California Basketball: How hot is Mark Fox’s seat heading into 2021-22 season?

Is it likely that California Basketball could move on from Mark Fox next offseason?

Last season, the Pac-12 shocked the basketball world with several teams having deep runs in the NCAA Tournament. A laughing stock for much of these last few seasons, the Pac-12 proved its place again amongst the power conferences. While teams like Oregon State, UCLA, and USC went on great runs, you can expect bright futures ahead at Arizona and Oregon, as well as steps forward at other programs. Among all the growth and potential sits California Basketball, a program that has yet to make strides under coach Mark Fox.

The Golden Bears have had marginal success these last few decades, with recent head coach Cuonzo Martin building them into a 4-seed in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Twelve months later, Martin departed for Missouri, and California has been a shell of its former self ever since.

Successor Wyking Jones won just eight games in each of his two seasons, leading to Fox being brought to Berkeley back in 2019. The longtime former head coach at Nevada and Georgia was waiting for the right opportunity to get back into collegiate coaching, but did he take the wrong job two seasons ago?

Obviously, there’s something important to keep in mind. Fox has only spent two years trying to rebuild success with California. How will the Golden Bears ever get on track if they don’t give a new coach patience, especially after disposing of Jones after just two seasons. Fox enters year three with a 23-38 record that hasn’t exactly instilled confidence, with a glum 3-17 mark in conference play this past season. Add on that this Cal roster hasn’t exactly taken a major step forward and it could be another long year for the Golden Bears.

California loses guard Matt Bradley to San Diego State but does add a few pieces, including 4-star forward Obinna Anyanwu and Charlotte grad transfer Jordan Shepherd. With all due respect, the moves the Golden Bears have made this offseason haven’t exactly set them up for success in the immediate future. It may take patience and development for this program to turn back into a contender, but can Fox really afford to wait? The roster is what it is, they just need the new pieces to make them competitive in the Pac-12.

Fox got nine years at Georgia, though the results were a bit more consistent with the Bulldogs. If he finishes another season in last place in the Pac-12, it’s fair to wonder if the Golden Bears won’t cut their losses and hunt for another new head coach. There were several rumors back in 2019 of potential coaches before they wound up with Fox, with a few big names among the group.

If Fox can’t at least make the program competitive this season, then not only are those names going to pop up again, he’s going to be looking for another new collegiate coaching opportunity.