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NCAA Basketball: 3 underrated Power 6 coaching hires from 2023 offseason

By Holden Walter-Warner

Texas Head Coach Rodney Terry watches his team during the second half of the Longhorns' game against the Jayhawks at the Moody Center in Austin, Saturday, March 4, 2023. Texas won the game 75-59.Texas Longhorns Basketball V University Of Kansas 35
Texas Head Coach Rodney Terry watches his team during the second half of the Longhorns' game against the Jayhawks at the Moody Center in Austin, Saturday, March 4, 2023. Texas won the game 75-59.Texas Longhorns Basketball V University Of Kansas 35 /
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NCAA Basketball Mark Madsen of the Utah Valley Wolverines (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images)
NCAA Basketball Mark Madsen of the Utah Valley Wolverines (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images) /

Mark Madsen to Cal

After taking Utah Valley to new heights – including the semifinals of the NIT – former NBA big man Mark Madsen seemed like a perfect fit to make a jump to a mid-major or high major on the western seaboard. In fact, he seemed like a great fit for a Pac-12 squad: Stanford.

It made too much sense. Madsen played for the Cardinal before the turn of the century, taking the team to four NCAA Tournaments (including one Final Four) and earning two All-American nods. He’s one of the best rebounders and blockers in school history.

But then Stanford decided to underwhelm the college basketball world and keep Jerod Haase, despite zero NCAA Tournament appearances in seven seasons. That gave the California Golden Bears the chance to swoop in.

Madsen turned the Wolverines around in a hurry. After going 11-19 in his first season, Utah Valley didn’t finish with a losing record again during his four-year tenure, which included two regular-season WAC titles and this year’s 28-9 overall record.

The job in Berkeley is difficult, though coaches like Mike Montgomery and Cuonzo Martin had successful runs at Cal. The last two coaches, Wyking Jones and Mark Fox, did not fare as well, combining to win only 54 games since the start of the 2017-18 season.

Trying to fix the Golden Bears will not be an overnight process, but Madsen is a rising star in the business. Should he prove to be successful in getting Cal back to its winning ways, it will have the added benefit of further embarrassing Stanford.

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