Mark Madsen has saved Cal’s program after years of losing. Let’s take a peak at the Golden Bears’ new roster for a California Basketball Preview. Along with Stanford and SMU, Cal will be playing their inaugural season in the ruthless ACC. Madsen has revamped his roster after losing several players to the transfer portal. With Jaylon Tyson and Fardaws Aimaq now in the big leagues, the Bears will need some new scoring options as we approach the 2024-25 season.
California Basketball Preview: Golden Bears Break Into ACC
While last year’s 13-19 record doesn’t seem impressive from a distance, it should be noted it was Madsen’s first year at the helm. The team fared well at home, going 10-6. Additionally, Cal picked up big wins against Colorado, Washington State, and Oregon, who all played in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. With 10 new transfers and a handful of freshmen, these new look Golden Bears should help Madsen achieve a winning record.
Pair of Big 10 Transfers
Mady Sissoko and Joshua Ola-Joseph each played in the Big 10 before coming to Berkeley. Sissoko was coached by Tom Izzo for four seasons at Michigan State. Interestingly, the Mali native’s role decreased in his senior year after starting nearly every game in 2022-23. The former Spartan finished his Big 10 career 14th all-time in defensive rebound percentage and 21st all-time in total rebound percentage, averaging 24.65% and 17.7% respectively. Ola-Joseph joins Madsen’s squad after playing at Minnesota. While with the Golden Gophers, Ola-Joseph was named to the 2023-24 Big Ten All-Academic team. A highly efficient forward, he managed to shoot 60% on field goals last season.
Staying on the West Coast
Andrej Stojakovic and Spencer Mahoney will both be transferring in from former PAC-12 schools. Stojakovic played one season at Stanford and is considered one of the bigger names among ACC transfers. The former Cardinal added 15 pounds to his wiry frame this offseason, which should help him when defending larger players. Despite being known as a long-distance threat, Stojakovic only shot 32% from deep his freshman year, a number he’ll look to improve upon. Mahoney redshirted his freshman year at Washington State, and with head coach Kyle Smith’s departure, he decided to enter the transfer portal. The Brooklyn native was a three-star prospect coming out of high school and had offers from DePaul and Harvard before choosing WSU.
Desert Dwellers Headed to Cali
Rytis Petraitis and Christian Tucker are making their way to the Golden State. Petraitis spent his freshman and sophomore years playing at Air Force in Colorado. In the 2023-24 season, he led the Falcons in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. The Texan has also played with the Lithuanian national team in friendly international competitions. Tucker entered the portal after three seasons at UTSA. The Arizona native started all 32 games for the Roadrunners last year and led the team in assists with 5.4. On top of that, Tucker led the AAC in free throw percentage in 2023-24 averaging 87.5%.
Remainder of Cal Transfers
DJ Campbell, BJ Omot, Lee Dort and Jovan Blacksher round out the 2024 Stanford transfer class. Campbell comes from Western Carolina, where he spent two seasons with the Catamounts. The fiesty guard was eighth in the Southern Conference in true shooting percentage, averaging 59.5% last year. Omot played his first two years at North Dakota and made the 2023-24 All-Summit 1st Team. Dort, a former four-star recruit, comes from Vanderbilt, where he competed in the tough SEC. Blacksher is in his sixth collegiate season after spending his first five at Grand Canyon. In his final year as an Antelope, Blacksher helped the team to a 30-5 record and an NCAA Tournament bid.
Freshmen with big shoes to fill
Jeremiah Wilkinson, Hugh Vandeweghe, Kevin Armstrong Jr., Jaden Goodall, and Stephon Marbury Jr. will all join Madsen’s crew for their freshman season. Wilkinson is the highest rated prospect and the only freshman on a scholarship. Ranked 229th nationally and 19th in the state of Georgia, Wilkinson shined in his senior season at The Skill Factory averaging more than 30 points a game. Vandeweghe’s uncle, Kiki Vandweghe, was a two-time NBA All-Star, and Marbury’s father, Stephon Marbury, was a two-time NBA All-Star. “Mad Dog” Madsen may have found two diamonds in the rough, with both Marbury Jr. and Vandeweghe coming from families with basketball roots. Armstrong Jr. attended high school at Breck School in Minneapolis where he led the his team to a 2024 Minnesota State Championship. A native of California coming from downstate Anaheim, Goodall has joined the team as a walk-on.
California Basketball 2024-25 Schedule Preview
The Bears will begin their season at the Haas of Pain hosting CSU Bakersfield and Cal Poly. Madsen and company will hit the road to take on Vanderbilt in Nashville, and then head back to the West Coast to face USC in a consecutive road game at the Galen Center. Following that, the team will partake in the Cal Classic, where they’ll play against Mercyhurst, Air Force and Sacramento State in a “round robin” format. All three games will be at home in Haas Pavilion. For the SEC/ACC Challenge, the Golden Bears have been pitted against Missouri, which will be a tough matchup. Afterward, California will get two relatively easy home games in Berkeley versus Cornell and Northwestern State. They’ll close out their non-conference schedule at the San Diego Tip-Off, taking on San Diego State. As newcomers to the ACC, there may be some rough beginnings during their conference schedule.
