This has the potential to be a very special season for Cal men's basketball...while we are wringing our collective hands about the apparent long-term commitment to football mediocrity happening in Berkeley, we are missing what could be the start of something very big in Haas Pavilion.
I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that Jaylen Brown is one of the most talented athletes ever to wear our blue and gold. Just a freshman, but already he looks the part. And, unlike many with his physical skills and abilities, he is extremely intelligent -- which is why I am confident that, as good as he already is, we are going to see him blossom and mature into an incredible player by the end of this year.
Brown's biggest problem right now is that he plays too much as an individual -- a forgivable flaw considering his amazing talent. When you are as good as he is, why wouldn't your instinct be to take the ball to the rim every time you touch it? But once Brown learns to play within the offense, to rely less on isolation, less on trying to cut through defenses, less on taking on four guys at once and taking them all to the rim, and more on using his teammates, drawing double teams and kicking to the open man, working with his bigs...he will create more open shots, keep defenses from keying in and collapsing on him, and when that happens, he will truly be special. Brown will figure this out. I'm certain of it. And in the meantime, we can settle for lines like 17 points and 7 boards, 6/10 from the field in only 21 minutes. I think I can live with that for now...
It's also obvious what the Rabb hype was all about. What is really awe inspiring about him is his quickness. A guy with his size and length just shouldn't be able to move as quickly as he does. It almost isn't fair. Anyone who can match up with his length can't possibly match up with his quickness. Put a big on him and he will work his way around. Put a smaller guy on him and he will overwhelm with length. And unlike Brown at this stage, he has internalized the team concept -- almost to a fault. Rabb could stand to be a bit more aggressive with the ball in his hands, assert himself a bit more. I love the fact that he is very good from the line -- not just for a big, but for anyone. His quickness and size in the paint is going to draw a lot of fouls, and he can cash those fouls in from the line. That's a huge, incredibly valuable skill.
But here's the thing -- while Brown and Rabb might be the most talented players on the team, the best player on the team is still Tyrone Wallace. He is finally looking like the veteran leader we have wanted him to be. When other scorers go cold, Tyrone seems to be able to score at will. This guy is exactly the sort of centerpiece a championship team needs, and it must be fun for him to have the opportunity to play with so much talent around him.
And here's the other thing -- what makes this team truly great is not necessarily its top end talent, but its depth. My discussion of our star players above didn't even include Bird or Matthews -- two players who have All-Pac 12 level talent. Bird is a talent almost on par with Brown and Rabb whose injuries have set him back, but it feels like he is on the verge of becoming the player he has the potential to be. And Matthews may be the best shooter in the conference, and, unlike before, he is now capable of putting the ball on the floor and driving to the hoop -- and the fact that defenders now have to respect that part of his game will lead to more open looks and more buckets. The fact that Matthews is just a fourth or fifth scoring option on this team is an enormous luxury. Most teams don't have a first or second option as good as Matthews.
And we can get quality, 100% effort minutes out of our starters because we don't necessarily need any of them to play more than 30 minutes or so. Watching the end of the UCSB game, when we were running clock late with our second line, it occurred to me -- we can run out a quality lineup with only one starter on the court. Singer, Domingo, Rooks, and Moute a Bidus ...add any one of our five starters, and I'd take that as a starting lineup against more than half of the conference's starting five. And that doesn't even include Okoroh. Honestly, there are times when our best looking lineup is Singer, Wallace, Domingo, Brown, Rooks. Having bench guys who can integrate seamlessly without substantial drop off has been Cal's biggest deficiency for years. This year, that will not be a problem.
And while we're on the subject, I really like what I see in Rooks. I think when we play bigger teams in conference we'll see more of Rooks, Rabb, and Brown on the floor at the same time, which is going to be brutal for opposing teams on both ends of the court. But it's also clear that this team is really in its element when it is getting up and down the court quickly, and Rooks doesn't necessarily play into that strategy. We struggled a bit against UCSB's zone for a few possessions before we got it figured out, and UCSB isn't a great zone team.
