University of California Athletics

 
California Golden Bears Probable Starters & Top Reserves
POS NO  NAME            HT    WT YR  PTS  REB NOTES
 F  40  Sean Marks      6-11 255 Sr  9.2  8.8 4 double-doubles this year, including 11 pts/12 reb vs. UCLA
 C  54  Kenyon Jones    6-10 270 Jr  6.9  3.7 14 points, 5 boards vs. UNH 12/28
 G  15  Thomas Kilgore  6-2  185 Jr  13.2 3.0 apg Cal career-high 21 points & 8 assists at Washington State
 G  25  Geno Carlisle   6-3  200 Jr  17.6 3.0 20-for-46 on three-pointers in Pac-10 games (43.5%)
 G  30  Robbie Jones    6-3  195 Jr  1.2  1.3 Walk-on started at Washington & WSU
 G  10  Raymond King    5-10 155 So  6.5  3.5 apg 6-6 FT in final minute at WSU; second on team w/19 steals
 F  21  Sean Lampley    6-7  210 Fr  6.3  3.1 11 points & career-high 8 rebounds at WSU
 G  24  Sean Jackson    6-5  200 So  3.8  1.7 Tied career high w/11 points at UNC; started first 7 games 
 F  33  Michael Gill    6-6  210 Jr  12.9 3.6 Scored at least 14 points 8 times; missed WSU game w/injury
 C  41  Francisco Elson 7-0  235 Jr  5.9  5.1 MVP of Golden Bear Classic; 10 pts. at WSU (4-7 FG, 2-2 FT)

Head Coach: Ben Braun (Wisconsin 75) 30-17 at Cal (2nd year) & 363-252 overall (21st year)

Cal Coach Ben Braun
Ben Braun (Wisconsin 75), who was named the 14th head coach in Cal history on Sept. 15, 1996, is in his second year in Berkeley and 21st season as collegiate head coach. He agreed to a new eight-year contract with Cal in October that extends through the 2004-05 season. His record at Cal is 30-17, while his career mark, which includes 11 years at Eastern Michigan and eight seasons at Siena Heights College, is 363-252. The 1997 Pac-10 Coach of the Year and a finalist for 97 National Coach of the Year honors, Braun led the Bears to the NCAA Sweet 16 last season. At EMU from 1985-96, the three-time MAC Coach of the Year guided the Eagles to three NCAA Tournaments and one NIT appearance with an overall record of 185-132. A native of Chicago, Braun played one year of basketball at Wisconsin-LaCrosse before transferring to Wisconsin-Madison, where he earned a teaching degree in English with a minor in African-American studies in 1975. He received his master's degree in guidance and counseling from Siena Heights.

Arizona State Scouting Report

A Look at Arizona State (13-7, 3-4)
Arizona State, tied with Cal for fifth place in the Pac-10, is coming off a 67-51 win over Oregon Saturday. In that game, senior Jeremy Veal became the eighth player in Pac-10 history to pass 1,700 points in a career. He now has 1,717 points overall and is averaging a Pac-10-high 20.0 ppg this season.

California vs. Arizona State Series History
Arizona State owns a 25-18 series lead over Cal in a series that dates back to the 1955-56 season. The teams have split their two meeting each of the last two years, although the Bears have won eight of the last nine in the Bay Area. Cal beat ASU, 84-66, on March 6, 1997 in the final game in Harmon Gym.

Arizona State Head Coach Don Newman
Don Newman was named interim coach at Arizona State on Sept. 22, 1997 following the resignation of Bill Frieder. A former assistant coach at Washington State (1988-92), Newman was 20-114 in five seasons at Cal State Sacramento, guiding the Hornets from Division II to Division I status.

Arizona Scouting Report

A Look at Arizona (17-3, 7-0, at Stanford Jan. 29)
Arizona enters this week's play ranked sixth in the latest Associated Press poll. The defending NCAA champion Wildcats have won 10 consecutive games. They are averaging a Pac-10-best 95.9 ppg, scoring at least 110 points in four different games. Arizona has three of the Top 10 scorers in the conference: 5. Miles Simon at 18.3 ppg; 6. Michael Dickerson at 18.1 ppg; and 8. Mike Bibby at 17.1 ppg.

