Cal Responds to SMU Coach Andy Enfield's Accusation

Cal is defending itself against an accusation by SMU coach Andy Enfield that Mustangs star guard B.J. Edwards was unavailable for the team’s NCAA Tournament game this week due to an injury he suffered in a 73-69 loss to the Bears at Haas Pavilion on Feb. 25 because the basket stanchion is located too close to the court.

The Mustangs lost 89-79 to Miami-Ohio in a First Four game on Wednesday night, playing without Edwards for the sixth straight game.

A day earlier, during an NCAA news conference, Enfield addressed Edwards’ status without saying whether he would be available to play against Miami.

“He had an unfortunate injury — he fell in the Cal basket support. The basket support’s too close to the baseline. There’s not enough clearance,” Enfield told reports. “It’s like a Paul George-type injury where he hit the basket support and hurt his ankle. But he’s made a lot of progress.”

George suffered a compound fracture of his right tibia during a scrimmage with Team USA in 2014 in Las Vegas. Edwards injured his ankle when he went down after trying to block a shot against Cal.

Enfield, whose teams at USC played at Haas Pavilion regularly over his 11 seasons there, added, “By the way, I don’t see how, in today’s environment, you don’t have enough clearance under the basket at a power conference school, but that’s an avoidable injury."

Enfield's comments about Cal's Haas Pavilion and the Edwards injury are at the end of this video:

Cal spokesperson Jonathan Okanes, in a statement said the Bears’ facility violates no NCAA rules. “The positioning of our baskets in Haas Pavilion are completely compliant with NCAA regulations. Student-athlete safety and welfare is always a top priority of Cal Athletics.”

Edwards is one of the Mustangs’ top players, averaging 12.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists and a team-leading 2.3 steals. Without him, the Mustangs closed their season with six defeats in their final seven games.

Enfield denied the suggestion the Mustangs might have misled the NCAA on Edwards’ health status as the selection committee was deciding whether SMU should land an at-large spot in the 68-team field. The Mustangs were the last team added to the bracket.

“We deserved to be in the NCAA Tournament if you look at all our metrics and our wins,” Enfield said. “We all thought that B.J. would be back.”

He added that Edwards was “a day short” of being cleared to play by the SMU medical staff.

Cal, which fell short of earning an NCAA bid, played its opening game in the NIT on Wednesday night, beating Illinois-Chicago 91-73 for its first postseason victory since 2014.

The Bears (22-11) will face Saint Joseph’s (23-11) in a second-round NIT game at Haas on Sunday at 6 p.m.

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