Arizona basketball seen and heard: On Larsson's exploring parents, Jeffries' commute and rally towels

BERKELEY, Calif. – While making four trips across the Atlantic to watch their son play for the Arizona Wildcats since 2021, Christian and Frida Larsson have developed a side gig in exploration.

The Larssons, wearing No. 3 Arizona T-shirts with the word “LARSSON” on the back to Friday’s game at Haas Pavilion, first arrived from their native Sweden to see Pelle Larsson play for the Wildcats against Alabama in Phoenix on Dec. 20.

They then went to Las Vegas to catch UA’s game against Florida Atlantic on Dec. 23. The family spent Christmas in Los Angeles, before heading up the coast this week to settle in for the Wildcats’ games at Cal and Stanford.

It’s been “really good because we’ve been going to different places every two or three days,” Christian Larsson said before the UA-Cal game Friday. "We also had an opportunity to not just be in the city but out in the desert in Vegas and on the way here, we went to Monterey and Big Sur to do some hiking.”

Pelle’s brother, Vilgot, joined the family last week but returned to Stockholm after Christmas, so he’ll miss out on exploring the oyster-producing regions on northern Bay area coast that Christian Larsson said he and his wife planned to check out the before taking in UA’s game at Stanford on Sunday before their return home.

“We’ve done a lot of different stuff and it’s been fantastic so far,” Christian said.

Jeffries' super commute

For Brian Jeffries, hopping from San Antonio to the Bay area on three hours of sleep Friday was just part of the deal.

The longtime UA play-by-play broadcaster annually has to make some stressful trips when basketball and football cross over and play either the same day or on successive days in different cities.

It often happens when the UA football team is playing ASU or in a bowl game, which was the case this week. Jeffries said he was up until 2 a.m. Central Time after the Wildcats beat Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl on Thursday night, then took a morning flight from San Antonio to Denver, and another, delayed flight from Denver to Oakland.

Jeffries said he’s done some similar swings over two days, and even some where he’s raced between cities on the same day if time permits.

“The two games in one days, that’s tough,” Jeffries said. “Back to back (on successive days)? Yeah, I’m tired. But you’ve just got to deal with it. Basketball gives you enough energy.”

Alum connection

Former Wildcat Mark Tollefsen was on hand Friday, while the Wildcats could get a chance to see former UA players Josh Green and Brandon Williams on Saturday when the Golden State Warriors host the Dallas Mavericks.

Williams just signed a two-way contract this week with the Mavericks, who drafted Green after he spent the 2019-20 season with the Wildcats.

UA coach Tommy Lloyd said the Wildcats might attend at least some of the Warriors-Mavs game, though their game at Stanford will tip off in the early afternoon on Sunday.

"We'll see," Lloyd said. "Everything that gives us the best opportunity to play good on Sunday will tilt our decisions that direction."

If the Wildcats do show up at the Chase Center, they would be repaying a debt of sorts to Warriors coach Steve Kerr, the former UA standout who attended the Wildcats’ exhibition game against Lebanon during their Middle East exhibition trip while coaching Team USA in August.

Whose house?

Cal gave fans entering Haas Pavilion free white rally towels saying “This is our HAAS.”

But of the roughly 5,947 people in attendance, over a third of them appeared to be rooting for the Wildcats, and they were, of course, much louder.

Spreading warmth

While fans were receiving towels, they were asked to give gently used jackets and sweaters as part of a charity clothing drive run by the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity alums.

Gordon Bayne, a Cal assistant AD and Kappa Alpha Psi alum, said the One Warm Coat drive is held once a year, if possible during Cal doubleheaders.

Earlier Friday, the Cal women’s basketball team played Stanford at Haas before 4,197 fans. The Bears lost that one 78-51 but Bayne said about 200 coats were donated, filling a gigantic cardboard box, and the same was expected during the men’s game.

Grizzled Bears

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Before junior Jaylon Tyson moved back into Cal’s starting lineup Friday, the Bears pulled out a starting lineup that had a collective 18 years in college before this school year even started.

Center Fardaws Aimaq is a sixth-year senior who started his college career way back in 2018-19 at Mercer, sat out 2019-20 and then played the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons at Utah Valley under current Cal coach Mark Madsen – and came back to rejoin Madsen at Cal this season after playing at Texas Tech last season.

Wing Keonte Kennedy is another sixth year player, extended because of a redshirt season in 2019-20 and his covid exception year for playing in 2020-21. Kennedy started his career at Xavier in 2018-19, played for UTEP in 2021-22 and 2022-23, then transferred to Cal.

Guard Jalen Cone is a native of North Carolina who began his career at Virginia Tech in 2019-20 and 2020-21, then played for NAU the past two seasons before moving to Cal.

Then there’s Jalen Celestine, who hasn’t gone anywhere since enrolling at Cal before the 2020-21 season but missed last season with an injury and is considered a fourth-year junior – and he still has two years left to play because of the COVID exception.

Meanwhile, forward Grant Newell is simply a good old-fashioned sophomore.

Bearing down

Cal coach Mark Madsen’s personality and intensity has injected life in the Cal program, analyst Don MacLean said, though the Bears still are still going through a defensive transition with so many transfer players.

After allowing UA to shoot 59.3% and score 100 points Friday, Cal ranks 102nd nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency but just 243 in defensive efficiency, allowing 107.4 points per 100 opponent possessions.

“They’ve struggled defensively,” MacLean told Cal Sports Report earlier this week. “That’s the hard part of bringing in a bunch of guys who have been at a couple different schools that have learned different schemes, different terminology, and now you’ve got to put them together. It’s not going to be immediate.

“I do think with their talent level, by February I think they’ll be better defensively and they’ll be winning some games. I don’t think they’re going to win them all and I don’t think they’re going to finish in the top half of the league, but they’re not going to win (just) one game in league, I’ll tell you that.”

Quotable

“Really phenomenal start to the game. They made shots, they ran it down our throats, and they established a dominant post presence inside.”

— Cal coach Mark Madsen, on Arizona's early run over the Bears.

The big number

59.3: Arizona’s field goal shooting percentage against Cal, a season high.

Motivated and rested Arizona Wildcats roll Cal Bears 100-81 in Pac-12 opener at Berkeley

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Photos: No. 4 Arizona Wildcats blast Cal to open Pac-12 play, 100-81