California vs. Arizona Series History
Arizona holds a 30-22 series advantage over Cal. The Bears and Wildcats each at home last year, as Cal took a 79-77 decision in the regular-season finale at the Cow Palace, while Arizona won, 81-80, in Tucson. The schools have split their series the last five seasons.

Arizona Head Coach Lute Olson
Lute Olson is in his 15th year at Arizona having compiled a 360-111 record. He has taken the Wildcats to 13 NCAA Tournaments, four Final Fours and the 97 NCAA title. Prior to moving to Tucson, Olson was 24-2 in one season at Long Beach State and 168-90 in nine years at Iowa.

California Notes

Cal Offense on Track after Slow Start
When Cal began the Pac-10 season in early January, the Bears were averaging a league-low 61.5 ppg. However, Cal has become one of the higher scoring teams in the conference since then, pumping in an average of 78.9 ppg. The Bears tallied 92 points in a victory over USC Jan. 17 the team's highest point total in a Pac-10 game under head coach Ben Braun. Cal has also gone over 80 points three other times, including games at Washington (84) and Washington State (86) last weekend. The WSU performance was even more significant because the Bears played without an injured Michael Gill, who is averaging 12.9 ppg on the season. In addition to their scoring output, Cal has also increased its efficiency by shooting 48.7 percent from the floor and 38.0 percent from three-point range in Pac-10 action. As a result, the Bears have upped their overall scoring average to 69.6 ppg to climb out of the conference cellar in that category.

                              Pre-Pac-10 Stats      Pac-10 Stats
Field Goal %                        39.2%               48.7%
Three-point Field Goal %            22.4%               38.0%
Free Throw %                        59.0%               73.9%
Points per Game                     61.5 ppg            78.9 ppg

Assists Key to Cal Victories
Throughout the season, head coach Ben Braun has been extolling the benefits of ball movement, an area that has been lacking at times in Cal's offense. And a look at the Bears statistics further proves Braun's point. In games that Cal has had 12 or more assists, the Bears are 5-1 and averaging 76.5 ppg. But when Cal has 11 or fewer assists, the Bears are just 2-7, averaging 65.9 ppg. In Pac-10 play, the difference is even more dramatic as Cal had 20 assists in its win at Oregon State and 25 more in a victory over USC. But in losses to Oregon (7 assists), Stanford (9), UCLA (10) and Washington (9), the Bears have only reached double digits in the assist column once.

Cal Exerts Itself on Boards at Washington State
After being outrebounded in each of its first six Pac-10 games, Cal found itself trailing, 23-17, in the rebounding column at halftime of its game at Washington State last Saturday. But the Bears suddenly turned around their performance on the glass, outboarding the Cougars by a 27-12 count in the second half. Sean Marks led the way with nine rebounds after intermission to finish with a game-high 12. Sean Lampley, who spent most of the final 20 minutes guarding WSU's high-scoring forward Carlos Daniel, had eight rebounds for the game, including six in the final 20 minutes. In addition, Lampley helped limit Daniel, who had 11 points at the break, to just 1-for-6 shooting in the second half.

Carlisle Hopes to Improve Home Performance
Junior guard Geno Carlisle has reached double figures in all but one of the 10 games he has played since becoming eligible back on Dec. 22 against BYU. And after Saturday's contest at Washington State, he is averaging a team-high 17.6 ppg, a rate that rises to 19.7 ppg in Pac-10 games. However, the 6-3 transfer from Northwestern has found the rims a bit colder at the New Arena in Oakland than he does in visiting gyms. In his five home games, Carlisle is shooting just 16-for-57 (28.1%) from the floor and 6-for-30 (20.0%) from three-point range while averaging 11.8 ppg. But in five road contests, Carlisle is averaging 23.4 ppg on 53.5 percent field goal shooting (38-71) and 50.0 percent three-point shooting (18-36). He had 28 points in games at Oregon and Oregon State, making 10 of his 14 attempts against the Beavers. Carlisle then scored 25 points at No. 7 Stanford, with 22 of them coming in the second half. At Washington, he scored 20 points, including the game-tying three-pointer with 9 seconds left to send the game into overtime.

