I'm gonna get a jump on this tonight. If anyone has any additional questions they want me to answer, comment below and I'll answer your question as a follow up.
"I’m curious who the top (and realistic) targets are for ‘20. Who you feel Cal has a strong chance at landing."-djsit (@djsit)
At the moment, the recruit in 2020 who I feel Cal has the best odds at landing is 3-star small forward Brandon Angel. He has visited campus already and is a high academic kid with offers from Stanford, Dartmouth, Yale, Rice, and a bunch of UC schools. The vibe I got from him was very good.
The big target is of course 5-star center Walker Kessler. Both because he's big and because he's a 5-star. Sorry for the lame joke, haha. Duke and Auburn are the perceived front runners there and I've always said Duke is the "kiss of death offer." Meaning if a kid has a Duke offer, Cal and quite frankly no other school has a real shot at getting them. Just because Duke offers it all. A world class basketball program with a world class education. Who in their right mind would turn that down?
That all said, what gives Cal a shot is that Walker's brother Houston Kessler played under Mark Fox for all four of his years at Georgia (2013-14 season through 2016-17 season). If Fox didn't have a strong relationship with the Kessler family, Walker wouldn't have included Cal on his list. On top of that, Walker is reportedly planning to visit Cal in the fall, expressing sincere interest. So, while I do think Walker probably chooses Duke because it's the "kiss of death offer" that nobody turns down, I could see a scenario in which he chooses Cal because of the connection Fox has with his family and also the added bonus of Cal being a really good academic school.
The one thing that Cal does offer to Walker that Duke doesn't is the unique opportunity to be the face of a program. At Duke, you're just one of many greats to come through there. At Cal, when you are a big recruit like Walker is, you stand out more and that might appeal to him. We're just going to have to see how that one shakes out.
Those are the only two names in the 2020 class that I've really been able to get a feel for. That doesn't mean there aren't others, but those are the two that Cal seems to be gaining the most traction with.
Two names that I think we should keep an eye on are 3-star small forward Mwani Wilkinson out of Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas and 4-star shooting guard Jamal Mashburn, Jr. out of Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire.
Wilkinson because he has a relatively small offers list and Cal offered him pretty early relative to other schools. If he wants to stay on the West Coast and play at a major conference school, it's just Cal and USC that have offered so far. Texas Tech, Kansas State, Minnesota, and LSU have offered as well, but they aren't West Coast schools. So, I think Cal has a good opportunity to make an impression there.
As for Mashburn, he has a connection to two players on the Cal roster. Joel Brown because he also played at Brewster Academy and D.J. Thorpe via their dads, who played two seasons together in the NBA. Otis Thorpe and Jamal Mashburn both played together on the Miami Heat in the 1999-2000 season and were traded together to the Charlotte Hornets, spending the 2000-01 season together as well. I'm surprised I didn't look that up sooner, but at any rate, that connection could pay off for Cal as well. These guys are all interconnected, especially those who played together. If D.J. is having a positive experience with Mark Fox, I don't see why Otis Thorpe wouldn't put in the good word to Jamal Mashburn.
It's certainly possible others enter the picture as well, but at the moment, these are the names that I think have the best odds of landing with Cal. Everyone else that has been offered seems to be getting offered relatively late in the cycle without a particular connection to the program. I have been trying to set up interviews with other guys, so I'm hopeful to learn more about them in the coming weeks and months.
"Speaking of the Euros. When will Lars and the Greek be on Campus? Also curious how Lars performed in the tournament."-djsit
Lars should be on campus any day now or already on campus as his event has concluded. Klonaras’ event ends this week. Greece is still alive in the FIBA U18 European Championships and plays a quarterfinal match on Thursday. Once that is over, he should be in Berkeley within at least a week or so. So by the middle of August, if not sooner, both should be on campus.
As for how Lars played, check out his stats here. Germany finished in third place at the FIBA U20 European championships, taking home the bronze medal.
"With the number of recent offers for 2020 guys, are any of them realistic shots for Cal? This is pretty late in the game to offer 2020 guys, particularly those with lots of other offers. Have the assistant coaches been recruiting these guys for a long time and just recently decided to pull the trigger?"-philbert0 (@philbert0)
Great question and a valid concern. I too have been worried about this. I think this is one of those situations where you have to see how this plays out a bit. Cal has been offering a lot of guys pretty late in the cycle, which is not encouraging. It's hard for a new staff to get on guys early for the upcoming class, so a lot of it does depend on recruiting guys who you recruited at previous schools.
Andrew Francis has done a pretty good job of extending offers to guys who he recruited at Iowa (Dawson Garcia, Caleb Love, and Kerwin Walton). The problem is those three guys seem to eying other programs. Walton they just offered and Love is trimming his list on Friday, so I wouldn't hold my breath for Cal to make his list, though you never know.
Francis' midwest connections I could see paying dividends in the 2021 recruiting class and beyond as he's offered a good chunk of guys in Minnesota and other parts of the Midwest. He'll have more time to build those relationships and not be trying to sell a new school that is on the opposite side of the country.
The only knock on this staff recruiting wise that I've seen is the lack of offers on the West Coast. Nobody on this staff really seems to have a good feel for the West Coast from a recruiting standpoint and that could come back to haunt them. But it's still early yet and hopefully in time we'll see more offers to kids on the West Coast. Brandon Angel being a West Coast kid helps them out a ton, I think.
If you look at the history of Cal recruiting, both in football and basketball, most of the guys they land have been from either California or a nearby state like Nevada, Oregon, or Washington. If Cal is offering more guys out of state and out of region than in-state and in-region, that's not a recipe for success in my opinion.
