California Golden Bears

2023-2024 Result: 13-19 record (9-11 Pac 12), No Postseason appearance

Projected Starting Lineup

Head Coach: Mark Madsen (2nd season)

Guard: Jovan Blacksher Jr (5th year)

Guard: Andrej Stojakovic (SO)

Forward: Joshua Ola-Joseph (JR)

Forward: Rytis Petraitis (JR)

Center: Mady Sissoko (5th year)

Key Additions

Jovan Blacksher Jr (Grand Canyon)

Andrej Stojakovic (Stanford)

Joshua Ola-Joseph (Minnesota)

Rytis Petraitis (Air Force)

Mady Sissoko (Michigan State)

BJ Omot (North Dakota)

Christian Tucker (UTSA)

DJ Campbell (Western Carolina)

Key Losses

Jaylon Tyson

Jalen Celestine

Grant Newell

Rodney Brown

Devin Askew

Fardaws Aimaq

Jalen Cone

Keonte Kennedy

Another newcomer to the ACC, the California Golden Bears endured a lot of roster turnover as well, losing the likes of Jaylon Tyson, Fardaws Aimaq and Jalen Cone. Coach Mark Madsen took on the portal to find their replacements and added as much offensive talent as he possibly could. Every player Madsen took from the portal, outside of Mady Sissoko, has an offensive minded skill set so it will be interesting to see how this roster gels. Though the offensive talent may make up for the lack of familiarity, none of the newcomers project to have much shooting upside. Andrej Stojakovic may be able to help with the spot up game (he struggled last season), but the lack of a spot up presence will cause the ball to stick more often. Jovan Blacksher Jr is the likely starting point guard if he comes into this season completely healthy, and he can change the outlook of this offense to an extent if he is. While Blacksher won’t completely move the needle for Cal, his ability to score from the perimeter along with his ability to be a playmaker in pick and roll sets will be huge for Mark Madsen’s offense. Air Force transfer Rytis Petraitis can also provide some playmaking in the frontcourt (26.9% ast rate last season). The offensive talent is certainly there, but it most likely will take some time to work itself out with the lack of continuity.

The defense is probably the more concerning area with California. The lack of continuity will also create issues on this end, but there are not very many players on this roster Madsen can trust to defend at a competent level in the ACC. The only bright spot to point out is the frontcourt of Joshua Ola-Joseph, Petraitis, and Sissoko, who possess solid recovery skills and bring some physicality, but they also lack the size to be great every night in the ACC. The perimeter defense could be a nightmare, as they lack lateral quickness at almost every position. It may not matter what Madsen tries to do from a defensive standpoint because this roster looks like a disaster on this end.

The offense may prove me wrong and be one of the stronger units in the conference, but I am willing to bet against this group making it out of the bottom of the pack in the ACC. The defensive red flags are too much to ignore and the offense won’t have enough time to figure out how to work together until it’s too late.