University of California Athletics

Sean Lampley leads the Bears on a final push to impress the selection committee.

Men's hoops looks for big weekend to make impression.

March 1, 1999

California Golden Bears (16-10, 7-9) at Oregon State Beavers (12-13, 6-10)

Thursday, March 4, 1999, 7 p.m., Gill Coliseum, Corvallis, OR
TV: Fox Sports Bay Area

California at Oregon Ducks (15-10, 7-9, vs. Stanford March 4)

Saturday, March 6, 1999, 3 p.m., McArthur Court, Eugene, OR
TV: Fox Sports Net (locally on BayTV)

A Quick Look at the Golden Bears
California makes its final push for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid when the Golden Bears travel to Oregon State and Oregon this weekend. The Bears completed their home slate with four of their best games of the year - sweeping USC, UCLA, Arizona and Arizona State. Now, Cal has to prove it can win on the road, where the team is just 1-6 in Pac-10 play and 3-7 for the season. At 16-10 overall and 7-9 in the league, the Bears are tied for fifth place with Oregon and are one-game ahead of Oregon State. By virtue of its victories over the Arizona schools last week, Cal moved up 12 spots in the RPI ratings to 51st. With its 89-76 win over then-No. 7 Arizona last Thursday, the 1998-99 Cal team became the first in school history to defeat three Top 10 teams in the same regular season. Earlier, the Bears knocked off then-No. 9 North Carolina, 78-71, and then-No. 9 UCLA, 85-67. Cal's 1959-60 NCAA runner-up squad also beat three Top 10 schools, but one of those wins came in the NCAA Tournament.

Since the start of Pac-10 play, the most consistent offensive player for Cal has been senior guard Thomas Kilgore, who is averaging 21.0 ppg his last four games. At Washington State Feb. 18, he tallied a Cal career-high 34 points (he had 35 at Iona in 1994 as a freshman at Central Michigan), while he added 24 points, including 12 in a row late in the contest, versus Arizona State Feb. 27. In league action, Kilgore is shooting 50.9 percent from the floor and has reached double figures in every game. Senior guard Geno Carlisle still lead the Bears overall at 15.6 ppg and has paced Cal in scoring 13 times. He has reached 20 points on seven occasions, including a high of 29 points against North Carolina, and the Bears are 6-1 in those contests. Carlisle had a Pac-10 high 21 points against Arizona and added 18 more versus Arizona State. Up front, sophomore Sean Lampley continues to show why he is one of the top young forwards in the country. He had his eighth double-double of the year against Arizona (20 points, 11 rebounds) and his 8.7 rpg average is the best for a Cal player since Brian Hendrick averaged 10.7 rpg in 1991-92. Lampley has paced Cal on the boards 19 times in the last 25 games.

Probable Starters & Key Reserves

   
POS NO  NAME            HT   YR  PPG   RPG      NOTES
F   21  Sean Lampley    6-7  So  11.7  8.7      8 double-doubles this year; 20 points, 11 boards vs. Arizona
F   33  Mike Gill       6-6  Sr   9.7  4.2      Tied career high with 18 points vs. UCLA; 13 points vs. Arizona
C   41  Francisco Elson 7-0  Sr   5.9  5.0      First career double-double (13-11) vs. Washington 1/21; 52.8% FG
G   15  Thomas Kilgore  6-2  Sr  14.9  3.2      Double figures last 17 games; 34 points at WSU; 24 points vs. ASU
G   25  Geno Carlisle   6-3  Sr  15.6  4.0 ast  Led Cal in scoring 13 times; 21 points (3-5 3P) vs. Arizona 
G    5  Dennis Gates    6-3  Fr   2.7  0.9      Third on team with 23 steals; 13 three-pointers
G   10  Raymond King    5-10 Jr   2.9  1.7 ast  Season-high 10 points (3-4 FG, 2-2 3P, 2-4 FT) vs. USC 
F   23  Carl Boyd       6-5  Jr   6.6  4.4      14 points, career-high 15 rebounds vs. UCLA
C   40  Shahar Gordon   6-10 Fr   1.2  1.4      Started vs. Stanford, USC, UCLA
C   45  Solomon Hughes  6-11 Fr   3.7  2.5      Tied career high with 10 points at Washington (5-6 FG)

Cal on the Radio
All California games will be broadcast on KABL Radio (960 AM) in San Francisco and KATD Radio (990 AM) in Concord with Roxy Bernstein calling the action. Each broadcast begins 20 minutes prior to tip-off with the Cal Basketball Pregame Show. After the game, head coach Ben Braun will recap the action on the Cal Basketball Postgame Show.

