California

NBA Finals: Monday is Underclassmen Deadline

Jeff Borzello — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 09:18:46 -0700

Despite the fact today at 5:00 p.m. EST is the deadline for underclassmen to withdraw their names from the NBA Draft, there were still 20 players who had yet to make a final decision heading into yesterday afternoon. While some players are expected to withdraw and others are almost guaranteed to stay in, there are also several prospects who are completely up in the air. What is the latest word on each of the 20 remaining underclassmen without an agent? Let's take a look.

A.J. Abrams, Texas: Has not decided yet, but will make his final choice today. (Austin American-Statesman)

Josh Akognon, Cal State Fullerton: No word from him, but signs point to him staying in the Draft.

Joe Alexander, West Virginia: Has signed with agent Doug Neustadt; will not return to school. (FOXSports.com)

Ryan Anderson, California: Entirely up in the air; said last Tuesday he was nowhere near a decision. (ESPN.com)

Chase Budinger, Arizona: Said he has received "good enough" feedback to justify staying in Draft. (Arizona Daily Star)

Mario Chalmers, Kansas: Informed coaching staff he was staying in the draft. (Kansas City Star)

Lee Cummard, BYU: Coach Dave Rose said Cummard has decided to return to school. (ESPN.com)

Robert Dozier, Memphis: Coach John Calipari expects Dozier to come back to school. (Memphis Commercial Appeal)

Wayne Ellington, North Carolina: Will make decision today; no indication of where he is currently leaning. (Raleigh News & Observer)

Jamont Gordon, Mississippi State: As good as gone. For weeks, he and his people have been saying that he is likely staying in the Draft.

Danny Green, North Carolina: Was supposed to talk to coach Roy Williams Sunday, but meeting has been postponed until today. Said he will make his decision after talking to Williams. His father announced that he would be staying in school, and Danny also said he was likely returning.(Raleigh News & Observer, Fayetteville Observer, FOXSports.com).

Richard Hendrix, Alabama: Has not announced his decision, and was still working out with teams this weekend. (The Huntsville Times)

J.J. Hickson, North Carolina State: Officially announced on Sunday that he was staying in the Draft. (Scout.com)

Lester Hudson, Tennessee-Martin: Met with his coaches this weekend to make a final decision; said if he was projected to be drafted in the first 35 picks, he would leave. (Jackson Sun)

Ty Lawson, North Carolina: Has not made a decision yet, and will announce final choice today. Originally looked like he would stay in the Draft, but developments over the last couple of weeks have clouded the picture. (Winston-Salem Journal)

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, UCLA: Has not reached a decision yet. It seems like he wants to stay in the Draft, but might not get feedback he needs to justify that decision.

Jeremy Pargo, Gonzaga: No indication as to which way he is leaning; coach Mark Few does not know what Pargo will do.

Ronald Steele, Alabama: After the back-and-forth announcements that occurred a couple of weeks ago, there has not been much talk about him. He was still working out for teams this weekend, and will announce his decision today. (The Huntsville Times)

Robert Vaden, UAB: Coach Mike Davis said Vaden is 50/50 on staying in the Draft. He has a final workout today with Detroit, and will likely make a decision after that. (ESPN.com)

Bill Walker, Kansas State: Might be the most interesting case of them all. It looked like he was going to stay in the Draft; coach Frank Martin said he was not expecting Walker to return to school. However, Walker injured his right knee this weekend and will need an MRI. Will not make a decision until just before the deadline today. (FOXSports.com, ESPN.com)

- By Jeff Borzello, March Madness All Season

Ryan Anderson: NBA Draft Profile

Jeff Fox — Thu, 08 May 2008 08:47:58 -0700

Ryan Anderson

College: California

Class: Sophomore

Position: SF/PF

Height: 6’10”

Weight: 240bs

Accolades: First Team All-Pac-10 (08), Pac-10 All-Tournament Team (07), Pac-10 All-Freshman Team (07), Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 (07), Great Alaska Shootout MVP (07).

