Cal vs. CSU East Bay

Tuesday, Oct. 30 | 7 PM PT | Haas Pavilion | Berkeley, Calif.
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Ahead of Cal's official season opener in Shanghai, China, fans will get their first look at the 2018-19 men's basketball squad Tuesday night when the Golden Bears host CSU East Bay in an exhibition at Haas Pavilion. The game tips off at 7 p.m. from Pete Newell Court. The game will not air live on any broadcast channel, but fans can follow the in-arena videoboard feed online.

For the second year in a row, the Bears enter the season with a youth-packed roster, with just two scholarship upperclassmen. Unlike last season, California's youth is battle-tested, with three returning starters in sophomores Justice Sueing, Darius McNeill and Juhwan Harris-Dyson. Sueing led the Bears in scoring (15.8 ppg) and ranked second in rebounding (5.7 rpg) in Pac-12 play. McNeill started each of the team's last 30 games in 2017-18, playing primarily as the team's point guard. With a true point guard in Paris Austin taking over at the 1, McNeill will move over to his more natural 2-guard spot this season. As a freshman, McNeill set the Cal freshman three-point record, tallying 67 three-pointers to best current Brooklyn Net Allen Crabbe's 2011 record of 62. Harris-Dyson is set for a breakout season and was the only Cal freshman to record a double-double last year.

Among the newcomers, Austin makes his long-awaited Cal debut after sitting out 2017-18 following his transfer from Boise State. Wyking Jones hauled in a freshman class with four scholarship student-athletes this offseason: 7-3 Connor Vanover, who won gold at the 2015 FIBA Americas U16 Championship with Team USA; Jacobi Gordon, who was a teammate of McNeill's with the Houston Hoops AAU squad; Matt Bradley, a consensus four-star recruit and Ball is Life All-American; and Andre Kelly, a three-star recruit out of nearby Stockton, Calif.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION: Tickets for the game can be purchased in advance via CalBears.com or by calling (800) 462-3277.  Fans will be able to follow the game by watching the arena's videoboard footage live on pac-12.com/live/university-california. Live stats, full broadcast details and more can be accessed via the Cal men's basketball schedule page. Fans can follow the Bears on social media via @CalMBball on Twitter and Instagram, and at Facebook.com/CalMBball.
 

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BY THE NUMBERS

51.8 - Cal's three returning starters -- Juhwan-Harris Dyson, Darius McNeill and Justice Sueing -- accounted for 51.8 percent of Cal's scoring in conference play. The trio combined for 580 points in conference.

18,000 - The Bears' nonconference schedule includes more than 18,000 miles of travel, with the bulk of it coming in a 20-day span between roundtrip travel to China (Nov. 2-10) and Brooklyn, N.Y. (Nov. 16-21).

220 - In 2018, Cal finished with 220 steals -- its highest total in more than a decade -- to average 6.9 steals per game, up from 4.6 in 2017. The returning trio of Justice Sueing, Juhwan Harris-Dyson and Darius McNeill accounted for 55 percent of that total.

12.3 - Oakland native Paris Austin makes his long-awaited debut this season. The Boise State transfer sat out in 2017-18, joining Cal after his sophomore season. In his last year with the Broncos, he averaged 12.3 points.

7 - Cal's latest roster features seven new faces: freshmen scholarship signees Andre Kelly, Matt Bradley, Jacobi Gordon and Connor Vanover, freshmen walk-ons Blake Welle and James Zhao, and junior David Serge, a two-year team manager who walked on to the Bears this offseason.
 

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS

• Juwan Anderson is CSU East Bay's leading returning scorer. He averaged 8.7 points in 28 appearances last season. He started all 28 of those appearances, and racked up 133 assists.
• Patrick Marr is the leading returning rebounder. He averaged 3.8 rebounds last year, while also contributing 4.8 ppg in 25 appearances.
• The Pioneers went 10-18 last season, and 6-16 in conference.
• Head coach Bryan Rooney enters his second season at the helm for the Pioneers.
 

CAL AT THE PAC-12 CHINA GAME

• Cal will officially open the season at the annual Pac-12 China game against Yale on Nov. 10 in Shanghai. Along with the cultural and competitive highlights, the trip involves:
     - 28 hours, 21 min spent on a plane
    - 14,291 miles flown
    - 4 arenas to practice in (Concordia International School, Huanglong Stadium, Hangzhou International School and Baoshan Sports Centre)
    - 2 major cities: Hangzhou and Shanghai
    - and of course 5 scheduled study hall sessions
 

WELL-TRAVELED

• The Bears' nonconference schedule includes more than 18,000 miles of travel. • The bulk of Cal's nonconference travel comes in a 20-day span between roundtrip travel to China (Nov. 2-10) and Brooklyn, N.Y. (Nov. 16-21). Other stops away from Haas Pavilion include Fresno, Calif. and a trip through the Caldecott Tunnel to face Saint Mary's.
• No other team in the nation will travel more during their nonconference slate than Cal.
CAL IN THE PAC-12 PRESEASON POLL
• For the second year in a row, the Golden Bears were projected to finish 11th in the Pac-12, according to a preseason vote by media who regularly cover the conference. 
• Oregon is the favorite to win the conference.
• Last season, Cal finished 12th in the league with a 2-16 Pac-12 record.
 

OFFSEASON NEWS

• Chris Walker, who joined Cal as an assistant in April 2017, was elevated to Associate Head Coach in June 2018.
• Wyking Jones brought on Marty Wilson and David Grace as assistants in April. 
    - Wilson previously served as the head coach at his alma mater Pepperdine and also worked at San Diego (1996-98), UC Santa Barbara (1998-2004) and Utah (2004-08). 
    - A 10-year Pac-12 veteran, Grace completed five seasons at UCLA before arriving in Berkeley. He spent five seasons at Oregon State prior to that, along with stints at the University of San Francisco and Sacramento State. He also served with the United States Air Force for two decades.
• Jacob Orender and Cal graduate Nick Hamilton were named to the NABC Honors Court for outstanding academic performances. To be eligible for selection, a student must be a junior or senior varsity player, carry a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher at the conclusion of the academic year.
 

NEXT UP

Cal officially tips off the season from Shanghai, China, in the annual Pac-12 China game. The Golden Bears face the Yale Bulldogs in Baoshan Arena on Nov. 10 at noon in Shanghai, which is 8 p.m. PT on Nov. 9. The game airs live on ESPNU.