georgetown, but he'll be a knockdown-lockdown specialist off the bench for the Bears. Not only can he stretch the floor, but he can also guard four positions.
STAT SHEET
With 2015--16 projections for the top six scorers
Coach Cuonzo Martin (2nd season)
[This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]
PPG | RPG | APG | OFF. RATING | USAGE | ||
SF | Jaylen Brown* 6'7" Fr. | 16.8 | 6.3 | 1.7 | 113.0 | 26.5% |
PG | Tyrone Wallace* 6'5" Sr. | 14.3 | 5.6 | 3.4 | 107.0 | 26.0% |
SG | Jordan Mathews* 6'4" Jr. | 12.9 | 3.0 | 1.4 | 117.8 | 21.0% |
PF | Ivan Rabb* 6'11" Fr. | 11.2 | 7.3 | 0.9 | 121.0 | 20.0% |
SG | Jabari Bird* 6'6" Jr. | 10.6 | 3.7 | 1.8 | 120.1 | 18.0% |
SG | Stephen Domingo 6'7" Jr. | 6.1 | 3.3 | 1.3 | 102.9 | 15.7% |
*Starter
TOURNAMENT TRACKER
[The following text appears within a chart. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual chart.]
TITLE GAME
FINAL FOUR
ELITE EIGHT
SWEET 16
ROUND OF 32
ROUND OF 64
4
'11--12
'12--13
'13--14
'14--15
'15--16
PHOTO
KIM RAFF/AP (WALLACE)
PHOTO
JOHN TODD/ISIPHOTOS.COM (DOMINGO)
CHART
