Tag: Cal Golden Bears

Potential first-round pick Jaylon Tyson to forgo eligibility, declare for 2024 NBA draft

Tyson was named to the All-Pac 12 first team after averaging 19.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.2 steals in 31 games.

Cal junior guard Jaylon Tyson on Thursday told Jonathan Givony of ESPN that he will forgo his remaining college eligibility and declare for the 2024 NBA draft.

Tyson was named to the All-Pac-12 first team after averaging 19.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.2 steals on 36% shooting from 3-point range in 31 games. His 607 points were the seventh-most by a Cal player in a single season.

The 6-foot-7 standout registered 17 20-point games, the most by a Golden Bear since Jerome Randle in the 2009-10 season. Tyson reached that mark in six consecutive games to start conference play, the longest streak in program history since 1997.

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Tyson is considered a potential first-round pick, given his offensive skill set and ability to get others involved. He flourished as a shooter and can pull up from virtually all over the court. He also has the size at 215 pounds that should translate to the next level.

The 21-year-old has established himself as a strong rebounder at his position. He ranked seventh in the Pac-12 in rebounding and was one of two players from a major conference to average at least 19 points, six rebounds and 3.5 assists.

Tyson will have the opportunity to improve his draft positioning in team interviews and workouts over the pre-draft process. He could also be invited to compete in the G League Elite Camp or draft combine next month in Chicago, Illinois.

The 2024 NBA draft will occur June 26-27 in New York City.

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USC women’s basketball displays maturity, toughness in comeback win at Cal

USC didn’t get ambushed in Berkeley this year. It’s a newer better Trojan team.

The difference between the 2023 USC women’s basketball team and the 2024 version could be as simple as JuJu Watkins. That’s mostly true, but it’s not entirely true. Of course a team is much better than the year before when it adds a genuine superstar who can throw down 51 points against Stanford and then 29 more points in a Bay Area weekender against Cal. Watkins is reason number one why USC is such a better team this season compared to one year ago.

Yet, it’s not the whole story or explanation. USC’s role players are helping their superstar win games. This was somewhat true against Stanford on Friday. Even though no one shot the ball well other than JuJu, the whole team played great defense and made tough plays at that end of the floor.

Sunday in Berkeley against the California Golden Bears, we saw an even better version of the non-JuJu Trojans. Four non-JuJu USC players scored at least eight points. Five scored at least six points. USC’s defense — shredded in the first and third quarters at Cal — responded with an elite fourth quarter, allowing just eight points to the Bears in a 79-69 win. USC trailed by 13 and won by 10, a massive turnaround for a team which had a huge weekend near the San Francisco Bay. USC bounced back in a big way from its worst performance of the year against Washington one week ago.

As we noted, JuJu Watkins is the main reason this team is what it is. She scored 29 points and also contributed 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 blocked shots. JuJu was JuJu, doing everything for USC. However, her teammates were ready.

If you recall from Friday, three USC players fouled out. Two of them, Kaitlyn Davis and Rayah Marshall, took advantage of the fact that they did not play extended minutes on Friday against Stanford. They were fresh against Cal, and it really helped the Trojans. Davis played her best game in several weeks, with 10 points and 8 boards. Marshall had 9 points and 6 rebounds in a solid performance of her own.

USC’s defense allowed six made 3-pointers to Cal in the first quarter. The Trojans, who did have to work extremely hard against Stanford late on Friday, had a short turnaround for this game and were vulnerable to a sleepy start, which is exactly what happened. However, after that horrible defensive first quarter and some lapses in the third quarter, the Trojans locked down late, allowing just eight points to Cal in the final 10 minutes. Cal hit just one 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, and the Trojans — helped by six “found money” points from reserve Kayla Williams — pulled away for the closer-than-it-looked 10-point win.

What a difference a year makes for USC. The team which lost at Cal on a Sunday in 2023 was able to conquer Berkeley in 2024. Games that might have been lost last year are turning into wins this year.

