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Posted: Monday November 04, 2002 8:07 PM Updated: Wednesday November 06, 2002 12:58 PM California Bears
The following preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the most thorough preview available of the upcoming season, order the 2002-03 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518. Team Preview | Blue Ribbon Analysis
Longtime Pac-10 powers UCLA and Arizona get all the media attention. Stanford has taken great leaps in recent years. And Oregon emerged as a national power last season, winning the conference and advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight. But if you want an overlooked, quietly consistent winner from the West, look no further than the Cal Golden Bears, who will be shooting for a fifth consecutive postseason berth this March. That has never happened in the 95-year history of the program. With 118 wins in six seasons, coach Ben Braun has put himself in position to climb past Pete Newell (119-44) and Lou Campanelli (123-108) into second place on the all-time Cal victory chart. He returns two starters and the top three scorers from a team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, defeating Ivy League champion Penn before losing to Big East power Pittsburgh.
"Familiarity will be a key for us," Braun said. "That’s always a plus for any team." What will be unfamiliar is the point guard spot. Braun thought he was all set with 5-foot-10 senior Shantay Legans (8.1 ppg, 3.8 apg), who was to become Cal’s first four-year starter at the point since Kevin Johnson in the mid-1990s. But Legans informed Braun in late August that he was transfering to Fresno State. Great timing. "Shantay has been an integral part of our program," Braun said, "but he has expressed a desire to play at Fresno State for Ray Lopes, with whom he has had a long-term relationship. Obviously, I am disappointed that he has chosen not to finish his senior year at Cal -- as well as with the timing of his request." Legans will be missed and leaves Cal without a solid point guard. He has averaged 4.1 assists for his career and would have entered the season ranked among the Bears’ all-time top 10 in 3-point field goals (third with 139), free-throw percentage (second at 83.7 percent), assists (fifth with 386) and steals (seventh with 131). "Point guard is the hardest position to play," Braun said. "You’re directing your team. You’re making decisions late in the game. You’re the coach on the floor." Returning around the perimeter are 6-foot-5 senior guard Brian Wethers (10.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and 6-foot-5 senior swingman Joe Shipp (14.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg). "Brian and Joe came on strong last year and were really playing well at the wing for us," Braun said. Shipp led the Bears in scoring and rebounding and was voted the team’s most valuable player. He reached double figures 26 times and scored a career-high 31 points against Fresno State, when he also set a school record with nine 3-pointers. He enters his senior season with 1,034 points. Wethers gives the Golden Bears a powerful, athletic presence on the wing. He came on strong down the stretch last season, averaging 15.8 points over the final five games, including 19 in Cal’s first-round NCAA win over Penn. Sixth-man Amit Tamir, a 6-foot-10, 245-pound sophomore forward, also returns and is ready to move into the starting lineup. Tamir averaged 9.9 points and 3.5 rebounds as a freshman for the Golden Bears. "Amit certainly was a solid first-year player," Braun said. "I think we’ve got a good nucleus coming back." Cal suffered two significant losses. Center Solomon Hughes graduated after averaging 7.7 points and 3.9 rebounds, and forward Jamal Sampson averaged 6.4 points and 6.5 rebounds before declaring for the NBA draft after his freshman season. The 6-foot-11, 235-pound Sampson, a member of the Pac-10 All-Freshman squad, became the eighth Cal player drafted in nine seasons. He was taken by the Utah Jazz with the 47th overall pick, then was dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Rashard Griffin. Cal does return 5-foot-10 junior A.J. Diggs, one of Cal’s great success stories. He joined the team as a walk-on but performed so well (ranking ninth in the Pac-10 with 47 steals) that he was awarded a scholarship for this season. The feisty Diggs also averaged 3.2 points. He could be the man chosen to replace Legans at the point, an enormous pressure position considering the timing of Legans’ transfer so late in the summer. Cal thought it had lost reserve center Gabriel Hughes, but the 6-foot-10 junior changed his mind about transferring -- to Fresno State, coincidentally -- and will be back in uniform this season. "I looked at the path I wanted to take in my life and asked, 'What do you want to do?’ said Hughes, who had been frustrated by a lack of playing time (4.3 minutes per game). "I decided I wanted to come back home. I have a lot of fans and friends here, and I have two years invested here. The players and coaches never gave up on me." Hughes averaged just 2.1 points and 1.5 rebounds while blocking 10 shots. None of the remaining players put much of a dent in the stat sheet last season. Senior guard Donte Smith and junior forward Conor Famulener each averaged 1.1 points, while sophomore guard Tashaan Forehan-Kelly and junior guard Ronnie West -- both walk-ons -- barely played. Smith will be out until January after September surgery to repair a torn right quadriceps tendon. Famulener also was a walk-on but was awarded a scholarship last May. The most anticipated newcomer to the Cal squad is Jordi Geli Vilardell, a 6-foot-9, 190-pound forward from Spain who joined the team in August. Vilardell is considered one of the 20 best junior players in Spain. Still only 18, he will be a freshman. "In many ways, Jordi is a prototype European player," Braun said. "He’s 6-foot-9 with perimeter skills. Shooting and ball handling are his strengths. Jordi is a face-up player who can play either at the post or on the wing. He has a lot of potential and is eager to be coached." Vilardell has spent the past five years playing with his club team, Girona Casademont. Last year, he averaged 11.1 points, 13.1 rebounds and two blocked shots. Three other freshmen join the Bears -- 6-foot-1 guard Richard Midgley, who is from London but played at Modestao-Christian (Calif.) High and helped that squad to a state runner-up finish; 6-foot-8 forward David Paris, Midgeley’s teammate in high school and the son of former San Francisco 49er Bubba Paris; and 6-foot-9 forward/center Rod Benson (Torrey Pines High in San Diego). Benson averaged 14 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.8 blocks in leading Torrey Pines to a 25-4 record. He was recruited by UCLA, Stanford, Oregon, Villanova and Pepperdine and was rated the No. 3 center on the West Coast by TheInsiders.com. "We’re really excited about Rod’s potential," Braun said. "He has some great intangibles. He’s athletic, quick and very well-coached.'' Erik Bond, a 6-foot-7 red-shirt freshman, will battle for playing time at small forward. The former state player of the year in Washington (Seattle Prep) sat out last season after ankle surgery. Braun’s recruiting class took a hit when Parade All-American Kennedy Winston, Mr. Basketball in Alabama last season, asked out of his scholarship because his mother was ill. The 6-foot-7 forward subsequently signed with Alabama. The Bears won’t win the Pac-10 this season, but they won’t be in hibernation, either. They are well coached and should make a run at another postseason berth if they can find a suitable replacement for Legans at the point. Center remains a question mark. Hughes nearly left the program over a lack of playing time and now will get a chance to showcase his talents under the glare of the spotlight. If he struggles, Braun will turn to freshman phenom Benson. "We’re going to have to count on our young guys coming in," the coach said. "Those guys should get an opportunity to contribute." Cal’s biggest obstacle may be its rugged schedule. In addition to their numerous Pac-10 showdowns, the Bears open at The Pit in New Mexico and also face Providence, Kansas and Georgia.
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