Cal center Kameron Rooks had probably the best game heโs had since missing 10 games with a sprained knee earlier this season, collecting 10 points on 3 for 5 shooting and a team-high six rebounds against Arizona on Saturday.
Thatโs may be no surprise if you consider that somebody special was looking down on him, literally.
UA spliced in Rooks' late father, former Wildcat standout Sean Rooks, saying the words โThis is Arizonaโ on the pregame video show. It was a clip Kameron said he saw before when he took a recruiting visit to Arizona, but also one he isnโt tired of.
โThat put as a smile on my face,โ Kameron said. โI love seeing him. Thatโs all I get to see right now.โ
In video interview from after the game that was posted by the Daily Wildcat's Justin Spears, Rooks said he used to always talk with his father after games, but Sean Rooks passed away last June at age 46 of heart disease. Now Kameron says he mostly talks with Cal coaches and finds them helpful too.
โJust gotta stay positive,โ Kameron said. โHe always preached to trust the process.โ
That hasnโt been easy to actually do in Kameron Rooksโ case. He sat out 2014-15 with an ACL tear and missed the 10 games this season that included the Dec. 30 Pac-12 opener with Arizona because of his knee sprain. He wore a knee brace for Saturdayโs game.
โHeโs done really well and fought through some injuries,โ UA coach Sean Miller said. โSo heโs already been hit with some adversity and then he lost his father at a young age.โ
Miller said UA administration came up with the idea of adding Sean Rooks to the video show, and the school cleared it with Cal AD Michael Williams, Cal coach Cuonzo Martin and Kameron Rooks to ensure they were all OK with it.
โJust to make sure in our attempt to do something that is meaningful and the right thing that it would impact him in a good way,โ Miller said. โWe didnโt want to impact him in a negative way. He was aware we were gonna do it and he OKโd it and I think it was certainly the right thing for a lot of reasons.
โIn some ways you wish you could do more but I think that would have put too much pressure on him as a young person who had to play. We lost a couple of our former players and itโs tough. You feel it as a basketball family but your heart goes out to their family. But weโre big fans of Kameron. Calโs a lot better team with him. The last time we played they didnโt have him.โ
Lauri Markkanen shot 1 for 5 Saturday after going 2 for 9 against Stanford and a collective 2 for 11 at OSU and Oregon the previous week. Thatโs 20 percent shooting over the past four games.
UA hasn't made Markkanen available for comment since his slump began, but hereโs what Miller said after Saturdayโs game:
โLauri had a tough night. Thought he competed well. Played really hard. We have to find a way to help him out on offense and in some cases, he has to find a way to do it as well. But it was hard, he had two quick fouls. Itโs very difficult to put that behind you and somehow come out in the second half and play great. (Calโs) Ivan Rabb was in the same situation. He couldnโt get it going as well.โ
After Miller said UAโs rebounding was the key to beating Cal โ 32-24 overall, and just four Cal offensive rebounds โ I asked if he thought the defense was better than the effort Wednesday against Stanford.
โDid you think so?โ he said.
Yes. (But I figured it was worth seeking some sort of response since Miller sharply criticized his team's perimeter defense and lack of defensive rebounding on Wednesday).
โWell, Iโm gonna go through the numbers here,โ Miller said. โThey scored 57 points. Letโs start there. They had 11 turnovers. They shot 43 percent from the field, 31 percent from 3. Shot only 12 free throws (while UA played) against what I think is one of the best frontcourt players in the country in Ivan Rabb. We did an excellent job of our post trap. Our effort level, our defensive rebounding โ we gave Cal four second shots so of course Iโm very, very happy with our defense.โ
Stanford shot 42.2 percent on Wednesday and 29.4 percent from 3-point range, but UA's defense was beaten regularly off the dribble and allowed the Cardinal to get 12 offensive rebounds. Cal's shooting numbers were similar overall but its offensive boards were limited to just four.
With Markkanen still not his usual self, the Wildcats had 12 points on 6-for-13 shooting by Dusan Ristic, including a 15-footer from near the top of the key when he had a good look at the basket.
Miller was OK with that shot.
โHe can score in the low post about as well as any player in the country,โ Miller said. โHeโs stating to be more at ease with that 15-foot jump shot which helps our team. Same with Chance (Comanche). Chance and Dusan are starting to take that 12- to 15-foot jumper which I think opens it up for us, especially against a team like them.โ
When asked about being seeded behind Oregon as of now in the NCAA Tournament, a fact that the committee revealed while announcing the 16 top seeds to date earlier Saturday, Miller indicated he has no problem with it.
โI mean, were you at the Oregon game?โ he said. โIโm surprised they put us on the TV, period. They beat us so bad. Thatโs a great reason. We talk about itโs not what you say, itโs what you do. That's what they did. I was there.โ
Committee chair Mark Hollis said head-to-head competition (the Ducksโ 85-58 win) made the difference, even though UA is a game ahead of Oregon in the Pac-12 standings.
UA was given a No. 3 in the Midwest and Oregon a No. 2 in the West. In Saturday's example, that meant UA would be subject to a possible Elite Eight game against Kansas in Kansas City instead of one against Gonzaga in San Jose, Calif.ย
Our full coverage is attached to this post and the box score and stats are attached as PDFs.