Scouting Report: An explosive scorer with inside/outside ability.

Strengths: Excellent inside/outside threat. Great size for a small forward. Lights-out three-point shooter – hit about two a game at a 41% clip. Fantastic rebounder. Explosive scorer – led the Pac-10 in scoring his sophomore year. Very consistent – posted double-figure scoring games in every game this year. Fantastic free throw shooter. Decent post moves. Played big-time minutes and put up big-time numbers in a big-time conference throughout his collegiate career.

Weaknesses: Does he have the foot speed to guard NBA players? Very skinny – will need to get stronger and heavier. Will be outmuscled by NBA players in the post. Turnover prone – more turnovers than assists both years in college. Doesn’t bring much on the defensive end of the floor – not many blocks or steals. Doesn’t possess NBA athleticism.

Projected 2008 Draft Range: Mid first round to early second round pick.

Consensus: Ryan Anderson has had a stellar collegiate career thus far but his game and body need more work for the NBA. Another year in college to work on his strength and defense would be his best bet, especially considering he isn’t a guaranteed first round pick at this point.

Stats: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=31647

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Today's Game Predictions: NIT & CBI

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:18:26 -0700

New Mexico (24-8) at California (16-15)

11:00 PM ESPN2

According to the odds, this is the closest NIT game of the night, as the Bears are favored by just 3 points. Despite everybody's love of the Pac-10, Cal defines mediocrity and doesn't deserve to be hosting a game tonight. When a home team is favored by only a couple points in postseason play, its basically an admission that the road team is more talented. Cal lost to the only other MWC team they've faced, Utah at home back in December. If Cal can't beat the Utes, they probably couldn't beat UNM outside of a monster 30+ night from Ryan Anderson.

Prediction: New Mexico

UAB (22-10) at VCU (24-7)

7:00 PM ESPN2

Both of these teams were considered bubble squads up until the final week of the season.. but apparently the NIT folks didn't think highly of either. This is only a 4-5 game and somehow teams like Nebraska and FSU were seeded higher. Despite a disappointing CAA Tournament loss, VCU is still a legitimately solid team in my eyes and shouldn't have trouble putting away UAB. I like the home team to win big, surpassing the 5.5 point spread.

Prediction: VCU

Miami (17-15) at Tulsa (20-13)

8:00 PM

What might be the most competitive game of the CBI's opening round, Miami (OH) heads to Tulsa to face the Golden Hurricanes. I have little respect for anyone in the CUSA not named Memphis (like the above prediction), and I favor Miami here along with Utah against UTEP. The Redhawks started the season on fire, stunk it up in the middle, and then finished on a confident streak.. almost knocking off Kent State in the MAC Tournament.

Prediction: Miami

Previous Game of the Night (Predictions, 102-60)

March 18th - Mt St Mary's vs Coppin State (2-1)

March 14th - Kansas vs Texas (2-1)

March 14th - St. Joseph's vs Temple (1-2)

March 13th - Ohio State vs Michigan State (2-1)

March 12th - Arizona State at USC (2-1)

March 12th - Syracuse vs Villanova (2-1)

March 11th - IUPUI at Oral Roberts (3-0)

March 10th - Gonzaga at San Diego (1-2)

March 9th - Florida at Kentucky (1-2)

March 8th - UNC at Duke (2-1)

March 5th - Tennessee at Florida (2-1)

March 4th - UNLV at New Mexico (3-0)

March 3rd - Texas Tech at Kansas (3-0)

March 2nd - Clemson at Maryland (1-2)

2008 NIT Capsule: California

Joel Welser — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 07:04:52 -0700

California Golden Bears

Pacific 10 (16-15, 6-12)

Seed: #4

RPI: 94

Big Wins: 1/3 USC (92-82), 1/31 at Washington State (69-64), 2/16 at Arizona State (76-73)

Bad Losses: 12/22 Utah (65-67), 1/17 Arizona State (90-99), 3/1 Washington (84-87)

