Cal Bears report: Fox out as head coach; It was matter of time after team went 3-29

Cal Bears head coach Mark Fox has some comments to make after a call during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Oregon State in Corvallis, Ore., Sat Mar 4, 2023 (AP News file photo)

By Morris Phillips and Michael Duca

Cal Bears head coach Mark Fox was the butt end of memes during Cal home games that showed the swirling Fire Fox logo during this season. The inevitable happened on Thursday afternoon when Cal Athletic Director Jim Knowlton announced that indeed Fox was fired from the flagging basketball team who went 3-29.

“This was a difficult decision and one that I do not take lightly,” Knowlton said. “After deliberately and holistically evaluating all aspects of our program, I felt a change was needed at this time.” Fox took over the reigns of head coach in 2019. Fox gave the Golden Bears some hope when he took the club to a 14-18 season, the Bears that season went 7-11 in non conference games.

It was the last three years that Fox just couldn’t recover Cal basketball with losing seasons that landed him and the Cal MBB program in last place in 2021 and 2023. Cal had a 10-50 overall record in those last three seasons. Previous to Fox coming to Cal head coach Wyking Jones coached the Bears for two seasons going 8-24 in 2017-18 and 8-23 in 2018-19.

Fox leaves Cal with a 38-87 overall record and going 17-61 in four regular seasons. When Fox first took over in 2019-20 he was able to win seven conference games. Fox was unable to win over five games in each of the following three seasons as Cal head coach. Also the Cal program had lost over 20 games in three consecutive seasons with Cal finishing in last place in two seasons under Fox.

Before coaching at Cal Fox coached at the Georgia Bulldogs for nine seasons and led Georgia to two NCAA Tournament appearances. Fox at Georgia finished above .500 in his last five years. As head coach in Reno for the Nevada Wolfpack Fox won three NCAA Tournaments and won at least 21 games in his five seasons in Nevada.

Ducks crush Bears in Eugene 84-51; Couisnard leads Oregon with 17 pts

The Cal Bears forward Monty Bowser (2) takes the ball down the floor against the Oregon Ducks at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene Or on Thu Mar 2, 2023 (CK Hicks Cal Bears photo)

By Michael Duca and Morris Phillips

The Oregon Ducks (17-13) ran all over the visiting Cal Bears (3-27) in Eugene on Thursday night 84-51 With the win the Ducks picked up their second straight win. The Cal defense all they could do is watch the Ducks run past them as the Ducks had five players finish in double figures.

The Ducks Jermain Couisnard led the with 17 points, the Ducks shot 55% from the field and out rebounded Cal 45-21. The Ducks scored 42 points in each of the first and second halves. Cal’s Sam Alajiki was the only Cal player to finish in double figures with 11 points. Alajiki was followed up by Grant Newell nine points, and Lar Thiemann with nine points.

The Bears Joel Brown had seven points and Thiemann returned after sitting out the last game against Washington State on Feb 25th at UC Berkeley. Thiemann finished tied for second in scoring and came off the bench to do it in less than 23 minutes.

One of the keys to the Ducks success Thursday night was they hit six 3 pointers and shot 59% in the opening 20 minutes of the ball game against the Bears giving the Ducks a 42-26 lead after the first half of the game. The closest the Bears got in this contest was within five points with 6:32 left in the first half. The Ducks then went on a 12-4 run and led by double figures and putting much put the game out of reach for Cal the rest of the way.

The Bears will try and close out the regular season with a win against the Oregon State Beavers (10-20) this game might be the Bears best chance to get back in the win column. The Beavers have been struggling losing their last game to Stanford 83-60 on Thursday night and having lost four in a row and nine of their last ten games. Tip off is 5:00pm in Corvallis this Saturday night.