Cal Radio on Telephone
All Cal basketball radio broadcasts during the 1998-99 season are available nationwide via telephone through TRZ Telephone Broadcast Services. Fans may access the Cal games from anywhere in the country by dialing 800-846-4700, extension 5918. The cost is 50 cents for the first minute, with decreasing rates for each addition minute.

The Oakland Arena
While Haas Pavilion is under construction on campus, Cal will play all of its home games at the Oakland Arena. Recently renovated and expanded to 19,200 seats, the facility also serves as host to the NBA's Golden State Warriors. Cal played its first game in Oakland in 1974 and has an all-time mark of 39-21 there. The building, which was originally built in 1966, served as host of the men's NCAA West Regionals in 1990 and '95 and the women's regionals in 1998.

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 third year in Berkeley and 22nd season as collegiate head coach. He agreed to a new eight-year contract with Cal in October 1997 that extends through the 2004-05 season. His record at Cal stands at 51-34, while his career mark, which includes 11 years at Eastern Michigan and eight seasons at Siena Heights College, is 384-269. 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 in 1997. 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.

Oregon State Scouting Report

A Look at Oregon State (12-13, 6-10)
Oregon State has been a dominant team at home, going 11-1 including victories over UCLA (65-63) and Arizona (60-59). The Beavers rank last in the Pac-10 in scoring office with 65.1 ppg, but they are second in scoring defense at 65.2 ppg allowed.

Cal-Oregon State Series History
Cal has won six of the last seven games against Oregon State to take a 57-53 series lead. Back in January, the Bears edged OSU, 54-52, on Mike Gill's put back in the closing seconds. Cal has won three straight in Corvallis, including 84-70, in 1998.

Oregon State Head Coach Eddie Payne
Eddie Payne is in his fourth season at Oregon State, compiling a 38-61 record. Before going to OSU, he was 56-58 in four years at East Carolina and 103-51 in five seasons at Belmont Abbey.

Probable Starters

Pos No  Name              Ht    Wt    Yr   Ppg    Rpg
F   11  Clifton Jones     6-8   215   Jr    5.1   6.4
C   50  Jason Heide       6-10  260   So   11.1   5.3
G    4  Deaundra Tanner   6-2   205   So   15.5   5.2
G   25  Josh Steinthal    6-4   195   So   11.6   2.5
G   31  Ramunas Petraitis 6-3   208   Jr    6.8   3.9

A Look at Oregon (15-10, 7-9, vs. Stanford 3/4)
Oregon, which enters this week tied with Cal for fifth place in the Pac-10 standings, hosts Stanford before facing the Bears in the season finale. The Ducks have been involved in seven Pac-10 games decided by three points or less, going 2-5 in those contests. Overall, they have won five of their last six games.

Cal-Oregon Series History
Cal owns a 58-44 series lead over Oregon. The Ducks won the Pac-10 opener earlier this year, 71-69, in overtime and took last season's contest in Eugene, 66-59. Cal last won on McArthur Court in 1997, 73-62, behind Ed Gray's 30 points.

Oregon Head Coach Ernie Kent
Ernie Kent is in his second season at his alma mater, guiding the Ducks to a 13-14 record last year. Kent was 90-80 in six seasons at St. Mary's prior to moving to Eugene where he led the Gaels to the 1997 WCC title.

Probable Starters

Pos No  Name          Ht   Wt   Yr  Ppg   Rpg
F   33  Alex Scales   6-4  195  Jr  14.3  5.7
F   00  A.D. Smith    6-8  233  Jr  12.6  7.8
C   50  Mike Carson   7-0  256  Sr   7.3  5.5
G    4  Darius Wright 6-0  175  Jr   8.2  4.9 ast
G   14  Terik Brown   6-1  180  Sr  11.9  3.1

Golden Bear Breakdown

By Class
Senior (4) - Geno Carlisle, Francisco Elson, Mike Gill, Thomas Kilgore
Junior (3) - Carl Boyd, Robbie Jones, Raymond King
Sophomore (1) - Sean Lampley

