Tuesday, June 15, 2010

How we keep it in Cali- Where the top California recruits head

With all the talk of expansion and how it affects recruiting, I figured I’d check how much of an influence Texas and Oklahoma already have in California. With all the expansion talks snuffed, it’s still nice to see how the Pac-10 keeps recruits in state and conference. Using a list of the top recruits, I checked to see where California kids were headed. (Note: Rankings are for national and by position)


QB

#4 Jesse Scroggins: Kept in state, USC

#9 Nick Montana: Kept in Pac-10, UW

#13 Brett Nottingham: Kept in state, Stanfurd

#14 Tyler Bray: LEFT, Tennessee

#20 Sean Mannion- Kept in Pac-10, Oregon State

#21 Chase Rettig: LEFT, Boston College

#23 Bryan Bennett: Kept in Pac-10, Oregon



RB

#4 D.J. Morgan: Kept in state, USC

#6 Morgan Jones: Kept in state, UCLA

#7 Dillon Baxter: Kept in state, USC

#9 Jordan James: Kept in state, UCLA

#10 Brennan Clay: LEFT, Oklahoma

#21 Devon Cooper: Kept in Pac-10, Washington



WR

#1 Robert Woods: Kept in state, USC

#13 Kenny Stills: LEFT, Oklahoma

#22 Paul Richardson: Kept in state, UCLA



TE

#8 Chris Thomas: Kept in California, USC

#9 Randall Telfer- Kept in California, USC



OL

#18 Erik Kohler: Kept in Pac-10, Washington

#22 Chris Ward: Kept in state, UCLA



DE

#1 Ron Powell: LEFT, Florida

#4 Chris Martin: Kept in state, Cal



DT

#3 George Uko: Kept in state, USC

#7 Cassius Marsh: Kept in state, UCLA





LB

#8 Cecil Whiteside: Kept in state, Cal

#16 Dave Wilkerson: Kept in state, Cal

DB

#5 Josh Shaw: LEFT, Florida

#6 Sean Parker: Kept in Pac-10, Washington

#10 Dietrich Riley: Kept in state, UCLA

#12 Dion Bailey: Kept in state, USC

#16 Demetrius Wright: Kept in state, USC

#38 Erick Dargan: Kept in state, Oregon

ATH

#1 Tony Jefferson: LEFT, Oklahoma

#3 Anthony Barr: Kept in state, UCLA

#9 Hayes Pullard: Kept in state, USC

#10 Josh Shirley: Kept in state, UCLA



So of the 260 players listed, 36 of them reside in California. That equals 14% of all players listed. If all things were equal among the 50 states, then each state would have 5.2 players. So California has 31 more players then they should. Only 7 of the 36 left state, for 19% of the California recruits. 29/36, or 81%, stayed in the Pac-10 conference.



Overall, the Pac-10 does a terrific job of keeping California talent inside. While Cal does not pull in a ton of in-state talent, they did pick up 3 recruits. But top recruits like Keenan Allen and Austin Hinder are not included because they represent out of state talent, which Tedford did a great job of this recruiting season. Great job Pac-10 coaches! (Except for that character from WSU. Terrible job!)




Sorry dude (whatever your name is); maybe win some Pac-10 games next year and you'll get some recruits.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Colorado to the Pac-10; Texas, other Big 12 schools to follow?

Colorado, located in Boulder, Colorado, is the newest member of the Pacific-10 Conference. While the program has hit tough times of late, including a 3-9 season in 2009, the program does have a storied history, including Kordell Stewart’s collegiate career. Financially, the Buffaloes add the Colorado area to the Pac-10’s revenues and gives the Pac-10 most of the major western states.




For a Pac-16 potential plan, assuming all invitations are accepted, Baylor is now out of the mix. Which I’m glad for. Baylor does no add anything to the conference. Academics? Nope. Great tradition or current success? Nope. New TV markets? No. Other then Robert Griffen, Baylor adds nothing exciting. And Griffen will be gone before the Pac-16 begins. Plus, it’s a religious university, which like religion or not, is not something that the Pac-10 is interested in. So I’m glad that Baylor is out for now.



Colorado, as a whole, is a decent addition to the conference. It’s a solid academic university, it has some tradition, and it adds some media markets to the conference. I think their basketball team is up and coming, and their football team has the potential to be something.



This, combined with Nebraska’s soon to be defection to the Big-10, leaves the Big 12 soon to be collapsed. With 10 teams remaining, and one of the most prominent teams nearly gone, it’d be tough to pull together a competent conference. Texas, A&M, and Tech are going together, wherever that may be. The SEC isn’t going to take Texas Tech; it’s been said and the SEC really doesn’t need someone with a lack of prestige like the Red Raiders. That leaves the Pac-10, or them staying in the old Big 12. With the Big 12 fading, you have to figure the logical next move is the Pac-10.



