Mark Madsen. Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

Cal hiring former Lakers champion to be next head coach

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Darryn Albert | Last updated 3/29/23

The Cal Golden Bears are hiring a guy who once had big success elsewhere in the state.

Jeff Goodman of Stadium reported Wednesday that Cal has agreed to a deal with former NBA center Mark Madsen to be their next head coach. Madsen had been coaching at Utah Valley and was expected to take the coaching job at Stanford, his alma mater, but it never opened up.

Mark Madsen has informed his players at Utah Valley he is leaving for Cal, source told @Stadium.

Everyone had the Mad Dog going back to his alma mater, but Stanford didn’t make a coaching move and now he ends up in Berkeley instead. https://t.co/xG7Hpc0Wqg

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 29, 2023

Cal later confirmed the news in a post to their Twitter page.

An East Bay native is coming home.

The new head coach of the Golden Bears is @madsen_mark!

» https://t.co/QDi2kVAReM #GoBears pic.twitter.com/UvrOV7ZrLf

— Cal Basketball (@CalMBBall) March 29, 2023

Nicknamed “Mad Dog,” Madsen, 47, played in the NBA for nine seasons from 2000-09. He was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers’ championship teams in 2001 and 2002, serving as a backup to Shaquille O’Neal (and as an occasional spot starter). Madsen was known for his energetic interior play … as well as his dancing.

19 years ago today, Mark Madsen debuted… THE DANCE. @madsen_mark

More @Lakers talk on 710 AM ESPN https://t.co/Wda75IMccI pic.twitter.com/3NypvFKOBA

— ESPN Los Angeles (@ESPNLosAngeles) June 18, 2020

After retiring as a player, Madsen coached in the NBA G League and even served as an assistant for the Lakers from 2013-19. He took the Utah Valley job in 2019, leading the team to an overall record of 70-51 (.579) with two WAC regular season championships and an NIT Tournament berth in his four seasons. Madsen also won WAC Coach of the Year for this season.

For Cal, they have fallen on extremely rough times. This season, the Golden Bears were 3-29 (.094) and finished just 38-87 (.304) over previous coach Mark Fox’s four seasons in charge. They had some other interesting head coaching targets but have now picked Madsen to be their guy.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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