My two cents: Cal has talent; now needs chemistry
Cal’s basketball acquisition of Georgia super prospect Jaylen Brown a few days after getting 6-11 Ivan Rabb is the most provocative set of moves in the Pac-12 since Sean Miller raided USC to get Solomon Hill, Derrick Williams and MoMo Jones six years ago.
Cal is now undeniably a power player — the bigger question is whether it can be sustained.
Cal’s projected starting five for 2015-16 is probably the most talented in the Pac-12 since Ben Howland’s UCLA Final Four team of 2007-08 that went 35-4. The difference is that Howland was in his 14th year as a coach, 10 at the elite level. Cal’s Cuonzo Martin has not been a top 25 coach. Martin has one season to bring together five rather sizable egos.
Howland’s ’08 team was remarkable in its chemistry. Future NBA players Kevin Love, Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook all averaged 10 points or more and 10-plus field-goal attempts per game. Amazing. Another future NBA player, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, averaged 7.4 shots per game. Howland didn’t employ an up-tempo offense to keep his future stars happy; the Bruins averaged 73.5 points a game, which was No. 85 in the NCAA.
The Bruins won with defense and discipline. As good as they were, they lost to Washington, USC, Texas and Memphis that season, and barely managed to beat Kevin O’Neill’s ragtag Arizona team at McKale Center, 68-66. Pac-12 basketball, which has been a yawner for years, is much the better for Martin’s ability to put the Bears on the recruiting map. But if he had someone like T.J. McConnell at point guard, distributing the ball, it would be much more threatening.