Coach: Ben Braun

Probable Starters:

Jermone Randle, Sophomore, Guard, 11.7 ppg, 3.9 apg

Patrick Christopher, Sophomore, Guard, 15.8 ppg, 2.0 apg, 3.6 rpg

Ryan Anderson, Sophomore, Forward, 21.3 ppg, 10.0 rpg

Eric Vierneisel, Senior, Forward, 5.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg

Jamal Boykin, Sophomore, Forward, 7.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg

Key Roleplayers:

Nikola Knezevic, Sophomore, Guard, 2.7 ppg, 2.1 apg

Harper Kamp, Freshman, Forward, 4.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg

DeVon Hardin, Senior, Center, 9.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg

Why They Can Surprise:

There are a few good reasons why California can win a few postseason games, but the main reason is Ryan Anderson. The 6-10 forward averages a mere 21.3 points and 10.0 rebounds. Anderson hits two long balls per game and shoots nearly 50 percent from the floor. He has not scored under ten points in any game this season and even when his shot is not falling, he will put up some huge numbers. For example, Anderson only hit two of eight three-pointers in a January game against Arizona State, but he still managed to score 32 points by using his size to get the basket and the charity stripe.

Anderson is not the only shooter on the team and point guard Jerome Randle and off-guard Patrick Christopher can go off from long range. Randle averages 11.7 points per game, not to mention a team high 3.9 assists. Christopher does a pretty good job of getting to the basket to compliment his outside shooting and he will use his 6-5 size to his advantage. When Anderson, Randle and Christopher’s shots are falling, the Golden Bears are tough to beat.

Why They Can Disappoint:

Certainly allowing the opponents to score nearly 76 points per game is understandable since Cal will score nearly 78, but the defense has bigger problems than just giving up a lot of points. The opposition shoots over 44 percent from the floor and Cal has no way to stop them. DeVon Hardin is a decent shot blocker, but nobody else is much of an intimidator under the basket and even most centers will not be scared of Hardin in the paint. Cal will usually let the team get a shot off too as they do not force that many turnovers. Luckily, the offense is dynamic enough not to have to depend on steals to spark the offense.

Who To Watch:

The addition of Jamal Boykin, a transfer from Duke has helped strengthen the Bears frontline. He is a decent interior scorer and has plenty of strength to play tough defense and battle on the boards. Eric Vierneisel has a similar game to Anderson, albeit far less effective. The 6-7 forward has the size to hit the glass and a nice looking stroke out to the three-point line.

By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 77.3 (31^st in nation, 1^st in conference)

Scoring Defense: 75.5 (299, 10)

Field-Goal Percentage: 46.7 (53, 6)

Field-Goal Defense: 44.7 (225, 8)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.8 (155, 3)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 36.3 (116, 5)

Free-Throw Percentage: 78.0 (2, 1)

Rebound Margin: 3.3 (67, 4)

Assists Per Game: 15.1 (60, 2)

Turnovers Per Game: 13.4 (93, 8)

Joel’s Bracket Says: First Round loss to New Mexico

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CollegeHoops.net Player of the Week: Ryan Anderson

Jeff Borzello — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 08:35:47 -0800

The month of February is when teams begin to either separate themselves from the pack or fall out of the picture. Likewise, it is when star players step-up and carry their respective teams to key wins on the road or last-second victories at home. Those All-American candidates are usually the difference between a bubble team spending March in the NIT or creating major problems in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament. Last week, California was one of those teams that looked poised to make a move into the at-large picture. The main reason? Ryan Anderson.

Anderson, a 6-foot-10 sophomore forward, has been outstanding all season for the Golden Bears, although it has gone largely unnoticed by much of the country. However, that may have all changed last week when Cal made its annual road trip – without star big man DeVon Hardin – to the Pacific Northwest to take on Washington and Washington State. In the two big wins, Anderson averaged 30 points and 14 rebounds per game, shooting 63 percent from the field. He also was perfect from the free-throw line (11 for 11) and knocked down 64 percent of his three-point attempts (9 for 14). In the game against No. 9 Washington State, Anderson struggled with foul trouble, but scored four straight points in the final minute to give Cal the win. He played all 40 minutes in the win over Washington.

