Cal Poly can look at California as model for building from the ground up

Cal Poly's new head coach Mike DeGeorge hopes to begin the type of program rejuvenation currently taking place at California when the Mustangs visit the Golden Bears on Thursday night for a nonconference game in Berkeley, Calif.

DeGeorge, who spent the last six seasons at Division II Colorado Mesa, has inherited a Mustangs team that went 0-20 in the Big West Conference a year ago and 4-28 overall under coach John Smith.

Cal Poly (0-1) debuted a much more offensive-minded style of play Tuesday night in an 86-78 loss at San Francisco. The Mustangs had averaged just 60.8 and 63.7 points the past two seasons.

Jarred Hyder, who transferred from Cal in 2023, had 19 points and Owen Koonce, who began his college career at Colorado, chipped in with 18 to lead a balanced Mustangs attack that featured 12 3-pointers.

DeGeorge admits his team's offense is a work in progress.

"Defense wins championships. We've always been a lock-down defensive team first," he observed. "We continue to embrace the modern game and continue to play faster. (We want to) find an offense that fits the modern game."

In Cal, the Mustangs will see a team that won fewer games in 2022-23 (three) than Cal Poly won last season (four). The Golden Bears likewise hired a new coach at that point, and Mark Madsen immediately directed a 10-win improvement last season.

Madsen surely has embraced the modern college game in terms of use of the transfer portal. The Golden Bears (1-0) played 10 guys - all 10 of which are transfers -- in their season-opening, 86-73 home win over Cal State Bakersfield on Monday.

"Every one of the 10 went in there and contributed to winning," Madsen said. "This was a tremendous team effort."

Two transfers with local ties led the way. Oakland native Jovan Blacksher Jr., returning from Grand Canyon, paced Cal's scoring with 17 points, while Stanford transfer Andrej Stojakovic had 16.

The California rivals, separated by about 225 miles, haven't met since Dec. 15, 2018, when Cal escaped with a 67-66 home win.

--Field Level Media