Carlisle         At Home         Carlisle On The Road
FG-FGA (%)      16-57 (28.1%)    38-71 (53.5%)
3P-3PA (%)       6-30 (20.0%)    18-36 (50.0%)
Points (Avg.)   59 (11.8 ppg)   117 (23.4 ppg)
AST (Avg.)      12 (2.4 apg)     14 (2.8 apg)
STL (Avg.)       5 (1.0 spg)      8 (1.6 spg)

Kilgore Leads Cal to Win at Washington State
Junior guard Thomas Kilgore scored a Cal career-high 21 points and added a career-best eight assists to lead the Golden Bears to an 86-75 victory at Washington State last Saturday. Cal held a narrow 31-29 edge at the break, but upped its lead to 52-37 on the strength of a 19-5 run after intermission. The Bears made their last nine free throws in the final 1:24 to seal the game, with Raymond King going a perfect 6-for-6 from the stripe. With the Bears playing without an injured Mike Gill, who sat out the game with a recurrence of his abdominal injury, the bench provided 31 points while shooting 9-for-12 from the floor and 13-for-15 from the free throw line. In addition to Kilgore, Geno Carlisle added 16 points, while Sean Lampley had 11, King 10 and Francisco Elson 10. Sean Marks also pulled down 12 rebounds.

Gill Hopes for Quick Return to Lineup
Junior forward Michael Gill has battled an abdominal injury (osteitis pubis) throughout the season. Early in the year, the injury forced him to give up his starting role at Houston and miss the BYU game entirely. But he had been able to play through the pain since then. However, Gill re-aggravated the injury with 7:28 left in the second half at Washington Jan. 22 when he took a charge on UW's Donald Watts. He sat out the rest of that game and missed all of the Washington State contest. He hopes to be able to return for the Arizona State game Thursday, but his status won't be determined until later in the week. While he has been in the lineup, Gill has been one of Cal's most versatile and consistent players. Due to a shortage of players in November, Gill started the first two games at point guard before moving to his more natural forward position. He has scored at least 14 points eight times with a career-best 18 points coming against St. Mary's. In the Washington contest, Gill had 17 points (6-9 FG, 1-1 3P, 4-4 FT) before he went to the sidelines. For the season, he is averaging 12.9 ppg, but in Pac-10 play, he is averaging 13.0 ppg on 53.4 percent shooting from the floor and 60.0 percent shooting from beyond the arc (6-10).

Kilgore Makes His Own Impact in Cal Lineup
Geno Carlisle may be getting most of the media attention for his 19.7-point average in Pac-10 play, but junior guard Thomas Kilgore has also made a significant impact on the Bears. Since becoming eligible Dec. 22 after playing two years at Central Michigan, Kilgore has averaged 13.2 ppg to rank second on the team. He had a game-high 18 points and five steals against Virginia Commonwealth to earn all-tournament honors in the Golden Bear Classic. In the Bears victory at Oregon State, Kilgore scored 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor. During a 19-0 run that broke the game open in the first half, Kilgore scored nine consecutive points on a three-pointer and three layups. He then totaled 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting at Stanford and added 19 more, along with seven assists, versus USC. But his best game may have come at Washington State when he scored 21 points and dished out eight assists. In addition, Kilgore leads the Bears with 23 steals on the year.

Captain Kiwi Takes Control of Boards
Team captain Sean Marks, Cal's 6-11 forward, has emerged as one of the top rebounders in the Pac-10 with an average of 8.8 rpg. Through the season's first 15 games, Marks, a New Zealand native who goes by the nickname "Kiwi," has led Cal on the glass 11 times, including six of the last seven games. He had his fourth double-double of the season against UCLA Jan. 15 when he finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end. Marks grabbed a career-best 13 boards against Virginia Commonwealth in the final of Golden Bears Classic, earning all-tournament honors for his efforts. His other double-doubles came against St. Mary's (12-12), Houston (15-10) and BYU (14-11). Marks' only previous career double-double was a 15-point, 11-rebound performance in the 1996-97 season-opener against Iowa.

