Fans that showed up to Haas Pavilion on Friday night expected to end up Bird-watching. Cal men’s basketball’s most hyped freshman, Jabari Bird, has the ability to dazzle an audience. He showed as much in his first collegiate game Friday, when he knocked down a couple of 3-pointers and brought the crowd to its feet when he completed a coast-to-coast trackdown block late in the second half.
Despite the theatrics, Bird was far from the most watched player of the night. The MVP award for Cal’s first game indisputably goes to sophomore guard Tyrone Wallace. Wallace led the Bears with 20 points, and notched three of six shots from 3-point range. He also led the team in assists, with seven.
“All the work I put in is transferring over to the games,” said Wallace after that first game against Coppin State. “I’m really confident right now in my shot and my ability to knock them down.”
After averaging just 7.2 points per game as a freshman, Wallace now may very well be a cornerstone of the Bears’ offense. And he will have a chance to prove himself again when Cal hosts Denver at 8 p.m. on Tuesday.
As in the game against Coppin State, the Bears should be favored against the Pioneers. In fact, Cal has played Denver in each of the last two seasons, winning, 72-61, in Colorado last year after crushing the Pioneers, 80-59, in 2011.
But Cal will have no chance to scout the 2013 incarnation of the Pioneers, as this will be the first game for the Denver squad. Cal coach Mike Montgomery is not overlooking a team that won 20 of its final 23 games of last year’s season.
“Denver’s gonna be good,” he said. “They run that (Princeton-style system) that takes you out of all your rules and things you worked on.”
The Princeton-style offense Denver runs emphasizes passing and dribbling to the point that positions such as point guard are almost unused. This can create mismatches for opposing defenses, allowing players who are good at dribbling and shooting to take advantage.
Denver runs this offense through guard Brett Olson and forward Chris Udofia. Those two Pioneers led their team in scoring last season and return for Denver’s opener Tuesday. Additionally, Udofia is a shot-blocking machine and accounted for more than half of Denver’s blocks last season.
While that Princeton style of offense is certainly different from what Cal is used to facing, if history is any indication, it shouldn’t be too much trouble for the Bears to get by it.
Meanwhile, the Bears run their offense through Justin Cobbs. The redshirt senior point guard is the de facto leader of the Bears’ offense after averaging 15.1 points and 4.8 assists per contest last season. While all eyes were on Bird and Wallace, Cobbs quietly put together 16 points and six assists Friday.
Cobbs’ leadership will continue to be crucial for the Bears as they try to balance their guard-heavy lineup with the additions of Wallace and Bird. How the team continues to do that will continue to be a question going into Tuesday’s game.
Riley McAtee covers men’s basketball. Contact him at rmcatee@dailycal.org. Follow him on Twitter @riley_mcatee
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