With the two big wins, California moves to 4-5 in the Pac-10 and right back in the thick of the Pac-10 race at the halfway point. If Anderson continues to play the way he has been, the Golden Bears will certainly make a run in February. Five of their last seven games are on the road, but they showed last week that they can pick up victories away from home. As for Anderson, I don’t think national attention will be a problem anymore. On the season, he is now averaging 22.2 points and 10.0 rebounds, while shooting nearly 53 percent from the field and 48 percent from behind the arc.

2007-08 Collegehoops.net Players of the Week
January 27th - Jerryd Bayless, FR, Arizona

January 20^th – Davon Jefferson, FR, USC

January 13th – Michael Beasley, FR, Kansas State

January 6th - Shan Foster, SR, Vanderbilt
December 30th - Brian Butch, SR, Wisconsin
December 23rd - Dwayne Curtis, SR, F, Mississippi
December 16th - Gary Forbes, SR, F, UMASS
December 9th - Joe Alexander, JR, F, West Virginia
December 2nd - Jerryd Bayless, FR, G, Arizona
November 25th - DJ Augustin, SO, G, Texas
November 18th - Jon Brockman, JR, F, Washington
November 11th - Michael Beasley, FR, F, Kansas State

Seven Day Stretch: The Week in College Hoops

Rob Carpentier — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:24:37 -0800

Seven Day Savior (Team): New Jersey Schools

This week’s selection is not a team, but a state. The schools in New Jersey had a heck of a week. Both Rutgers and Seton Hall went 2-0 last week, and in the Hall’s case, its two victories, over Providence and Cincinnati, went a long way to making them look like and NCAA Tourney team. Fred Hill’s Rutgers squad needed the wins, over Louisville and on the road against Pitt, to possibly save his job. Now the Scarlet Knights have some serious momentum going. Interestingly enough, Rutgers and Seton Hall squared off last night. Even Princeton, which has fallen precipitously over the past three seasons, won for only the third time this year…granted, it was against a non-D1 school, but a win’s a win. In fact, of the four losses suffered last week by NJ’s 7 D1 schools, (I don’t count NJIT, who clearly made a mistake by opting up to Division 1), two of them were losses to other schools from the Garden State.

Seven Day Savior (Player): Amorrow Morgan

Sophomore guard Amorrow Morgan of Idaho State. The Bengals, who sit at 8-12 overall, are 5-2 in the Big Sky Conference and are in a virtual tie with league leader Northern Arizona, got 21 points from their point guard as they defeated NAU this past Saturday. Morgan was scoring at will against the Lumberjacks, which was good for Idaho State because they were down by as much as 11 points in the second half before the rest of the squad decided to follow Morgan’s lead. Earlier in the week, Morgan led the Bengals to an easy win over Sacramento State, not by scoring, but by handing out assists. He had 8 assists, but only one turnover in the game as well as scoring eight points. Morgan has been key for an ISU program that hasn’t been this high in the conference’s standings this late in the season in almost a decade.

Game of the Week (The one you DON’T know about): Winthrop vs UNCA

The top two teams in the Big South, Winthrop and UNC-Asheville, face off on Saturday in Asheville. Perennial conference heavyweight Winthrop is sitting in second place in the Big South with one loss. Asheville, on the other hand, which has already made national news because of 7’7” center Kenny George, is sitting atop the conference with an undefeated record. Both teams recognize the mental boost winning this game will give them, as the Big South is a one-bid league. That’s a shame because both teams have shown they can beat teams from the “power” conferences. Winthrop has already defeated Miami (FL), who will probably make the NCAA Tournament, and Asheville has defeated South Carolina on the road and lost at North Carolina by only 12 in a game that was closer than the score. Most importantly, however, the Big South has a conference tournament where games, including the championship, are played at the site of the higher seed. Asheville stands a much better chance of getting to the NCAAs if they can hold serve on Saturday and take a two-game lead on the Eagles.

