This feature originally appeared in the 2023-24 Winter edition of the Cal Sports Quarterly. The Cal Athletics flagship magazine features long-form sports journalism at its finest and provides in-depth coverage of the scholar-athlete experience in Berkeley. Printed copies are mailed four times a year to Bear Backers who give annually at the Bear Club level (currently $600 or more). For more information on how you can receive a printed version of the Cal Sports Quarterly at home, send an email to CalAthleticsFund@berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-2427.
 
 
Jalen Cone loves being the first person in the building.
 
As early as 5 or 6 a.m., hours before the California men's basketball team's usual early-afternoon practice slot, the fifth-year graduate guard can be found honing his craft on Pete Newell Court inside Haas Pavilion.
 
"There's something about being in there working when everyone else is catching that last little bit of sleep," Cone said. "The only ones who beat me to the building are the hard-working custodians who are here all night keeping the place clean. I love beating everyone here, getting my work in and seeing others come into the gym and I'm already drenched in sweat."
 
The hours of extra work Cone pours into his game have translated into being a near-40% career 3-point shooter with more than 1,800 points under his belt through four-plus collegiate seasons at Virginia Tech, Northern Arizona and Cal. A two-time All-Big Sky Conference selection at NAU and the ACC's 3-point percentage leader as a freshman at Virginia Tech in 2019-20, Cone arrived in Berkeley last summer with the reputation of an elite shooter who can make a shot from any spot on the court. While his competitiveness, natural leadership and NBA dreams fuel the work ethic he's established, there's much more that motivates Cone to be great – namely his 5-year-old daughter, Ivy Faithe, and his family support system.
 
"Being a father gives you an extra spark in everyday life, knowing you have someone else to live for, someone else to provide for, someone else to make it for," Cone said. "I work so hard because I want to provide her with the best life possible. I want to give my family everything."
 
Raised in Walkertown, North Carolina, just outside of Winston-Salem, Cone established himself as a coveted recruit after leading the state in scoring with 35.5 points per game as a junior at Walkertown High School in 2017-18. He spent his first two collegiate seasons at Virginia Tech, developing an ability to play off the ball in a rotational role, followed by a transfer to NAU, where he proved he was still the scoring threat he was recruited to be, averaging 18.2 points per game throughout his junior and senior seasons before graduating with a degree in communications.
 
Pursuing his basketball dreams afar from western North Carolina – where Ivy lives with his parents – has proven challenging for Cone. But he carries no regrets about the decisions that have led him from Walkertown to Blacksburg, Flagstaff and Berkeley.
 
"I knew coming to Cal was going to be another sacrifice, but at the end of the day I'll be rewarded," Cone said. "I'm obsessed with the work, and I'm living every day like a pro by trying to be in the gym as much as I can and focusing on my nutrition, my sleep. It's comforting knowing I have phenomenal parents who are holding down the fort and helping raise my baby girl back home. All props go to them and the rest of my family and friends who have and will continue to support me all the way."
 
The seeds of Cone's decision to play for Cal were planted last season when he twice faced Utah Valley – led by Cal's first-year head coach Mark Madsen – while at NAU. One month after he was held to eight points on 2-of-11 shooting in a loss to Madsen's Wolverines in Orem, Cone stuffed the box score with 29 points on 11 made field goals against UVU at a home game in Flagstaff.
 
"Jalen gave us problems," Madsen recollected. "Both games against Northern Arizona could have gone either way."
 
Madsen and current Cal assistant coach Ken Moses attempted to bring Cone to Utah Valley once he entered his name into the transfer portal following the conclusion of NAU's 2022-23 season, but Cone was set on returning to the high-major level. Days later, once Madsen was named the 19th head coach of Cal's men's basketball program, Cone was back on the phone with Madsen, eventually leading to his signing with the Golden Bears. He was one of four Cal transfers that made up the nation's ninth-ranked transfer signing class, according to On3.
 
Cone showed in bursts what he's capable of on the court through the early stages of this season, tying a career high with seven made 3-pointers in a blowout victory over CSU Bakersfield on Nov. 13 and knocking down a game-tying shot from deep with six seconds left in an eventual buzzer-beater loss to UTEP a week later. But it's been Cone's personality and leadership – he's one of three team captains – that have shone brightest during his time as a Golden Bear.
 
"When Jalen steps onto the court, he commands so much gravity because of his abilities," Madsen said. "As a point guard, he leads, he distributes. He can make a shot from anywhere on the court. He's not the largest in stature, but you can't measure the size of someone's heart."
 
Cone is unabashedly himself. He carries the natural ability to seamlessly transition from light-hearted moments like a secret handshake and a laugh with fellow graduate transfer Keonte Kennedy to crucial conversations such as offering advice to freshman Rodney Brown Jr. about how to dissect a defensive scheme. He can strike a grin while posing at a photoshoot wearing his cowboy hat, snakeskin boots and basketball jersey tucked into a pair of blue jeans before commanding the attention of each of his teammates in the huddle at practice hours later.
 
"The cameras might turn on or we can be in front of 20,000 people; I'm going to be the same person I am when no one's watching," Cone said. "The guys admire that, and I've brought it out of some of them, too. I'm just trying to make people smile."
 
Cone's positivity and the respect he's gained from his peers make him an ideal extension of Madsen on the court and in the locker room, as the first-year head coach has breathed a liveliness and belief into a basketball program that has faced its share of struggles the past six seasons.
 
"Jalen sets the tone for our team. He's the driving energy at the core of it all," senior guard Devin Askew said. "He leads with his energy and we follow."