New Cal men’s basketball coach Mark Madsen answers questions from ESPN and Pac-12 Network broadcaster Roxy Bernstein, right, during a press conference at Haas Pavilion at UC Berkeley in Berkeley, Calif., on Monday, April 3, 2023. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
BERKELEY — New coach Mark Madsen recognizes all that went wrong for California men’s basketball last season, and he also insists that from those struggles has been tremendous growth.
He’s counting on that as Cal tries to bounce back with a new-look roster and new leader.
Even if the loyal fan base in Berkeley might not have seen the development watching the Golden Bears last season. Madsen also realizes he has quite a task at hand to turn over a proud program that is reeling from the embarrassment of so much losing.
Madsen is guiding the Bears following a 3-29 season — worst in school history — that led to the firing of coach Mark Fox and cleared the way for the former Stanford star.
“It was a tough year last year for Cal, but it’s not like there wasn’t a lot of work going on behind the scenes. We’re probably benefiting right now from a lot of the work, just even in terms of infrastructure,” Madsen said. “I’ve never been more optimistic, and I love our team. I love all the changes that have happened.”
One of those is the addition of sixth-year guard Keonte Kennedy, a transfer from Memphis with one season of eligibility left after beginning his career at UTEP. Kennedy, who missed the final eight games of last season after punching a wall and breaking his right hand, will be counted upon to lead the defensive pressure.
“A lot of teams I played for play fast, and we’re athletic, so we have to get on the rim,” he said. “I think that’s where it came from, just from the heart inside, and stopping the other team’s best players.”
Madsen, 47, guided Utah Valley to the NIT semifinals last season, his fourth at the school. But he expects a much quicker turnaround at Cal. When hired, Madsen referred to Cal as a “sleeping giant” of college basketball that will be in contention for the NCAA Tournament by season’s end.
Madsen, an East Bay native who picked up his nickname “Mad Dog” at San Ramon Valley High, was known for his defensive intensity at Stanford. He fully expects Cal to be a team that opponents don’t want to face despite the way last season went. Madsen insists the Bears will play with great energy and execute their schemes on both ends.
“We’re not trying to just win — we have lofty goals coming in,” Madsen said. “So that’s part of the excitement that I feel.”
Sixth-year senior Fardaws Aimaq is reunited with Madsen after three years at Utah Valley before transferring to Texas Tech, where he was limited to 11 games last season because of injuries.
Now, they’re back together for the 6-foot-11 forward’s final season of eligibility.
If Aimaq can be a force on both ends scoring and rebounding, he will make an immediate impact. He was WAC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in 2020-21 while leading the nation in rebounding (15.0) under Madsen and won defensive honors again the following season as a redshirt junior.
“He’s just so strong and just overpowering,” Kennedy said.
Cal finished 38-87 under Fox and lost its final 16 games last season. The Bears haven’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2016 and haven’t won a game in the tournament since 2013.
“Of course, it motivated me, but for the most part, definitely flush it all out,” sophomore forward Grant Newell said. “We’re just focused on what we have coming this season. We’re really excited about all the pieces we have, from staff to players — everyone.”
As a player, Madsen helped lead Stanford to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 1988 Final Four. Drafted 29th overall by the Lakers, he spent nine seasons in the NBA, then turned to coaching. He started in the NBA developmental league, served as an assistant under Johnny Dawkins at Stanford, then spent five seasons on the Lakers staff. He was named the head coach at Utah Valley in 2019 and went 70-51 over four years, with a 28-9 mark last season.
Walk-on big man Gus Larson could provide some key experience and be one of Cal’s big surprises. He comes to the Bears as a transfer from Penn and as a redshirt sophomore has three years of eligibility remaining after missing most of last season with an ankle injury as well as being limited by a troublesome back issue.
Originally published at Janie McCauley