Mark Madsen leaves Utah Valley to become Cal's new coach

Utah Valley's Mark Madsen, the former Stanford star and NBA veteran, has been hired to be Cal's next head coach, the school announced Wednesday.

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Madsen guided Utah Valley to a regular-season WAC championship this season, and the Wolverines advanced to the NIT semifinals before losing 88-86 to UAB in overtime Tuesday night. They finished their season 28-9 overall and 15-3 in conference play.

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Over the past three seasons, Madsen and Utah Valley are 34-15 in WAC play.

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Before replacing Mark Pope at Utah Valley in 2019, Madsen spent six seasons as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers. He also spent time coaching in the G League and one season at Stanford as an assistant coach.

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A two-time all-conference selection in college, Madsen is best known for leading Stanford to the 1998 Final Four. He was a first-round pick of the Lakers in 2000, winning two NBA championships with the franchise before moving to the Minnesota Timberwolves for six seasons.

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Madsen was long perceived as the favorite to take over at his alma mater, but Stanford has opted to keep Jerod Haase the past two seasons despite the team's struggles. Cal made overtures to Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett, sources told ESPN, but after Bennett decided to stay with the Gaels, the search turned to Madsen. He chose not to wait another year for Stanford and will now take over at its Northern California rival.

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At Cal, Madsen replaces Mark Fox, who was fired earlier this month after a 3-29 campaign. The Golden Bears haven't been to the NCAA tournament since 2016.

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