Berkeley, Calif. • Mark Madsen knows the situation he inherited when he was hired to take over a California men’s basketball program coming off the worst season in school history.
Instead of focusing on the challenges, Madsen is jumping into the role with the same enthusiasm he had diving on the floor for loose balls as a player.
“Having grown up here, I truly believe that Cal is a sleeping giant in terms of men’s basketball,” Madsen said at his introductory news conference on Monday. “This is a sleeping giant. This is a program that can be a nationally ranked program year in and year out. That’s what I’m excited about.”
Madsen is faced with a tough task, taking over a program that went 3-29 this season, which led to the decision to fire coach Mark Fox.
Cal went 38-87 during Fox’s tenure, ending his final season on a 16-game losing streak. The Golden Bears haven’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2016 and haven’t won a game in the tournament since 2013.
But Madsen doesn’t see this as a long-term project thanks in part the the opportunities that come with the transfer portal.
“If you can bring in three or four key pieces there, there’s several 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 add some players that are already in the program from an existing standpoint, and then you bring in a couple of young guys and you make some tweaks. Good things can happen quickly.”
New California men's NCAA college basketball coach Mark Madsen is introduced during a news conference at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, Calif., Monday, April 3, 2023. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group via AP)
It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for Madsen. He coached Utah Valley to the NIT semifinals last week, interviewed and was hired by Cal, and had his fourth child when his wife, Hannah, delivered Anastasia on Sunday.
Madsen downplayed the perception that a lack of institutional support — no dedicated practice facility and an apathetic fan base that led to an average attendance of 2,155 this season for the lowest mark among any team in the Power 5 or Big East — may hinder success at Cal.
He focused instead on the opportunities coaching at Cal, although those familiar with the program know it will be a challenge.
“It’s going to be very hard. It’s going to be difficult,” said former Cal star forward Leon Powe. “You come here and it’s not an easy job, but somebody’s got to do it. And if anybody is up to the task, it’s Mark. He’s really good at motivating people and bringing people together.”
Madsen played at Stanford under Mike Montgomery, who later coached at Cal, from 1996 to 2000 and helped the Cardinal reach the Final Four in 1998.
After a nine-year playing career in the NBA that featured two titles as a backup on the Lakers in 2001-02, Madsen went into coaching.
He spent time in the NBA’s developmental league and a year at Stanford before spending five seasons on the Lakers staff.
Madsen then was hired in 2019 to take over Utah Valley. He posted a 70-51 record in four years with a 28-9 mark this season and impressed California athletic director Jim Knowlton throughout the search.
“He was on our radar weeks before the season ended,” Knowlton said. “As we continued to do our homework, he rose to the top faster and faster. ... When we finally got to the Zoom calls, we were absolutely blown away. Then when we got in person and spent three or four hours with him, we said, ‘This is the next coach at Cal.’”
This is a homecoming for Madsen, who grew up a half-hour away in Danville and went to college across the bay at Stanford, where he had fierce battles with Cal against players such as Tony Gonzalez and Sean Lampley.
Madsen is the third prominent coach to flip sides in recent years in the Bay Area rivalry between Cal and Stanford. The Cardinal hired former Cal quarterback Troy Taylor to take over the football program last season and Bears women’s basketball coach Charmin Smith played and coached as an assistant at Stanford.
While Madsen acknowledged that the first trip back to Maples Pavilion might be a bit awkward, he’s all aboard at his new school as 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 championship program.”