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10 takeaways from American team Senior Bowl practice day 3

The American team had their final practice from the Reese’s Senior Bowl on Thursday. Tyler Forness gave his 10 takeaways from the afternoon

Day three of the 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl is here, signifying the final practice before the two teams face off on Saturday.

Senior Bowl week is one of the first premier stops on the road to the NFL draft, and this year’s version has not disappointed. We have seen everything from the usual suspects securing their spots in round one to the virtually unknown prospects becoming household names.

Tyler Forness, Managing Editor for Vikings Wire, has had his finger on the pulse in Mobile from the first snaps of practice. He gives us his ten takeaways from the American team’s final chance to compete before the game and what it could mean for the prospects as their pre-draft process begins.

Florida loses commitment from PWO punter, Cal completes flip

Florida thought it had an elite punter coming in as a preferred walk-on, but a scholarship offer from Cal convinced him to flip his commitment.

Florida secured a commitment from punter [autotag]Bobby Engstler[/autotag] in December, but the Gators only offered him as a preferred walk-on. On Tuesday, Engstler announced his decision to flip to Cal-Berkeley after being offered a full scholarship from the Golden Bears.

Engstler was only committed to the Orange and Blue for 40 days. At the time of his commitment, fans praised Florida’s staff for making an effort to improve the special teams unit.

The Gators still have Jeremy Crawshaw to punt in 2024, though. Crawshaw finished the 2023 season ranked 12th in the country among punters by Pro Football Focus with an 80.4 rating. Unfortunately, he’s only got one more year of eligibility remaining. Engstler was his natural successor.

Walk-on punters Ara Emerzian and Jacob Watkins are on Florida’s 2023 roster, but both were listed as seniors. If they don’t return, kicker Trey Smack is the only other leg left to turn should something happen to Crawshaw.

Smack beat out Adam Mihalek for the starting placekicker job early in the season. Mihalek has since entered the transfer portal.

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Buffaloes begin pivotal home stretch with win over Cal

The Buffaloes were locked in on the Golden Bears

Heading into this Friday evening game against Cal, I noted that the Colorado Buffaloes women’s basketball team had to win the battle in the paint and not overlook the Golden Bears, among other keys. Mission accomplished.

The Buffaloes handled Cal easily, winning in Boulder, 76-61. Cal’s size didn’t faze Colorado star forward Aaronette Vonleh, as she led all scorers with 19 points to go with four rebounds. Not to be outdone, Quay Miller controlled the glass en route to a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double. Guard Frida Formann provided a deep threat to compliment her post partners as she hit four 3s and scored 14 points.

Efficiency was the difference in the game as Colorado’s defense held Cal to only 37% shooting while CU’s offense hit 53% of its shots.

Colorado now enters the most grueling portion of its schedule with games against three straight top-10 opponents coming up. First up is No. 8 Stanford on Sunday at noon.

Colorado did a great job of keeping Cal off the glass, and I asked head coach JR Payne about how her team earned the rebounding edge:

“We talked about it all week: if there is one or two things that will determine the outcome of this game, one of them is rebounding,” Payne said. “Our team took that personally and decided this is important.”

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Five keys to Colorado women’s basketball taking down Cal

The Buffaloes can’t overlook the Golden Bears

We all knew it coming into this season, but the Pac-12 is loaded with elite college women’s basketball teams.

Four Pac-12 teams are ranked top 10 in the latest AP Poll, with No. 2 UCLA, No. 8 Stanford and No. 9 USC joining No. 5 Colorado. The Buffaloes will play all three of those other top 10 teams at home over the next two weeks.

But to start that brutal stretch, Colorado has a home date with another talented Pac-12 team: the California Golden Bears. Cal has played well so far this season, starting 12-3 with a 2-1 conference record. The Buffaloes (13-1, 3-0) will be put to the test when they tip off against Cal on Friday at 7 p.m. MT (Pac-12 Network).

Here are my five keys to Colorado beating the Golden Bears:

Colorado blows 20-point lead in devastating loss to Cal

Haas Pavilion continued to be a house of horrors for Colorado

Even with all five starters healthy, Colorado men’s basketball’s road woes continued on Wednesday night in an embarrassing 82-78 loss at Cal.

