Cal went 0-3 on its trip to San Juan Capistrano last week but senior forward Fardaws Aimaq was named Pac-12 Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 18.3 points and 14.3 rebounds over that stretch.
A 6-foot-11 native of Vancouver, B.C. and a transfer from Texas Tech, Aimaq is averaging 16.7 points for the season and leads the Pac-12 in rebounding at 10.9 per game. His 4.1 offensive rebounds per outing also lead the conference.
Aimaq recorded double-doubles in all three games last week:
— 18 points and 11 rebounds against UTEP
— A season-his 23 points and 14 rebounds vs. Tulane
— 14 points and a season-high 18 rebounds vs. San Diego State
Aimaq was in the news for an incident during and after the UTEP game where he reported that a fan directed racial remarks in his direction and he responded by going into the grandstands afterward to exchange words with the man.
The incident did not involve any physical contact but first-year coach Mark Madsen asked tournament officials to investigate and ban the fan from the remainder of the event, and he also had a private conversation with Aimaq about the appropriate response to taunting from fans.
Aimaq shot 58 percent from the field in the games at the SoCal Challenge and SoCal Showcase. He is the first Cal player to earn Pac-12 Player of the Week honors since Grant Anticevich in December 2021.
Cal is 2-5 under Madsen, although the Bears took San Diego State to overcome before losing on Saturday. They played all three games down south without Devin Askew, Jalen Celestine and Keonte Kennedy, who are expected to be starters or part of the primary rotation but currently are injured.
Madsen has said he expects all three of them to return, but there is no word on their status heading into the Bears’ next game, Saturday at home against a Santa Clara team that is 6-1 and owns a neutral-site victory over Oregon.
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