With other expansion plans out of consideration, I still like Colorado as the newest member of the Pac-10. They’d fit well in my preferred version nowadays as a Pac-12. But now it confirms, or it seems to confirm, that the Pac-16 is the next step, like it or hate it. Colorado is merely the first domino to fall.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

The Season ends- Cal falls to Oral Roberts

After some valiant efforts, including a 2 run 9th to tie the game, the Cal Bears eventually fell to Oral Roberts 8-6 to end their season. It’s a shame it had to end, but it was a great year for the Bears and they have much to be proud of.




A team that no one had making it into the NCAA Tournament made it as a #2 seed, and despite their poor postseason performance still put up a solid season. With a ton of youth returning, the Bears can only get better. Mark Canha is probably the only “major” player eligible to leave for the MLB, although there are several other juniors and seniors leaving the program.



I think you can still look upon this team as a success. A team projected to finish in the cellar finished in the top half and made the tournament. With so much youth returning, the only step left is forward for the bears. Go Bears!

Friday, June 4, 2010

John Wooden, former UCLA great, dies at the age of 99

Sad news. John Wooden, the winner of 10 national championship, died today. He lived from 1910-2010. Wooden is widely regarded as the best coach in NCAA history, winning 10 national championship and having an 88 game winning streak. He largely dominated Cal for the majority of his time. While Cal fans generally hate UCLA, I have always had a great respect for Wooden and wish the best to the UCLA family as they go through this difficult time. Condolences go to his family.

Devil’s Advocate; Why I’m against the Pac-10 expanding to include members of the Big 12

Now, I’m just completely ignoring the money factor. Adding huge schools like Texas and Oklahoma was certainly provide a windfall of money for the athletic department and the university, money the state of California and UC-Berkeley sorely needs. According to reports, the Pac-10 would add Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Colorado. I’m against adding the clubs for a few reasons.




Round Robin Removal. I love the round robin. There’s no unfair champions that way. You can’t say that we didn’t have a chance to beat somebody and you lose the conference that way. With a two division set up, you don’t get to prove you’re the best by playing the best, especially by avoiding a Texas or Oklahoma squad. A conference title game is not enough. I love the schedule as it is.

Losing Recruits. Would it be great to get a foothold in the Texas area? Definitely. Would it be bad to lose the California recruiting base? The way I see it, Texas schools would be able to take more California kids then we could with Texas schools. While this isn’t a huge factor, it still is one that exists/

Basketball/Baseball: Gah, what a joke the basketball schedule would be and how bad the travel would be? An 18 game basketball season would be a joke; do you play each team once? Or do you play only a couple games against the other division and 2 against each division opponent? Terrible idea for b-ball.

Added Competition. While I somewhat agree with “You gotta beat the best to be the best,” a conference with Texas, Oklahoma, USC, and Oregon is nearly impossible to win. We have a hard enough time to winning the conference already! It’s been 50 years since our last one, and with the added competition it could be another 50 years.

Road Trips. Going to Texas and Oklahoma is far too far to be traveling, and it could affect the team’s performance. I just don’t see the upside in going halfway across the nation for a conference game.



I’m sure there’s more I could come with, but these are 5 reasons that I could come up with against Pac-10 expansion. For the record, I’m against the Pac-16 but would be able to live with a Pac-12.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

UNC-Cal- NCAA Tournament 1st Round Action Preview

Cal made it into the NCAA Tournament as a #2 seed, and they will take on the #3 North Carolina Tar Heels. The Bears have been reeling lately, but let’s take a look at their upcoming opponent.




In Game 1, the Heels will likely throw their ace, Matt Harvey. Harvey, who will likely be taken in the 1st round of the MLB draft, posted a 7-3 record with a 3.10 ERA. His FIP is 3.79, which means he should regress technically, and his BABIP is right around average at .297. He doesn’t walk many and strikes out over a man per inning. Runs are going to be precious.



Hitting wise, the Heels have 6 players with an OBP over .400, and two guys with over .390. The “star” of the offense is Levi Michael, who hits .355 and has jacked 8 home runs. On the year they average over 7 runs a game with their balanced offensive attack. Holding them down will be very important.



A weird miscellaneous stat is the Tar Heels 7-11 record away from home as opposed to 29-9 at home. In Norman, Oklahoma, North Carolina does not have home field advantage. Their bullpen is very susceptible to runs, so if Cal can run Harvey’s pitch count up then the chance to win is there.



Prediction: 4-2 UNC