Defensive Effort Earns Elson MVP Honors
Junior center Francisco Elson, who transferred to Cal from Kilgore College in Texas and has only been playing organized basketball since he was 18, has demonstrated his strong defensive capabilities recently. In Golden Bear Classic in late December, Elson had eight points and seven rebounds in the win over New Hampshire, then exploded for 17 boards against Virginia Commonwealth to earn tournament MVP honors. The rebound total was the most for a Bear since Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 18 boards at Washington State on Jan. 25, 1996. For the season, Elson is averaging 5.1 rpg to go with a 5.9 ppg average. The athletic Elson, who owns a brown belt in karate, scored a career-high 10 points (4-5 FG, 2-2 FT) against USC Jan. 17 then tied that mark with 10 more at Washington State. In addition, he leads Cal and ranks among the Pac-10 leaders with 15 blocks on the year.

Robbie Jones Walks Into Starting Role
Junior guard Robbie Jones joined the Cal team this year as a walk-on, and he has made the most of his opportunity with the Bears. Jones has played in 11 games so far, earning three starts on the season BYU, Washington and Washington State. Against the Cougars last Saturday, he had five of Cal's first seven points and finished the game with five points, four rebounds and two steals in 21 minutes. A defensive specialist, the 6-3 Jones was assigned to guard WSU's 6-7 forward Chris Crosby, and he helped hold Crosby to just 3-for-13 shooting from the floor. In his first start versus BYU, Jones brought the crowd to its feet with a breakaway slam dunk early in the contest. Jones also came off the bench against USC Jan. 17 for a career-best six points, two rebounds and two assists in 13 minutes. Cal has a total of eight walk-ons on the team and four of them Justin Labagh, Cassidy Raher, J.T. Stephens and James Davis were members of the squad last year.

Haas Pavilion Construction Underway
With on-campus Harmon Gym being renovated and expanded into Haas Pavilion, Cal will play all of its home games in the interim at the New Arena in Oakland. The Bears played their final game in Harmon, which opened in 1933, on March 6, 1997 and defeated Arizona State, 84-66, to close the building with an 18-game win streak in the 6,578-seat facility. Needed design changes have pushed the projected finish date to sometime in early 1999, meaning Cal will probably not play its first game there until the start of the 99-00 season. The building will have approximately 12,100 seats and feature expanded locker, weight training and athletic training rooms, as well as additional office space for coaches and administrators. The $40 million project is named for Walter and Evelyn Haas Jr., who donated a lead gift of $10 million.

Bear Notes
Despite playing in an off-campus arena, Cal is third in the Pac-10 in home attendance, averaging 9,138 fans per game ... four Bears were named to the Golden Bear Classic all-tournament team: Francisco Elson (MVP), Sean Marks, Kenyon Jones, Thomas Kilgore ... Cal has a +2.9 turnover ratio in Pac-10 games with the Bears committing a season-low 10 turnovers against UCLA ... Michael Gill shot a perfect 2-for-2 from three-point range against both UCLA and USC, then made his only three-point attempt at Washington, raising his three-point rate to 60.0 percent (6-10) in Pac-10 play ... Geno Carlisle scored his 1,000th career point at Washington State Jan. 24; he now has 1,012 points, with 836 of them coming when he played at Northwestern.

25 Assists Best for Cal in 98
Cal had a season-high 25 assists vs. USC Jan. 17, with three players dishing out at least five. Thomas Kilgore led the way with seven, while Sean Lampley and Raymond King each had five each. Lampley, a 6-7 freshman forward, has been adept at finding open teammates all year as he ranks third on the squad with 23 assists on the season. The 25 assists against the Trojans were the most for the Bears since they had 31 in a 97-60 victory over Texas Southern on Nov. 30, 1996. The last time they had that many in a Pac-10 game came Jan. 6, 1996 against Arizona State (27 assists).

