Mark Madsen (basketball)

Mark Ellsworth Madsen (born January 28, 1976) is an American basketball coach and former NBA player who is the head coach of the California Golden Bears of the ACC. Due to his hustle and physical style of play, he received the nickname "Mad Dog" while playing for the San Ramon Valley High School Wolves, and the moniker continued during his time with the Stanford Cardinal and beyond. He played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Los Angeles Lakers, winning two NBA championships. He also played for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Mark Madsen
Madsen with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2007
California Golden Bears
PositionHead coach
LeagueAtlantic Coast Conference
Personal information
Born (1976-01-28) January 28, 1976 (age 48)
Walnut Creek, California, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High schoolSan Ramon Valley
(Danville, California)
CollegeStanford (1996–2000)
NBA draft2000: 1st round, 29th overall pick
Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers
Playing career2000–2009
PositionPower forward / center
Number35
Coaching career2009–present
Career history
As player:
20002003Los Angeles Lakers
20032009Minnesota Timberwolves
As coach:
2009–2010Utah Flash (assistant)
2012–2013Stanford (assistant)
2013Los Angeles D-Fenders
20132019Los Angeles Lakers (assistant)
2019–2023Utah Valley
2023–presentCalifornia
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As coach:

  • WAC regular season champion (2021, 2023)
  • WAC Coach of the Year (2023)
Career NBA statistics
Points975 (2.2 ppg)
Rebounds1,157 (2.6 rpg)
Assists181 (0.4 apg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  United States
Goodwill Games
Gold medal – first place2001 BrisbaneNational team
Summer Universiade
Gold medal – first place1999 PalmaNational team

College career

Madsen played NCAA basketball at Stanford, where he finished his career ranked in the school's career top 10 in blocks and rebounds. In addition, Madsen helped the Cardinal to four NCAA tournament appearances, including a Final Four berth in 1998. Perhaps his signature moment at Stanford was his dunk and free throw that gave Stanford a lead over Rhode Island, propelling the team into the Final Four, where it lost to eventual champion Kentucky. Madsen was a two-time All-American and a two-time All-Pac-10 selection.

Professional career

Los Angeles Lakers (2000–2003)

The Los Angeles Lakers selected Madsen in the first round (29th pick overall) of the 2000 NBA draft. He contributed to the Lakers' NBA championships in 2001 and 2002, and became well known for his goofy dances at the victory parades for those championships.

Talking about his prime with the Lakers, Shaquille O'Neal said that the only player who could thwart him from his dominant play was Madsen. "He used to beat me up in practice", O'Neal said.[1]

Minnesota Timberwolves (2003–2009)

Madsen signed with the Timberwolves as a free agent before the start of the 2003–04 NBA season. He played six seasons for the Wolves.[2][3]

On July 20, 2009, Madsen was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers along with Craig Smith and Sebastian Telfair in exchange for Quentin Richardson.[4] On August 21, 2009, he was waived by the Clippers.[5]

Madsen's final NBA game was played on April 15, 2009 in a 90-97 loss to the Sacramento Kings. In his final game, Madsen was the team's starting power forward, but he played for only 9 and a half minutes and recorded no stats. His career averages were 2.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 0.4 assists in 11.8 minutes played per game.

Coaching career

Los Angeles D-Fenders (2013)

Following being waived, Madsen was hired as the assistant coach for the Utah Flash of the NBA Development League (D-League).[6] In 2012, he was hired as an assistant coach at Stanford.[7] On May 13, 2013, he was named head coach of the Los Angeles D-Fenders, a D-League team owned by the Los Angeles Lakers.[8]

Los Angeles Lakers

On July 19, 2013, Madsen was promoted to a player development coach position with the Lakers.[9] On September 16, 2014 Madsen was promoted to full-fledged assistant coach by Byron Scott.[10] After Byron Scott was dismissed as head coach of the Lakers, new head coach Luke Walton retained Madsen as assistant coach on July 1, 2016.[11]

Utah Valley (2019–2023)

Madsen was hired as the head coach at Utah Valley University on April 14, 2019.[12]

California (2023–present)

Madsen was hired as the head coach at the University of California, Berkeley on March 29, 2023. Madsen is the 19th men's basketball head coach in Cal history.[13][14] On March 12, 2024, Madsen signed a two-year contract extension through the 2029–30 season.[15]

Personal life

Madsen is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Madsen speaks Spanish, acquiring the language from a two-year mission abroad in Málaga, Spain on behalf of his church following his graduation from high school.

As a youth, Madsen attained the rank of Eagle Scout and credits Scouting with teaching him about leadership, character and mentoring.[16]

In fall 2010, Madsen enrolled in the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In June 2012, he received an M.B.A. degree with a Certificate in Public Management.[17]

Madsen married Hannah Harkness on September 3, 2016.

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game
 FG% Field goal percentage 3P% 3-point field goal percentage FT% Free throw percentage
 RPG Rebounds per game APG Assists per game SPG Steals per game
 BPG Blocks per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high
 † Won an NBA championship

Regular season

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2000–01L.A. Lakers7039.2.4871.000.7032.2.3.1.12.0
2001–02L.A. Lakers59511.0.452.000.6482.7.7.3.22.8
2002–03L.A. Lakers542214.5.423.5902.9.7.3.43.2
2003–04Minnesota721217.3.495.000.4833.8.4.5.33.6
2004–05Minnesota411414.7.515.5003.1.4.2.32.1
2005–06Minnesota62710.9.409.000.4262.3.2.4.31.2
2006–07Minnesota5608.4.535.5171.6.2.2.21.1
2007–08Minnesota2067.6.158.2501.9.2.2.1.5
2008–09Minnesota1916.1.214.000.9.2.1.1.3
Career4537011.8.457.063.5272.6.4.3.22.2

Playoffs

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2001L.A. Lakers1303.7.077.600.8.3.0.2.4
2002L.A. Lakers701.4.000.000.3.0.0.0.0
2003L.A. Lakers12214.1.419.000.4382.31.0.3.22.8
2004Minnesota17013.1.531.4483.4.1.3.22.8
Career4929.2.403.000.4602.0.4.2.21.7

Head coaching record

College

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Utah Valley Wolverines (Western Athletic Conference) (2019–2023)
2019–20Utah Valley11–195–108th
2020–21Utah Valley11–119–4T–1st1
2021–22Utah Valley20–1210–87th
2022–23Utah Valley28–915–31stNIT Semifinals
Utah Valley:70–51 (.579)39–25 (.609)
California Golden Bears (Pac-12 Conference) (2023–present)
2023–24California13–199–11T–6th
California:13–19 (.406)9–11 (.450)
Total:83–70 (.542)

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

  1. ^ Due to irregularities in the WAC standings due to cancelled games resulted from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic throughout the season, Utah Valley and Grand Canyon were declared co-champions in the regular season as both teams had 9 wins in conference play. This was contrary to the fact Utah Valley finished with one extra loss and thus an inferior winning percentage in conference play.

References