2018 Summer Snapshot: Men's Basketball Developing Heading into Fall

It's been a long break for Cal men's basketball, as they move forward from a difficult year into year two of the Wyking Jones era. In the past couple of weeks, I've gotten to observe the Bears going through BAM Testing (the testing they do at the NBA combine), along with interviewing Jones on a myriad of topics. Media also got the opportunity to interview the four returning sophomores in Darius McNeill, Justice Sueing, Juhwan Harris-Dyson, and Grant Anticevich after they tested.

Today, we go through bits on the returning sophomores, transfer Paris Austin, and the freshman class that's now in school

We start our snapshot off with the Australian forward who didn't garner too many minutes last year, but who Wyking Jones noted, when asked first about the improvement of the other three sophomores to be:

"Even though Grant didn’t play a lot of minutes last year," Jones said, "he’s going to be a big part of what we do going forward. He’s probably had the biggest improvement from last year to what we’re doing this summer. Really working hard in the weight room, changing his body, a lot more muscular, and that was something, he sat down with me in the middle of the season, saying ‘coach, what do I need to do to get more playing time, what do I need to do to be more successful?’ I said, ‘you need to change your body. You’re not fast enough, you’re not explosive enough, you don’t move well enough right now at this level,’ and he’s really taken to that challenge, and really worked his butt off to get more explosive, be quicker up and down the court. If you look at him, he looks physically more muscular, more put together. So he’s going to be a big part of what we do next year, along with Juhwan, Darius, and Justice."

Anticevich lived up to those words during the testing, as the now 6'8" 235 lb big man showed great agility in the reaction shuttle, only behind Justice Sueing by one hundredth of a second. He looks more confident than a year ago, as building his strength up and getting more reps has helped his game.

"Grant’s constantly in the gym all the time," Sueing noted, "He’s always trying to be better and it shows, obviously out there and it’s carrying onto the court as well. We’re really looking forward to him seeing more minutes and his body is a lot stronger than it was last year."

There's still work to do for the Aussie, as he has a couple of priorities going forward.

“Just working on my defensive rebounding and finishing against bigger players is probably the biggest thing for me,” Anticevich noted.

Harris-Dyson is around where he was a year ago before the flu took 20 lbs off of him, as he slowly fought his way back to that size.

"I feel like I’m 100% back. I feel completely better," Harris-Dyson said, "I’m starting to gain my weight back. I’m almost at my weight that I was when I started the season and I’m putting more weight on through the summer, so I’m just looking forward to building that muscle, being able to go on the court, and show what I can do."

Harris-Dyson has been working on his jumper throughout the offseason, as he didn't have much success outside of the lane last year.

"I think with him more than anything is that it’s in his head," Jones noted, "Obviously mechanically he’s gotten better, he’s gotten more reps over the summer than he’d ever gotten, but part of it’s mental, you’ve got to trust it and believe it, trust and believe your training, and trust and believe your work in the gym is paying off. If you miss two, don’t get discouraged. I expect him to be more serviceable, not necessarily just from three but as a jump shooter in general."

Harris-Dyson could potentially start at the 3 for the Bears in 2018, as he's long enough to move up from the 2.

McNeill, who looks noticeable stronger in the upper body, looks to be moving to the combo guard role that he assumed in his high school days. While he's going to play more at the 2, thanks to Paris Austin now being eligible, he's still going to be the backup point guard for the moment being.

"Darius can still play that role, he’s a combo," Jones said, "he can still play the one and I think he’ll do a better job this year, just because he’s more mature, he’s been through it, he’s had a summer to debrief, think back on it, and think this year ‘I should be better, I know what my strengths and weaknesses are, play to my strengths.’"

Austin noted that McNeill likes to catch the ball in transition for threes, and while the two were matched up against each other in practice last year, now they get each other open.

"He’s going to get me a lot of open shots," McNeill noted, "It’s going to be a good backcourt. We’re both fast; it’s going to be an exciting backcourt. That’s all I can say. We're still going to be matched up in practice, so we’re going to be going head to head, we act like we don’t like each other, but when we’re on the same team it’s pretty cool."

