Ask The Bears Responses: Ben Braun
From Joe Buckley in San Francisco, CA:
How much of an impact have the NCAA sanctions imposed on the program affected
recruiting? Did the sanctions have anything to do with fact that Cal had no
players signed in the early signing period?
Braun: "It's possible. Even though most recruits know that with a
one-year penalty, they won't be affected if they come to Cal, just the fact
that there's a sanction out there may have some impact. It's more of an issue
from a negative recruiting standpoint. Other coaches will bring it up and try to
make it a factor. Most players will see through that. We're involved with some
very good players and I don't think it's an issue with them."
From Jeff J. in San Francisco, CA:
What do you find is the most important thing to a top recruit, the coach,
current players, chance to play immediately, TV exposure, or the school? Which
is Cal's biggest advantage?
Braun: "I don't think it's one thing. It's a combination. However, our
school's reputation academically, our alumni and our fan support is probably
our biggest selling point. Of course, you also have to sell yourself and your
coaching staff. That relationship is critical."
From Randolph in Berkeley, CA:
Your teams have been doing a fantastic job on defense--what are some of the keys
to making a good defense?
Braun: "Defense is mainly effort and pride. Great players realize that
championship teams are built around defense."
From Ben Chew in Fremont, CA:
How would you compare your past teams at Eastern Michigan with last year's
California squad?
Braun: "There are some similarities and some differences. While I've had
some senior squads at Eastern Michigan, I don't think I've ever had such a
senior-dominated team as we did last year here at Cal. The experience factor was
so much different than I've ever had before."
From Aaron Ulrich in Whittier, CA:
Until 1992, Cal basketball was principally based on California athletes. Now, it
seems to have a foreign as well as an Eastern mixture, with only 2 of your 9
scholarship players actually from California. Do you see it continuing down
this path, or do you see it revolving back to what the standard was? Most
coaches seem to answer this by saying they are going to recruit the best young
men available... How do you feel?
Braun: "The California players are getting better and better. I've been
impressed with the players coming out of the prep ranks in California. That's
been one of our goals is to attract some of the top players in California and
get them to stay in state. While we're doing that, we're going to continue to
recruit nationally and internationally. I do think, however, that you'll see
more players from the state of California coming to Cal than you have in the
past several years."
From Dee in Grand Rapids, MI:
Congratulations on getting Geno Carlisle and Thomas Kilgore. Both will be great
additions to your program. How did you persuade Calisle and Kilgore to come to
a program on probation?
Braun: "Both players were looking for a home where they would be
comfortable. With just two years left of eligibility, they wanted to be sure
they were familiar with not just a school but also the coaching staff. They came
here because they knew me when I was in Michigan, understood my philosophy and I
think there was a trust factor."
From Bill Vaughn in Moraga, CA:
Congratulations on last season's success! How can a coach today attract talent
good enough to win without losing them to the NBA after only one or two years?
Braun: "That's a problem most coaches don't have to worry about. Coaches
will always try to get the best players and there's always a chance they'll go
early to the NBA. I don't think a coach will turn down a player because he's too
talented. That just doesn't happen."
From Ed Barnett in San Jose, CA:
Congratulations on the great 96-97 season. I'm excited about the direction of
the basketball program. Question: What is your philosophy about signing
recruits in the Fall or the Spring periods - sign the good prospect in the Fall
or ensure that he continues to develop during his senior year in high school and
sign him in the Spring?
Braun: "We've always tried to take the best players, whenever they're
available. A lot of times there's a rush to sign players in the fall. But there
are some very good players available in the spring. We've taken the approach
that if we can't secure the top players we want in the fall, we're going to
patient and look for the players in the spring."
From Andrew Wilson in Seattle, WA:
Your players seem to work very hard for you. How do you keep them motivated,
especially during seasons like this one, where the team is restricted from
post-season play? Do you have motivational techniques, or do you recruit players
that are very dedicated, or is there something else?