Freshman (3) - Dennis Gates, Shahar Gordon, Solomon Hughes

By Height
7-0 - Francisco Elson
6-11 - Solomon Hughes
6-10 - Shahar Gordon
6-7 - Sean Lampley
6-6 - Mike Gill
6-5 - Carl Boyd
6-3 - Geno Carlisle, Dennis Gates, Robbie Jones
6-2 - Thomas Kilgore

5-10 - Raymond King

Games*            Career  Starts
Francisco Elson   52      35
Sean Lampley      52      29
Raymond King      51      14
Geno Carlisle     48      42
Thomas Kilgore    45      35
Mike Gill         45      33
Robbie Jones      33      10
Carl Boyd         26      21
Dennis Gates      22       2
Solomon Hughes    22       2
Shahar Gordon     22       3

Points*           Career  Avg.
Geno Carlisle     800     16.7
Thomas Kilgore    629     14.0
Sean Lampley      518     10.0
Mike Gill         449     10.0
Francisco Elson   285      5.5
Raymond King      245      4.8
Carl Boyd         171      6.6
Solomon Hughes     81      3.7
Robbie Jones       67      2.0
Dennis Gates       59      2.7
Shahar Gordon      26      1.2

Rebounds*          Career  Avg.
Sean Lampley       358     6.9
Francisco Elson    250     4.8
Mike Gill          173     3.8
Geno Carlisle      127     2.6
Thomas Kilgore     124     2.8
Carl Boyd          114     4.4
Raymond King       106     2.1
Solomon Hughes      56     2.5
Robbie Jones        52     1.6
Shahar Gordon       31     1.4
Dennis Gates        19     0.9

Assists*           Career  Avg.
Geno Carlisle      153     3.2
Raymond King       129     2.5
Thomas Kilgore     106     2.4
Sean Lampley        84     1.6
Mike Gill           41     0.9
Carl Boyd           33     1.3
Francisco Elson     23     0.4
Shahar Gordon       16     0.7
Robbie Jones        16     0.5
Dennis Gates        12     0.5
Solomon Hughes       1     0.0

*Cal statistics only

Bears Come Back from 14 Down to Beat ASU, 78-73
Cal trailed Arizona State for most of the first half and was down by as many as 14 points at 32-18 before rallying for the victory. The Sun Devils broke at 54-all tie to go ahead, 64-56, with 5:06 left. But Cal guard Thomas Kilgore scored 12 straight points for the Bears, the last bucket tying the score at 66-66. When Sean Lampley followed with two free throws, Cal went on top for good. Kilgore finished with 24 points, while Lampley had 16 points, and Geno Carlisle added 18 points and four assists. The Bears completed their regular-season home slate with a 13-3 record.

Cal Beats 3 Top 10 Teams for First Time Since 1960
For the first time since Cal finished as the national runner-up in 1959-60, the Bears have defeated three Top 10 opponents in the same season. Cal began its run with a 78-71 victory over then-No. 9 North Carolina Dec. 29. The Bears then upended then-No. 9 UCLA, 85-67, Feb. 13 and completed their stretch with their Feb. 25 89-76 triumph over No. 7 Arizona. During the 1959-60 season, then-No. 4 Cal beat then-No. 10 Illinois, 62-48, on Dec. 28, 1959 at the Los Angeles Invitational. Two days later in Los Angeles, the Bears moved up to No. 3 in the Associated Press poll and defeated then-No. 2 West Virginia, 65-45. Cal's final victory over a Top 10 that year came in the NCAA semifinals at the Cow Palace in San Francisco when then-No. 2 Cal beat then-No. 1 Cincinnati, 77-69. However, the Bears lost in the championship game to then-No. 3 Ohio State, 75-55.

Carlisle Comes Through in Clutch for Cal
Just like the entire Cal squad, senior Geno Carlisle has certainly had his ups and downs this season. But when it comes to performing well in big games or with the game on the line, it is clear that Carlisle is the Bears go-to performer. In last week's win over Arizona, Carlisle scored 10 of Cal's final 12 points of the first half as the Bears went from a 40-40 tie to a 52-40 lead at the break. He finished the contest with 21 points (8-16 FG, 3-5 3P, 2-2 FT), his highest total in a Pac-10 game this year. Two days later against Arizona State, Carlisle added six points in the final 31 seconds, making all four of his free throw attempts. Earlier in the season, Carlisle had 10 of his season-best 29 points in the final 4:51 to help Cal seal a win over North Carolina. He also scored 8 of his 26 points in the last 4:33 against Rhode Island and he had 8 of his 27 points in the final 3:30 at BYU.

