Cal introduces Mark Madsen as face to lead Bears men’s basketball out of darkness
Cal brought its band, chancellor, mascot, alumni and even the Stanford Axe onto the Haas Pavilion hardwood on Monday, all to welcome Mark Madsen as its men’s basketball coach.
He really needed no introduction, not with his Bay Area roots and how he forcefully played some 25 years ago at rival Stanford.
So Madsen, 47, seized on the pomp and circumstance, like an elbow-swinging rebound from his days on The Farm and in the NBA. Monday’s spotlight allowed him to start re-introducing the Cal basketball program, which bottomed out this past season with a 3-29 record.
“I love my alma mater, I love where went to school, I love my experiences,” said Madsen, Stanford’s bruising leader from 1996-2000. “But my excitement is for Cal, to build this into a championship program.
“… It’s not going to take us as long as everybody thinks.”
Madsen oozed energy and optimism. Reflecting his defection from Stanford, he donned a navy suit with a blue-and-gold striped tie, thus fulfilling Cal’s unofficial rallying cry to “take off that (Cardinal) red shirt.”
He wore a charming smile between measured words, all relaying his belief and plan to coach Cal back to postseason relevance. After just taking Utah Valley to the NIT semifinals in his fourth season, he talks as if Cal is on a faster track.
“You come here, it’s not an easy job,” Leon Powe, an ex-Cal and NBA star, said after sitting through Madsen’s introduction. “But if there’s somebody up for that task, it’s Mark. He’s really good at motivating and bringing players together.”
Chancellor Carol Christ spoke of the “unique challenges and opportunities” at Cal, and athletics director Jim Knowlton described this as a “critical moment” in the Bears’ “upward-trajectory” rebuild.
Knowlton’s best one-liner: “We’re still trying to determine where he played in college.”
Before playing in four NCAA Tournaments with Stanford and reaching the 1998 Final Four, Madsen grew up in Danville. That’s on the other side of the Caldecott Tunnel, a thoroughfare he envisions will be clogged with fans driving over to watch Cal’s up-tempo style in the near future.
In sharing that dream with Monday’s audience, he also vowed to update Cal’s four dusty banners in Haas Pavilion’s rafters that reflect their postseason showings in the NIT and NCAA. The Bears have not reached the NCAA Tournament since their 2016 one-and-done showing. They went four times in six seasons (2009-13) under Mike Montgomery, who was Stanford’s coach when Madsen helped lead the Cardinal to the NCAA Tournament in his four seasons (1997-2000).
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— Cal Basketball (@CalMBBall) April 3, 2023
“I don’t want to recruit slow players,” Madsen said. “Yes, you need big guys. I don’t want slow big guys. It kills your transition on defense.”
Madsen plans to poach a few players from the NCAA’s transfer portal, and while there may be over 1,500 players in that pool, four already entered from Cal’s 2022-23 starting lineup: guard Joel Brown, center Lars Thiemann and forwards Kuany Kuany and Sam Alajiki.
Madsen knows for Cal to compete on the national stage, it must also step up its NIL game – the name, image and likeness addition to college sports — that Madsen emphasized is not a pay-to-play scam, instead framing it as a community endeavor.
Madsen’s predecessor, Mark Fox, went 38-87 in four seasons. Winless away from Haas last season, the Bears went 3-14 at home, averaging just 2,155 fans per game. Their final win was against Stanford, on Jan. 6.
Madsen reminisced Monday about his freshman debut at Cal, how he had to defend future NFL tight end Tony Gonzalez. Stanford lost that game but Madsen did not lose any of his seven other matchups against Cal.
His goal now is not to lose any in-state talent, how he wishes he could put a “chain-link fence” to keep them in California.
Junior guard Devin Askew, a Sacramento native, said he is “super excited” after watching Madsen at Utah Valley “with his coaching style and how he lets players play. He wants them to play fast. I’m looking forward to that. With his resume and his connections, it’ll lead players to Cal Berkeley.”
Connections? Madsen can drop big-time names. He did Monday. He flashed back to his Los Angeles Lakers rookie days in 2000 and getting tortured by Shaquille O’Neal in practice. As recently as last week he was on the phone with Phil Jackson, getting not only advice on the Cal job but talking on a personal level.
“Sometimes that’s lost – the human side to this game,” Madsen said. “Phil was unique. He brought in spiritual sides. ‘Eyes closed, tongue on the roof of your mouth.’ I remember like it was yesterday. He’d say, ‘We are conspiring together through breath.’ … Basketball is not just about putting the ball in the basket, Xs and Os. It’s about people.”
Powe agreed. And, as an Oakland native, Powe also emphasized the importance of attracting local stars: “If you can’t keep your own players, how can you build a program that other players want to come to from outside your area. We keep them here, then play at a fast pace to show their talent, to get the fans and the community excited.”
Nobody is more excited to be back here than Madsen. His parents moved to Utah 20 years ago, his siblings are scattered across the nation, but he said his best friends still live nearby. Even the Bay Area air made him nostalgic when Knowlton picked him up from the airport Monday, a day after Madsen’s wife, Hannah, gave birth to their fourth child, Anastasia.
“Obviously this is a new beginning for us, so we’re excited to hear our coach talk about banners in the rafters. Lots of energy and excitement,” Knowlton said. “This is the moment we’re looking for Cal fans to support our new coach. This is the coach that is going to bring us to the Promised Land.”
* * *MARK MADSEN BIO
Born: Jan. 28, 1976 in Walnut Creek
Hometown: Danville
High School: San Ramon Valley-Danville (Class of 1994)
College: Stanford (2000 BA in economics; 2012 MBA)
Coaching history: Utah Valley University head coach (2019-23), Los Angeles Lakers assistant (2013-19), Los Angeles D-Fenders head coach (2013), Stanford assistant (2012-13), Utah Flash assistant in NBA Development League (2009-10). Led Utah Valley to 70-51 record, two WAC regular-season championships and Wolverines’ first berth in NIT semifinals.
Playing career: Stanford (1996-2000), Los Angeles Lakers (2000-03), Minnesota Timberwolves (2003-09). Totaled 1,157 rebounds, 975 points, 181 assists, 116 steals, 102 blocks, 1-of-16 on 3-point attempts in 453 NBA games. Was 2000 first-round draft pick (No. 29 overall). “Mad Dog” was two-time All-American at Stanford, helped guide the Cardinal to four NCAA Tournament appearances and 1998 Final Four; ranks fourth in field-goal percentage (.587), sixth in rebounds (857); averaged 10.9 points, 7.9 rebounds per game.
Accolades: 2023 Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, NABC and USBWA District Coach of the Year, Hugh Durham National Coach of the Year finalist. … Won NBA championships with 2001, ‘02 Lakers; First Team All Pac-10 in 1999, 2000; Goodwill Games gold medalist (2001). Two-time All-Academic Pac-10 First Team … Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame (2019) … San Ramon Valley High Hall of Fame (2001) …Try-Valley Sports Hall of Fame (2010). .. Served two-year mission in Spain for The Church of Latter-day Saints. … Eagle Scout.
Family: He and his wife, Hannah, have four children (William, Leroy, Alexandria, Anastasia).