NBA players before and after Cal

[YourPublicEnemy]

This has always jumped out at me since Cal has come here. Before him, we never had superstars in the NBA. None of our teams had phenom types. Probably the closest was Mashburn and Mercer but no one like a John Wall, Davis or KAT.

In the 90s and 00s, UNC used Jordan as a recruiting tool cause kids grew up idolizing that guy and we never had that type of player. When it came to famous alum, we were always behind in terms of a figurehead. UCLA had Kareem, Kansas had Wilt, UNC had Jordan and maybe make a case for Indiana having Isaiah Thomas. Dan Issel was never in that type of category, in my opinion. With Cal, we have multiple guys who can now fulfill that role down the road.

 

[GonzoCat90]

It's what Cal meant when he called that first draft the biggest in program history. The other "biggest nights" were all titles or something that, while important, stood alone as accomplishments but were more of an end result than a starting point.

That night announced that this was the place to be. That this was going to be different and be unparalleled. It set us up for this run and for the future. While a lot of it is because of Cal, those names and successes still carry prestige moving forward, just like UNC used Jordan long after Dean Smith was no longer the coach.

 

[docholiday51]

It is quite a stark contrast when you look at it,even considering how different the college landscape is now vs any other time in modern history.

It is partly a product of OAD and is likely to stay this way until/unless some factor or rule changes.

Cal was the first to corner the market and he has a better handle on how to do it than does anyone else.Some in the coaching profession will begin to close the gap or Cal will eventually come back to the field a bit. It won'tbe Roy, K or Self they are too old or in Self's case just not good enough at it(maybe Avery Johnson is a possibility)

Cal probably has 4 to 6 years left here,I hope he can win a title or two during that time.It is high risk/high reward,if he misses for any reason(he doesn't get them , they aren't as good/ready as he thinks or a rash of injuries) that season goes down the tubes.

We are blessed or stuck with how Cal does things,so far so good.