New Cal Coach Mark Madsen's Vow: `This Thing Can Turn Around Very, Very Quickly'
Mark Madsen’s family grew by one on Sunday when his wife, Hannah, delivered their fourth child, Anastasia Ruth Madsen.
On Monday at Haas Pavilion, he embraced his new Cal family while being formally introduced as the Golden Bears’ 19th head coach.
And he delivered a message they were dying to hear.
Repeatedly referencing Cal’s basketball history — he mentioned perhaps a dozen former prominent players — Madsen said his intention is to return the program to its once-elite status.
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“This history of Cal basketball is winning . . . and winning at a high level,” he said, alluding to the 1959 national championship team. “I’m going to do everything in my power and we will restore Cal basketball to that level of play.”
Madsen, 47, said he is convinced that by meshing returning players with talent secured through the transfer portal that the wait for success won’t be a long one.”
“I’m telling you,” he stressed, “this thing can turn around very, very quickly. And it will.”
Madsen is fully aware the Bears have suffered six consecutive losing seasons and were 3-29 this year. During a meeting with his players earlier Monday, Madsen told them he expects the Bears to have a winning season next year.
His enthusiasm and confidence sold many of those in the crowd Monday afternoon.
“Oh man, I love it, I love it,” former Cal star Leon Powe said. "I like what he said."
Jon Wheeler, who played for Cal in the late 1980s, has been outspoken on social media in his complaints about the current state of the program. He liked what he heard from Madsen.
“I’m impressed. It would seem to me they need an infusion of energy and focus and belief in a vision, and he has all of those in my opinion. He hit all the right notes,” Wheeler said. "I have been observant and probably critical of the program and I’ll say this, after what he said I texted a bunch of my former teammates and spoke to one on the phone and said, `Hey guys, we might have a really good shot here.’ “
A couple of current Cal players — sophomore Jalen Celestine and junior Devin Askew — listened to Madsen’s presentation at Haas prior to his formal news conference and said they plan to stay put in Berkeley.
“I could really understand why they speak so highly about him,” said Celestine, who missed all of the 2022-23 season while recovering from offseason surgery. “He seems like a really genuine dude. I’m really excited to learn from him. I plan on returning and be a Golden Bear, for sure. I’m really excited for it.”
Madsen, a star at Stanford in the late 1990s and member of the Cardinal’s 1998 Final Four team prior to a nine-year NBA career, was relentless in expressing his excitement about being at his former rival.
“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 building this into a championship program.”
He talked about playing in the Potrero Hill summer league ball alongside former Cal star Al Grigsby. How every girl at San Ramon Valley High School in Danville, where he attended, had a crush on Cal guard Randy Duck. And that Lamond Murray came to school to judge the team's dunk contest.
His first recruiting campus visit was to Cal, where he watched Jason Kidd, Murray and Monty Buckley. “I was blown away by the talent level on the team,” he said. “I was in heaven.”
Madsen said he is open to hearing what every player on the current roster envisions and plans to meet individually with all of them in the next few days.
“I told the guys we’re going to win. Every player needs to be the best version of themselves, needs to be willing to put in the work to win,” Madsen said.
Cal has not announced terms of Madsen’s deal or the length of his contract. He said he is close to completing his coaching staff and already has been active in the transfer portal, looking for three or four players who can immediately augment the current roster.
Athletic director Jim Knowlton said Madsen was more impressive during each phase of the interview process.
“He was on our radar weeks before the season ended. As we continued to do our homework he rose to the top faster and faster,” he said. “Everything you saw today was why he was so interesting to us. When we finally got to the Zoom calls, we were absolutely blown away.
“Then when we got in person when we spent three or four hours with him, we said, `This is the next coach at Cal.’ I think this is the coach that’s going to bring us to the promised land.”
Madsen plans to create a family atmosphere among his staff and players.
“I believe if players are happy, if they feel welcomed, if they feel joy when they go on the court, they’re going to be a much better version of themselves,” he explained.
He also addressed two subjects that will be critical to rebuilding the program: Name Image and Likeness, where Cal seemingly has lagged behind other schools, and the ability to recruit both high school prospects and players out of the transfer portal.
“The truth of the matter is if you are not in Name Image and Likeness, it’s going to be very hard for you to compete at a high level. That’s the reality,” Madsen said.
“I believe Cal is going to be one of the national leaders in NIL. NIL is never pay-to-play. What I like is these individuals who are running the collective, they’re talking about community service. They’re talking about giving back to the community and that is one of the most exciting things.”
In terms of working with the Cal admissions office during recruiting, Madsen said he sees a road ahead that can lead to success.
“Cal is the best public education in the world. We need to cast a broad net,” he said. “I don’t want a player to be penalized because maybe his high school doesn’t offer enough AP courses.
“In talking with university leadership, I’m extremely encouraged at the case by case basis by which admissions will look at each student-athlete. I think that’s the sign of a great institution.”
Madsen says he envisions recruiting players the quality of former Cal stars Leon Powe, Jaylen Brown, Kevin Johnson, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Jerome Randle, Sean Marks. His priority will be to keep the best in-state talent from leaving.
“I want to put up a chain link fence around the state of California and keep the best California players at Cal,” he said.
That’s music to the ears of Powe, an Oakland native whose son plays for Salesian High School in Richmond.
“Keeping the home players here — that’s where it starts first,” he said. “To do that you bring in a passionate coach like him, passionate about the game, passionate about the players. But believing in work ethic, too. It’s not going to be easy that’s what he brings and that’s what I like.”
Cover photo of Mark Madsen by Kelley L. Cox, KLC fotos
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo