Cal Basketball Video: Mark Fox's Reaction to Being Picked to Finish Last

Bears' first-year coach was unaware of where his team had been picked in Pac-12 coaches poll

When Cal's first-year coach Mark Fox was asked what he thought of the Bears' position in the preseason Pac-12 poll, he gave a question in response:

"I don't know, what were we picked?" he said.

It's probably a good thing he did not know where Cal was picked by the conference coaches, but the Bears were voted to finish 12th in a 12-team conference.

Like most coaches, Fox said preseason predictions mean little. (Even if a coach did pay attention to such preseason polls, he would never admit it.)

"To be honest it makes no difference where we were picked," Fox said in the video.

He was not surpised to learn the Bears were picked to finish last.

"If there was going to be an anticipation, that's probably where I anticipated we might have been picked," Fox said.

Indeed, Cal finished last in the Pac-12 last year, and three of its top players -- Justice Sueing, Darius McNeill and Connor Vanover -- transferred away after the season.

It leaves Fox with a team of two key building blocks -- Paris Austin and Matt Bradley -- as well as a number of freshmen who will be asked to help immediately.

"Hopefully we'll be able to prove everybody wrong," Fox said.

Fox was hired after Wyking Jones was dsimissed following last season, when the Bears went 8-23 overall and 3-15 in the Pac-12 conference, The Bears lost 16 games in a row in one stretch.

After the season, Sueing transferred to Ohio State, McNeill moved to SMU and Vanover transferred to Arkansas. 

The key incoming freshmen are Joel Brown and D.J. Thorpe.