Seven Days Under the Radar: South Alabama

The South Alabama Jaguars are quietly having one of the best seasons in the school’s history. The Jags are currently on a 13-game winning streak, lead the Sun Belt Conference with an undefeated 9-0 mark and have an overall record of 17-3. Perhaps most importantly, USA has an RPI rating of 27. Along the way, South Alabama has defeated Mississippi State, who is currently the leader of the SEC West, Southern Mississippi and Western Kentucky, while losing at Mississippi by 3 and at Vanderbilt in overtime back when the Commodores were still undefeated. Coach Ronnie Arrow, who is in his second stint as Jaguar head coach, has a squad dominated by upperclassmen and has four players averaging in double figures, including senior guard Demetric Bennett, who is averaging over 20 PPG. The high major conferences better hope that USA wins the Sun Belt Conference Tournament because if they don’t, barring a complete collapse, the Jags are going to get an at-large bid to the NCAAs.

Seven Days on the Hot Seat: Ben Braun

California’s Ben Braun has been able to bring some very good talent to the Berkeley campus, but he hasn’t been able to get it to ever fully gel. While a god recruiter, (Cal is one of the tougher academic institutions in the country), Braun has been criticized each year because of his supposed mediocre in-game adjustments. At the end of the past two seasons there has been noise made by the Cal faithful about dumping Braun, and the noise has gotten progressively louder. Last spring, there was a fairly unified effort by boosters and fans to convince Golden Bear Athletic Director Sandy Barbour to move in a new direction. Instead Braun was given another season or two because he last year he lost arguably his best player in 6’11” center DeVon Hardin. Well, Hardin is back and Braun is running out of excuses as Cal slipped to 9^th place in the Pac-10 this past weekend after losing at home to Stanford. Braun and the Bears are 2-5 in the conference and four of those losses have come at home. Now the Bears travel to the Washington schools before starting the second half of their Pac-10 schedule which will include trips to L.A., Arizona and Stanford. Jay John was fired last week; Ben Braun may be the next pac-10 coach to get a pink slip.

Seven Days of Head Scratching: Refusing to Play Zone

As I was watching Connecticut host Louisville on Monday night, it dawned on me that the only reason that Louisville was staying in the game was because of Coach Rick Pitino, and more specifically his decision to go with a zone defense against the Huskies. It’s not important as to the specifics because the question that left me scratching my head was: Why don’t more coaches employ zone defenses in their repertoire? I have watched several games this year where I wondered out loud why a coach would prefer a man defense against a team that is so good at attacking it. In the Pac-10, teams insist on playing man against UCLA when they clearly struggle against a zone defense. USC ran zone against them and beat them. The Trojans ran a “gimmick” zone against Memphis and should have beaten the Tigers. Louisville ran a zone against the Huskies because Pitino knew that two of UConn’s best outside shooters were suspended. Pitino did this despite knowing his team likes to push the tempo. Coaches today seem less flexible with changing defensive styles because they feel that they want to establish an identity for their team. Jim Boeheim acts much the same way, only he refuses to play man defense, even when he has some outstanding athletes on his roster. It’s almost as if coaches are working as if their jobs were to look innovative and smart in front of the cameras. And here I thought a coach’s job at the D-1 level was to win games. Isn’t that the innovative and smart thing to do?

