Former Stanford hooper Mark Madsen hired as Cal head coach
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After starring at Stanford and finding success in the NBA, Mark Madsen decided to get into coaching.
His coaching journey saw him go every from the then D-League, to Stanford as an assistant, and to Los Angeles as a part of the Lakers staff from 2013-2019. He finally got his chance to be a head coach at Utah Valley. Madsen led the Wolverines to becoming one of the most improved programs in college basketball, as they went 11-19 in his first season, 11-11 in his second, 20-12 in his third and finished 28-9 this season.
His success at Utah Valley led to him being hired as the next Cal head coach, as reported on Wednesday.
An announcement that will certainly break the hearts of Stanford fans. During his playing days at Stanford, Madsen was named as an all-conference selection twice in college, and was a key reason as to why Stanford made it to the 1998 Final Four. Following the conclusion of his college career, he was a first-round pick of the Lakers in 2000, winning two NBA championships with the team before landing with the Minnesota Timberwolves where he played for six seasons.
Madsen was viewed as the heavy favorite to land Stanford's head coaching job had they decided to move on from Jerod Haase, but despite missing the tournament for seven years straight; Haase was retained.
Madsen will be replacing Mark Fox, who was fired earlier in the month after a 3-29 season, and having not led the Golden Bears to the NCAA tournament since 2016.
If you are keeping track at home, there is now a former Cal quarterback coaching at Stanford, a former Cal hooper coaching at Stanford, and now a former Stanford hooper coaching at Cal.
