California Basketball: Golden Bears season review

With the success of the 2015-2016 season and news of returning star, California basketball has a bright future ahead of them.

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting a series of articles to summarize this past season for every team in the Pac-12 conference. The series will start at the bottom of the conference with Washington State and we will work our way to top of the final standings with Oregon.

Beyond a final summary, I will attempt to provide some insights on each team as they approach the offseason in hopes of an improved 2016-2017 season.

2015-2016 Season

Overall Record: 23-11

Conference Record: 12-6

Final Conference Standing: Four out of 12

Conference Awards: Jaylen Brown (Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, Pac-12 All-Conference: First Team, Pac-12 All-Freshman Team), Ivan Rabb (Pac-12 All-Conference: Second Team, Pac-12 All-Freshman Team), Tyrone Wallace (Pac-12 All-Conference: Honorable Mention)

Summary: Coach Cuonzo Martin received his first NCAA Tournament bid with California through a balanced offense and a starring trio of senior Tyrone Wallace and freshmen phenoms Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb.

The Golden Bears had a strong season, but were susceptible to losing streaks. California was able to break even against ranked opponents, including home wins over No. 21 Utah, No. 12 Arizona and No. 11 Oregon.

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For their season efforts, California was awarded a tough tournament draw. As a four seed, their opening game opponent would be the five-loss 13 seeded Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. A win there would pin them against Maryland and then potentially number one overall Kansas.

However, none of this tough scheduling mattered as the Golden Bears fell in the opening game, 77-66. Leading up to their first round match-up, Cal suffered a rough week full of off-court distractions and an injury to their leading scorer in practice, Tyrone Wallace.

Wallace’s broken hand kept him out of the match-up against Hawaii and matters got worse as Jaylen Brown got in to early foul trouble and only played seventeen minutes. Jabari Bird dealt with back spasms and couldn’t pay, while Cal assistant Yann Hufnagel was being investigated for a sexual assault.

Needless to say, this unhappy ending to a great season is one that fans and alumni would like to forget.

2016-2017 Season

Leaving: Jaylen Brown (Pending – NBA Draft), Tyrone Wallace (senior)

New Faces: Jordan Cornish (UNLV transfer), Don Coleman (PG, Junior College commit)

Outlook: Ivan Rabb has decided to return for his sophomore season instead of leaving for the NBA Draft, providing a great opportunity for California to return to the NCAA Tournament. Guards Jordan Matthews and Bird will be big contributors next season in their senior years. Both players averaged in double figures last season and will likely soak up a majority of the minutes and shots available with the departure of Wallace and Brown.

One area where California basketball is lacking is their recruiting class. If not for Rabb’s return, these Golden Bears might be in trouble as they have done little to reload. They do have Coleman joining their squad as a transfer and are on the short list of schools for 4-star recruit Charlie Moore.

Next: Too soon top 25

With a weak incoming class, California will have to rely on experience and hope their team’s depth can withstand the season grind this time around.

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