By ADAM ZAGORIA
Fardaws Aimaq is headed to Cal to reunite with his former coach Mark Madsen.
The 6-foot-11, 245-pound big man averaged 11.1 points and 7.9 rebounds last season for the Red Raiders after averaging 19 and 14 the season before under Madsen at Utah Valley.
Madsen, the former Stanford star, coached at Utah Valley from 2019-23 before taking the Cal job. He led Utah Valley to the NIT semifinals this season.
“Having grown up here, I truly believe that Cal is a sleeping giant in terms of men’s basketball,” Madsen said at his introductory news conference on Monday. “This is a sleeping giant. This is a program that can be a nationally ranked program year in and year out. That’s what I’m excited about.”
Madsen is faced with a tough task, taking over a program that went 3-29 this season, which led to the decision to fire coach Mark Fox.
Cal went 38-87 during Fox’s tenure, ending his final season on a 16-game losing streak. The Golden Bears haven’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2016 and haven’t won a game in the tournament since 2013.
(The AP contributed)
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