Cal Ushers In The Cuonzo Martin Era Friday Against Alcorn State

The Cuonzo Martin era at Cal tips off this Friday (Nov. 14) when the Golden Bears host Alcorn State in their season opener at Haas Pavilion. Tip-time is 7:06 p.m. PT as part of the regional round of the 2K Classic, benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project.

To purchase a ticket to Friday's game, click here. Special $5 tickets for corner seats are available as part of Cal's $5 Friday promotion. Check the link for more details or call 800-GO-BEARS.

Friday’s game will be televised on Pac-12 Bay Area with JB Long (play-by-play) and former Golden Bears head coach Mike Montgomery (analyst) on the call. Fans can log on to Pac-12.com to watch the game for FREE. The radio broadcast team of Todd McKim (play-by-play) and former Cal assistant coach Jay John (analyst) will have the call on KGO 810 AM in the Bay Area and on CalBears.com through the TuneIn button.

Cuonzo Martin Ere Begins In Berkeley
Cuonzo Martin, who was introduced as Cal’s 16th head men’s basketball coach in program history on April 15, brings a track record of success that includes a conference Coach of the Year honor and postseason berths each of the past five seasons. He guided Tennessee the past three years, including a spot in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 last season, and prior to that served as the head coach at Missouri State for three years. In his first six seasons as a head coach, Martin owned a 124-82 career record. He has directed his teams to a greater win total than the previous year at each of his coaching stops.

Returning To The Lineup
The Golden Bears return three starters – senior David Kravish, junior Tyrone Wallace and guard Jabari Bird – from a 21-win team a year ago. Cal’s top returning scorer (11.4 ppg.) and rebounder (7.7 rpg.), Kravish has started the Bears’ last 88 games and enters the 2014-15 season just 30 blocks shy of Cal’s all-time record of 207 and just 107 points shy of 1,000 for his career. He was a Pac-12 All-Defensive Team selection after posting a school single-season record 73 blocks as a junior. Wallace was the team’s third-leading scorer (11.4 ppg.) last season, and also led the team in steals (44) and three-point field goals (43) a year ago. Bird averaged 8.3 ppg. overall, and 16.7 ppg. in Cal’s three postseason games, making 12 starts as a freshman. Cal’s deep backcourt also features 2014 Pac-12 All-Freshman Team selection Jordan Mathews (8.5 ppg. last season). Cal welcomes back eight letterwinners overall.

Newcomers
Cal welcomes six newcomers to the roster. Freshman 7-1 center from Derby, England, Kingsley Okoroh, became the first signee of the Cuonzo Martin era at Cal. He is joined by fellow post player Dwight Tarwater, a 6-6 graduate transfer who played at Cornell the past four seasons. Cal also welcomes 6-7 junior guard Stephen Domingo. The San Francisco native will sit out the season after transferring from Georgetown. The Bears continue to build their backcourt depth with the addition of Alexandria, Va. native Brandon Chauca (5-9), Los Angeles native Nick Hamilton (6-4), and San Francisco native Brenden Glapion (6-3), as well as reinforce their frontcourt depth with 6-7 forward Cole Welle from Aptos, Calif.

2K Classic benefiting the Wounded Warrior Project
The 2K Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project is the nation's premier season-opening college basketball tournament. Twelve teams from across the nation will compete in the event with four of the top teams in the country serving as regional hosts. Regional Round action takes place from Nov. 14-17 with the four hosts (Cal, Syracuse, Iowa and Texas) advancing to the Championship Rounds, Nov. 21-22, at New York's Madison Square Garden. The remainder of the field will participate in a round-robin series at one of two subregional sites. Thus, every participating team is guaranteed four games. Cal will face Syracuse on Nov. 21 in New York.

Exhibition recap
The Bears cruised to a pair of victories in exhibition play, defeating Cal State East Bay, 94-50, and Cal State San Marcos, 74-52.

In a game that saw five Golden Bears in double-figures, California utilized a balanced attack in a commanding win over Cal State East Bay. Sophomore Jordan Mathews and junior Tyrone Wallace set the pace for Cal with 21 points apiece, senior David Kravish and sophomore Jabari Bird poured in 11 points each, while sophomore Sam Singer logged 10 of his own. Fellow sophomore Roger Moute a Bidias chipped in seven points for Cal, and redshirt junior Christian Behrens, freshman Kingsley Okoroh and graduate student Dwight Tarwater logged 15 points, collectively.

Junior Tyrone Wallace and sophomore Jabari Bird logged 13 points apiece as California closed out its exhibition slate with a 22-point win over Cal State San Marcos. Wallace, who added five assists to his performance, and Bird led a quartet of Bears in double figures. Mathews recorded 12 points, four assists and just as many rebounds, while graduate student Dwight Tarwater chipped in 10 points of his own. Redshirt junior Christian Behrens tallied nine points, sophomore Sam Singer logged five while senior David Kravish, sophomore Roger Moute a Bidias and freshmen Kingsley Okoroh and Nick Hamilton registered 12 points, collectively.

A Look at Alcorn State
The Braves posted a 12-19 record in 2013-14, returning six letterwinners from last year’s squad. In its fourth season under head coach Luther Riley, Alcorn State welcomes back junior F LeAntwan Luckett, who was named the SWAC Pre-Season Player of the Year. He was second in the SWAC in scoring last season (16 ppg.) and posted double figures 26 of 31 contests.

The Series
In its lone previous meeting, Cal defeated Alcorn State, 77-73, on Dec. 13, 1980 in the Hoosier Classic, Bloomington, Ind.