Too bad

Finally,

I'm so glad to get this guy out. He can't coach and can't recruit. Cal has been bad for years. Even when they went to the tourney, they were so-so.......He is a nice guy but that won't get you wins!

Braun was.......... on the one hand respected in the bay area because of his integrity and because he was a true "student first, athlete second" type coach.

On the other hand, he was a sub-par recruiter and coach.  To be competitive in the Pac-10, you need more than a star player coming in about every 2 or 3 years. You need them every single year.  Granted, it is very difficult to remain commited to a "student first" atmosphere and at the same time recruit the type of talent they need to stay competitive, but it is possible, and Braun wasn't doing it.

Beyond that, he just wasn't a great floor coach either.  His teams lacked cohesiveness and chemistry.  It just seemed like they had no focus.

Whoever Cal hires will give a very good indication of whether the scool wants to maintain its student first mentality or whether they choose to win at all costs.  It will be interesting to see which choice they make.

Two consecutive 9th place finishes (really last place if you disregard Oregon State) ought to give the A.D. the right to find another coach.  Either that or offer Braun the same salary as a full-time professor if you want to stress how important academics are to the University.

Cal basketball would be the embarrassment of the Pac-10 if it weren't for Oregon State.  Not even a Cal fan, I'm sure they can do alot better with a new coach.  Look what Herb Sendek and Tony Bennett did for their schools the last 2 years.  Why shouldn't Cal at least try to compete?

Blugolden- You are spot on with your take on how Braun's offense works (or doesn't work)

However, I disagree with you on recruiting, and you've almost made my point for me becuase after you talk about all the talent they brought in have you mention Leon Powe.  Leon Powe plays for Boston.  He's no longer here, and that's my point.  Getting 1 or 2 standout recruits every  few doesn't cut it in the PAC-10.  An occasional Ryan Anderson or Leon Powe can't compete with the recruiting that UCLA or USC or Arizona does year after year.

Let's put it this way.  By Brauns own strict standards of who he brings in he was a good recruiter.  But by true competitive standards, his recruiting was sub-par.  It wasn't terrible, but sub-par.

Cal alum and hoops-freak here....

I think it is time for Braun to move on. He was an above average recruiter, seemed to have direct ties to Chicago(Lampley was a prize recruit, Randle was a nice catch at the time), and got the occasional big name player(Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Leon Powe notably).

What killed me is he never could make midgame adjustments to go with the ebb and flow of the game, particularly if there is one hot player who is just dominating. If an outside shooter is hot, Braun would never consider switching from zone to a box and 1 in order to ensure that player never had an uncontested shot. I still have nightmares about players like Eddie House having 50 point nights against Cal when Braun was not able to make any necessary adjustments. 

With the likes of Hardin, Anderson, Christopher and a decent supporting cast, they should be better than 9th in the conference this year. How can they beat WSU in Pullman, but get swept by smallish Oregon?

Thank you Ben, for the 12 years of representing Cal very well. But, it's time for a change.

I gotta think Mike Montgomery will throw his name in the hat for the job.

I say put Tedford in there :)