Cal Basketball: `No Denying We're Behind' - Coach Mark Fox After 7-Month Layoff
Coach Mark Fox couldn’t be more excited about getting his Cal basketball team on the court together Saturday for their first official practice together.
“We have not had our entire team together for seven months,” Fox said Thursday during a Zoom interview session with reporters, referring to the disruption created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
But as giddy as everyone is about being on the floor together, Fox also knows he may need to cover his eyes at times, especially when during 5-on-5 sessions.
“I’m sure it will be an ugly tape at certain points during the practice,” he said.
The reality is the Bears aren’t where they normally would be on the eve of the start of practice. It just wasn’t possible.
Restrictions due to the coronavirus had impact even on teams out of season. The Bears' 2019-20 season ended abruptly after their win over Stanford in the opening round of the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas.
Fox said he has no complaints about the way local and state health officials responded to the virus. “We did the right thing,” he said, while acknowledging everyone across the country played by different rules.
“There’s obviously different parts of the country where people played 5-on-5 all summer and were able to have workouts all summer,” Fox said. “Our team at this point, there’s no denying that we’re going to be behind today.
“Will we be able to catch all the way up? Well, that’s our plan.”
Coaches and players feel great anticipation about Saturday and the prospect of a season ahead, scheduled to begin Nov. 25.
“I know the season will be vastly different this year than any one we’ve seen before and the last seven months have been vastly different than anyone imagined," Fox said. "But we’re thankful to be here today.”
The Bears’ roster will be intact. No players have opted out and all 13 scholarship players — eight returnees and five newcomers — have been on campus for nearly a month, some longer than others because of international travel restrictions.
Until recently, the Bears were banned entirely from entering Haas Pavilion. Basketball activities were held on makeshifts courts located at the tennis facility atop the Underhill parking garage. An outdoor weight room was created in the batting cages at Evans Diamond.
Fox stressed his appreciation to the tennis and baseball programs for their “unselfish” response during these strange times.
“We tried to deal with the challenges with a grateful heart because we knew a lot of people made sacrifices for us,” he said. “But it’s hard to really gauge a guy’s ability to shoot the ball when the wind’s blowing.”
When the team first got clearance to use the tennis facility players weren’t even permitted to handle a ball. And there was no basketball hoop.
Photo by Connor Pickett, Cal Athletics
“We just tried to reintroduce them to the basketball movements that they have to be conditioned to perform,” Fox explained.
“Once we got baskets we had mornings that were so cold you could see your breath. Afternoon groups where guys were throwing on sunscreen,” he said. “We had wind, we had smoke. We had days we had to cancel. We had numerous obstacles outside.
“But to be honest, these young people have had a very resilient approach.”
The Bears did their best to get something out of each day, but Fox concedes it’s not the same. Heading into Saturday’s first full workout, he said the team has a “decent level” of conditioning.
“I don’t think we’re anywhere near game shape. I’m not sure we’re quite in practice shape,” he said. “But I do think we’re in a position physically where hopefully we can begin to progress and handle the cardiovascular challenge of playing our game and the physicality that’s also going to be reintroduced to their bodies.”
The Bears will face daily testing and are subject to safety protocols and a sanitation process, all aimed at minimizing risk from the virus. Otherwise, Fox said, “We feel like we can pretty much play the game as it’s supposed to be played. We just haven’t done it for so long.”
The coaching staff expected some “deterioration physically” and “erosion in their skills,” given the long layoff, and it’s been evident, Fox said.
“Physically they were further behind than what we had anticipated.”
On Saturday, the Bears begin the process of trying to reverse that.
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Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
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