News of the Week: Tournament Bids

As January gets close to turning into February, the talk of who will make the Big Dance is beginning to heat up. Among the foremost topics right now is the total number of teams that will receive an NCAA Tournament invite from a given conference. Surprisingly, the ACC and the Big Ten are the current focal points of this conversation. I say surprisingly because it seems like each year both of these traditionally powerful basketball conferences are virtually guaranteed to get at least five teams into the Tournament. However, this year, both conferences have serious questions regarding about how many teams will get their tickets punched. The ACC has two locks in Duke and North Carolina, but then there is a jumbled mess. 9 of the 12 conference teams have at least 3 conference losses already and, outside of Clemson, all of them have middling computer numbers. The Big Ten is even worse off. Indiana, supposedly one of the top 2 in the conference, was defeated at home by a very average Connecticut squad. While Indiana is most likely a lock, along with Michigan State, only Wisconsin and Ohio State are even in a realistic NCAA conversation right now. Even worse, the conference sits 6^th in the RPI standings, last among the so called “BCS” conferences. So what does this all mean? Major conferences such as the Pc-10 and the Big East may very well be the beneficiaries of this drop off, with both conferences looking at realistically getting at least 7 teams into the Tournament. More importantly, though, and here’s the news, it opens things up for mid-major conferences. There is talk of the Atlantic 10 getting as many as four teams into the Tournament, while the Mountain West can argue that their 3^rd and even 4^th place teams have better resumes than those in the middle of the pack of either the ACC or the Big Ten. Then there’s the Horizon League and West Coast Conference that have real chances of getting multiple teams into the Big Dance. Things can change between now and Selection Sunday, but don’t be shocked if there are some major surprises when the brackets are unveiled.

Three Stars of the Day: November 29th

Shawn Siegel — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 08:11:06 -0800

Three Stars of The Day

We handpick the best performances of the day, whether it be stat lines that make you drool, or clutch performances. Either way, its our way of showing the love:

Ryan Anderson - California

The sophomore exploded for a career-best 36 points, and added 13 rebounds, as the Bears improved to 4-0 with a road win at Nevada

Michael Bramos - Miami (OH)

Michael Bramos - Miami (OH) - If not for the Redhawks losing by 1 to Dayton, Bramos would be #1 following his 36 point outburst, including 9 threes

Draelon Burns - DePaul

Burns matched a career-high (set last week) by scoring 32 points including a pristine 8 for 8 from downtown

Other Top Performers

Gary Forbes - UMASS - Besides big numbers, 23 points, 7 assists, an 6 rebounds, Forbes also hit big shots down the stretch in a 107-100 win at Syracuse

Tyrese Rice - Boston College - The Eagles eventually pulled away at Michigan behind Rice's 28 points, 5 threes, 8 boards, and 5 assists

Todd Sowell - Saint Peter's - You don't see too many Peacocks on top performers lists, but Sowell has been lighting it up. The forward had 23 and 18 against Monmouth last night, following 22 and 11 against Rutgers

Previous Stars of the Day

November 28th - James Powell, UCSB

November 27th - Stephen Curry, Davidson

November 26th - Michael Bramos, Miami (OH)

November 22nd - Michael Beasley, Kansas State

November 21st - Kyle Singler, Duke

November 20th - Patty Mills, Saint Mary's

November 19th - Matt Causey, Georgia Tech

November 18th - Daniel Hackett, USC

November 17th - Chris Douglas-Roberts, Memphis

November 16th - JJ Hickson, NC State

November 15th - Jon Brockman, Washington

Top 144 Previews | 2007-08 Preview & Awards | Interviews | Discuss the Preview

2007-08 Cal Basketball Preview

Joel Welser — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 08:25:31 -0700

California Golden Bears

Overall Rank: #62

Conference Rank: #8 Pac-10

2006-07: 16-17, 6-12, 8^th

2006-07 postseason: none

California will be a better team this year, but moving up a couple spots in the conference standings will be difficult. But the Golden Bears will be in the mix with a handful of other Pac-10 teams fighting for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Who’s Out:

He rarely got the accolades he deserved, but Ayinde Ubaka was a key component for the Cal squad. The point guard averaged 13.7 poitns, 4.3 assists and 3.0 rebounds. He was a quiet leader and a threat to score from anywhere on the floor. Without his leadership and ballhandling, Cal has some questions at the point. The departure of guards Omar Wilkes, Alex Pribble and Patrick Armstrong creates depth concerns on the perimeter. Wilkes, who started 31 games and averaged 9.9 points per contest, was not a great outside shooter, but finding somebody else to stretch the defense from the two guard spot will be a problem.