Stanford Forcibly Puts California into Hibernation, Splitting the Battle of the Bay, 75-46; Fourth win in a row for Cardinal

Stanford head coach Jerod Haase seen here on Feb 19, 2022 coaching against he Colorado Buffaloes. Haase led the Cardinal to their fourth straight win in front of the bench on Sat Jan 28, 2023 at Maples Pavilion against the Cal Bears (AP News file photo)

By Michael Roberson

STANFORD, Calif. — The Stanford Cardinal (7-12, 3-7 Pac-12) avenged their blowout loss in Berkeley by violently de-clawing the California Golden Bears (3-18, 2-8 Pac-12) on the Farm, 75-46.

Both Bay Area teams battled the first 20 minutes; however, the homestanding Tree (Stanford) took charge in the latter part of the half with a 12-0 run and led by as much as 13 points.

California tried to scratch into the deficit, but still trailed by 11 at recess, 31-20.

Neither team presented a player with double-digit scoring, but Stanford’s sophomore forward Maxime Raynaud offered 9 points and 8 rebounds and Cal’s senior guard DeJuan Clayton gave his squad six points.

Midway through the second half, the Cardinal opened up a can of Whoop ***, widening their advantage to 26 points.  The onslaught got even worse after that for the Golden Bears, as their host continued the beatdown.

Stanford Branched the lead to a TREEmendous 37 points within the last three minutes of the game, but settled for a 29-point victory, 75-46.

The Cardinal put forth two players with double figure scoring.  The aforementioned Maxime Raynaud ended up with 15 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals, while sophomore forward Harrison Ingram tallied 14 points, but gifted the Maples’ faithful and others with a thunderous facial jam over Cal’s ND Okafor.

The Golden Bears only had one player exceed the ten-point plateau.  Sophomore forward Sam Alajiki actually possessed double-figure points (13) and rebounds (11).

Stanford travels to Salt Lake City Thursday, February 2 (Groundhog’s Day) to take on the Utah Utes, while California treks to the Centennial State to invade the Colorado Buffaloes on the same date.

Stanford Cardinal podcast with Daniel Dullum: It’s Big Game II as Cardinal seek revenge on Cal this Saturday

Stanford Cardinal forward Maxime Raynaud (42) throws down in a previous game. Raynaud was second in scoring with 17 points against the Chicago State Cougars on Wed Jan 25, 2023 at Maple Pavilion in Palo Alto in non conference action (photo from Stanford Cardinal)

On the Stanford Cardinal podcast with Daniel:

#1 Daniel quite a second half for the Stanford Cardinal (8-12) after trailing at the half 41-34 and to come back in the second half with some strong defense and scoring 38 points to come away with a 72-65 win at Maples Pavilion against the Chicago State Cougars (5-17).

#2 The Cardinal’s Spencer Jones led with 21 points and seven rebounds and it was his three pointers he had six of them that help Stanford get a break through in the second half.

#3 The Cardinal forward Maxime Raynaud finished second in scoring with 17 points and had a second career double double his offensive contribution proved huge in the Cardinal comeback over Chicago State.

#4 Harrison Ingram had a resurgence in the second half scoring 13 of 15 points as huge improvement from the first half where he scored only two points. Ingram is a big part of that offense for Stanford.

#5 Daniel, it’s off to the Big Game II as the Cal Bears (3-16) come calling this Saturday at Maple Pavilion against the Cardinal. The last time the two teams met was in Berkeley and Cal got the better of Stanford with a 92-70 on Jan 6th. It was the last time the Bears won a game as they come into Stanford with a four game losing streak. The Cardinal have a three game win streak going and the home court advantage how do you see this one on Saturday?

Join Daniel Dullum Fridays for the Stanford Cardinal podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears game wrap: Bears fail to get third straight win in second half melt down to Cougars 66-51 at Wazzu

Cal Bears head coach Mark Fox said that the team just didn’t hold it together in the second half and let the game get away against the Washington Cougars on Wed Jan 11, 2023 at Pullman WA (AP News photo)

By Michael Duca and Morris Phillips

The hot hand of the Washington State Cougars (8-10) DJ Rodman who was responsible for hitting four three pointers Wednesday night in Pullman. Rodman who finished up with 14 points to help defeat the Cal Bears (3-14). Mouhamed Gueye like Rodman scored 14 as both finished tied for the leading scoring category for the Cougars.

