Cal ranked in Preseason Coaches poll

The California Golden Bears Men’s basketball team will open the 2011-12 season ranked #24 in the Preseason Coaches poll.

The Bears return their top three scorers, guards Jorge Gutierrez, Allen Crabbe and forward Harper Kamp, from a team that expected, but did not receive, an invitation to the NCAA tournament last season. Instead, the Bears (18-15) were selected for the NIT where they lost to Colorado in the 2nd round.

Coach Mike Montgomery adds two 3-star recruits, according to Rivals.com, to the mix: 6-foot-9 power forward David Kravish and 6-foot-8 small forward Christian Behrens.

The Bears host UC Irvine to open the season on November 11th. Their first conference game is December 29th against USC at Haas Pavilion.