Mark Madsen hired to restore ‘sleeping giant’ at Cal

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Mark Madsen knows thesituation he inherited when he was hired to take over a Californiamen’s basketball program coming off the worst season in schoolhistory.

Instead of focusing on the challenges, Madsen is jumping intothe role with the same enthusiasm he had diving on the floor forloose balls as a player.

“Having grown up here, I truly believe that Cal is a sleepinggiant in terms of men’s basketball,” Madsen said at hisintroductory news conference on Monday. “This is a sleeping giant.This is a program that can be a nationally ranked program year inand year out. That’s what I’m excited about.”

Madsen is faced with a tough task, taking over a program thatwent 3-29 this season, which led to the decision to fire coach MarkFox.

Cal went 38-87 during Fox’s tenure, ending his final season on a16-game losing streak. The Golden Bears haven’t been to the NCAATournament since 2016 and haven’t won a game in the tournamentsince 2013.

But Madsen doesn’t see this as a long-term project thanks inpart the the opportunities that come with the transfer portal.

“If you can bring in three or four key pieces there, there’sseveral really good players, really talented players,” he said.“There’s a group of really talented players already in the program.So now you add three or four key players from the portal. You addsome players that are already in the program from an existingstandpoint, and then you bring in a couple of young guys and youmake some tweaks. Good things can happen quickly.”

It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for Madsen. He coached UtahValley to the NIT semifinals last week, interviewed and was hiredby Cal, and had his fourth child when his wife, Hannah, deliveredAnastasia on Sunday.

Madsen downplayed the perception that a lack of institutionalsupport — no dedicated practice facility and an apathetic fan basethat led to an average attendance of 2,155 this season for thelowest mark among any team in the Power 5 or Big East — may hindersuccess at Cal.

He focused instead on the opportunities at coaching Cal,although those familiar with the program know it will be achallenge.

“It’s going to be very hard. It’s going to be difficult,” saidformer Cal star forward Leon Powe. “You come here and it’s not aneasy job, but somebody’s got to do it. And if anybody is up to thetask, it’s Mark. He’s really good at motivating people and bringingpeople together.”

Madsen played at Stanford under Mike Montgomery, who latercoached at Cal, from 1996 to 2000 and helped the Cardinal reach theFinal Four in 1998.

After a nine-year playing career in the NBA that featured twotitles as a backup on the Lakers in 2001-02, Madsen went intocoaching.

He spent time in the NBA’s developmental league and a year atStanford before spending five seasons on the Lakers staff.

Madsen then was hired in 2019 to take over Utah Valley. Heposted a 70-51 record in four years with a 28-9 mark this seasonand impressed California athletic director Jim Knowlton throughoutthe search.

“He was on our radar weeks before the season ended,” Knowltonsaid. “As we continued to do our homework, he rose to the topfaster and faster. ... When we finally got to the Zoom calls, wewere absolutely blown away. Then when we got in person and spentthree or four hours with him, we said, ‘This is the next coach atCal.’”

This is a homecoming for Madsen, who grew up a half-hour away inDanville and went to college across the bay at Stanford, where hehad fierce battles with Cal against players such as Tony Gonzalezand Sean Lampley.

Madsen is the third prominent coach to flip sides in recentyears in the Bay Area rivalry between Cal and Stanford. TheCardinal hired former Cal quarterback Troy Taylor to take over thefootball program last season and Bears women’s basketball coachCharmin Smith played and coached as an assistant at Stanford.

While Madsen acknowledged that the first trip back to MaplesPavilion might be a bit awkward, he’s all aboard at his new schoolas evidenced by the blue and gold tie he wore Monday.

“I love my alma mater,” he said. “I love where I went to school.I love every experience that I had. But my excitement is for Cal.My excitement is for building this into a championshipprogram.”