Cal-UCLA Game Breaks Pac-10 Attendance Record
Cal broke the Pac-10 single-game attendance record when 15,676 fans showed up to watch the Bears upset ninth-ranked UCLA Feb. 13 at the Oakland Arena. The old mark for a regular-season Pac-10 game was 15,517 set in 1992 when UCLA played USC at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. Cal drew more than 15,000 three times this season, including 19,657 for the Pete Newell Challenge doubleheader Dec. 29 (Cal vs. North Carolina, Stanford vs. Temple) and 15,269 for the Cal-Stanford match-up Feb. 3. For the season, Cal ranks second in the Pac-10 in home attendance with an average of 10,889 per game, a school-record average (old mark: 10,395 in 1993-94). In the 16 home games, the Bears drew a total of 174,218 fans, breaking the Cal record of 166,317 (also 16 home dates) set during the 1993-94 campaign.

Defense Key to Cal Success
In jumping out to a 9-1 record the first six weeks of the season - the fastest start for the Bears since the 1980-81 team also began 9-1 - Cal relied on a pressure defense that limited opponents to just 37.0 percent field goal shooting and to 64.5 ppg. But over the first half of the Pac-10 season, when the Bears were only 3-6, opponents made 48.2 percent of their shots and scored 72.9 ppg. Cal seemed to have rediscovered its defense in its next three contests. First, the Bears held Stanford to 57 points and to 38.0 percent shooting (including 4-for-19, 21.1% in the second half). Then in its win over USC Feb. 11, the Trojans were only 20-for-59 from the field (33.9%) and totaled 55 points. In the second half, USC was held to 27.6 percent shooting (8-for-29). The story was the same in Cal's victory over UCLA Feb. 13 as the Bruins managed to shoot 36.4 percent and were held to 67 points, 11 points below their average entering the game. Even in the Bears 89-76 win over Arizona last week, Cal limited the Wildcats to 38.9 percent shooting in the second half, including 2-for-10 from three-point range.

Pac-10 Standings

                 Pac-10  Overall
Stanford         14-2    24-5
Arizona          11-5    20-6
UCLA             11-5    21-7
Washington        9-8    16-11
California        7-9    16-10
Oregon            7-9    15-10
Arizona State     6-10   14-14
Oregon State      6-10   12-13
USC               6-10   14-11
Washington State  4-13   10-18

March 6 - California at Oregon; Stanford at Oregon State; UCLA at Arizona; USC at Arizona State; Washington State at Washington

Kilgore Has Biggest Game for Cal Since 1997
There must be something about Pullman's Friel Court that brings out big individual scoring games for Cal. But in three of the four recent cases, the result has been a Cal loss. In the 1994 season finale, Lamond Murray soared to a career-high 38 points and Jason Kidd tied a personal best with 27 points, but WSU won, 94-82, to prevent the Bears from gaining a share of the Pac-10 title. In January 1996, Cal upended the Cougars 87-79 behind 32 points and a career-best 18 rebounds by freshman Shareef Abdur-Rahim. In February 1997, Ed Gray set a school record with 48 points before breaking his foot in the closing minutes as the Bears lost, 89-87. And just Feb. 18, Thomas Kilgore had 34 - his highest total as a Golden Bear (Kilgore scored 35 against Iona as a freshman at Central Michigan in 1994) - in a 79-73 WSU victory. Kilgore, Cal's only player in double figures on the night, shot 11-for-18 from the floor, 2-for-3 from three-point range and 10-for-14 from the free throw line. He also grabbed seven boards.

Cal's Highest Scoring Games Since 1982

Pts  Player (Opponent)                            Result
48   Ed Gray at Washington State, 2/22/97         WSU, 89-87
38   Lamond Murray at Washington State, 3/21/94   WSU, 94-82
36   Lamond Murray at UCLA, 2/24/94               Cal, 92-88
36   Lamond Murray vs. Washington State, 1/6/94   Cal, 70-54
34   Thomas Kilgore at Washington State, 2/18/99  WSU, 79-73

Kilgore's biggest game came at Washington State Feb. 18 when he finished with 34 points and seven rebounds. He also had 24 points (8-11 FG, 3-3 3P, 5-6 FT), including 12 straight down the stretch, in Cal's win over Arizona State last week.