Pac-10 Teleconferences
The Pacific-10 Conference will hold weekly teleconferences throughout the 1998 conference season, featuring all coaches plus selected players. Cal head coach Ben Braun will be on the line from 11:03 to 11:10 a.m. PT each time. To participate, media should call the Pac-10 office (510-932-4411) for the number to dial and a complete schedule. Fans can listen in by calling TRZ Teamline at 800-846-4700, ext. 1071 or on the Internet at www.audionet.com/schools/tele_conf/ pac10. Below is a list of the remaining teleconference dates:

Tues., Jan. 20
Tues., Jan. 27
Tues., Feb. 3
Tues., Feb. 10
Tues., Feb. 17
Tues., Feb. 24
Tues., March 

Where Are They Now?
Of the seven players who are gone from last years Cal team, five are playing professionally and two others are in Berkeley. Guard Ed Gray (Atlanta) and center Michael Stewart (Sacramento) are both in the NBA, while forward Alfred Grigsby (Japan) and guard Randy Duck (Macedonia) are playing overseas. In addition, forward Tony Gonzalez is a tight end for the NFLs Kansas City Chiefs. Guard Anwar McQueen returned to the Bay Area after playing in Portugal, and guard Prentice McGruder is finishing his degree requirements at Cal.

Bear Notes
Geno Carlisle had 5 three-pointers at Oregon (5-10) and Oregon State (5-8), becoming the first Cal player to have at least 5 treys in back-to-back games ... the Bears shot better than 76% from the free throw line in their two games in Washington Jan. 22-24, making 76.2% at UW (16-21) and 76.5% at WSU (26-34).

Geno Carlisle 6-3, Junior, Guard
Carlisle scored 28 points against both Oregon and Oregon State Jan. 3-5 to take over the team lead in scoring ... shot 8-13 FG, 5-10 3P, 7-8 FT against the Ducks, then was 10-14 FG, 5-8 3P, 3-6 FT versus the Beavers ... also paced Cal with 5 assists and 3 steals in the OSU game ... added 25 points (9-18 FG, 3-7 3P, 4-4 FT) at Stanford ... scored 20 points at Washington, including a three-pointer with 9 seconds left to send the game into overtime ... after transferring to Cal from Northwestern in January 1997, made his Cal debut Dec. 22 against BYU and scored a team-high 16 points ... had to wait until the end of fall final exams to become eligible to play ... reached double figures 8 times in 9 games ... was an All-Big Ten performer for Northwestern after averaging 19.7 ppg as a soph in 95-96 ... from the same hometown as Cal teammate Thomas Kilgore (Grand Rapids, MI), but attended a different high school.

Francisco Elson 7-0, Junior, Center
Elson started each of Cal's first 4 games, the first 2 contests at power forward and the USF and Houston games at center ... is the first 7-footer at Cal since John Wardell in 1965 and 66 ... played two seasons at Kilgore College in Texas before transferring to Cal ... named MVP of the Golden Bear Classic after grabbing 17 rebounds against Virginia Commonwealth Dec. 29 ... scored at least 6 points in his first six games, with a high of 8 points vs. Portland State and New Hampshire ... set a career high with 10 points vs. USC and had 10 more at Washington State ... had 6 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks in 36 minutes at North Carolina ... leads the team lead with 15 blocks ... did not begin playing organized basketball until he was 18.

Michael Gill 6-6, Junior, Forward
Called Cal's Most Valuable Player by head coach Ben Braun, Gill has been a key contributor in his first season with the Bears ... has reached double figures in scoring in all but three games, with a high of 18 points vs. St. Mary's and USC ... started at point guard in Cal's first two games before moving back to his more natural forward position ... sat out the BYU game Dec. 22 to rest an abdominal injury (osteitis pubis), then returned to start against New Hampshire Dec. 28 ... also missed the WSU contest Jan. 24 with the same injury ... had 13 points in the opener at North Carolina ... did not start at Houston because of his injury, but came off the bench for 14 points and 5 rebounds against the Cougars ... also had 14 points and 8 boards vs. Portland State and 14 points in 16 minutes vs. VCU ... added 14 points vs. UCLA and 17 more at Washington ... had 5 steals against St. Mary's ... played his freshman season at Pittsburgh before transferring to Compton College in southern California last year where he averaged 21.3 ppg and 9.3 rpg.

