Cal Basketball: How does Jaylon Tyson’s waiver denial impact the Golden Bears?

Cal Basketball’s roster takes as hit as head coach Mark Madsen is now tasked with retooling his roster as the 2023-24 college basketball season quickly approaches.

Cal Basketball’s Jaylon Tyson, a two-time transfer at both Texas and Texas Tech, was recently notified that his waiver for immediate eligibility has been denied by the NCAA. Cal has begun an appeal process to gain eligibility, according to a report from Jeff Faraudo.

The NCAA, which has been notoriously tough on two-time transfers this offseason, has proven Tyson is no exception despite harrowing circumstances surrounding his waiver.

In the 2022-23 season, Tyson averaged 10.7 PPG, 6.1 RPG and 1.3 APG for the Red Raiders. In mid-April, Tyson announced his decision to transfer from Texas Tech over a month after former Texas Tech coach Mark Adams resigned following making a “racially insensitive comment” toward his team alongside an investigation for spitting on a player, according to Jeff Goodman.

Although Tyson’s waiver denial remains a shock to the college basketball community, first-year head coach Mark Madsen is now tasked with replacing a sure-fire starter.

How does Jaylon Tyson’s waiver denial impact the Golden Bears?

Simply put, Tyson’s waiver denial is rather substantial for the transfer-heavy Bears. According to EvanMiya.com, Tyson is ranked as the 13th-best player in the PAC-12 with a Bayesian Performance Rating (BPR) of 4.37. He has the highest preseason BPR of Cal’s entire roster this year. Losing a player of his caliber will undoubtedly limit their ceiling — but there is still plenty of talent on the table for Madsen’s group to stay competitive in year one.

Last year’s leading scorer Devin Askew is back while Tyson’s former Texas Tech teammate, Fardaws Aimaq, looks to be the anchor down low. Expect both Askew and Aimaq to be consistent double-digit scorers and display a higher volume on the offensive side of the floor as Tyson was also projected to be a double-digit scorer.

California, who compiled the 21st-ranked transfer portal class in college basketball (including Jaylon Tyson), according to 24/7 Sports, also welcomed the likes of Keonte Kennedy (Memphis), Jalen Cone (Northern Arizona) and Mike Meadows (Portland).

Although Kennedy, Meadows and Cone are all technically classified as guards according to the athletic department’s official website, Kennedy has the unique ability to work into the small forward slot as a strong defender and versatile catch-and-shoot wing who can also run and score efficiently in transition.

Furthermore, two players who can take an even bigger leap this year (given the absence of Tyson) includes sophomore forward Grant Newell, who surfaced as an instant-impact freshman last season and redshirt-junior guard Jalen Celestine, who missed the entirety of the 2022-2023 season due to a knee injury. Expect both Newell and Celestine to have expanded roles as the absence of Tyson looms large.

The eligibility denial of an instant-impact starter is less than ideal when the season starts in less than ten days. Although the Golden Bears’ ceiling will remain limited unless Tyson’s waiver gets approved pending an appeal, there is still plenty of talent available on the roster that should keep the Golden Bears competitive in year one of the Mark Madsen era. Remember, there is only one way to go for this program given the 3-29 atrocity that took place last year — and that is up.

California begins the season on Monday, Nov. 6 against St. Thomas (MN) at 8:00 p.m. CT on PAC12 Network.