Kilgore's first 6 games (pre-Dec. 22)   Kilgore's last 18 games
FG%   32.7 (16-49)                      FG%   52.1 (101-194)
3FG%  35.3 (6-17)                       3FG%  43.8 (14-32)
FT%   80.0 (20-25)                      FT%   81.6 (84-103)
PPG    9.7 (58 points)                  PPG   16.7 (300 points) 

When King Plays Well, Everybody Loves Raymond
Junior point guard Raymond King has seen his playing time increase dramatically in recent games, and he has taken full advantage of his opportunity. Seldom used early in the year, King has made two starts in recent weeks - in both contests against Washington. Prior to the first Washington game Jan. 21, King sat out two games entirely and played less than 10 minutes in eight others. But since then, King has played at least 10 minutes in nine of his last 10 games, including a high of 27 minutes at Washington Feb. 20. He had one of his best games of the season at Arizona with nine points (3-5 FG, 1-2 3P, 2-2 FT), four assists (no turnovers) and two steals in 22 minutes. King also had a season-high 10 points (3-4 FG, 2-2 3P, 2-4 FT) with four rebounds, three assists and two steals in 21 minutes versus USC. In Pac-10 action, King is shooting 51.3 percent from the floor (20-39) and 36.4 percent from three-point range (4-11) with 30 assists, only 12 turnovers and 14 steals.

Pac-10 Statistics (as of 2/28/98)

Cal Individual Leaders

Scoring -
7. Geno Carlisle     15.6 ppg
9. Thomas Kilgore    14.9 ppg

Rebounding -
3. Sean Lampley       8.7 rpg

Steals -
5. Thomas Kilgore     1.96 spg

Blocks -
T4. Francisco Elson   1.28 bpg
8. Solomon Hughes     0.86 bpg

Field Goal Percentage
9. Sean Lampley       50.0%

Assists -
9. Geno Carlisle       3.96 apg

Free Throw Percentage -
6. Thomas Kilgore     81.3%

Scoring Offense      9th   73.2 ppg
Scoring Defense      3rd   69.0 ppg
Scoring Margin       6th   +4.2
Field Goal Pct.      9th   43.2%
3-Pt. FG Pct.       10th   32.0%
Free Throw Pct.      8th   66.2%
Rebound Margin       9th   -3.1
FG Pct. Defense      6th   42.3%
3-Pt. FG Pct. Def.  T3rd   32.0%
Blocked Shots        2nd    3.69 bpg
Assists              8th   12.96 apg
Steals               3rd    8.65 spg
Turnover Margin      1st   +5.04

Record when leading at half      10-4
Record when trailing at half      6-5
Record when tied at half          0-1
Biggest deficit overcome to win    14
Arizona State                    (32-18)
FT shooting last 2 minutes & OT   63-91 (69.2%)
   Boyd 2-2, Carlisle 20-28, Elson 1-2, 
   Forehan-Kelly 3-4, Gill 6-14,
   Gordon 2-2, Jones 2-2, Kilgore 17-20,
   Kim 1-2, King 2-4, Lampley 7-11
   

Cal Turning Up the Turnovers
With 500 turnovers forced in its 26 games, Cal is coaxing opponents into an average of 19.23 turnovers per game, more per game than in any other season since statistics started being kept during the 1978-79 season. The school record for average turnovers forced came during Jason Kidd's freshman year in 1992-93 when the Bears forced 18.40 turnovers per game. Cal has had a positive turnover margin in all but four games (15-14 at DePaul, 21-20 at UCLA, 12-12 at Arizona State, 15-10 vs. USC) and has posted a double-digit margin four times: +17 vs. North Carolina, +12 vs. Eastern Kentucky, +11 vs. Eastern Washington and +11 vs. Oregon State. Below is a look at the Top 5 seasons in terms of turnovers forced per game.

Turnovers

Year     Games  Forced  Avg.
1998-99  26     500     19.23
1992-93  30     552     18.40   
1997-98  27     495     18.33   
1979-80  27     489     18.11   
1996-97  32     579     18.09   

Freshman Guard Donte Smith Gains Eligibility
Donte Smith, a 6-2 point guard who was the 1998 Washington, D.C., Player of the Year, has been granted his eligibility by the NCAA. Smith will be enrolled at Cal for the spring semester. However, head coach Ben Braun said Smith will redshirt this season, meaning he will have four full years to play beginning next season. Smith was an honors student at Anacostia HS where he averaged 28.3 ppg and 6.2 apg and was rated the No. 52 recruit in the country by Bob Gibbons' All-Star Sports as a senior. He fell just short of qualifying on his standardized tests, and Cal made an appeal on his behalf.

