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		Morris Phillips on Cal basketball By Morris Phillips March 21, 2010

	Sportstalk: Duke's (31-5) Brian Zoubek led the way with 14 points and 13 rebounds in a 68-53 victory over the Cal Bears (24-11) in Jacksonville. Zoubek also had help from Lance Thomas, Miles and Mason Plumlee, against a Cal team, without suspended Omondi Amoke, leaving Jamal Boykin alone to combat the big Duke frontline. How tough was this game for Mike Mongomery to coach, as Duke had all sorts of weapons? Extremely tough. The combination of outside factors (Amoke's suspension, Christopher's early absence and Cal's lack of size) along with Duke's great effort made it near impossible. But as always, Montgomery had his guys prepared, and well-versed in what Duke would do, but the players couldn't execute the gameplan to the degree needed to win. Sportstalk: Morris, offensively, the Big Three couldn't manage a 20-point individual effort, or even close to one with Boykin finishing with 13, Jerome Randle 12, and Theo Robertson 10. Would you agree that Duke's defense should be credited for this? Absolutely, Duke deserves credit. Cal couldn't score, and finished 25 points off their season average. Duke's defense forces ballhandlers into dribble penetration and away from accurate entry passes with relentless on-ball pressure. But once ballhandlers get into the paint, Duke's help defenders collapse quickly. On top of that, I thought Duke's specific plans to stop Randle and Christopher were executed meticulously. Sportstalk: Morris can you sum up this year's season. Talk about what games stood out for you, and of course the Pac-10 Tournament in L.A. where the Bears nearly captured the conference tourney championship? From a fan's perspective, the season was incredible. The Bears played Ohio State, Syracuse, Kansas, Louisville and Duke in a real tour of college basketball royalty. Of course, they only won one of those games, but then they did what no Cal team had done in 50 years in capturing the conference title. Along the way, Randle and Christopher as well as the rest of the team established themselves as incredible performers. The comeback against Washington State, and the two victories over UCLA stand out, as well as the early conference wins over Stanford and USC.