Support the Bears by going to BOTH games this week.

The SMU game on Sunday is Senior Day!

Let's acknowledge Claudia and Sakima for their contributions to this team.

Will be at both games, the Thursday Chalk Talk and the Sunday post game salute to Sakima and Claudia. I don't recall when there were last just two graduating players. And I hope that Cal handles SMU strongly from start to finish so that all the players, including Isis and Sofia, get some good court time. Of course, any win...

I disagree with that assessment of Naya playing at the 4. Pretty strongly, in fact.

I really think that even the minutes she played on the court with Sakima (or Clau) vs Va Tech and FSU and Miami were our least effective minutes. The spacing on floor is not nearly as productive, and the reduced outside threat is what put pressure on Sakima to operate in more confined space, and led to offensive fouls and exhaustion on defense that put her in foul trouble that directly put us in trouble especially against Va Tech and Miami.

On offense, Taylor and Gisella can play in that role because they can knock down the three, and so they can pull the inside defenders outside and give Sakima room to operate. And they can move quicker to stop the guard penetration that Naya struggles with and leads to Sakima as our last wall of defense.

I think it illuminates exactly how debilitating Taylor's injury was. Puff is starting to play at an incredibly high level, and Lulu has upped her game even further. But Taylor and Gisella are actually the cogs that make this team go because of their versatility, which Naya doesn't have.

Three of us from Chicago will be at both games.

Go Bears!

And I should say, I will be at both games with my whole family (four of us); and we will try to convince some others to come on the Lulu discount tickets package!

There seems to be confusion about whether Naya is a 4 or a 5. Neither applies. Her position is scorer/rebounder. She usually delivers. I don't think you can say the same about Claudia. So I would rather see Naya on the court. But Naya will probably be playing somewhere else next year since her opportunities have been limited here.

If body language means anything Naya will be back…I love her smile…

BearBloke and I will be there, of course, plus two neighbors and their little one (her first BB game).

I am guilty of flip flopping my opinion on the Naya issue a few times this season. But ultimately I think Ethan is generally right. Naya certainly has extraordinary inside skills. But ultimately against certain teams, (usually teams with bigger inside players which is more common with power conference teams), her lack of height for an insider player does limit her effectiveness.

Shocky1 said:

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ethan0l said:

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I actually appreciate and like Naya as a bear and a member of the team, and I believe she will get better. I just see no possible redistribution of minutes involving her, that others insist would somehow make our team better, that would have a meaningful impact on this team.

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well said ethan, it's this kinda blind support (such as also blaming michelle onyiah for her career ruination foul problems) for a career sub .300 conference record head coach is a major factor why the bears for the last decade have been outcoached in all but 1 season (last year) and there's been no meaningful fanbase/attendance growth or nil support from those who demand basketball excellence

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I see Naya and Michelle having a lot in common, except Michelle was long enough to play center.

Over the last 3 seasons Cal's conference record is .519 (27 - 25).

3Cats4CAL said:

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Until Taylor returns, maybe have the starters be Lulu, Gisela, Sakima, Naya and either Puff or Mracle., Lola and Claudia definitely need to be subs off the bench since neither can score much.

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I can't imagine Mjracle not starting.

Last game Naya played 5 minutes and had 4 fouls. She couldn't stop their center aw well.

For the season Sakima has around 40 plus blocks and Naya has 10. i know, Sakima plays more than Naya but only about twice as many minutes. And more than twice the blocks. Weak side defense is what Sakima supplies.

As far as guard play, when you have lost two of your starters and they play guard, you are going to get a lot of minutes with who is left.

When you come to the game , you notice things in the warmups you don't notice in the games. both Naya and Sakima have expanded their range. they now take three pointers. They don't make many but Sakima has now hit a few 12 to 15 footers. More than Naya.

I think we are 8 deep nd maybe 9 deep if you include Claudia. This includes Taylor when she gets healthy. Puff, Naya, and Lola off the bench.

RedlessWardrobe said:

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stu said:

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3Cats4CAL said:

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Until Taylor returns, maybe have the starters be Lulu, Gisela, Sakima, Naya and either Puff or Mracle., Lola and Claudia definitely need to be subs off the bench since neither can score much.

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I can't imagine Mjracle not starting.

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After nearly a season of watching Mjracle I find her game interesting. She appears to be an excellent defender, a solid ball handler and penetrator, but at the same time not a reliable finisher or shooter, and much of the time an adventure at the free throw line. Regardless of whether she starts or not, she's going to get a significant amount of minutes

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Mjracle is indeed a great defender. She's shooting .459 from the field in conference play, second on the team (for players with more than 2 FGA). She's shooting .349 on threes overall but only .273 in conference games. Either way she's shooting under .600 on free throws. Adventure is an apt description. I wonder if it's from fatigue as she plays so hard for so many minutes. Now that Puff is back the minutes might not be a problem.

stu said:

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RedlessWardrobe said:

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stu said:

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3Cats4CAL said:

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Until Taylor returns, maybe have the starters be Lulu, Gisela, Sakima, Naya and either Puff or Mracle., Lola and Claudia definitely need to be subs off the bench since neither can score much.

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I can't imagine Mjracle not starting.

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After nearly a season of watching Mjracle I find her game interesting. She appears to be an excellent defender, a solid ball handler and penetrator, but at the same time not a reliable finisher or shooter, and much of the time an adventure at the free throw line. Regardless of whether she starts or not, she's going to get a significant amount of minutes

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Mjracle is indeed a great defender. She's shooting .459 from the field in conference play, second on the team (for players with more than 2 FGA). She's shooting .349 on threes overall but only .273 in conference games. Either way she's shooting under .600 on free throws. Adventure is an apt description. I wonder if it's from fatigue as she plays so hard for so many minutes.

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Appreciate the stats Stu, but really on the offensive side Myracle's shooting stats are a bit misleading. For a point guard she does not pose a real outside shooting threat and even from closer in she lacks a good touch. A bit of her shooting percentage is boosted when she follows her own inside shots with put backsj

That being said what is really good is she always plays with desire and high energy. She plays with maximum effort and really that's all you can ask of any player.

During the postgame press conference after the Notre Dame win, Charmin looked at Mjracle and said that one of the primary reasons that she recruited her out of the portal was that she could defend Hannah Hidalgo.

In that ND game, Hannah had 22 points most of which came late when the outcome had already been decided. Mjracle had 18 points.

A few days later, Hannah scored 37 points against Stanford!

Mjracle did her job. I don't think she's a pure point guard, but she certainly has given us some valuable minutes at that position particularly when Puff was out.

Initial injury report vs Clemson

Barnes - OUT

Clemson's top 2 leading scorers listed as questionable. Will check back 2hrs before game.