Colin Mequet

I’m not being a contrarian, and I don’t take perverse joy in raining on the parade — I didn’t know there was a parade. I languish in this misery of mine because I dream of what Cal could be, but I can’t see us getting there anytime soon.

Among the 32 teams competing in the tournament this summer, five Cal alumni — Alex Morgan, Ifeoma Onumonu, Guro Bergsvand, Betsy Hassett and Daisy Cleverley — will represent four countries vying for world glory.

While the Bears have been off the court during his first few months in charge, Madsen oversaw massive squad turnover. With eight outgoing and five incoming transfers, Cal will look like a completely different team next season.

Even if club values keep increasing and the level of play continues to shatter expectations, it’s the ability for small clubs to dream and one day realize improbable glory that is the lifeblood of the sport.

McMorris came into his own for the Aztecs during his standout junior season, during which he led the team with 90 tackles and four interceptions.

Born in Walnut Creek, Madsen is an East Bay local. Madsen is coming off a 28-9 season as head coach of Utah Valley — the winningest in school history.

The pair arrived at Cal in 2019 from Canada and Australia, respectively. Their departure will further entrench Cal’s dire scoring struggles and represent significant loss for an already-feeble Cal team.

The move was announced by Cal Athletic Director Jim Knolwton on Thursday, just one day after the Bears crashed out of the Pac-12 tournament in a 69-52 loss to Washington State.

The Bears played with close to their ideal lineup, considering the players available for the rest of the season, and actually put together extended spells of good basketball — two factors that have rarely coincided this season. It just wasn’t enough.

Rock bottom nowhere in sight, where do the Bears go from here? The answer is simple: down.