Sueing was the biggest surprise of last year, playing the best out of the freshman, though his scoring tapered off as the Pac-12 season went forward. With offseason workouts going, the Mater Dei product noted that he tested as having the highest vertical on the team. The biggest change, according to Jones, might be in how he carries himself.

"The biggest improvement that I see in Justice at this point is that he’s more of a leader," Jones said. "He talks more in practice, he’s more vocal, he’s more engaged, he’s more present. If he can continue to do that, sky’s the limit for where he can be. He was very reserved his freshman year, and now I see him coming out of his shell, leading and talking and motivating guys."

Austin's usually the first name out of Jones's mouth when talking about who he's excited for next year, as the Bishop O'Dowd product is a 'true point guard,' according to the Cal coach.

"He’s a natural leader, he’s not afraid to hold his teammates accountable for being good," Jones noted. "He doesn’t shy away from the spotlight, having the ball in his hands at the end of scrimmages or the end of practices or the end of shot clock. He wants to make the play, he believes he can make the play, and just having a true point guard this year is going to be very beneficial for everybody."

"I think being a true point guard is knowing where my teammates like to get the ball," Austin added, "being able to lead the team, being able to take on a leadership role. That’s something that I take pride in. I know that Darius loves catching the ball for transition threes. I already know where Matt likes to catch the ball, I know where Jacobi likes the ball. I know that if I pass it to Juhwan, when he passes halfcourt, he’s going downhill."

The Boise State transfer also noted the difficulty in sitting out a year, not being able to affect the game physically.

"It was real difficult for me, because I’m with my teammates every day," Austin noted, "Small things that I could help them with, I wasn’t able to do that on the court. At the same time, I felt like it was a really good learning experience for. I was able to become a better person, a better basketball player. I became mentally better, I was able to learn things about the game, and I was able to learn the team better."

Bradley was one of the most notable recruits, as far as how much emotion you could see him putting into the game. The 6'4" 200 lb guard looks every bit of that big in person, but hasn't been as loud as one would expect from watching his film, as the Bears' strength staff have been putting the freshmen through their paces.

"He’s still getting used to what this is, so he hasn’t been loud," Jones noted, "He’s been sore from all the lifts and all the runs. All the freshman, they’re in shock right now, because they’ve never had to work this hard before or had this busy of a schedule before. They’re all kinda quiet right now, because this is a lot right now. He is really working hard and is really impressive in the ways that he can score, from getting to the rim, to pullups, to shooting the three, and getting fouled."

Gordon's achilles is still healing from a tear that happened last November, so during the actual testing, he didn't look as explosive as he had been in the past. He's eight months out of surgery, and it takes time to get back from achilles injuries. Jones did call him a natural scorer, and he'll have the time to recover more before the season starts up in earnest.

Kelly was not involved in the BAM testing due to having class on the day of, but strength coach Jordan Jackson has noted the Lincoln (Stockton) product as shedding some fat as he's gotten into the gym, and Jones has noted that he can step out and hit a shot from the high post, which draws defenders and opens up the floor.

Kelly, another 6'8" big, seems likely to play more at the 4 spot, but could shift to the 5 for brief stretches depending on how well he develops physically as a defender and a rebounder.

Finally, Vanover lives up to Jon Rothstein's description of him as "the skinniest person I've ever seen." He's certainly up there, as he's about 218 lbs at 7'3".

"He definitely needs to continue to gain weight," Jones said, "Since he’s been here, he’s gained about six pounds already, so we’ve got make sure that he’s continually eating throughout the day, not just square meals, but snacks in between. That’d be somebody else’s gift if they could do that. As long as he continues to get calories into his body and continue to work out in the weight room, he’ll gain weight. He’s long, he’s got a good frame, but it’s gonna take time, it’s not going to happen overnight."

The Cal staff is looking to get him to around 230 before the start of the season.

"Just from a mindset of feeling stronger," Jones said, "looking at his body change and getting some confidence, it’d be beneficial for him."