BERKELEY -  With first-year head coach Wyking Jones at the helm, the Golden Bears displayed an exciting new brand of basketball in Monday night's 81-52 exhibition win against the University of Providence that showcased the team's implementation of the full-court press, a faster pace and a triple-double from senior Kingsley Okoroh.
Okoroh's 14 points, 10 boards and 10 blocks -- along with just one foul in 30 minutes of action -- led the way for the Golden Bears, while veterans Don Coleman (20 points) and Marcus Lee (17 points, 12 rebounds) added double-figure totals. Six newcomers saw time in the exhibition, with starting point guard Darius McNeill and reserve Grant Anticevich's eight points apiece pacing the freshman class. Jacob Orender, Austin McCullough, Jules Erving and Deschon Winston also saw action.
 "At first, I had a few jitters not knowing what was coming up, but once I got on the court with my guys, warming up before the game, everything started feeling comfortable," Lee said.
A faster and more aggressive style of play led to the Bears getting eight steals on the night. Last season, Cal tallied eight or more steals in only four contests.
"The main thing is we want to speed you up and make you make plays on the fly, keep you guessing, disrupt the point guard, ball handling, but we can't fall into that trap on the other side of the ball," Jones said. "I think we did a pretty good job of speeding them up and doing what we needed to do on the defensive end but we have to do a better job on the offensive end of getting the shot we want and not being in a hurry."
Armed with 2018 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year watch list honoree Okoroh and experienced big man Lee, Cal's front court held the Argonauts to only 14 points in the paint, while the Bears put up 48 in the paint. For the game, Cal shot 46.3 percent (31-67) overall and went 81.3 percent (13-16) at the charity stripe.
"We wanted to enjoy our first game, especially for the freshman, and it was satisfying. I think we could have beaten them by more, but you take the win every day," Okoroh said. "I think everyone looked good and we have a good outlook going forward."
Cal opens up its regular season on Friday, Nov. 10 vs. UC Riverside. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. in Berkeley.
