Cal Men's Basketball: A Pre-Exhibition Primer

Cal men's basketball has their first exhibition on Wednesday, taking on St. Martin's University, a Division II school from the state of Washington (not to be confused with the UK-based St. Martin's College).

Under Mark Fox, the Bears look to improve away from the past two years of the Wyking Jones era, which saw Cal having two 20 loss seasons. Cal had only had two in their program's history prior to that. They return six scholarship players from a year ago, all six starting at least one game in the 2018-19 season. They added six players via recruiting and the transfer market as well, including five true freshmen.

This is meant as a primer for those that have tuned out of Cal men's basketball for the past couple of years, as the Bears look to make strides in Fox's first year.

Time: October 30th, 2019 at 7 PM

Location: Haas Pavilion

Watch: Pac-12 Livestream (Free)

Listen: TuneIn Station

Redshirt Senior G Paris Austin (6' 190 lbs.)

2018-19 stats: 29 games played (all 29 started), 34.4 mpg, 11.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 4.3 apg, 1.4 spg, 44% FG, 72.7% FT

Austin returns as the likely starter at point guard and ring leader, as the Oakland native looks to improve his shooting splits (44% from the field, 28% from 3) in year two at Cal.

A quote from Austin:

"Coach Fox brings it every single day. He always talks about investing and attacking, that’s our motto as a team. Every day, we’re putting in our extra work before practice, after practice, and we’re just ready to go."

Junior G Juhwan Harris-Dyson (6'6", 204 lbs.)

2018-19 stats: 30 games played (9 starts), 16.0 mpg, 3.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.0 apg, 40% FG, 56.4% FT

Harris-Dyson has had trouble with shooting over his first couple of seasons in Berkeley. He's gone 0-21 from beyond the arc over his first two years. That said, Harris-Dyson is a standout athlete, rebounds extremely well from the guard position, especially on the offensive glass, and has the tools to be a solid defender. It's a matter of putting things together and developing a jumper to keep defenses honest that'll keep him on the floor.

Sophomore G Matt Bradley (6'4", 220 lbs.)

2018-19 stats: 31 games played (19 starts), 28.4 mpg, 10.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.0 apg, 41% FG, 47% 3PT, 79.1% FT

Bradley holds the freshman record for best 3-point percentage, and he became a more consistent offensive weapon for the Bears toward the end of the season. A physical driving lefty with a solid three point shot, Bradley's probably the best scoring threat the Bears have at the moment.

A quote from Bradley:

“I lost about eight to ten pounds. I’ve become a better defender because of it and opened my game up more offensively because of it and also becoming a better teammate and trying to fit into that leader role for our team."

Sophomore F Jacobi Gordon (6'7", 216 lbs.)

2018-19 stats: 24 games played (1 start), 10 mpg, 2.4 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 30.6% FG, 25% 3PT, 75% FT

Gordon came into his freshman year after tearing his achilles as a high school senior. Fox noted that Gordon's regained a lot of the athleticism that he lost due to the injury. Gordon didn't have a lot of playing time a year ago, but he has the versatility to play the 3 and the 4 in certain sets, as Fox plans on matching personnel against certain teams.

Junior F Grant Anticevich (6'8", 230 lbs.)

2018-19 stats: 27 games played (4 starts), 11.7 mpg, 2.7 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 41.1% FG, 33.3% 3PT, 80% FT

Anticevich has also not seen consistent playing time during his time at Cal, though at times he's been the only big who can set a good screen. He could potentially start at power forward for the Bears, as he has some midrange and 3-point shooting ability.

Sophomore F Andre Kelly (6'8", 255 lbs.)

2018-19 stats: 31 games played (19 started), 19.6 mpg, 6.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 55% FG, 70.3% FT

A big body on the interior, Kelly started quickly over the non-conference schedule a year ago, with 6 double digit performances in the first 11 games. He had only one over the remainder of the year. Kelly has only taken 3 3-pointers so far in his Cal career, making two of them, and he's dropped a bit of weight from year to year.

Redshirt Senior G Jacob Orender (5'11", 180 lbs.)

Orender played in eight games a year ago, after transferring over from Lafayette. He made his first three pointer against USC. Orender's mother, Donna, was formerly the president of the WNBA

Senior G David Surge (6'4", 190 lbs.)

Serge started his Cal career as a student manager, getting the opportunity to walk-on to the team a year ago. He played in four games last year, getting his first career points against USC on a three-pointer.

