California's signing of 6-foot-7 swingman Jaylen Brown (No. 4) and 6-foot-11 forward Ivan Rabb (No. 8) made it the only school to sign two players in the 2015 ESPN 100's top 10. Their arrival to a veteran roster brought high expectations.
The Golden Bears ranked No. 14 in the preseason, which was the program's highest mark since being No. 13 during the second poll of the 2009-10 season. The problem was, the team hadn't earned the accolades yet.
Getting the freshmen acclimated was more than just rolling the ball out at practice.