"I’m curious who the top (and realistic) targets are for ‘20. Who you feel Cal has a strong chance at landing."-djsit (@djsit)
At the moment, the recruit in 2020 who I feel Cal has the best odds at landing is 3-star small forward Brandon Angel. He has visited campus already and is a high academic kid with offers from Stanford, Dartmouth, Yale, Rice, and a bunch of UC schools. The vibe I got from him was very good.
The big target is of course 5-star center Walker Kessler. Both because he's big and because he's a 5-star. Sorry for the lame joke, haha. Duke and Auburn are the perceived front runners there and I've always said Duke is the "kiss of death offer." Meaning if a kid has a Duke offer, Cal and quite frankly no other school has a real shot at getting them. Just because Duke offers it all. A world class basketball program with a world class education. Who in their right mind would turn that down?
That all said, what gives Cal a shot is that Walker's brother Houston Kessler played under Mark Fox for all four of his years at Georgia (2013-14 season through 2016-17 season). If Fox didn't have a strong relationship with the Kessler family, Walker wouldn't have included Cal on his list. On top of that, Walker is reportedly planning to visit Cal in the fall, expressing sincere interest. So, while I do think Walker probably chooses Duke because it's the "kiss of death offer" that nobody turns down, I could see a scenario in which he chooses Cal because of the connection Fox has with his family and also the added bonus of Cal being a really good academic school.
The one thing that Cal does offer to Walker that Duke doesn't is the unique opportunity to be the face of a program. At Duke, you're just one of many greats to come through there. At Cal, when you are a big recruit like Walker is, you stand out more and that might appeal to him. We're just going to have to see how that one shakes out.
Those are the only two names in the 2020 class that I've really been able to get a feel for. That doesn't mean there aren't others, but those are the two that Cal seems to be gaining the most traction with.
Two names that I think we should keep an eye on are 3-star small forward Mwani Wilkinson out of Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas and 4-star shooting guard Jamal Mashburn, Jr. out of Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire.
Wilkinson because he has a relatively small offers list and Cal offered him pretty early relative to other schools. If he wants to stay on the West Coast and play at a major conference school, it's just Cal and USC that have offered so far. Texas Tech, Kansas State, Minnesota, and LSU have offered as well, but they aren't West Coast schools. So, I think Cal has a good opportunity to make an impression there.
As for Mashburn, he has a connection to two players on the Cal roster. Joel Brown because he also played at Brewster Academy and D.J. Thorpe via their dads, who played two seasons together in the NBA. Otis Thorpe and Jamal Mashburn both played together on the Miami Heat in the 1999-2000 season and were traded together to the Charlotte Hornets, spending the 2000-01 season together as well. I'm surprised I didn't look that up sooner, but at any rate, that connection could pay off for Cal as well. These guys are all interconnected, especially those who played together. If D.J. is having a positive experience with Mark Fox, I don't see why Otis Thorpe wouldn't put in the good word to Jamal Mashburn.
It's certainly possible others enter the picture as well, but at the moment, these are the names that I think have the best odds of landing with Cal. Everyone else that has been offered seems to be getting offered relatively late in the cycle without a particular connection to the program. I have been trying to set up interviews with other guys, so I'm hopeful to learn more about them in the coming weeks and months.
"Speaking of the Euros. When will Lars and the Greek be on Campus? Also curious how Lars performed in the tournament."-djsit
Lars should be on campus any day now or already on campus as his event has concluded. Klonaras’ event ends this week. Greece is still alive in the FIBA U18 European Championships and plays a quarterfinal match on Thursday. Once that is over, he should be in Berkeley within at least a week or so. So by the middle of August, if not sooner, both should be on campus.
As for how Lars played, check out his stats here. Germany finished in third place at the FIBA U20 European championships, taking home the bronze medal.
"With the number of recent offers for 2020 guys, are any of them realistic shots for Cal? This is pretty late in the game to offer 2020 guys, particularly those with lots of other offers. Have the assistant coaches been recruiting these guys for a long time and just recently decided to pull the trigger?"-philbert0 (@philbert0)
Great question and a valid concern. I too have been worried about this. I think this is one of those situations where you have to see how this plays out a bit. Cal has been offering a lot of guys pretty late in the cycle, which is not encouraging. It's hard for a new staff to get on guys early for the upcoming class, so a lot of it does depend on recruiting guys who you recruited at previous schools.
Andrew Francis has done a pretty good job of extending offers to guys who he recruited at Iowa (Dawson Garcia, Caleb Love, and Kerwin Walton). The problem is those three guys seem to eying other programs. Walton they just offered and Love is trimming his list on Friday, so I wouldn't hold my breath for Cal to make his list, though you never know.
Francis' midwest connections I could see paying dividends in the 2021 recruiting class and beyond as he's offered a good chunk of guys in Minnesota and other parts of the Midwest. He'll have more time to build those relationships and not be trying to sell a new school that is on the opposite side of the country.
The only knock on this staff recruiting wise that I've seen is the lack of offers on the West Coast. Nobody on this staff really seems to have a good feel for the West Coast from a recruiting standpoint and that could come back to haunt them. But it's still early yet and hopefully in time we'll see more offers to kids on the West Coast. Brandon Angel being a West Coast kid helps them out a ton, I think.
If you look at the history of Cal recruiting, both in football and basketball, most of the guys they land have been from either California or a nearby state like Nevada, Oregon, or Washington. If Cal is offering more guys out of state and out of region than in-state and in-region, that's not a recipe for success in my opinion.
