Cal men's basketball coach Mike Montgomery said at the beginning of the season that his team didn't have a powerful inside presence.

Someone who could complement the Bears' multiple weapons on the perimeter. Someone who could dominate the glass on both ends of the floor.

Someone who Max Zhang hopes to be.

"Max is a big confidence guy," Montgomery said. "He just doesn't have a lot of confidence in himself."

Zhang admits that he isn't yet a force in the lane, but he sure seems to be trying.

In his first career start on Sunday against Princeton, the 7-foot-3 sophomore had seven points on 3-for-3 shooting to go along with five rebounds and two blocked shots in 24 minutes of action.

Filling in for starting center Markhuri Sanders-Frison, who was out with the flu, Zhang used his height to balance the offense and anchor the defense.

And on Wednesday evening against New Mexico (6-0) at The Pit in Albuquerque, N.M., the China native will try to do the same.

Working Zhang -- as well as several other reserves -- into the rotation will take some time, though.

"It really is dependent upon the rest of our players to understand," Montgomery said. "For a while, we were throwing bounce passes down to him. And I said, 'Guys, why would you throw a bounce pass down to Max? Make him go up and get it.'

"I think the players are learning how to make him better. They really like Max. They love it when he does something well ... We're trying to get him to play above the opposition."

Against the Lobos, Zhang could again make an impact for Cal (4-2).

Perhaps most importantly, he will attempt to slow Darington Hobson, a 6-foot-8 forward who leads the Lobos with 18.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.

His progress as a reliable big man seems to depend on his ability to be physically aggressive. To that end, Zhang recently began boxing with strength and conditioning coach Mike Blasquez.

"I'm probably not gonna be very good, but I like boxing," Zhang said.

Zhang, who estimated that he has gained at least 35 pounds since he joined the Bears in 2008, is working on bringing to the court more of the intensity and energy that Montgomery said he shows during practice drills.

Point guard Jerome Randle, dwarfed by Zhang at Monday's press conference, is enjoying the maturation of his tallest teammate.

"He's always trying to get better," Randle said. "He's made tremendous strides.

"Just having him down there, and just being aggressive like he played (against the Tigers), I think that's definitely gonna help us."

In its first road game since losing twice in a preseason tournament at Madison Square Garden, Cal will again be without senior forward Theo Robertson (foot).

Montgomery said Sanders-Frison and backup point guard Jorge Gutierrez, who played seven minutes in the first half on Sunday, could see limited action.

Tags: CAL MEN'S BASKETBALL, JEROME RANDLE, MAX ZHANG, MIKE MONTGOMERY