Bears Have Two 1,000-point Scorers
Although a good percentage of their points have come at other schools, seniors Geno Carlisle and Thomas Kilgore have both amassed more than 1,000 points in their collegiate careers. Carlisle passed the 1,500-point barrier with a nine-point outing against Washington Jan. 21. He enters Thursday's game Oregon State with 1,636 points, with 800 coming at Cal and 836 during his freshman and sophomore seasons at Northwestern. Kilgore, Cal's leading scorer in Pac-10 play with 16.4 ppg, now has 1,205 points. He topped 1,000 points at UCLA Jan. 14. Kilgore scored 576 points in two years at Central Michigan and has 629 points at Cal.

Haas Pavilion to Open for '99-00 Season
Cal will open the 1999-2000 season in a new on-campus arena - the Walter A. Haas Jr. Pavilion. The facility, which is being built on the site of the former Harmon Gym, will have a capacity of 12,300 - up from 6,578 in Harmon - and is named in honor of Walter and Evelyn Haas, who donated a lead gift of $10 million. Construction on the $57 million project got underway in the summer of 1997. The Bears played in Harmon Gym for 64 seasons (1933-97) and compiled a 588-300 record there. The final game at the facility came on March 6, 1997 when Cal defeated Arizona State, 84-66.

Golden Bear Notes
Cal's 85-67 win over No. 9 UCLA Feb. 13 was the Bears biggest at home over the Bruins since Cal won, 62-44, on Feb.14, 1948 including its overtime loss to Oregon Jan. 2, Cal owns an all-time record of 20-34 in single OT games Cal was ranked 25th in the Jan.4 Associated Press poll at the Golden Bear Classic, Cal's Sean Lampley was named MVP, while Carl Boyd, Geno Carlisle and Mike Gill joined him on the all-tournament team Geno Carlisle, who averaged 22.0 ppg in wins over Houston and Rhode Island, was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week for Dec. 7 the 19,657 fans who watched Cal beat North Carolina in the Pete Newell Challenge established a California state record for highest attendance at a college basketball game Cal will play in the Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska, next November. Updated Player Profiles

Carl Boyd
Boyd has started 21 games for the Bears, including the first 14 Pac-10 games had a good all-around debut at Hawaii with 8 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assist had 16 points and four assists vs. EKU, then came back with 13 points and 7 rebounds against SW Louisiana named to the all-tournament team at the Golden Bear Classic totaled a career-high 17 points (8-12 FG, 1-2 FT) with 6 rebounds at USC had 14 points at Arizona State best game may have been vs. UCLA at home with 14 points and a career-best 15 rebounds.

Geno Carlisle
Carlisle has led Cal in scoring 13 times, including a high of 29 against North Carolina 12/29 also had 27 points at BYU, 26 points at Hawaii and vs. Rhode Island and 25 points at DePaul played mostly at point guard early in the year and has returned to that spot recently although he scored just 8 points vs. SW Louisiana, he had 7 assists in the game paces Cal with 103 assists (4.0 per game) selected as a mid-season candidate for the John Wooden Award voted to the Golden Bear Classic all-tournament team named Pac-10 Player of the Week Dec. 7 after leading Cal to wins over Houston and Rhode Island leads Cal with 33 three-pointers came off the bench at USC for 20 points and a career-best 10 assists had 21 points (8-16 FG, 3-5 3P, 2-2 FT) vs. Arizona and 18 points vs. Arizona State.

Francisco Elson
Elson had one of the best games of his career with 10 points (all in 2nd half) and eight rebounds at Hawaii had an even better outing vs. Houston with 13 points and 9 rebounds matched his career high with 13 points against SW Louisiana also had 13 points and 11 rebounds - this first career double-double - vs. Washington has 32 blocks, including a career-high 5 at Washington State shooting a team-best 52.8% from the floor, up from 43.1% last year played a key role defensively in Cal's win over North Carolina with five rebounds, two blocks and a career-high three steals finished with 11 points and 7 rebounds vs. Oregon tied for team honors with 7 rebounds against Oregon State missed the USC game after suffering a concussion at UCLA.

