Well, it’s not exactly back to the drawing board for Cal’s basketball team, but the Bears’ erratic 62-55 Division victory over Chico State on Wednesday night at the Haas Pavilion certainly suggests that he there are things to settle in training.
“We did a lot of good things,” coach Mark Fox said. “There were a lot of things we can learn from.”
The Bears are hoping to reverse a five-game losing streak — unprecedented in program history — and I’m not sure we’ve gleaned much from it that suggests where this season is going.
Chico State was 22-5 last year and reached Elite Round 8 of the NCAA DII playoffs, but only fires one starter from that team. Well trained, no doubt. But physically outmatched by a Pac-12 opponent.
*** Apologies for the technical issues with the sound on the video above.
We’ll start with the good stuff:
–The Bears’ four true newcomers totaled 28 points, including 11 each from junior guard Devin Askew and freshman forward ND Okafor.
Askew, who spent a season each at Kentucky and Texas, was just 4-for-14 from the field and 1-for-6 on 3-point tries, but showed a midrange game.
“I think Devin Askew has done some good things and had some games where in a new system he still doesn’t quite understand where he should go,” Fox said. “The more he plays, the more comfortable he will be.”
Okafor, 6-foot-9, 235 pounds, made 5 of 6 free throws and added five rebounds, all in less than 9 minutes on the floor.
“He was very effective,” Fox said of Okafor. “He’s a young player learning everything about basketball. ND was really good in the minutes he had.
Freshman forward Grant Newell had four points and six rebounds and looked confident on the court.
Grad transfer DeJuan Clayton, who scored more than 1,500 points in four seasons at Coppin State, played in short bursts due to a minutes restriction due to a minor injury. He scored two runs on 1-for-6 shooting and, as Fox said, never found a rhythm.
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–Senior center Lars Thiemann had 10 points and 10 rebounds and drew nine fouls from Chico defenders. Fox gave him over 27 minutes on the floor to help him get into shape, but that limited Okafor’s opportunity.
– Sophomore guard Marsalis Roberson, who barely played last season, had eight points, eight rebounds and three assists and shot 6-for-6 from the free throw line. “He only made one field goal, but he had a lot of really good plays tonight,” Fox said. “Marsalis is young, aggressive, talented and I think I had a good night. A good rebounder.
— The Bears’ defense was solid, albeit against an inferior opponent. The Wildcats shot less than 30 percent each half, including 1-for-10 from 3 points in the first 20 minutes. Some of that was the result of good defending, other times they were open but just missed.
Now the not-so-good stuff:
– Cal allowed a team without a starter over 6-foot-7 to grab 16 offensive rebounds that became 19 second-chance points. “We bounced back badly,” Thiemann said. “We have to improve.”
– The Bears shot just 36 percent from the field in the first half and were 2 for 18 from 3-point range on the night. “I didn’t like our shot selection,” Fox said. “I thought we were very impatient.”
— Patience has nothing to do with the Bears’ bad shot. They were 18 for 31 (58%), and players other than Okafor and Roberson combined to shoot 7 for 19 (37%).
– Cal was never able to pull away, thanks to poor play late in each half. The Bears led 28-15 with 2:43 left in the opening period, then saw the Wildcats beat them 8-0 the rest of the way. In the second half, they were leading 57-50 with just 5 minutes remaining and went more than 4 minutes without scoring, allowing Chico to shoot twice from within four points.
— These uneven sections suggest a lack of organization on the ground. Fox said he has up to four players who can play point guard – Askew, Clayton, Joel Brown and Jarred Hyder, although Roberson is showing some skills that could apply.
But in practice recently, Fox said, two were sick, another was nursing an injury and a fourth had a class dispute.
“We were at zero. We had a coach who played point guard,” Fox said. “We have guys that we need to get back healthy and then we need to find a rotation, but that’s going to take a bit of time.”
The regular season opens Monday at home against UC Davis.
Cover photo of the Haas Pavilion on game night
FFollow Cal Sports Report’s Jeff Faraudo on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