Braun: "It's both. We try to challenge players individually to improve
and to buy in to seeing our team improve. The reward a player has is from team
play and team success. We spend a lot of time away from basketball talking about
work ethic and how that carries over to other parts of life. We try to get
players to be as challenging to themselves as the coaches are. I've always had
some success in having players to understand the importance to be
self-motivated. It comes from the coaching staff initially, but it ultimately
comes from the player."
From Craig in Los Angeles, CA:
As you proved last year, it doesn't take a team of "blue chip" players to be
successful, but there are benefits to a talented recruiting class, with respect
to this year's upcoming entering class are you concentrating on any blue chips,
or is your focus more on building a TEAM, and how is it going?
Braun: "You can do both. You can get top-notch players and build a team.
That's something we're trying to do. We're going after the elite player, but
we're not afraid not to take a player who is a role player. Whatever you have to
do to get your team to be successful. I think everybody's role changes and is
minimized to some degree from what they were in high school, so a star player in
high school is often a role player at the college level."
From Scott Pollak in San Carlos, CA:
To me, Sean Lampley has been the biggest surprise of the season. For a freshman
he seems very confident and athletic. Do you think in future years he will
become the type of player who will be able to carry the team in a manner similar
to Ed Gray, Michael Dickerson (in the beginning of last year) or Charles
O'Bannon?
Braun: "I think Sean Lampley will be a tremendous combination player for
us. He'll give us great versatility and will give us an opportunity to gain an
edge on an opponent because he can create a mismatch at either big guard or
small forward. He's also the type of player who will do whatever it takes to
make us successful. One game he may be stopper, one game he's a scorer, one game
he's a defender, one game he's a rebounder. He's a winner who wants to
contribute. Sean will be a reflection of a team player. I don't think he'll be a
30-points a game guy. But he'll be a guy who gives us value in different ways than
just points. He'll do the little things. But they'll be just as important as
scoring."
From Larry Berroya in Sacramento, CA:
Do you think Earl Boykins can play in the NBA?
Braun: "Yes. He possesses many of the things you need to have in the NBA.
He's so tough mentally. He's a very skilled player and he's in tremendous
physical condition. And he's got a lot of confidence. All those abilities give
him the edge to make it in the NBA, despite his lack of size. As much as it may
be a mismatch against him, I think he'll also create some mismatches with his
quickness."
From Aaron Ulrich in Whittier, CA:
Do you feel the committment that you showed to your current players will also
encourage recruiting and players already on the team, to continue to stay in
school? I am sure you feel that it can't hurt, but what is your feeling as far
as the early departures? Is there a better system?
Braun: "I don't think it's really wide-scale. Very few players have the
ability to leave early for the NBA. Should it ever get to be an epidemic, than I
think the system should change. But, you're talking about a handful of kids a
year, so I don't think its a huge problem. The fact that I stayed at Cal has
helped us because the players in our program and those looking at us as a
prospective school feel a strong sense of commitment from me and from our
administration. I think that will help us down the line build what we're trying
to build here at Cal."
From Jay Hamerslag in Rancho Mirage, CA:
How many free throws does each player commit during practice each day? Our free
throw percentage must improve if we are going to win with the personnel we have
this year. If they can't make ten in a row, each one should stay on the court
until that feat is accomplished....each day! What do you think about that idea?
Braun: "I'm open to all ideas to help our free throw percentage. One
should understand it's very hard to simulate game conditions in practice. Free
throws usually take place under fatigue, duress and pressure. You're fooling
yourself if you really think that those conditions can be simulated in exactly
the same way. We have a variety of drills we do in practice, but mostly it's a
matter of confidence that players gain by being successful in games. The more we
get to the line, the better we're going to become."
From David Walther in San Francisco, CA:
Coach Braun- I have been a Cal follower since my first Harmon game (Cal
(Campanelli) v. 'Nova (Massimino) and am very excited about your program.
Stability is exactly what Cal and the Pac-10 need. My question involves Sean
Marks and Kenyon Jones. Both players have worked together for some time now, yet
this season they appear to be going after the same blocks/rebounds/loose balls.
