BearTalk

–Cal’s defense came together last week. That’s good timing.

–A transcript of our live chat yesterday.

–Stanford’s Toby Gerhart has defied the odds to become a top Heisman candidate.

While Cal was watching videotape of Ohio State . . .

AROUND THE PAC-10

Nic Wise had 15 points, seven assists, five steals and five turnovers and Arizona (2-0) beat Ben Braun’s Rice squad, 66-49 in Tucson . . . Sophomore Klay Thompson had a career-high 37 points (15-for-20 FGs) and Washington State (3-0) beat IPFW 89-71, despite the fact that no one else scored more than seven points.

THE NATIONAL SCENE

No. 1 Kansas will win most of the time when it outscores the opposition 33-3 from the 3-point line. That’s what happened in the Jayhawks’ 94-44 win over Central Arkansas . . . Kentucky’s starters scored all the club’s points in a 102-92 defeat of Sam Houston State. Freshman guard John Wall had 21 points, six assists and six turnovers.

LOCAL HERO

Former St. Mary’s HS-Berkeley star Larry Gurganious, a tranfer from Gonzaga, had 21 points and nine rebounds as UC Riverside scored an 87-71 win over La Verne, playing without Shirley.

 In my scouting report prior to Thursday’s Coaches vs. Cancer semifinal game against Syracuse, I posed four questions worth considering this week.

With Cal set to face Ohio State in Friday’s third-place game, let’s revisit those questions and grade the Bears on their performance so far at Madison Square Garden:

– What does Cal’s No. 13 national ranking mean?

Suffice the Bears will not be ranked anywhere near No. 13 after their 95-73 loss. But it means little at this point in the season. No one would agree more than coach Mike Montgomery, who has often stated preseason rankings reflect only which teams have the best cast of returning players. Cal has plenty of time to demonstrate whether it deserves national recognition, but in the eyes of the New York media, at least, the Syracuse game will take time to overcome.

– Can the Bears’ three senior perimeter players deliver in a high-octane setting?

The Bears get an incomplete on this one, of course, because Theo Robertson was sidelined by a foot injury. He won’t face the Buckeyes, either, so Cal isn’t playing right now with a full deck. Return Robertson and forward Harper Kamp (knee) to the lineup at some point, and we’ll get the chance to see what this team can do. Of course, no one knows just when that will be.

Jerome Randle played well against Syracuse with 25 points, but Patrick Christopher had just six points and was shooting 3-for-17 until making three late baskets.

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Jeff Tedford will coach his 100th game at Cal on Saturday. Only two other coaches in Cal history have coached more — Pappy Waldorf (103) and Stub Allison (102).

Tedford downplayed the significance of the milestone.

“When we win 100 games, that might be significant,” he said. “The 100th game is great and I’m very proud to be here and excited to be here. That’s great, but it really plays no significant role in the game.”

Also, with a win Saturday, Tedford will tie Waldorf for most wins by a Cal coach in the modern era. Tedford currently is 66-33 in his eight-year career. Waldorf went 67-32-4 from 1947-56.

“The game is for the players, for the seniors,” Tedford said. “It has nothing to do with me. It’s more about what their accomplishments are.”

If you go back before the modern era, Tedford ranks fourth all-time at Cal. Andy Smith is first with 74 wins from 1916-25, James Schaeffer is second with 73 (1909-15) and then Waldorf.

Good news on the health front tonight for the Bears. It looks like nose tackle Derrick Hill will finally return after missing the past three games with a stinger. Coach Jeff Tedford said Hill will be limited but will “be in uniform and ready to go.”

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This report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal listed Cal offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig as a possible candidate for the UNLV head coaching job. Ludwig said tonight that he has not been contacted about the job and isn’t interested.

“I have no reaction to it,” he said. “Nobody has called me. I haven’t talked to anybody from the university.”

And when asked if Ludwig would be interested if he was indeed contacted, he said: “Not at this time in my career. I’m just trying to beat Stanford.”

Wanted to give you a quick feel for yesterday’s Guardsmen Luncheon, which was held at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. As always, comedian Bob Sarlatte was the emcee and was entertaining. In attendance on the Cal side were coach Jeff Tedford, athletic director Sandy Barbour, left tackle Mike Tepper, safety Brett Johnson and radio announcer Joe Starkey. Stanford had coach Jim Harbaugh, athletic director Bob Bowlsby, safety Bo McNally, tight end Jim Dray and radio announcer Dave Flemming.

Both bands and cheerleaders took turns providing entertainment during the hour-long reception before the lunch. After lunch, each radio announcer did short interviews with the players and we heard from both coaches.

The highlight of the luncheon came after Johnson told Starkey he was majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis in human sexuality. Sarlatte didn’t waste any time taking advantage of that little tidbit of information. When he took the podium the next time, he informed the crowd that Johnson would be “putting on an extra credit seminar downstairs in the Tonga Room.”

FINAL SCORE: Syracuse 95, Cal 73. Yes, we had more wireless problems here at the Garden, then I had to sprint off to do post-game interviews and write my story for the print edition. So again, sorry  if it seemed like I suddenly dropped off the face of the earth.