Dennis Gates
Gates is a defensive specialist who is third on the team with 22 steals had a high of 5 steals vs. Eastern Washington also had 3 steals three other times scored 12 points (4-6 3P) vs. Houston had 6 points (2-4 3P) at Stanford committed only 12 turnovers in 22 games had 9 points vs. SW Louisiana gained his first start at USC, but played only 5 minutes after hurting his back after taking a charge from USC center Brian Scalabrine also started vs. Washington missed two games in February with a sore right knee.

Mike Gill
Gill recorded the first double-double of his career with 14 points and a career-best 10 rebounds at Hawaii has scored in double figures 14 times second on team with 35 steals, including 3 against Stanford twice had a team-high 9 boards at BYU voted to the Golden Bear Classic all-tournament team scored 11 points, including the game-winning basket with 3.5 seconds left, vs. Oregon State came off the bench for the first time at UCLA and had 10 points (4-6 FG, 2-2 FT) scored 17 points in a start at USC tied for team honors with 15 points vs. Stanford tied a career high with 18 points vs. UCLA 81.1 FT% (30-37) in Pac-10 games.

Shahar Gordon
Gordon scored 4 points against Hawaii, Eastern Washington and Washington first start of year vs. Stanford and had 4 points and 4 rebounds (27 minutes) also started vs. USC (2 points, 4 rebounds) and UCLA has 16 assists on the year, with a high of three against Houston 13 of 31 rebounds have been on offensive end has seen action in 20 games (did not play against Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA or Washington) made the most of his four minutes vs. Washington State with two points, a rebound, an assist, a block and a steal.

Solomon Hughes
Hughes received clearance from the National Letter of Intent Appeals Committee Dec. 3 (before Houston game) to be able to play during the 1998-99 season missed the first three games while waiting on the results of the appeal set career highs with 10 points and 6 rebounds in 25 minutes at BYU also had 10 points vs. Eastern Kentucky and 10 at Washington started at USC and finished with 5 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks also had a start at Arizona (2 points, 4 rebounds).

Thomas Kilgore
Kilgore scored a Cal career-high 34 points at Washington State, most for a Cal player since Ed Gray had 48 at WSU in 1997 also leads Cal with 47 steals has had four steals in a game 6 times: vs. Hawaii, Houston, Coppin State, SW La., Washington and UCLA scored 21 points versus North Carolina, then had 21 points and a career-best 8 rebounds at Stanford sat out the BYU and Eastern Kentucky games after missing the team bus to the airport prior to BYU shooting 81.2% (104-128) from the free throw line, including 10-10 vs. Arizona had 14 points vs. Rhode Island and a team-high 17 points vs. Oregon reached double figures in 17 straight games since Dec. 22 had 19 points vs. Washington and 24 points (8-11 FG, 3-3 3P, 5-6 FT) vs. Arizona State.

Raymond King
Has played much more extensively lately, including 19 minutes vs. Stanford Feb. 3 when he had 3 points and 2 assists came back with a season-high 10 points to go with 4 rebounds and 3 assists vs. USC has started just two games (Washington twice), but provides a spark off the bench with his speed and energy had 4 points, 3 assists and 2 steals in 19 minutes vs. Washington State and 8 points and 2 assists at WSU had 9 points, 4 assists and 2 steals at Arizona scored 8 points at WSU led Cal with 89 assists last season.

Sean Lampley
Lampley missed the Hawaii opener with a partially torn ligament in his right hand has posted double-doubles 8 times: 16-10 vs. Eastern Washington; 20-14 at DePaul; 21-18 vs. Houston; 12-11 vs. Coppin State; 15-10 vs. Eastern Kentucky; 15-11 at USC; 18-11 vs. UCLA; 20-11 vs. Arizona the 18 rebounds against Houston were a career high, while the 21 points tied a career best nearly had another double-double with 14 points and nine boards vs. North Carolina had 14 of his 16 points and 7 of his 8 rebounds in the second half at BYU named MVP of the Golden Bear Classic after his double-double against EKU and dishing out a career-high 8 assists vs. SW Louisiana made his first three-pointer of the year against USL had 14 points and 8 rebounds - all in the second half - vs. Oregon scored 15 points with 11 boards off bench at USC had 15 points (12 in the first half) and 8 rebounds vs. Washington State led Cal in rebounding 19 times in the last 25 games.