Sean Jackson 6-5, Sophomore, Guard
After receiving limited playing time as a freshman (22 games, 6.9 minutes per game), Jackson opened the year as one of Cal's starting guards ... tied a career high with 11 points in the opener at North Carolina (4-7 FG, 2-5 3P, 1-3 FT) ... tied for third on the team with 7 three-pointers ... also has 13 steals ... played at least 33 minutes in each of the first three games this year ... played 29 minutes at Houston, sitting out much of the second half after suffering a broken nose ... had 7 points and 3 steals against Portland State and six points on a pair of three-pointers vs. BYU ... has played in only one of the last 6 games.

Kenyon Jones 6-10, Junior, Center
Jones started Cal's first two games vs. North Carolina and St. Mary's before coming off the bench at USF and Houston ... returned to the starting lineup against Portland State and finished the night with 12 points and 8 boards ... named to the all-tournament team at the Golden Bear Classic after scoring a season-high 14 points (6-7 FG, 2-3 FT) in the first round against New Hampshire ... third on the team with 10 blocks, including 3 vs. St. Mary's ... had 9 points and a team-high 6 boards at UNC.

Robbie Jones 6-3, Junior, Guard
A walk-on, Jones has played in 11 games, including starts against BYU, Washington and Washington State ... scored 2 points on a breakaway dunk and also contributed 3 rebounds in 12 minutes against BYU ... had six points, two rebounds and two assists vs. USC and 5 points and 4 boards at WSU ... was a member of the Cal hoop team in 95-96, but redshirted ... averaged 15.1 ppg at Canada JC last year.

Thomas Kilgore 6-2, Junior, Guard
Kilgore made his Cal debut along with Geno Carlisle against BYU Dec. 22 after transferring last January ... came off the bench to score 7 points (3-6 FG, 1-2 FT) in 26 minutes against the Cougars ... started both games of the Golden Bear Classic and earned all-tournament honors after scoring 18 points against VCU ... had 5 steals in that game and 5 more vs. UCLA ... had 19 points (7-9 FG, 1-2 3P, 4-6 FT) at Stanford ... also added 19 points vs. USC and 21 points and a career-high 8 assists at Washington State ... played 2 years at Central Michigan ... was a member of the 1995 MAC All-Freshman team when he averaged 18.9 ppg and was the top freshman scorer in the country.

Raymond King 5-10, Sophomore, Guard
King, a transfer from San Diego State, has started six games at point guard for the Bears ... missed the first 4 weeks of preseason training camp with a disk injury in his back ... returned to play 27 minutes at North Carolina and 31 minutes vs. St. Mary's ... started and played all 40 minutes at USF ... leads Cal with 53 assists ... had a career-high 5 steals at Houston ... scored a career-high 21 points (7-13 FG, 7-10 FT) with 6 rebounds against Portland State ... shot 6-6 FT in final minute at WSU ... tied for team honors with 7 boards vs. New Hampshire ... goes by the nickname "Circus."

Sean Lampley 6-7, Freshman, Forward
Lampley, the only scholarship freshman on the team, has emerged as a key figure off the bench ... increased his point production in each of his first 3 games with 4 points vs. North Carolina, 8 vs. St. Mary's and a team-best 15 vs. USF ... made 7-of-8 FG (1-1 3P) against the Dons ... gained his first start of the year at Houston, scoring 9 points and grabbing 5 rebounds ... scored 15 points (5-10 FG, 5-6 FT) and added 5 assists vs. USC ... had 11 points and 8 rebounds at WSU ... third on the team with 23 assists.

Sean Marks 6-11, Senior, Forward
Marks is the only senior on the Cal team and serves as team captain this year ... started the first two games at small forward before moving over to the power forward spot ... had the first of his four double-doubles this season vs. St. Mary's with 12 points and 12 rebounds ... also had 15 points and 10 boards at Houston Dec. 9 ... leads the Bears with an average of 8.8 rpg ... had 12 points (all in the second half) and a team-high 9 rebounds vs. Portland State ... had others double-doubles vs. BYU (14-11) vs. UCLA (11-12) ... grabbed a career-high 13 boards vs. VCU on his way to earning all-tournament honors in the Golden Bear Classic ... has led Cal in rebounding 11 times ... is a mobile player who has made 10 three-pointers in his career (22 attempts).