Sophomore F Blake Welle (6'7", 213 lbs.)

Welle, like his brother Cole, walked onto the Cal squad with some Golden Bear legacy. His grandfather, James Black, played on Cal's 1959 National Championship squad. Welle played in four games a year ago, tallying his first rebound against USC.

Junior F Jules Erving (6'5", 208 lbs.)

Erving, the son of NBA Hall of Famer Julius Erving, walked on to the Cal squad two years ago from Holy Innocents Episcopal in Atlanta, and he recorded his first career rebound against Cal State Northridge in November of 2017. He has played in four games over his two years in blue and gold.

G Joel Brown (6'2", 192 lbs.)

A standout at the Brewster Academy in New Hampshire (where they won a national prep championship), Brown also played on Canada's U18 team in the 2018 FIBA Americas Championship, leading Canada to a silver medal. Brown was also named the 2018-19 Canadian player of the year.

G Kareem South (6'3", 185 lbs.)

South is the sole graduate transfer among newcomers, coming to the Bears from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Like Brown, he's a native of Canada, hailing from Toronto. South is a three point threat, shooting 36.7% from beyond the arc a year ago, as with the moved three point line, he'll be important to Cal's spacing.

F DJ Thorpe (6'8", 235 lbs.)

Thorpe comes to the Bears from Lake Travis HS in Austin, Texas, the same high school as football OLB Tevin Paul. If Thorpe's last name is familiar, it's because he's the son of former NBA Champion and Houston Rocket Otis Thorpe. The younger Thorpe didn't play his senior season in high school due to an ankle injury, but as a junior, he helped Lake Travis to a 6A Regional Final for the first time in school history.

F/C Lars Thiemann (7', 248 lbs.)

The tallest player on the roster and a likely starter at center, Thiemann (pronounced Tee-man) came to the Bears from Germany. He was a productive player on the Bayern Giants U19 team in the NBBL, with 19 points per game and 13 rebounds per game. Thiemann was also invited to try out for Germany's U20 team, making the team and helping Germany to a 3rd place finish in the event.

F Kuany Kuany (6'9", 194 lbs.)

Kuany (pronounced Kwa-nee) comes to the Bears as Mark Fox's first commit, from Prolific Prep in Napa. He is originally from South Sudan, with his family immigrating to Melbourne, Australia. The rangy forward has been one of the most impressive players throughout practices, per Matt Bradley, and could play a bigger role than initially surmised.

F Dimitrios Klonaras (6'6", 214 lbs.)

Klonaras comes to the Bears from Thessaloniki, Greece, leading his home country to a 2017 U16 FIBA Gold Medal, and has some experience competing for his hometown basketball club PAOK BC.

G Logan Alters (6'1", 175 lbs.)

Alters is the lone preferred walk-on of the group, helping his University School squad to three straight district championships, two regional championships, and two state championships.

Fox spoke to the media Tuesday about a myriad of topics, including how they treat the scrimmages they've had (against BYU) and the one upcoming.

"We're nowhere near ready to separate out team, and say 'this guy's our starter,' we're still trying to figure out who's doing what," Fox said"so we're treating (the scrimmages and exhibitions) like practices with other teams, working on certain things. We're stopping it in the middle of the possession to improve an angle we're trying to teach, but they're good experiences."

That should tell you that whatever starting lineup the Bears throw out Wednesday night is not likely what is going to be seen for the rest of the year. Paris Austin, Kareem South and Matt Bradley seem like locks to garner a lot of minutes, especially given the shooting ability of the latter two, but the frontcourt starters may be a jumble. Thiemann, the sole 7 footer on the roster, may see some time at center early because of his size and skill early on.

"Lars has legitimate size to begin with, he's got really good hands and the ability to score," Fox noted, "I think those are some real advantages, because he's bigger than everybody else on our team, and they have to adjust to him. That's been a welcomed addition to our team, but he's learning to play American basketball for the first time...I think he's off to a good start, he's a mature kid, I think he's had a very responsible approach everyday, and I think he can continue that."

It's going to be everyone's first time, aside from some donors, seeing the Bears in action on Wednesday. There's been bits and pieces of quotes on what the Bears are going to do, whether it's Fox saying that they'll match-up more on their starting lineup, or man vs. zone based on opponent, or that they'll 'play as fast as they can play well.' This Wednesday's scrimmage won't be the end of that speculation, but it should give a clearer picture on what to expect.