California Basketball: California Golden Bears 2015-16 Season Preview
California Golden Bears
2014-2015 Record: 18-15 (7-11, PAC-12)
NCAA Tournament – None
Look out PAC-12 because the California Golden Bears are coming. Cuonzo Martin was not playing around during recruiting season and was able to keep Oakland’s Ivan Rabb in the East Bay while yanking another top freshman in Jaylen Brown out of Marietta, GA.
Martin had his sales pitch together if he was able to get the No.3 and No.7 freshman in the country to play ball for him in Berkeley.
The California Golden Bears are in a position to bring back some excitement to the hoop program that has not been truly felt since the Bears had Jason Kidd and Lamond Murray knocking out Bobby Hurley and Duke 82-77 in 1993.
That was the last time Bay Area fans had to feel like Cal Basketball.
Newcomers
F – Ivan Rabb (#7 247Sports Composite)
F – Jaylen Brown (#4 247Sports Composite)
F – Roman Davis (#213 247Sports Composite)
G – Stephen Domingo (Tranfer from Georgetown/San Francisco, CA)
Key Non-Conference Games
Nov. 26 vs. San Diego State (Las Vegas Invitational) – Now this game is going to be fun to watch for people who want to see two strong interior players battle.
Cal freshman Ivan Rabb will be pitted against San Diego State’s 6-foot-10 forward Malik Pope.
Both Rabb and Pope are projected to be first round draft picks according to NBAdraft.net.
More from Pac-12
- Oregon Basketball: Projected starting lineup and depth chart for 2023-24
- Colorado Basketball: Doryan Onwuchekwa becomes first commit in 2024 class
- USC Basketball: Projected starting lineup and depth chart for 2023-24 season
- Washington State Basketball: Projected depth chart and rotation for 2023-24 season
- Arizona Basketball: Projected starting lineup and depth chart for 2023-24 season
Steve Fisher’s Aztecs should be an NCAA Tournament club this season.
Their defense should give the Golden Bears some issues, but this is going to be a chance to see if Cal really does possess the fire power that we expect them to have in 2015-16.
What makes a California v San Diego State game cool is that a lot of the players for both rosters are California kids who may have played against each other in high school, so it should make for a competitive matchup.
Dec 12 vs Saint Mary’s – This is a great game since Saint Mary’s is a 10 minute BART ride away from the UC Berkeley campus. You could even drive from Moraga, through the Caldecott and beat the Saint Mary’s team to Berkeley if you wanted to.
Saint Mary’s head coach Randy Bennett is going to have his work cut out for him this year because he lost all five starters from last season’s club.
The Gaels are still expected to finish in the Top 5 of the West Coast Conference but, an NCAA bid could elude them.
That is what is going to make this California Golden Bears home game competitive. This could be a resume builder for the Gaels and they will approach it as such.
Too bad they won’t have enough to roll back to Moraga with a “W”.
Key Players
Jaylen Brown – When the No.3 freshman in the country, Jaylen Brown, decided to commit to the California Golden Bears it came as a slight shock to those following recruiting closely.But when you realize that California alum Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who went to the same high school as Brown had the young man’s ear and was able to sell the Bay Area to him, the choice makes a whole lot more sense.
Brown has a lot to offer to the Golden Bears and he will start immediately for Cuonzo Martin.
The 6-foot-7, 225 pound small forward, is going to be in the running for “PAC-12 Freshman of the Year” without a doubt, and will be playing his way into possibly becoming a Top 5 NBA Lottery pick.
His quickness, strength and athleticism are going to make him the most lethal wing player in the PAC-12, and could move the Golden Bears into the Top 10 by the time conference play rolls around.
Ivan Rabb- Unlike his freshman counterpart Jaylen Brown, Ivan Rabb decided to keep it local and stay in the Bay Area.
The Oakland, Ca product is one of the best low post players of this freshman class.
Rabb is more of a traditional power forward that can play with his back to the basket and has strong enough footwork to get buckets around the painted area with ease.
He also is going to be a monster on the fast break because he can run the floor, fill the lane, and finish with authority.
Rabb is a skilled post that can use his wingspan to be a deterrent in the paint. Due to the fact that the Golden Bears have two 7-footers in Kingsley Okoroh and Kameron Rooks, Rabb should be able to play in his natural position and flourish.
Tyrone Wallace – The 6-foot-5 shooting guard has got to be ecstatic about the talent that he is going to play with in 2015-16.
Wallace is coming off of a junior season where he led the Golden Bears in scoring and rebounding with 17.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest.
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Now that he is not going to have to assume as much of the offensive load, he should be able to show more of the all-around game that he possess.
His experience and efficient production in the backcourt is going to be crucial toward the California Golden Bears aspirations this season.
Season Outlook
If you were going to pick one team that was in the Top 25 that could make a move from the 10-20 range in the rankings and be a legitimate threat for the Final Four the California Golden Bears are it.
Cuonzo Martin has things rolling in Berkeley with this recruiting class coming to the East Bay.
The experience that Cuonzo Martin has with Tyrone Wallace, Jordan Matthews, and Jabari Bird is going to be huge for the Golden Bears as the season progresses.
The versatility of Jaylen Brown is going to be a huge weapon for Cal along with the defensive capability of Ivan Rabb.
If this team is committed and focused they have a chance to bring some more basketball excitement to the East Bay.
This team should be the PAC-12 Champions and a possible No.1 or No.2 seed come tournament time.