I know both players hustle a great deal, but it appears that they are both
trying to play some combination of C/PF. Are the roles for both of these two
the same on the offensive and defensive ends?
Braun: "Offensively, Sean Marks has to have a presence on the perimeter
and hit some jumpers. Kenyon's role is to carve out a place in the paint. Those
are the differences offensively. On defense, Kenyon usually matches up with
opposing centers and Sean matches up against forwards. There's a difference on
both ends of the court."
From Steve in Fremont, CA:
Why have you played so few games (6 games as of 12/28), whereas many teams
(Kansas has already played 15) play many more preseason games? Does the NCAA
penalty have anything to do with this?
Braun: "Sure the NCAA penalty has something to do with it. We weren't
able to play in any pre-season tournaments, as well as any exhibition games. We
also decided to play one of our non-conference games during the Pac-10 season
which normally might have come during December. We did it because, without
exhibitions, we felt like we'd be further along in February rather than
December."
From Craig in Berkeley, CA:
It's nice to see Kenyon Jones' play improve game by game this year. In the past
he's seemed to wear his emotions on his sleeve, and let fouls and "bad" calls
throw him off his game. As a fan it's painful to watch his emotional nature
throw him off his own game. QUESTIONS: 1. Have you coached him to control his
emotions? 2. If so, how do you retain his enthusiasm without letting his mood
swings antagonize officials and demoralize himself?
Braun: "Kenyon still has a ways to go, but he has improved his attitude
and his emotional responses. That's something that young players go through
while maturing. He's got to realize it's not going to help his progress. When he
can concentrate on not wearing his emotions on his sleeve, he's going to be a
better player. He's improving in that area."
From Jeff Rhode in Bristol, CT:
Have you had the opportunity to sit down with Oski the Bear and get to know him?
Happy Holidays and New Year to you and the team.
Braun: "Once I can get Oski off the Stanford tree, we're planning to sit
down with him and have a cup of tea. He's not much of a conversationalist, but
he's a heck of a listener. My best to you and your family and I hope you're
surviving the winter back there in Bristol."
From Bob McElderry in Sacramento, CA:
With many of the top players in the country already committing to other
programs, what will be your strategy in the spring? Will JUCO players be the
primary targets?
Braun: "We're primarily focused on incoming freshmen. We may look at
junior college players, but that's not our focus right now. We're on some very
talented players right now, who have narrowed their top choices and we're in the
mix. We're probably in the top three for four or five different players, which
is good because they're top players."
From Randall Cockshott in Tallahassee, FL:
What do you do to mentally prepare your team for play throughout the season?
Braun: "Without post-season play as a goal this year, we're trying to
make the conference a big focus for us. And just improvement. We want to make
getting better every game a primary goal for us this year."
From J.P.Lapeyre in San Diego, CA:
Ben, Thanks for making Cal your home. Let's pretend I am a blue-chip recruit
being wooed by UNC, Michigan, UCLA and Cal (among others). My priorities are:
1. Final Four in 3 years 2. Improving my skills as an NBA caliber big man. 3.
World class academics 4. A full "college experience". Why should I choose CAL?
Braun: "We've pretty much established the last three to a large degree.
The only area we want to establish is getting to a Final Four. As a Sweet 16
team last year, we're on the verge. We're going to need some of our major
recruits to step up and help us get to that level. There's also a selling point
we can use that a player can be part of a special feeling of being a major part
in taking a team to the Final Four for the first time in so many years. We take
that approach with players to a certain extent."
From Jeff in Encinitas, CA:
Could the win over Oregon State be a turning point for this season?
Braun: "It was a huge win because it proved to our team that we can
bounce back from a bad performance. It also proved to our team that if we go out
and work extremely hard and give it everything we have, we can give anybody in
this league a real battle. We don't know if it's a turning point. I really think
every game is a turning point. You build it one game at a time, but that was a
big step in the right direction."
