Focus on present, hopes for future
LAS VEGAS — The three starting freshmen for Cal essentially picked Option D when answering questions on the eve of the Pac-12 tournament.
Asked Tuesday morning what they were hoping to get out of their first Pac-12 tourney — and given prompts, like sewing up some individual records they’ve been chasing, getting experience on a big stage or winning a game or two — they simultaneously opted for “none of the above.”
“We’re trying to win it all,” 6-foot-9, 209-pound forward Justice Sueing said. “It’s all new. Records don’t matter. Anyone can win. Anyone can lose. “My mind-set is to win it all.” Cal (8-23) has lost more games this season than any team in program history and enters the conference tournament with the worst odds of winning it.
The 12th-seeded Bears probably won’t win their opening game against fifth-seeded Stanford on Wednesday, and upsetting UCLA, (probably) Arizona and whichever team emerges from the other side of the bracket in succession is less likely than being dealt back-to-back royal flushes.
Cal hasn’t had a four-game winning streak all season, and its only three-game run was against San Diego State, Cal State Fullerton and Seattle in mid-December.
But give this to the Bears’ three freshmen: With people still trying to find their way home from the night before and the Big Apple Coaster whirring out the window behind them, Sueing, Juhwan Harris-Dyson and Darius McNeill were already in business mode Tuesday morning.
Undistracted by the vices Las Vegas has to offer, the three sat in the team’s suite talking about the day’s plan, which included two practices and a video session. All of the losing has made them want to win even more.
Even on days off, McNeill heads to the gym to work on his jumper. Hours after home
“We’re trying to win it all. It’s all new. Records don’t matter. Anyone can win. Anyone can lose. My mind-set is to win it all.” Justice Sueing, Cal forward
games, Sueing often remains at Haas Pavilion — just him, headphones and a ball, replaying how scenarios could have unfolded differently.
“Seeing this side of it makes you appreciate all the hard work it takes to win in college basketball,” said Harris-Dyson, a 6-5, 198-pound guard. “It makes you want to get a lot better, because if you’re not winning, you think you must not be doing everything you can be doing.”
In a recent conversation with The Chronicle, head coach Wyking Jones said he expects the three freshmen to go down as some of the best players to ever come through the program. That might not be complete hyperbole.
Sueing is already fifth on the school’s freshmen scoring list, and he’s four steals from moving into third place on that list. That would leave him behind only Jason Kidd and Shareef Abdur-Rahim.
McNeill’s next three-pointer will give him sole possession of the school’s freshman record, breaking a tie with Brooklyn Nets guard Allen Crabbe. Harris-Dyson, the most consistent defender of the three, has shown flashes of an all-around glue game, like his 10-point, 11-rebound, seven-assist performance at Washington State in January.
“We don’t think about the legacy we could leave, but when you hear people talk about it, it kind of puts it in perspective,” Harris-Dyson said.
Sueing said: “Going through the season and playing with these dudes, we’ve seen that little connection and that little spark that gives us hope for the future. It’s hard right now, but down the road, I think it’ll be great.”