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BERKELEY'S NEWS • NOVEMBER 19, 2023

Cal basketball's Joel Brown, Kuany Kuany enter transfer portal

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MARCH 23, 2023

Cal Athletics has confirmed to The Daily Californian that senior guard Joel Brown and senior power forward Kuany Kuany have entered the transfer portal.

The pair arrived at Cal in 2019 from Canada and Australia, respectively. They each played in the blue and gold for four years but retained an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brown and Kuany were key pieces in last year’s campaign and two of Cal’s three players to appear in every game.

Brown has been a mainstay for Cal since his freshman season. He played 81% of available minutes this season, leading the team in time on the court. Brown was not a high-volume scorer, but Cal benefitted greatly from his creative spark and lockdown defense. Last season, he ranked first on the team in total assists with 101 — far outpacing second-place Devin Askew with 39 — and total steals with 32.

Kuany’s Cal career had a less linear trajectory than Brown’s, but he had a similar impact last season. After seeing little of the court in his first two years in Berkeley, Kuany came into his own as an upperclassman. He grew into a valuable roleplayer in his junior season, then displayed sharp statistical growth in his senior year, nearly doubling his points and rebounds totals to finish second in both categories.

Brown and Kuany brought veteran experience to the court, but they also collectively comprised 27% of the Bears’ total points in the 2022-2023 season, when the team went 3-29. Their departure will further entrench the Bears’ dire scoring struggles and represent significant loss for an already-feeble Cal team.

Contact Colin Mequet at 

LAST UPDATED

MARCH 23, 2023