Steve Victory JOURNAL – Season 26 (in Cali!!)
Victory liked the look of his new team the moment he saw their first workout. This group was raw, but the potential was there for greatness.
California basketball in 2028 seems much like N.C. State’s when Victory took over that program seven years earlier. The Golden Bears’ national prestige is above average (a respectable 61). The incoming freshmen (we’ll meet them and the other fellas below) are considered “superior” in talent. Former coach
Colin Dahl may have been ousted for not winning enough but he brought in the sixth-best recruiting class in the nation for 2028-29! Thank you very much…
Cal’s lone NCT title in men’s hoops came in 1959 when the Bears beat
Jerry West and the West Virginia Mountaineers 71-70. Cal also won the ACT in 1999. Dahl led the Bears to 11 NCT appearances in his 25 years (the same number as Victory during that span) but had been on an NCT drought of seven seasons.
Dahl’s best season came in 2009 when the Bears nearly won it all (finishing second to St. Joe’s). Dahl’s crew made the ACT Final Four in 2027 (runner-up) and 2027 (semifinalist), but the administration clearly wanted more – hence their aggressive pursuit of Victory (behind closed doors for awhile of course).
“We think you should be able to get this team to the NCT
this season,” administrators tell the coach in early November. That may be tough with the usual transition adjustments but not impossible. Cal’s overall talent level is considered “good” and the challenge is considered “easy.”
The pressure is on... Victory is ready...