The Buffs led by 20 late in the first half before collapsing defensively. Cal’s Jaylon Tyson scored 23 of his game-high 30 points after the break and Colorado did little to slow the Golden Bears’ 3-point shooters.

“Really a disappointing loss because we played well enough to win and as a coach, those are the tough ones,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said (h/t CUBuffs.com). “Maybe I need to play more guys, maybe I’m playing guys too many minutes. I just don’t know… But I just know our defense isn’t good enough. That much I do know.”

While Colorado’s defensive woes certainly stood out, the Buffs did receive a career-high 22 points from big man Eddie Lampkin Jr. Tristan da Silva, who missed what would’ve been a go-ahead 3-pointer on Colorado’s final offensive possession, also scored 20.

Cody Williams, playing in his first game since Dec. 3, appeared rusty at times but still scored 16.

Now 11-5 overall and 2-3 to begin Pac-12 play, Colorado should be considered a fringe NCAA Tournament team.

Our own Oliver Hayes nailed it when he compared this Cal loss to Colorado football’s meltdown against Stanford in October:

Up next, Colorado hosts Bronny James and the USC Trojans on Saturday at 8 p.m. MT (ESPN2).

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USC survives Cal in wild Pac-12 clash, 50-49

USC 50, Cal 49 in a wild Pac-12 game

Give Justin Wilcox, head coach of Cal credit. He took his chance to beat USC on Saturday in Berkeley.

The 2-point conversion attempt with 58 seconds left didn’t work and the Golden Bears endured a 50-49 loss to the Trojans in a wild Pac-12 game.

The Trojans trailed by 11 at the half and 14  in the fourth quarter before scoring 21 straight points to take a 50-43 lead.

Cal turnovers helped the USC cause immensely.

Still, the Golden Bears rallied one last time. They went 79 yards in 9 plays over 2:30 and scored when Fernando Mendoza connected with Justin Williams-Thomas for a 13-yard TD play.

That set the stage for the decision by Wilcox.

He went for a 2-point conversion and the pass was incomplete.

USC improved to 7-2 and 4-1  in the conference. Cal is 3-5 and 1-4 in the Pac-12.

Reigning Heisman winner Williams threw for 369 yards in the victory.

Cal out to shocking double-digit lead over USC at halftime

Cal has scored 21 straight and leads USC at halftime by 11

What is going on with the USC football team?

Once ranked in the Top 10 and boasting then-Heisman Trophy favorite Caleb Williams, the football team is free-falling.

There was plenty of time left in Saturday’s Pac-12 game with Cal but the Golden Bears had scored 21 straight and led 28-17 at halftime.

Williams had 225 passing yards.

The Trojans had no answer in the first 30 minutes for Cal’s Jadyn Orr. The RB had 13 carries for 153 yards and 3 TDs.

On-field student protest delays start of USC-Cal game

A protest over the suspension of a professor took place on the field before USC-Cal

Kickoff for Cal-USC on Saturday in Berkeley was delayed due to a protest when students locked arms at midfield.

The protest is believed to be tied to the school suspending Prof. Ivonne del Valle.

KQED explained what led to the professor’s ban:

A growing group of UC Berkeley students has been staging a months-long protest campaign demanding that the university bring a suspended Spanish and Portuguese professor back to campus. They’ve shared testimonies highlighting how influential Ivonne del Valle has been both as a mentor and as a leading scholar at a school with few Latinx faculty.

“Professor del Valle isn’t just any faculty member, she’s the top expert in colonial studies,” said Emily Chamale, a second year UC Berkeley student, at a protest last month. “The question that haunts me is: If someone as respected as her is going through such things at Berkeley, what might the future be for the rest of us?”

But records obtained by KQED paint a troubling picture of what led to del Valle’s suspension. Over three investigations, which looked into behavior that began in 2018 and continued through 2022, the university found del Valle had repeatedly harassed, stalked and retaliated against Joshua Clover, an English and Comparative Literature professor at UC Davis, and then violated orders not to contact him.