Cal men’s basketball has announced its next head coach, and he comes with strong ties to the Golden Bears’ biggest rival.
Mark Madsen, a two-time NBA champion and Utah Valley coach for the past four seasons, was announced Wednesday as Cal Berkeley’s head coach.
Head coach Mark Madsen of the Utah Valley Wolverines speaks to his team before their first round game against the New Mexico Lobos in the 2023 National Invitation Tournament at The Pit on March 15, 2023 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Sam Wasson/Getty Images)
«I am extremely grateful to Chancellor Christ and Athletic Director Jim Knowlton for believing in me and for the tremendous opportunity to lead Cal Men’s Basketball Team. to their winning tradition,» Madsen said in a news release.
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«Growing up in the area, I have always admired Cal as an institution and as an athletic program, with so many of my teachers, coaches and friends. awesome cal grads. We will win with young people who have elite academic and athletic talent and who will proudly represent Cal. Hannah, myself and our children are excited to return to the Bay Area and join the Cal community and I can’t wait to get started. Come on bears!»
Madsen played his college ball at Stanford, helping the Cardinal reach the Final Four in 1998 before being selected by the los angeles lakers in the first round of the 2000 NBA Draft.
Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Mark Madsen looks on before an NBA game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers on November 27, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA. (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Madsen spent three years in Los Angeles, winning two championships with the Lakers before ending his nine-year NBA career with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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He served as an assistant coach with the Lakers for six seasons from 2013-2019 before being hired to manage Utah Valley.
In his four seasons in Orem, Utah, Madsen led the Wolverines to two regular season conference titles and was named the 2023 Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.
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«I couldn’t be more excited to welcome Mark, his wife Hannah and their children to the Cal Family,» Knowlton said. «We conducted an exhaustive search and one name kept rising to the top, and that’s Mark Madsen.
Utah Valley Wolverines head coach Mark Madsen looks on during the second half of their first round game against the New Mexico Lobos in the 2023 National Invitation Tournament at The Pit on March 15, 2023 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Wolverines defeated the Wolves 83-69. (Sam Wasson/Getty Image)
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«Mark is a person of great character, high energy, high intensity and he has done it the right way. He is intense. He is passionate. He loves his student athletes and loves to compete. We want an ambassador for this program who will make us proud and he will develop our youngsters, both on and off the field. I am absolutely thrilled to have Mark lead our program into the future.»
The Golden Bears have struggled in recent years, failing to finish each of the past six seasons with a winning record.
In 2022-23, Cal went 3-29 and the program failed to reach the NCAA Tournament since 2016.