Cal Basketball: What Will the Post-Matt Bradley Season Look Like for the Bears?
We don’t know when Matt Bradley decided to enter the transfer portal. And we don’t know when he shared that news with Cal coach Mark Fox.
His decision to join reportedly more than 1,000 players who will consider switching schools this offseason through the transfer portal was first reported on Saturday.
That was one day after I had a Zoom conversation with Fox, where we talked about the Final Four, Roy Williams’ retirement, recruiting during the pandemic and the roster of players he expected to have in 2021-22.
Here’s what he said on that topic:
“The great part is we’ve got a deep team and great competition, and that’s what every good team has. That we’re thankful for, obviously.”
I then asked Fox if he could confirm that everyone who finished the season with the team was committed to returning next season.
“We haven’t had all our individual meetings yet,” he said, “but at this point, yes.”
It’s entirely possible that Bradley — the team’s leading scorer the past two seasons — had a conversation with his coach a half-hour after my visit with Fox. It doesn’t really matter — Bradley apparently has decided to leave, and the details leading to that don’t change the reality.
Entering the transfer portal doesn’t mean a player is required to leave, but it’s usually the case.
In the video above -- recorded last Friday -- Fox talks about the fact that the NCAA still has yet to provide specific guidelines about some aspects of roster management this year.
Could the Bears add another player to replace Bradley?
Can they even welcome him back (assuming he has officially withdrawn from school), if he changes his mind?
My guess is “no” to the first question and “yes” to the second, which probably is a moot point. But we don’t know.
Without hearing directly from Bradley, we can only speculate about what he’s thinking. Presuming there is not some sort of personality issue involving him and his coaches or teammates, these are the two most likely reasons he is looking elsewhere:
— After three seasons at Cal and a record of 31-61, Bradley is tired of the losing and unconvinced the Bears are ready to turn a corner. He has no doubt been watching the NCAA tournament on TV and he wants a taste of March Madness. He might reasonably feel like that’s not likely to happen with the Bears next season.
Or . . .
— He has designs on a professional career and believes he can find better opportunity for development and greater exposure at a different school.
In either case, his impending exit leaves the Bears without a player who accounted for nearly one-fourth of the team’s point production the past two seasons.
Without a player whose offensive skills force opposing defenses to pay special attention to him, allowing other Cal players on the floor the chance to potentially flourish.
The Bears were 4-3 in games Bradley missed this season with two separate ankle injuries, but no one is foolish enough to suggest the team was better off without a player who averaged 18 points and can score in a variety of ways.
But it seems clear the Bears will have to go to Plan B: Life without Matt Bradley. Fox and his staff will have to keep recruiting but also develop what he referred to as “a deep team.”
As things currently stand, the Bears have 11 returning scholarship players (including super seniors Grant Anticevich and Makale Foreman) and three signed incoming freshmen. Graduate senior Ryan Betley has not yet decided whether he will opt for another season.
After going 14-18 (7-11 in Pac-12) in Fox's debut season of 2019-20, Cal slipped to 9-20 (3-17 Pac-12) this season. Compare that to the nine years immediately preceding that, when the Bears had seven seasons of at least 20 victories and went to the NCAA tournament five times.
Seems like a long time ago.
The Bears will have a lot of experience a year from now, and a lot of choices. Whether they have enough talent is uncertain, but the evidence so far isn’t encouraging.
PROJECTED 2021-22 CAL ROSTER
Returning players (11)
Joel Brown, point guard
Monty Bowser, small forward
Jarred Hyder, guard
Makale Foreman, guard
Kuany Kuany, forward
Grant Anticevich, forward
Lars Thiemann, center
Andre Kelly, power forward
Jalen Celestine, guard
D.J. Thorpe, forward
Dimitrios Klonaras, guard
Pending departure (1)
Matt Bradley, guard
Pending return (1)
Ryan Betley, guard
Signed recruits (3)
Marsalis Roberson, guard
Sam Alajiki, small forward
Obinna Anyanwu, power forward
Cover photo of Cal coach Mark Fox and Matt Bradley by Mark J. Rebilias, USA Today
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