Who’s In:

With a couple of talented freshmen, a transfer from Duke and a returning duo who spent last season injured, Cal has some quality options among the newcomers. Omandi Amoke is an athletic wing whose defensive abilities will get him on the floor as a freshman. He is more of a three than a two, but if his outside shot finds a little consistency, Amoke will see more minutes since the Bears desperately need depth at the shooting guard position. At 6-7, 250 pounds, Harper Kamp is an undersized post player, but has the bulk and the abilities to make an impact against taller competition. Jamal Boykin will be eligible to play at the semester break and is expected to provide depth at the forward positions. Boykin spent some time at Duke where he briefly showed his athleticism in the rebounding and shot blocking categories. Coming in at mid-season will make it difficult, but Boykin could be a key to the Bears team by the time it rolls around to March. Nikola Knezevic was Cal’s backup point guard two years ago. And after a year on the sidelines, Knezevic will take over that role again, and maybe more. He is not a great scorer and will need to use his experience to cut down on the turnovers, but he is a good defender and a decent leader and a more than apt backup point guard. Seven-footer Jordan Wilkes also missed last season due to an injury. Wilkes, a sophomore, can run the floor well for a player his size and has proven to be an effective scorer, at times, in the paint or stepping outside for the short jumper.

Who to Watch:

However, cracking the starting lineup for Wilkes will be nearly impossible with one of the best frontcourts in the nation starting at Cal. Power forward Ryan Anderson showed up in Berkeley and immediately made his presence known. One of only two players to start all 33 games, the freshman averaged a team high 16.3 points and added 8.2 rebounds per contest. It is not everyday that somebody who averages 8.2 rebounds is also the best three point shooter on the team, but Anderson is just that. By his side is 6-11 center DeVon Hardin. Hardin only saw action in 11 games and then came ever so close to going to the NBA, but in the end he has returned for his senior season. He is a great shot blocker and rebounder and an effective scorer under the basket. With a full year of Anderson and Hardin, Cal is in good shape. Along with Wilkes, Taylor Harrison will backup the four and five positions. Theo Robertson has gone mostly unappreciated during his first two years with the team, but the small forward can get to the basket and help on the glass. Eric Vierneisel will likely back him up on the wing. Both Robertson and Vierneisel have the ability to hit the outside shot and will at least see some minutes at the shooting guard position. They are not ideally two guards and that may cause some issues on the defensive end, but Coach Ben Braun will have few other options.

Final Projection:

Patrick Christopher will handle the bulk of the minutes at shooting guard, but he is the only true two guard on the team. The 6-5 Compton, California product started 14 games last season, yet still only hit 13 shots from long range. The perimeter desperately needs to find a shooter. It could be point guard Jerome Randle, who has a decent outside shot, but he will be busy taking over the staring point guard duties after being a backup off the bench nearly all of last season. The perimeter is young and lacks depth. With such a dominating group on the inside, there will be plenty of open looks from outside, but somebody has to hit those shots.

Projected Post-season Tournament: NIT

Projected Starting Five:

Jerome Randle, Sophomore, Guard, 6.5 points per game

Patrick Christopher, Sophomore, Guard, 5.2 points per game

Theo Robertson, Junior, Forward, 8.8 points per game

Ryan Anderson, Sophomore, Forward, 16.3 points per game

DeVon Hardin, Senior, Center, 10.7 points per game

Complete Top 144 Ranking | 2007-08 Preview | College Basketball Schedule | Discuss the Preview

DeVon Hardin Returning to Cal

Jeff Borzello — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 13:06:25 -0700

DeVon Hardin Likely Returning to California

Jeff Borzello — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 07:22:25 -0700