Cal Basketball: AD Jim Knowlton on Mark Fox's Program - This is Not Good Enough'
At his introductory news conference back in April 2019, coach Mark Fox stood at the podium in Haas Pavilion and shared his vision for the Cal basketball program.
“I don’t want to put a ceiling on what we can achieve. I really don’t,” Fox said on that Monday morning. “I want to get better right now. I want to get better next next year. I want to keep climbing until we think maybe it’s the top.”
Better days: AD Jim Knowlton poses in 2019 with new coach Mark Fox
Fast-forward 44 months and Fox’s program has come nowhere close to his own expectations. And yes, there have been obstacles.
The program Fox inherited was a mess. The Bears were coming off back-to-back eight-win seasons, the worst two-year stretch in program history. Fox knew the turn-around wouldn’t happen overnight, and he couldn’t have anticipated a global pandemic that further complicated the assignment.
But six weeks into his fourth season, Fox has won barely one-third of his games (35-69), with the Bears and on a path to a sixth consecutive losing campaign.
At 0-11, Cal has the worst record among more than 360 teams in Division I basketball, joining 0-9 Louisville as the only teams still searching for their first victories. No Cal team has ever suffered through such a futile start to a season.
In the video at the top of this story, Fox talks after a recent game about the state of things, and says blame should be directed at him, not his players.
Cal athletic director Jim Knowlton, who hired Fox after dismissing Wyking Jones, agreed to be interviewed about Fox and the basketball team.
Initially, Knowlton indicated he preferred to provide his answers via email, so he was provided our questions in advance on topics he was willing to discuss. Knowlton eventually volunteered to talk on the phone.
Here is our conversation:
— As you and Mark Fox have voiced, no one is happy with the state of the men’s basketball program. But on the heels of three previous losing seasons under his watch, this year’s 0-11 start is unprecedented in more than a century of Cal basketball. What do you say to fans who want a coaching change and want it now?
“At Cal, we expect excellence in all we do. Whether it’s academics, athletics, Nobel Laureates — that’s just what we expect at the No. 1 public university in the country. And there’s nobody — not Mark Fox, not Jim Knowlton, not anybody involved in this program — that wouldn’t say that this is not good enough.
“We are disappointed in the start. Coach is disappointed. This is just not where we expected to be at this moment in time. I will tell you that when Mark Fox took over the program we had just finished the two worst seasons in the history of our basketball program. When I interviewed him, everyone I interviewed . . . that was a huge concern of anybody who was looking at the Cal program. `Hey, you’re at the bottom and it’s going to be a tough climb.’
“You look at what we started with his first year. We win a great game against Stanford (in the 2020 Pac-12 tournament) and then the world stops. And we go into two years of COVID. We’re fighting our way out of it.
“The kind of start that we’ve had this year is just unacceptable. We take responsibility for that. I truly believe as an AD you have to show some tactical patience. You have to evaluate exactly where you are, what are the options and how can we continue to get better.
“No one’s going to make excuses. Mark’s not making excuses. We’ve had some injuries, we’ve had some COVID, we’ve had some challenges this year. But the bottom line is we’re not good enough and we are all, every single person that’s associated with this program, is working hard to set the student-athletes up for success and to find a path that will allow us to win games.”
— Regarding that patience you mentioned, are you saying you see no upside to making a coaching change in the middle of a season?
“I’m not saying I do see an upside or I don’t see an upside. All I’m saying is I’m working with Mark, working with the program and giving them a chance to get a couple of these players back and to get that opportunity to put some wins under their belt.”
NOTE: Cal has played its entire schedule so far without injured guards Jalen Celestine and DeJuan Clayton — both potential starters — and will not have reserve guard Jarred Hyder, who was scheduled for season-ending surgery. Freshman center ND Okafor has missed the past two games due to COVID protocols.
— This team has been impacted by significant injuries, but we all know injuries are a part of the game that most teams face. Given all the circumstances, including the fact that the tougher portion of the schedule is ahead, do you see a realistic path forward for this team to create a season that will satisfy everyone — Mark Fox, his players, yourself and the fan base?
“I would say winning a national championship would satisfy everybody. Of course, that’s what everyone starts the season wanting. Are we going to be satisfied with our season? I have no idea . . . but I guarantee you we’re not satisfied with the start of the season that we’ve had.
“As we look to the future, yes, we want to get a couple of our players back. We’d like to have four of them back. And if we had four of them back that helps give us the depth we need at the guard position, the center position. All of those injured players will help us with the depth we need to compete in the Pac-12 schedule.
“No, we’re not satisfied. Yes, we see a way ahead. Yes, we're all working hard to set our student-athletes up for success.”
— Amid the frustration I sense from fans is a more worrisome reaction: Apathy. Your men’s basketball attendance numbers have dropped six seasons in row since 2015-16 when you drew an average of 10,183 fans to games at Haas Pavilion. So far this season, the average is 2,328 and three of your seven home games have attracted fewer than 1,400 fans. How much of a concern is that? And how does that factor into your decision-making going forward?
“It’s absolutely a concern. We want Haas to be a home-court advantage. When I think about our Stanford game last year when the entire place was rocking (with 8,773 fans), that was a home-court advantage for our student-athletes. And that’s the home environment I would love to have every single home game in Haas Pavilion.
“It’s a concern. The success of the team helps, but way more important than that is all the other things we have to do as a department to make the fan experience special. And those are the areas we are focusing on while Mark focuses on putting that team on the court that’s going to help us get Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, as far as wins.
“It’s one of our two revenue-generating sports and that’s an important part of us being able to have a vibrant, financially stable athletic department.”
— What have you said to fans who have expressed their frustration and perhaps have said they won’t be attending any more games until things change?
“I say just what I told you. Yeah, we’re concerned. We’re working hard and we’re continuing to support our student-athletes through thick and thin.”
Cover photo of Cal coach Mark Fox by Darren Yamashita, USA Today
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
