On Tuesday, from 5:30 PM-6:30PM, the Cal men's basketball practice was open to the media. For the first 30-35 minutes or so, the players practiced and the last 20-25 minutes, members of the media (including yours truly) was able to talk to some players as well as Cuonzo Martin. I will post a separate thread with key quotes from those interviews, but on this thread I would like to share with you my observations. Also, just FYI, I will not be attending practice on Wednesday, but I will be attending practice on Thursday and also practices early next week if any are open to the media. Thursday will be cool because I'll be able to talk with Ivan Rabb, Jaylen Brown, and Roman Davis, the three freshmen on the team.
Anyways, with that all out of the way, here are some of the key observations that I noticed from Tuesday's practice:
Kameron Rooks' health is improving: If any of you are wondering about Kameron Rooks' health, he appears to be doing just fine. Cuonzo Martin told me his overall health is fine. He is wearing a brace and all, but he appeared to be moving just fine and was participating in full-contact drills. The one thing that the team is trying to get him to work on is his toughness inside and getting his body up to speed in terms of his overall conditioning and toughness. All of that should improve in the coming weeks.
Sam Singer's shot looked good: One of the drills Coach Martin had the players do was have perimeter players work on their threes while post players worked on their post moves. Sam Singer's shot appeared to be really solid. I can tell he's been working on it. I'm sure a lot of you noticed that last season his three-point shot improved. Well, from what I saw, expect his shot to be even better this season. He made nearly every three-point shot that I saw him take and this was after several reps at the end of practice. If he is knocking down his threes on tired legs, that is a VERY good sign!
Kingsley Okoroh needs work on his foul shots: One of the other drills the players were doing was breaking off into pairs of threes and taking five free throws at a time. The group I watched was Ivan Rabb, Jabari Bird, and Kingsley Okoroh. Jabari and Rabb did ok, but Kingsley still needs a lot of work. He keeps his elbow out when he shoots which is a big "no-no" when it comes to proper shooting form. Hopefully Kingsley's free throws will improve, but so long as he continues to have that awkward stroke, I see it being a problem for him all season.
The schedule should be released in 2-3 weeks: I asked Cuonzo Martin how close the schedule is to being complete. He says it's close to being done and should be released in 2-3 weeks.
In general, the team appears to be in good spirits: From what I gathered and keep in mind this is my first day on the job, the team appears to be in good spirits. The guys all seem to really enjoy each other, they were all battling, competing, encouraging each other, etc. This definitely appears to be a good group of guys in that they are all supportive of each other. Ivan Rabb and Jaylen Brown also appear ready to compete and make an impact right away. I'll have more on them on Thursday, which is when I'll interview them.
Anyways, with that all out of the way, here are some of the key observations that I noticed from Tuesday's practice:
Kameron Rooks' health is improving: If any of you are wondering about Kameron Rooks' health, he appears to be doing just fine. Cuonzo Martin told me his overall health is fine. He is wearing a brace and all, but he appeared to be moving just fine and was participating in full-contact drills. The one thing that the team is trying to get him to work on is his toughness inside and getting his body up to speed in terms of his overall conditioning and toughness. All of that should improve in the coming weeks.
Sam Singer's shot looked good: One of the drills Coach Martin had the players do was have perimeter players work on their threes while post players worked on their post moves. Sam Singer's shot appeared to be really solid. I can tell he's been working on it. I'm sure a lot of you noticed that last season his three-point shot improved. Well, from what I saw, expect his shot to be even better this season. He made nearly every three-point shot that I saw him take and this was after several reps at the end of practice. If he is knocking down his threes on tired legs, that is a VERY good sign!
Kingsley Okoroh needs work on his foul shots: One of the other drills the players were doing was breaking off into pairs of threes and taking five free throws at a time. The group I watched was Ivan Rabb, Jabari Bird, and Kingsley Okoroh. Jabari and Rabb did ok, but Kingsley still needs a lot of work. He keeps his elbow out when he shoots which is a big "no-no" when it comes to proper shooting form. Hopefully Kingsley's free throws will improve, but so long as he continues to have that awkward stroke, I see it being a problem for him all season.
The schedule should be released in 2-3 weeks: I asked Cuonzo Martin how close the schedule is to being complete. He says it's close to being done and should be released in 2-3 weeks.
In general, the team appears to be in good spirits: From what I gathered and keep in mind this is my first day on the job, the team appears to be in good spirits. The guys all seem to really enjoy each other, they were all battling, competing, encouraging each other, etc. This definitely appears to be a good group of guys in that they are all supportive of each other. Ivan Rabb and Jaylen Brown also appear ready to compete and make an impact right away. I'll have more on them on Thursday, which is when I'll interview them.
Last edited:
