Advertisement
basketball Edit

Five questions going into the 2020-21 Cal men’s basketball season

Cal men’s basketball head coach Mark Fox held his first press conference of the 2020-21 season via Zoom earlier this month, providing an update on how the team is navigating COVID-19 and what his expectations are for the season. After Fox’s press conference, we thought it would be good to provide a list of five key questions going into the season for the Bears.

#1. How will the point guard position play out? With senior point guard Paris Austin graduated, a major question going into this season for the Bears is how will the point guard position play out? Assuming sophomore transfer Jarred Hyder has to sit out the season, the Bears don’t have a lot of options to go to in terms of running the point. The only other guys on the roster who can be considered point guards are sophomore Joel Brown and grad transfer Makale Foreman. Neither guy is a proven facilitator at this point.

Brown came in touted for his facilitating abilities, but he averaged just 2.4 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game last season in 19.0 minutes per game. Brown’s assist numbers were 3.7 assists per 40 minutes. As for Foreman, he’s more of a shooting guard trapped in the body of a point guard, averaging 15.6 points and 2.0 assists per game last season at Stony Brook.

Last season, Cal ranked 351st in the country in assists per game (9.2) and dead last in the Pac-12 (9.1). If Cal is to have a successful 2020-21 season, they’re going to need both Brown and Foreman to really step up in terms of their playmaking/facilitating. Otherwise, ball movement projects to be a major weak spot.

#2. How much of a leap will the young bigs make? Cal has three sophomore big men who will be looking to make major leaps from year one to year two in Lars Thiemann, D.J. Thorpe, and Kuany Kuany. Thiemann and Thorpe play the center position while Kuany can play either forward position. If Cal is to have a successful season, they’re really going to need all three of these guys to make major strides in their development.

Thorpe and Kuany are both extremely athletic and should be able to make more of an impact based on their athleticism alone. They were hampered by injuries last season, so if they can stay healthy, I think there can be real hope that they’ll be able to take the type of leap that they need.

But as for Thiemann, while he is the biggest of the group at 7’0”, 248 pounds, he’s the one who I have the most questions about just because he isn’t as quick or athletic. Also, he seemed to be the most raw in terms of his development. He didn’t have great hands around the rim, wasn’t very active as a shot blocker, etc. Even when Thorpe and Kuany were available and healthy, Fox seemed to prefer playing Thiemann. Thiemann got the most minutes out of the bunch and yet his per 40 numbers were the weakest.

Given that Kuany is more of a natural small forward/power forward, he isn’t really a threat to take away Thiemann’s minutes. However, Thorpe certainly is. As we watch the development of all three players, a major thing to look for will be who gets more minutes between Thorpe and Thiemann. Ideally, I think both guys should get equal minutes, but Fox so far seems to have favored Thiemann. It’ll be interesting to see if that pattern continues to hold if Thorpe takes a bigger leap in his development.

#3. How much of an impact will the grad transfers have? The two grad transfers that Cal has coming in are guards Ryan Betley from Penn and Makale Foreman from Stony Brook. Betley averaged 11.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game last season on 42.9% shooting from the field, 36.0% shooting from 3-point range, and 78.1% from the foul line. Taking a deeper dive into Foreman, he averaged 15.6 points and 2.0 assists per game last season on 36.5% shooting from the field, 36.0% shooting from 3-point range, and 84.9% shooting from the foul line. Fox noted that with them in practice, shooting drills have become much more pleasant to watch.

Betley and Foreman are the big off-season additions to this Cal program, needing to take some pressure off Matt Bradley. Both players are coming from the mid-major level, so they definitely have a lot to prove and adjust to as they become featured players on a Pac-12 team.

#4. Can Matt Bradley get on the NBA’s radar? Junior guard Matt Bradley is one of the top players in the Pac-12 and is the leader of this Cal team, averaging 17.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game last season on 43.7% shooting from the field, 38.4% shooting from 3-point range, and 86.8% shooting from the foul line. At 6’4”, 220 pounds, Bradley is cut out of the Deron Williams cloth due to his size, strength, athleticism, and scoring ability.

At the moment, Bradley hasn’t gotten much NBA buzz, but if he has a big junior season, we could see his name floating around draft boards. Personally, I think Bradley has the chance to be a late 1st Round or early 2nd Round selection after four years at Cal. I just like his all-around package and what he can offer at the next level.

#5. How much will Monty Bowser and Jalen Celestine contribute? Cal has two freshmen on the roster in shooting guard Jalen Celestine and small forward Monty Bowser. Both guys come in as 3-star recruits with Bowser cracking the final Rivals 150 list. Given their ratings, neither guy is one who should be expected to make a huge impact in year one, but all the same, it would be nice for this Cal team to get more out of them than expected.

Bowser has the ability to provide 3-point shooting and length on the perimeter while Celestine has the ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the rim. That’s both of their strengths. If they can at least bring those things to the table and give Mark Fox sound minutes, they could have a real impact on this Cal team.

Celestine is recovering from a stress fracture in his shin. It’s unclear how much he is practicing and where he is at in his recovery. Something to look for early on in the season is whether or not he is able to go on opening night and/or if he has any minute restrictions.

Advertisement