Nov. 20, 2008

Recap |  Box Score

California head coach Mike Montgomery

On the aspect of the game he was happiest with:

I thought we got a pretty good effort off the bench. When Nikola [Knezevic] and Jorge [Gutierrez] went in there and picked up the defensive intensity, I think guys picked up their effort. We subbed early, the energy level went up and we kind of went from there. It's always fun to have everyone get an opportunity to play.

On his impressions of where the team is after one exhibition and two regular-season games:
There's so much to be done, but you see signs of things that you like. This is the third game in five nights so we haven't really practiced. There was some slippage in execution, but again, we do shoot the ball. If you don't guard some of our guys, they're going to shoot it in.

On the upcoming challenges fort the Bears:
We've got a pretty good A&T team coming on Monday that's legit and then we head off on the road. There are things that are happening and things that we're getting better at, but it is Nov. 20 and it is early. If you watch television at all and watch games, they look awful - teams aren't executing and the ball's flying all over the place. That's the nature of early-season games.

Texas-Pan American head coach Tom Schuberth

On his impressions of the Bears:

I think Cal could be a special team. This is their fourth game where they've shot over 60 percent, so it's not like it's a fluke. They're just great shooters and they're unselfish and they've got a lot of weapons. They turned up the heat and give them credit. I knew they were a great offensive team - they've done this the last three games that I've watched on tape - but when you can't stop people, you lose your confidence.

On whether any particular player impressed him on the Bears:
Who I was impressed with was Randle, who's in averaging almost 25 a game, comes in and you could tell his mission tonight was to get the other guys involved, and he was fabulous. I don't know if they could have shot the ball any better if there was no defense out there.

On how Cal compares to UNLV, whom the Broncs recently played and whom the Bears face Nov. 28:
If I had to base it on the two games, Cal's the better team, not to take anything away from Vegas. It'll be a great game. Coach Montgomery and coach Kruger are both Hall of Fame coaches.