Cal Basketball: Season Report Card for a Flawed but Improved Golden Bear Program

Eight scholarship players on this team are expected back in 2020-21

Because of circumstances beyond anyone’s control, the Cal basketball team closed its season with a victory for the first time since capturing the NIT in 1999.

The Bears knocked off rival Stanford in the opening round of the Pac-12 tournament last Wednesday, then learned a day later that their quarterfinal matchup vs. UCLA — and the entire tournament — had been canceled over concerns about the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

The fact is, anything the first-year coach Mark Fox’s team achieved in the Pac-12 tournament was a bonus. Cal wasn’t going to the postseason, and at times this season the growing pains were hard to watch. 

The Bears played a style suited to their personnel, stressing defense and careful offense, and it wasn't always attractive. But it was the way they needed to play to win games with this roster. They did improve, and in many respects this was a successful campaign.

The Bears were 14-18 overall and went 7-11 in conference play. Judged against the previous two seasons, where they were 16-47 overall and 5-31 in Pac-12 play, it was undeniable progress.

Fox has stressed that no one is satisfied with this season's accomplishments, and that his goals for the program are much loftier.

The Bears have signed two high school prospects who will join eight players expected to return next season. Fox figures to have as many as three vacant scholarships to perhaps award this offseason, so stay tuned.

In the video above, Fox talks about the progress and perseverance that senior point guard Paris Austin demonstrated this season.

Fox will do a season-ending conference call with reporters early next week, where we will get his evaluation of this season and his expectations for 2020-21.

In the meantime we offer this report card on the 10 players who completed this season with the Bears. My grades are given within the context of a season the for all of its progress still netted a sub-.500 record:

— GRANT ANTICEVICH, Junior F: B-minus

A role player off the bench his first two seasons, Anticevich started all 32 games this season. He posted career-best numbers of 8.3 points and 5.6 rebounds, but shot just 40 percent from the field and attempted only 34 free throws. The 6-foot-8 Australia still needs to add strength and consistency.

— PARIS AUSTIN, Senior PG: B-minus

Playing for his third head coach in five seasons, the senior point guard needed some time to get comfortable in Fox’s system. He averaged 6.1 points over the first 14 games, with a 1.9-to-2.5 assist-to-turnover ratio. Over the final 18 games, he hiked his scoring to 12.0 points with an improved 2.9-to-2.1 assist-to-turnover figure. He wound up eight games of at least 15 points to become a more dependable offensive threat.

— MATT BRADLEY, Sophomore SG: B-plus

Bradley made the All-Pac-12 second team, averaging 17.5 points to rank sixth in the Pac-12, and grabbing 4.9 rebounds per game. He made a clinching 3-point shot left in the Bears’ win over Washington State, then hit the game-winning 3-pointer with seven seconds left in overtime to beat Washington. Bradley became more comfortable attacking the basket this season, although he was prone at times to picking up charging calls. After leading the Pac-12 in 3-point accuracy at 47.2 percent as a freshman, Bradley adjusted to greater defensive attention and still shot 38.4 percent from beyond the arc. He was second in the conference in free-throw shooting at 86.6 percent.

Fox talks about the toughness Joel Brown showed after cutting his finger and taking stitches in his hand during the Utah win, then returning to contribute.

— JOEL BROWN, Freshman PG: C

A crafty ballhandler who dished three or more assists 11 times, the former Canadian prep star started 17 games, most of them over the first three months of the season. Brown is the only returning point guard on the roster, so he will be the starter next season unless Fox brings in another floor leader. He averaged just 2.4 points and needs to improve his shooting accuracy from the field (34 percent) and the free throw line (40 percent).

— ANDRE KELLY, Sophomore C/F: B-minus

Undersized for a low-post player at 6-foot-8, but packing a lot of power in his 255 pounds, Kelly joins Austin as another player who began figuring things out in the second half of the season. Kelly averaged 8.7 points and 7.2 rebounds over the final 12 games, shooting 65 percent from the field.

— DIMITRIOS KLONARAS, Freshman G: C-

The 6-foot-6 native of Greece had virtually no impact on game days, totaling 14 points in 20 appearances. He played double-digit minutes just once and never scored more than three points in a game.

— KUANY KUANY, Freshman F: C

Limited early in the season by a leg injury, the 6-foot-9 African-born Australian averaged 6.6 points in just 12 minutes over the final five regular-season games, including 11 vs. Oregon State. His game is raw and he could add some strength, but Kuany is perhaps the best athlete on the team and has great length.

— KAREEM SOUTH, Senior SG: B-minus

A graduate transfer from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, South played a bigger role in the offense over the first two-thirds of the season, averaging 10.1 points through 20 games, with 12 double-digit scoring games. That dropped to 7.4 points over the final 12 games, during which he shot just 29 percent. But South went out strong, delivering a 15-point performance, including 4-for-5 from the 3-point arc, in the Pac-12 tournament win over Stanford.

— LARS THIEMANN, Freshman C/F: C

Thiemann showed enough calm and basketball know-how as a freshman to earn 18 starts. The 7-footer from Germany shot 56 percent from the field, although he was neither a dependable scorer or rebounder. His footwork is better than his hands, but he has potential. As is the case so often with big men, it won’t happen overnight.

— D.J. THORPE, Freshman, F: C

The son of former NBA standout Otis Thorpe, the 6-foot-8, 230-pounder missed the second half of his high school senior season with an ankle injury. But he showed promise by scoring eight points against Duke at Madison Square Garden, and had a productive weekend for the Bears in Los Angeles, contributing nine points at USC and nine rebounds at UCLA. There is promise here.