The Cougars Justin Powell finished third in scoring with 12 points and rounded out the WSU players who finished in double figures. The Bears made seven of their last field goal attempts in first half action. The Bears Grant Newell and DeJuan Clayton both help cut Washington State lead down to a point at the half 31-30.

The Cougars in the second half broke out with a 15-2 run with Kymany Houinsou making a lay up against the Bears 15 seconds into the second half. Rodman made the Cal defense melt like butter hitting three three pointers in two minutes and 12 seconds and you could see that was taking a toll on the Bears for any chance to get back in this game.

The shots were not falling for Cal going 2-12 to start the second half and the Bears never got within single digits to catching the Cougars for the rest of the way. Marcel Roberson was the only Bear to finish in double figures and wound up with a career high 11 points.

Cal’s shooting was way down finishing with 28.6% 8 for 28 and went 0-11 on three pointers. The Cougars simply took Cal out of their game when the opened the second half with a 12-0 run. After Roberson in scoring all single digit finalists Obinna Anyanwu, Kuany Kuany, and Grant Newell all with seven points, Clayton and Lars Thiemann finishing up with six points each.

The Bears go onto Seattle to face the Washington Huskies who are in a three game losing streak for a 3:00pm tip off on Sat Jan 14th at Alaskan Airlines Arena on the University of Washington campus.

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Morris Phillips: Cal hopes to end string of seven loses; Opens Pac 12 conference play against USC Wed night

Cal Bears center Lars Thiemann (21) battles to get to the basket against the Clemson Tigers center PJ Hall (24) at the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville Fl on Sat Nov 26, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the Cal Bears podcast with Morris:

#1 Morris, the Clemson Tigers (5-2) Chase Hunter and Hunter Tyson each had 14 points that contributed to the Cal Bears (0-7) loss in the Emerald Coast Classic on Saturday night in Niceville.

#2 Clemson had lost the previous night on Friday to Iowa 74-71 that snapped the Tigers three game win streak. The certainly looked like a very prepared basketball team on Saturday night defeating the Bears 67-59.

#3 On defense Cal just had a tough time shutting down Hunter who was 5-10 from the floor with seven assists, Tyson was 4-8 with five rebounds.

#4 The Tigers never were behind in the contest they finished ahead after the first half 31-28, they started the second half with a 15-2 run and were way ahead 46-30 with 14:15 left in the game. The writing was pretty much on the wall for Cal throughout this game.

#5 Cal goes back to the drawing board in hopes to snap their seven game losing streak against the USC Trojans who come in losing four of their last six games but have won two in a row. It’s the first conference game for Cal can they handle the Trojans with home advantage on Wednesday night?

Morris Phillips is a Cal Bears basketball beat writer and does Cal home and away games at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford Cardinal football podcast with Michael Roberson: Fumbles at game’s end costs Cardinal the Axe; Cal makes a comeback in 27-20 win in Berkeley

Cal Bears football play by play announcer Joe Starkey called his last Big Game against the Stanford Cardinal Sat Nov 19, 2022 at Cal Memorial Stadium in Berkeley. Starkey called the famous 1982 “The Band on is on the field” game and Cal came back in miracle win in the fourth quarter Saturday (photo from ESPN)

On the Stanford Cardinal podcast with Michael:

#1 The Stanford Cardinal led for a majority of this game on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley but just could hold onto it towards the end especially the football as the Bears Jackson Sirmon took advantage of a fumble and returned it for a 37 yard touchdown for a Cal 27-20 win at the Big Game.

#2 The Sirmon touchdown came after Stanford fumbled two balls away after leading through three quarters 17-6. Cal started chipping away at the Stanford defense with Jack Plummer throwing to Monroe Young for a one yard touchdown to close the gap 17-12 at 11:18 left in the game.

#3 Jackson Simon scored at the goal line for Cal on a fumble recovery with 9:54 left in the game and a Jadyn Ott threw for a two point conversion got Cal in front 20-17.

