By Rocco Miller
Where has the time gone? That is the question I kept asking myself during the short 15-minute drive from Oakland to Berkeley.
The feeling of yesterday is on replay in my mind, while reminiscing on Mark Madsen’s opening day press conference in Berkeley. A time of excitement and relief for the Cal community.
You have to remember, Cal Basketball had six rugged seasons under Wyking Jones (2) and Mark Fox (4), who ultimately went a combined 22-92 in Pac-12 regular season games.
When Madsen came in, he was fresh off a 28-win Utah Valley season and a top 65 final ranking, which is easily the highest-performing campaign in UVU’s D1 history.
The excitement surrounding the press conference was distinctly memorable for locals. The Stanford legend, Madsen, is being hired by rivals, Cal. Madsen had fun with the press conference, starting it off with references to his last appearance in Haas Pavilion as a player, which ended in a rivalry-scuffle and Stanford’s 57-55 rockfight road win.
This certainly felt like a heist as Madsen’s alma mater struggled through eight seasons under Jerod Haase without breaking through to the postseason.
Year 1 was a huge step forward. Attracting talented players in the portal was a new concept in Berkeley, and Madsen got two big ones in Jaylon Tyson and Fardaws Aimaq. The squad won nine Pac-12 games, which was a tremendous step forward from the bogged-down Jones/Fox eras.
He hired great recruiters, which remains a staple as we approach year three. He talked about making this a player’s program. Hard work is a staple of Madsen’s mantra, outworking other teams.
Quickly after being hired, Madsen and the Cal athletic department were faced with the very real challenge of finding a new league. The collapse of the Pac-12 was essentially happening concurrently behind the scenes as Madsen was being hired.
By September 1st of that first summer, Cal was officially contracted to join the ACC. The dynamics of the job, travel, and direct competition changed in an instant.
Last season in the ACC was a trying one, finishing at 14-19 overall with a 6-12 conference season. A deeper look under the hood tells us a brighter, Madsen-tough story. Down the stretch, Cal fought Notre Dame in a crushing 4OT loss in South Bend. Then, they headed directly to the conference tournament in Charlotte. No excuses, they showed up and went to 2OTs again, this time beating Virginia Tech. The Bears lost a tight battle with rival Stanford the next day.
One thing was clear entering the offseason: Madsen’s program has no interest in laying down or making excuses. The practice that I recently attended painted a similar story.
Practice Summary
The new-look Bears had one of the most physical practices I have seen in quite some time. Madsen told me that they are trying to throw every scenario at the guys as possible and “Track everything.”
The majority of the practice was a live scrimmage session with varying levels of ball pressure. Full court traps, 3/4 court traps, half-court, etc. It was clearly instructed on both sides to be disruptive. After all, Cal finished 175th in the nation in defensive efficiency and 14th in the ACC for league-only defense. It’s a clear area of emphasis.
In my eyes, it worked. The long live session was mostly disruptive. The media would call it a “rockfight.” On the flip side, neither offense had any flow; there was some organic chippiness on the floor, and overall, I think it was a healthy step in the Madsen-toughness progression of the program.
The teams were broken up with the White team consisting primarily of John Camden, Semetri Carr, Dhiaukuei Manyiel Dut/Mantas Kocanas swapping at the five, Justin Pippen, and Jovani Ruff. The Blue team was led by Dai Dai Ames and DJ Campbell, along with Chris Bell, Lee Dort, Nolan Dorsey, and Sammie Yeanay.
Mark “Mad Dog” Madsen overlooks his Bears at Haas Pavilion.
Player Observations
Dai Dai Ames - Likely the most important player on the roster. Mr. Ames comes into the year with a remarkable reputation as a shooter, going near-40% from deep last year and over 58% from inside the arc on double the attempts in conference play. He impressed me more with court awareness, always in the right position defensively and within offensive sets.
Nolan Dorsey - Madsen specifically took some time to tell me that Dorsey is the ultimate workhorse, and although he may not have as much skill as Madsen himself, he embodies the work ethic. Cal teammates were noticeably disturbed by Dorsey’s relentless defensive energy during the long live period. Dorsey was the fastest Bear in a timed Mile, running it in under 4:30. Dorsey was playing with a missing tooth, which I believe was lost in a previous practice. The Campbell transfer could be a big emotional and defensive boost to this team’s ability to win on the margins.
Semetri Carr - Tons of poise for a freshman. Demonstrated floor-general comfort at this level. Played some big-time games in high school. Interesting piece for backcourt depth. Really great personality as well.
Chris Bell - Played a lot like what I remembered from Syracuse games. Mr. Bell gives Cal a different look and dynamic to score off the wing. I was quickly reminded that he was the 3rd-best three-point shooter in ACC league games last year at 44.3% on 79 attempts.
John Camden - Fluid playmaker, projected starter. Kept his teammates involved even when shots didn’t fall. Another dynamic sniper, making 43% of his threes at Delaware last season, and at 6-8, 220 has clear looks typically from downtown. As noted earlier, this practice contained a ton of trapping and on-ball defense, which led to more paint-touching shot attempts. Would’ve loved to see more perimeter action involving Camden, Bell, and others. However, that is certainly in the cards for regular game flow.
Lee Dort - Physical, didn’t back down from any situation or any teammate. Emotionally set the tone at times. Needs to keep working on finishing his paint touches. Rebounding was excellent, mostly one-and-done type boards defensively.
Dhiaukuei Manyiel Dut - Clearly still developing, but I came away impressed with his work ethic and commitment to improvement. Has elite rim protection potential. He worked hard and rarely sat out during the live period. One of the first players in the gym as well.
Justin Pippen - Another projected starter. Pippen struggled to get minutes at Michigan. He has a great opportunity ahead of him in Berkeley to play a considerable amount. He is lengthy and causes problems for the opposing offense, and moves with great fluidity.
D.J. Campbell - Makes getting downhill look simple, very impressive off the dribble. Sometimes gets into “ISO mode” too often, especially late in the shot clock. Played really hard overall, and demonstrated that he’s been with Madsen for over a year. Getting D.J. to play more off the ball could help the team and his own game as time goes on.
Montas Kocanas - Much like last year at FAU, Montas is still learning the American College Hoops game. He could be highly valuable once it all clicks for him. His size is outstanding. Still seemed a little slow with concepts and play calls. Would love to see him develop. Still very young.
Jovanni Ruff - Another good-looking Freshman who has a chance to play. Has a college-ready body to play the two or the three. I can envision him being a versatile defender as well. Really like what the future holds here.
Injured
Rytis Petraitis - Rytis was still a couple of weeks away from returning (Shoulder). As you may know, he has a tremendous personality and took some time to chat with me. He likes this Cal roster a lot and believes a lot of the new pieces are upgrades. He spent a good 45 minutes after practice doing shooting drills and appears to be right on track for a return.
Milos Ilic - Figures to be the first big man off the bench once healthy. Ilic was rehabbing from a Quad injury, I believe. He also should be back within weeks or even days. He spent a long time on the exercise bike courtside during the live period.
Summary
It does not take a genius to evaluate this 2026 version of Cal’s basketball roster and see the improved outside shooting. However, if you went to this practice, you would’ve came away with a much different feeling. Intensity, physicality, ball-pressure, and togetherness were the main themes on this fine day.
The Bears finished dead-last in three-point shooting and 17th of 18 in three-point% defense in ACC play a year ago. Glaring holes from yesteryear have been filled. Madsen preaches accountability and toughness. In the much-improved ACC, Cal has pieces to build a case to be one of the major darkhorses of the conference. They will need to come together as a group and win on the margins, which is precisely the plan.
