Mark Madsen is headed for another offseason of rebuilding at Cal. Such is life in the age of the transfer portal, and the Bears will be in a similar position to the one they were in last year when they added 10 transfer players to the roster.
Cal's season came to a close two weeks ago when the Bears fell in the second round of the ACC Tournament to cap a 14-19 campaign in Year 2 under Madsen.
Since that loss, the Bears have had three players enter the transfer portal, which officially opened Monday.
Star freshman guard Jeremiah Wilkinson made the decision late last week that he would be entering the portal followed by a decision from forward BJ Omot on Sunday. Monday, forward Joshua Ola-Joseph entered the portal becoming the third member of the group so far.
Wilkinson is of course the big loss for the Bears following a season in which he emerged as a true scoring threat and eventually became the ACC Sixth Man of the Year. The Powder Springs, Georgia native averaged 15.1 points this season highlighted by a 36-point showing against Notre Dame in the regular season finale.
Wilkinson played in 32 games and made 14 starts during his freshman season and provided a boost to the starting lineup when leading scorer Andrej Stojakovic missed time with a hip injury.
Omot and Ola-Joseph both battled injury throughout what is expected to be their lone season in Berkeley. Omot played in just four games before a wrist injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season, but the North Dakota transfer was impressive in his short stint with the Bears.
He averaged 10.8 points in those games, two of which he started, and shot 44% from the field. Omot played 31 minutes and scored 15 points on a 7-for-13 showing against Vanderbilt in his highlight performance of the season.
Ola-Joseph, who transferred to Cal from Minnesota last offseason, had a more productive season for the Bears as he played in 24 games and made 10 starts. An undisclosed injury kept the Minnesota native sidelined for the final seven games of the season while he hadn't started for the Bears since the Dec. 21 matchup against San Diego State.
Ola-Joseph did provide Cal with 7.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in his 24 appearances.
The spring transfer portal window will run from Monday through April 22 giving players an opportunity to explore their options. As with football and other sports, basketball transfers are able to withdraw from the portal and return to their previous school.
As of now, the three Cal players who have entered the portal are next expected back with the Bears. Madsen's program has two incoming players so far with incoming recruits Jovani Ruff and Semetri Carr having signed with the Bears in the fall.