#4 Three plays in the next offensive series for the Bears Ott capitalized again carrying for a one yard score to put Cal on top for good with a ten point lead 27-17 with 0:58 left. Stanford Joshua Karty hit a 61 yard field goal for the Cardinal’s last score in a 27-20 final.

#5 The Cardinal host the BYU Cougars (6-5) and crushed the Utah Tech Trailblazers (4-7) 52-26. The Cardinal can’t fold against a team like the Cougars next Saturday and finishing on the road they will have to have defense to stop the high scoring Cougars.

Join Michael for the Stanford Cardinal podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears football podcast with Morris Phillips: Cal hopes to rebound from USC loss head to Washington State for Saturday kickoff

California’s Jeremiah Hunter makes a reception against Southern California defensive back Ceyair Wright at USC in second half action in Los Angeles on Sat Nov 5, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the Cal Bears football podcast:

#1 Lots of scoring by the Cal Bears (3-6) against the USC Trojans (8-1) as the Trojans gave up four touchdowns in the second half where Cal almost caught up with the Trojans at the end of the contest last Saturday.

#2 For the Bears they pulled off 28 points for 290 yards in second half action. Cal quarterback Jack Plummer going 35-49, for 406 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

#3 Morris, in spite of the rough second half USC quarterback Caleb Williams threw for 360 yards, had one keeper, threw to receiver Michael Jackson for two touchdowns out his four touchdown passes.

#4 Morris it was close down the stretch as the Bears Jaydn Ott carried for his second touchdown with 2:31 left in the game and a two point conversion made got the Bears within a touchdown but time just ran out in the 41-35 USC win.

#5 Cal gets ready this Saturday for a trip to Oregon State (6-3) the Cougars have won three of their last four games. They were on a three game win streak until they dropped last Saturday’s game to the Washington Huskies 24-21. Morris how do you see Cal and Oregon State matching up this Saturday.

Join Morris for Cal football podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Morris Phillips: Cal opens basketball program against Chico State in exhibition play

Cal’s Devin Askew (55) and Joel Brown (1) shake hands as the Cal Bears defeat the Chico State Wildcats in pre season play on Wed Nov 2, 2022 at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley (@CalBasketball photo)

On the Cal Bears podcast with Morris:

#1Morris, this is Cal’s only pre season game before they start the regular season against Chico State. What are some of the things that Cal head coach Mark Fox is looking for this upcoming season.

#2 Cal had three inactive players against Chico State #3 James Hyder, #10 Josh Ragsdale, and #32 Jalen Celestine.

#3 Cal’s 15 man roster has four scholarship transfers Devin Askew and DeJuan Clayton both freshman and Grant Newell and ND Okafor.

#4 For of Cal’s first six regular season games are home at Haas Pavillion are back to back games against UC Davis and Kansas State to open up next season.

#5 Cal basketball struggled last season can this team get ready for Pac 12 Conference play and be competitive?

Join Morris Phillips for the Cal Bears podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips: Bears prepare for Colorado; Cal in second road game in a row

Cal Bears head coach Justin Wilcox had worry on his mind all game long against the Washington State Cougars at Pullman on Sat Oct 1, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the Cal Bears podcast:

#1 Morris, like you questioned in your column on Saturday can the Cal Bears (3-2) win a game on the road?

#2 Cal is in last with a 3-2 record how concerned is head coach Justin Wilcox?

#3 To quote Wilcox after the game “We got nothing going in the run game,” coach Justin Wilcox admitted. “Pass protection wasn’t where it needed to be. 

#4 Cal quarterback Jack Plummer went 23-33 for 273 yards against the Washington State Cougars (4-1) but did not throw one touchdown and one interception. Coach Wilcox mentioned lack of pass protection was that more the case or Plummer just couldn’t get settled in to find targets?

#5 The Bears have a bye this Sat 7th and return to action on Sat Oct 15th to continue their road trip and face the Colorado Buffaloes (0-5) in Colorado. The Buffaloes were trampled on by the Arizona Wildcats last Saturday 43-20. Is Colorado Cal’s best chance to pick up their first win of the season?

Join Morris Phillips for Cal Bears podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com