There is an uphill battle for Mark Fox and company to face this year, being picked last in the conference and not having a single player on the preseason all-conference team. There are six newcomers on this Cal squad, a new coach, and a ton of uncertainty from how this Cal team is going to coalesce together, what the starting lineup is going to be, and so on. Fox was asked about his team's ranking. He hadn't seen it.

"To be honest with you," Fox noted, "it makes no difference to me. I don't -- no disrespect to any of you, but I don't read the articles. I don't listen to the stories. I look at our team, and we try and figure out how to win the day and get better."

That's an answer that sounds like Fox's colleague, Justin Wilcox, and as the Cal men's basketball coach has made an effort for the team to connect with multiple teams and coaches on campus.

"I work at one of the finest academic institutions in the world," Fox said, "and our team is a part of that university. We're not two different places. I just don't subscribe to that. We represent one of the greatest schools in the world, and we've got a tremendous athletic director and a great athletic department, and I enjoy other coaches. I enjoy our swim coach, both the men and the women. We have a lot of fun times until the hallway. Coach Wilcox and I have become very good friends, and I want to see all those people succeed.

But for Cal basketball to accomplish what we want to accomplish, it's going to take everybody. It's going to take everybody in the Bay Area. It's going to take everybody in the state of California, it's going to take everyone in Berkeley, it's going to take help from everybody, and I'm not afraid to ask for that help and to solicit that help and to build relationships where we can get that help, and to do that, maybe we have to go to some events on campus and in the Bay Area to show our partnership.

But it needs to be a partnership, if we're ultimately going to do what we want to do."

That partnership is intertwined with the motto that adorns nearly every single social media post from Cal men's basketball, for the team to "Invest and Attack." It's in the community, as Fox has made an effort to attend many events around campus. He's attended events around the Bay Area. And per senior point guard Paris Austin, Fox 'brings it' in practice.

"Coach Fox brings it every single day," Austin said,"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."

The senior point guard is the old guy now, as he and graduate transfer Kareem South (along with Jacob Orender) are the senior leaders among the group. The influx of new players means that Austin and Matt Bradley have become two of the de-facto leaders of the team, something Bradley noted that he worked on in the offseason.

"I was a young freshman last year," Bradley said, "I’m one of the older guys on the team now, we have a lot of young guys, a transfer. I’m definitely being more vocal and being a better competitor for my teammates."

Bradley, who was one of the Bears' bright spots in 2018-19, said that he's lost 10 pounds in the offseason, and with Fox's focus on defense, both man and zone, that's going to help him to be successful

"That’s one of the biggest places I need to improve on from last year," Bradley said, "and that came from getting in shape. I lost 10 pounds during the summer, I was muscle, kinda looking like a football player out there, now I’m in better shape, which allows me to do better on defense and do more on offense."

Austin noted that there's a more individualized feel with the coaching staff than in the past.

"It’s different coaching, but I think coach Fox and his staff do a great job," Austin said, "as far as getting each of his guys to do stuff with individual players. There’s a bigger emphasis with coaches in individual work, that’s something we worked on this summer. All the guys would get in really early and work with a few coaches, we’d all work on stuff individually. It’s a different coaching staff with different players, with new opportunity, I think we’ll do well, with the defensive aspect of coach Fox, that’s something he’s been emphasizing a lot, and I think that’s something you guys will be able to see."

If it will remains to be seen until the exhibition against St. Martin on October 30th, as practices have been closed to the media so far.

What Still Needs Finding Out

- A starting lineup:

It seems safe to say that Austin and Bradley will retain their starting spots from last year. Fox noted in his initial media availability a week and a half ago, they may want to match personnel with other teams. Kareem South may see opportunity as a starter due to his experience and shooting (with the new extended 3-point line). That leaves the 4 and 5 spots, which will be manned by a combination of Lars Thiemann, Grant Anticevich, Andre Kelly and DJ Thorpe.

- How this team is going to play

Historically, Mark Fox's teams have been on the slower side with grinding defense. Both Austin and Bradley mentioned playing fast, and Fox now has some USA Basketball experience to revamp his way of playing. He's said in the past that he wants his team to play "as fast as they can play well," and with a team of 17 new guys (in Fox's words), that may lead to some slower play as things start to click.

- Where the scoring comes from

This is an area you'd expect Bradley to excel in, as he became a go to guy near the end of the 2018-19 season. He's a capable shooter and driver, and should be helped by the moving back of the three-point line (with more space to drive in). He called himself an enforcer in regards to his role.

"I’m the enforcer, my role last year was to hit threes," Bradley said, "this year it’s not going to be handed to me. I worked on a lot this summer, worked on becoming a better teammate, becoming a better competitor. I can’t say what my role is going to be, I just want to win."

- How Much Better is this team going to be?

That's the big question. Fox has a project ahead of him. The players today were happy and excited to talk about their progress. They want to win. But as Fox's colleague Justin Wilcox says, want isn't enough. They have plenty of barometers of success in the non-conference season for them to figure it out.