You won't find many people who dislike Ben Braun, the human being. He is charming, passionate, funny, and an all-around class act. That does not change the fact, however, that his California Golden Bears are all but a lock to miss the NCAA Tournament for the 4th time in 5 years. Braun joined Cal as its head coach in 1996, and in that time, the Bears have reached the Sweet 16 just once -- in Braun's first year, with previous coach Todd Bozeman's players.
After a promising start this season, Cal finished 6-12 in Pac-10 play for the 3rd time in 4 years, placing 9th in the conference. With the high level of talent on the Bears' roster, these types of results are unacceptable. Forward Ryan Anderson and center DeVon Hardin will most likely be first-round NBA Draft picks, and Jerome Randle, Patrick Christopher, and Jamal Boykin fill out Cal's starting lineup with three more very capable scorers. Although the Pac-10 Conference is extremely deep this season, a 9th-place finish is a major disappointment for a team that had legitimate NCAA Tournament dreams coming into the year.
It will not be easy to cut ties with Ben Braun, as he truly is a great human being and runs his program the right way. However, the numbers do not lie. Cal men's basketball has been mired in mediocrity for the past decade, despite some very good talent (notably Ryan Anderson, DeVon Hardin, Leon Powe, Joe Shipp, Sean Lampley, and Shareef Abdur-Rahim). If Cal is satisfied bobbing around .500 year after year while staying fairly competitive in conference, then Ben Braun is your guy. But if and when the Bears want to take that next step, they will have to do so with a new leader.
After a promising start this season, Cal finished 6-12 in Pac-10 play for the 3rd time in 4 years, placing 9th in the conference. With the high level of talent on the Bears' roster, these types of results are unacceptable. Forward Ryan Anderson and center DeVon Hardin will most likely be first-round NBA Draft picks, and Jerome Randle, Patrick Christopher, and Jamal Boykin fill out Cal's starting lineup with three more very capable scorers. Although the Pac-10 Conference is extremely deep this season, a 9th-place finish is a major disappointment for a team that had legitimate NCAA Tournament dreams coming into the year.
It will not be easy to cut ties with Ben Braun, as he truly is a great human being and runs his program the right way. However, the numbers do not lie. Cal men's basketball has been mired in mediocrity for the past decade, despite some very good talent (notably Ryan Anderson, DeVon Hardin, Leon Powe, Joe Shipp, Sean Lampley, and Shareef Abdur-Rahim). If Cal is satisfied bobbing around .500 year after year while staying fairly competitive in conference, then Ben Braun is your guy. But if and when the Bears want to take that next step, they will have to do so with a new leader.