A few post-game notes of importance:

– Mike Montgomery said there is no definitive diagnosis of Theo Robertson’s right foot injury, and that he expected on Wednesday that Theo would play. Then the pain became worse, even after Robertson did not practice Wednesday, so they pulled the plug. He wore a protective boot and will not play in Friday’s third-place game.

– Jerome Randle scored 25 points and was 5-for-9  from 3-point range. The rest of the team was 1-for-11 from beyond the arc, including 0-for-7 by Patrick Christopher, whom Monty defended, saying the Bears didn’t allow him to find any offensive rhythm. Christopher wound up with 12 points, six of them in the final 5 minutes, long afer the outcome was settled.

– Monty acknowledged that the two things he worried about most — Syracuse’s zone defense and its size — were the biggest factors in the game. But he was unhappy that 15 turnovers leading to 19 Syracuse points also contributed to the loss, and noted that the Bears became disorganized defensively at times.

– A couple other stats: Syracuse blocked nine shots, discouraging the Bears inside and forcing them to rely on perimeter shooting. The Orange bench outscored Cal’s reserves 41-12. Syracuse won easily despite missing nine free throws in the first half.

– Randle and Jamal Boykin, who had 14 points and eight rebounds, both said the Bears are happy they have a game Friday, so they can leave this one behind.  

12:30 2nd H: Cal has scored seven straight, including a 3-pointer by Randle, but Syracuse stil leads 64-48. Even so, Jim Boeheim called a timeout to settle his team. Randle has 21 points. Sanders-Frison is on the bench with four fouls, the third straight game he’s picked up four.

15:53 2nd H: We’re having some technical difficulties here at the Garden, so my apologies. Cal got within 44-35 early in the second half when Zhang blocked a shot, leading to a fastbreak layup by Randle. But Syracuse has opened things up and leads 59-41. Randle has 18 points for the Bears; not many other bright spots.

HALFTIME: Syracuse leads 44-33, despite missing nine free throws. So, clearly, it could have been much worse. Cal had 10 turnovers and Syracuse blocked six shots. Points in the paint: 20-10 for Syracuse. Randle had 14 points at halftime and shot 4-for-8. The rest of the team had 19 points and shot 9-for-28. Zhang started the second half.

0:31 1st H: The Bears called timeout and will try to take the last shot, trailing 44-33. A 3-pointer by Randle got them within 41-33, but Scoop Jardin just hit one for the Orange, who lead 44-33. Zhang has contributed in recent minutes, tipping in a miss by Randle and feeding Boykin for a layup.

3:55 1st H: Randle has 11 points, but no one else is providing the Bears any consistent offense, and Cal cannot stop the Orange. It’s 37-26, and Sanders-Frison is on the bench with three fouls. Boykin and Gutierrez each have two. Monty has few options at this point.

7:52 1st H: This is becoming a rout. Syracuse leads 30-16. The Orange is bigger, quicker, more aggressive and has Cal on its heels. Randle and Christopher came out of the game for the first time with 8 1/2 minutes left, and the Bears have turned the ball over on both possessions since. The Bears are relying on 3-point shots, not because the Syracuse defense is allowing them, but because Cal is getting its inside shots swatted. Randle and Christopher are back. And so is Boykin, even with two fouls.

11:42 1st H: The Orange leads 21-14. Syracuse’s size is giving Cal fits, but the Orange also is shooting it well from the perimeter. Max Zhang and D.J. Seeley are in the game. Seeley hit a 3-pointer to get the Bears within 18-14, but Brandon Triche answered with one of his own for the Orange. 

15:59 1ST H: Syracuse leads 9-7 and the Bears already are in foul trouble. Jamal Boykin went to the bench after his second with 17:58 left. 

STARTING LINEUPS: As expected, Cal will go with sophomore Jorge Gutierrez as its replacement for Theo Robertson (foot) in the starting five. The rest is the regular group: Markhuri Sanders-Frison, Jamal Boykin, Patrick Christopher and Jerome Randle. Syracuse will start Arinze Onuaku, Rick Jackson, Wes Johnson, Andy Rautins and Brandon Triche.

Theo Robertson was wearing a protective boot on his right foot while his teammates warmed up for tonight’s game with Syracuse and, obviously, will not play.

We’ll update later after getting comments from Robertson and coach Mike Montgomery, but this cannot be good news for a team whose hopes of improved depth may be fading.

Just got word from a team spokesman that senior small forward Theo Robertson has a right foot injury and, according to coach Mike Montgomery, is doubtful to play tonight.

The ailment apparently has not been fully diagnosed, and was not considered even potentially an issue until Tuesday evening. Robertson practiced in a limited fashion Wednesday and skipped today’s walk-through practice.

I don’t know much more than that, except that if Robertson is held out of tonight’s game vs. Syracuse, it’s apparently more of a precautionary move to make certain the situation doesn’t worsen.  It seems unlikely he would play Friday if he doesn’t go tonight.

The best guess is that sophomore Jorge Gutierrez would start if Robertson is held out. We’ll pass on more as soon as we have it.