Mark Madsen on Cal Basketball Prospects: `Excitement Would Be An Understatement'

Mark Madsen, entering his fourth season as the Cal men’s basketball coach, participated remotely in the annual ACC media day at Charlotte, NC on Tuesday while recovering from knee surgery.

The former NBA power forward said doctors removed 11 “loose bodies” from his knee joint in a procedure done two weeks ago.

“I’m still hobbling a little bit, but I’m able to run practice and be out there with the players a bit,” he told the ACC Network hosts from Berkeley. "I’m glad I was able to get it done.”

His own health status aside, the 50-year-old said of the season ahead, “Excitement would be an understatement for us right now.”

The Bears are coming off a 22-win season, their highest win total in a decade. Two starters graduated while guards Dai Dai Ames (16.9 points) and Justin Pippen (14.9 points, 4.6 assists) transferred to Tennessee and Ohio State, respectively.

But Cal retained six returning scholarship players, led by starting center/forward Lee Dort, who averaged 8.1 points and 7.8 rebounds last season.

Dort played this past summer with the Haitian national team, producing 10.1 points and 13.8 rebounds in four FIBA AmeriCup prequalifying games, including a 22-rebound performance in a win over St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

“He had some huge, monster games for them and really got to play against other grown men at the international level,” said Madsen, who believes Dort has NBA potential. “Lee is an absolute anchor for us. He’s one of the key guys we were able to retain.

While losing 75 percent of their scoring, the Bears have welcomed five transfers and four freshmen recruits.

The transfer class :

— Jordan Ross, a 6-3 senior guard from Georgia who played his first two seasons at Saint Mary’s. Ross started 25 games last season, averaging 6.7 points and 2.3 assists. He played on NCAA tournament teams the past two years.

— Jake Wilkins, a 6-9 sophomore forward from Georgia, is the son of Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins. “Jake can impact the game in so many ways,” Madsen said. “He finishes everything at the rim, he’s a walking deflection, he blocks shots, get steals, he gets rebounds, he can handle the ball, he’s a high flyer. And he’s just an absolutely pleasure to be around. His teammates love him. Jake is going to have a huge year for us.”

— Nojus Indrusaitis, a 6-5 junior guard fro Pitt, averaged 14.3 points over the final seven games. “He was really starting to peak. He was kind of terrorizing the ACC,” Madsen said. “We’ve seen a continuation of that.”

— Michael Cooper, 6-3 sophomore guard from Wright State, averaged 13.4 points to earn all-freshman honors in the Horizon League. He had surgery on his right thumb after arriving in Berkeley, Madsen said.

— Amier Ali, a 6-8 junior wing, played the past two seasons at Mississippi State and Arizona State. He hit the game-winning 3-pointer against New Orleans for MSU last season.

“Our group is going to be strong,” Madsen said.

“The message to the team is: Yes, we had a good season last year. But we have to take care of all the steps and do all the things that can hopefully allow us to surpass that in the coming year.”

The Bears open their season on Nov. 2 against Adams State at Haas Pavilion.

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