Coach Mark Madsen Talks About Cal Basketball's 11 Newcomers

Mark Madsen’s right arm is in a sling these days after he underwent shoulder surgery early this month. Otherwise, Madsen is feeling pretty good as he prepares for his third season as Cal basketball coach.

The Bears completed eight weeks of supervised workouts, where coaches and players are allowed to spend four hours together, and Madsen likes he saw.

“I think the ball’s going to be flying around the court in the most positive sense of the word. I think we can really pass the ball,” said Madsen, who also forecasts an improved 3-point shooting team. "I think we have some aggressive-minded defensive players. We need to see a huge improvement on defense. I think this roster gives us that opportunity.”

The Bears were 14-19 last season before losing seven players, including top scorers Andrej Stojakovic (Illinois) and Jeremiah Wilkinson (Georgia) to the transfer portal. Three others completed their basketball eligibility.

As a result, Madsen brought in nine transfers to go with two incoming freshmen, meaning his roster of 14 scholarship players features 11 first-year players. “It wasn’t just us,” Madsen said. “Baylor at one point didn’t have a team — every single player left.”

The Bears’ lone returnees are wing Rytis Petraitis, guard DJ Campbell and big man Lee Dort, who had a combined 46 starts last season while contributing 18.2 points and 12.4 rebounds per game.

Madsen wants to establish some roster continuity but said this past offseason was the “high-water mark” for player compensation through NIL payments.

‘There’s no cap right now. That’s why there’s a bunch of teams that spent between $10 and $20 million on their roster,” Madsen said. “I’m happy for them. We’re not there yet at Cal. We’re not even close to that, but we’re building it up.”

The House settlement of a class-action lawsuit allows schools playing FBS football and Division I basketball to directly provide $20.5 million annually, beginning this academic year, to athletes through profit sharing. Typically, a majority of that will go to football with men’s basketball receiving the next-largest slice of the pie.

If the settlement holds, Madsen envisions more parity in college basketball going forward.

In keeping with the football and women’s basketball programs, Madsen said there is great interest in creating a general manager position for men’s hoops to aid with the burden of work involved with talent evaluation and agent and alumni relations.

“We’re not there yet. These are discussions that are ongoing between our staff and the university,” he said. “A lot of other schools have it. We want it. We need it.”

In the meantime, Madsen will work with a roster that has him encouraged. A month before the start of practice, here are his evaluations of the Bears’ 11 newcomers:

Former Virginia guard Dai Dai Ames (7) | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

TRANSFERS

DAI DAI AMES (6-2, 190, junior guard): The Chicago native and combo guard (whose first name is pronounced Day Day) played one season at Kansas State before averaging 8.7 points and shooting nearly 40 percent from the 3-point arc last season while starting 26 times at Virginia. He had an eight-game stretch in the ACC where he averaged 15.9 points and made 47 percent from deep. “Dai Dai was a go-to guy at Virginia late in the season and he’s been fantastic. He had a great summer,” Madsen said. “Dai Dai is shifty, he has a mid-range pull-up, he shoots the 3, he has really crafty finishes at the rim. He’s a good passer — very unselfish.”

CHRIS BELL (6-7, 195 senior wing): The one-time De La Salle High School student played the past three seasons at Syracuse, averaging 12.0 points as a sophomore and 9.3 last year, sculpting a career 3-point percentage of better than 38 percent. He shot 8 for 10 from deep in a 30-point game vs. Louisville in 2023-24. “He’s a guy that can shoot the lights out, but he does more than that,” Madsen said. “He’s had some really good defensive possessions this summer. That’s been really good to see. He shoots the lights out and he’s very coachable. We’re very happy with the summer he’s had.”

JOHN CAMDEN (6-8, 220, graduate forward): A native of Downingtown, PA, Camden played one game at Memphis as a freshman and 37 games off the bench at Virginia Tech (1.5 ppg) his next two seasons before blossoming (16.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 96 3-pointers) last season at Delaware. “He can play 3 through 5,” Madsen said of the second-team All-Colonial Athletic Association selection. “He has the ACC experience from Virginia Tech.”

NOLAN DORSEY (6-5, 205, graduate shooting uard): Dorsey played 8 games as a freshman at New Mexico, averaged 5.3 points in two seasons at Holy Cross and, after sitting out the 2023-24 season, produced 9.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 53 steals at Campbell last year, earning Colonial Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Year honors. Madsen said Dorsey is a “very different” player than returnees Petraitis, but added, “The common theme between Petraitis and Nolan is just the tenacity and toughness.”

DHIAUKUEI MANYIEL DUT (7-0, 210 sophomore forward): “We call him DK,” Madsen said. The native of South Sudan played just 52 minutes over nine games as a freshman at Georgia State. “DK’s good He’s a shot blocker, he can run. He’s got to get a little stronger. He’s going to be a player to watch.”

MILOS ILIC (6-10, 235, graduate power forward): The Serbia native missed some practice time late this summer with an injury but is expected to be fine by the time camp begins. “Those first few weeks he looked great, great footwork in the post, really good passer, can step out and make a 3,” Madsen said of Ilic, who averaged 14.5 points last season at Loyola Maryland to earn second-team All-Patriot honors.

MANTAS KOCANAS, 6-11, 235 sophomore center): Injury limited Kocanas to two games as a freshman last season at Florida Atlantic, but he “was phenomenal” off the bench this summer for the Lithuanian U20 national team. “Mantas is a guy who can step into any game and make things happen,” Madsen said.

Former Michigan guard Justin Pippen (10) | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

JUSTIN PIPPEN (6-3, 180, sophomore shooting guard): The son of Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen had one double-digit scoring game last season as a freshman reserve at Michigan. “They were so stacked at that position that there just weren’t enough minutes to go around,” said Madsen who expects Pippen to be a better deep shooter than his 27-percent 3-point accuracy from a year ago suggests. “Justin has a tremendous basketball IQ. And that’s a tribute to Justin but also a tribute to Scottie, who has instilled a lot of the basketball fundamentals in Justin.”

SAMMIE YEANAY (6-8, 240, sophomore power forward): The Florida native, who was a four-star prospect at Compass Prep in Arizona, played just five games last season for Grand Canyon University. “He is a versatile player. He was a top player coming out of high school,” Madsen said. “He’s got some good size, he’s tough.”

FRESHMEN

SEMITRI “TT” CARR (6-0, 165, freshman point guard): The Marin County Player of the Year at Redwood High School in the San Francisco North Bay, Carr has helped set a tone for improved passing. “He’s a pure point guard but he can play off the ball, too,” Madsen said. "He’s a guy who’s very athletic, really strong passer. The ball did not move as much last year as we needed it to move. This year in summer practices, the ball’s been flying all over the gym and guys have been sharing it with each other. It’s great to see.”

JOVANI RUFF (6-5, 175, freshman shooting guard): A four-star prospect out of Long Beach Poly High School, where he set a program record with a 51-point game, Ruff will compete for a significant role this season. “Jovani’s good. I think Jovani, over time, could be a star,” said Madsen, adding that Ruff’s 3-point shooting ability is good but not elite. “There’s always a learning curve. He’s got an amazing feel for the game. He can pass the ball and shoot. He’s one of our best defenders, which is hard as a freshman. You don’t see that. His instincts, his timing, his reads defensively, are really, really good. The guys love him. So he’s capable of stepping in and playing.”

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