Winning this conference won't be easy, but Cal should be the favorite...and it's looking like we are going to have more fun in March than we have for a very long time. Go Bears.
I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that Jaylen Brown is one of the most talented athletes ever to wear our blue and gold. Just a freshman, but already he looks the part. And, unlike many with his physical skills and abilities, he is extremely intelligent -- which is why I am confident that, as good as he already is, we are going to see him blossom and mature into an incredible player by the end of this year.
Brown's biggest problem right now is that he plays too much as an individual -- a forgivable flaw considering his amazing talent. When you are as good as he is, why wouldn't your instinct be to take the ball to the rim every time you touch it? But once Brown learns to play within the offense, to rely less on isolation, less on trying to cut through defenses, less on taking on four guys at once and taking them all to the rim, and more on using his teammates, drawing double teams and kicking to the open man, working with his bigs...he will create more open shots, keep defenses from keying in and collapsing on him, and when that happens, he will truly be special. Brown will figure this out. I'm certain of it. And in the meantime, we can settle for lines like 17 points and 7 boards, 6/10 from the field in only 21 minutes. I think I can live with that for now...
It's also obvious what the Rabb hype was all about. What is really awe inspiring about him is his quickness. A guy with his size and length just shouldn't be able to move as quickly as he does. It almost isn't fair. Anyone who can match up with his length can't possibly match up with his quickness. Put a big on him and he will work his way around. Put a smaller guy on him and he will overwhelm with length. And unlike Brown at this stage, he has internalized the team concept -- almost to a fault. Rabb could stand to be a bit more aggressive with the ball in his hands, assert himself a bit more. I love the fact that he is very good from the line -- not just for a big, but for anyone. His quickness and size in the paint is going to draw a lot of fouls, and he can cash those fouls in from the line. That's a huge, incredibly valuable skill.
But here's the thing -- while Brown and Rabb might be the most talented players on the team, the best player on the team is still Tyrone Wallace. He is finally looking like the veteran leader we have wanted him to be. When other scorers go cold, Tyrone seems to be able to score at will. This guy is exactly the sort of centerpiece a championship team needs, and it must be fun for him to have the opportunity to play with so much talent around him.
And here's the other thing -- what makes this team truly great is not necessarily its top end talent, but its depth. My discussion of our star players above didn't even include Bird or Matthews -- two players who have All-Pac 12 level talent. Bird is a talent almost on par with Brown and Rabb whose injuries have set him back, but it feels like he is on the verge of becoming the player he has the potential to be. And Matthews may be the best shooter in the conference, and, unlike before, he is now capable of putting the ball on the floor and driving to the hoop -- and the fact that defenders now have to respect that part of his game will lead to more open looks and more buckets. The fact that Matthews is just a fourth or fifth scoring option on this team is an enormous luxury. Most teams don't have a first or second option as good as Matthews.
And we can get quality, 100% effort minutes out of our starters because we don't necessarily need any of them to play more than 30 minutes or so. Watching the end of the UCSB game, when we were running clock late with our second line, it occurred to me -- we can run out a quality lineup with only one starter on the court. Singer, Domingo, Rooks, and Moute a Bidus ...add any one of our five starters, and I'd take that as a starting lineup against more than half of the conference's starting five. And that doesn't even include Okoroh. Honestly, there are times when our best looking lineup is Singer, Wallace, Domingo, Brown, Rooks. Having bench guys who can integrate seamlessly without substantial drop off has been Cal's biggest deficiency for years. This year, that will not be a problem.
And while we're on the subject, I really like what I see in Rooks. I think when we play bigger teams in conference we'll see more of Rooks, Rabb, and Brown on the floor at the same time, which is going to be brutal for opposing teams on both ends of the court. But it's also clear that this team is really in its element when it is getting up and down the court quickly, and Rooks doesn't necessarily play into that strategy. We struggled a bit against UCSB's zone for a few possessions before we got it figured out, and UCSB isn't a great zone team.
Winning this conference won't be easy, but Cal should be the favorite...and it's looking like we are going to have more fun in March than we have for a very long time. Go Bears.
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