With it now being February, it is time for me to provide the latest Cal hoops recruiting breakdown as we head into the second month of 2018. Before I dive into the breakdown, let me first respond to the questions that some of you asked. Actually, all the questions that were asked were essentially the same question. So it'll just be one question this time.
Q: What plans does the coaching staff have if they don't get Jordan Brown or Charles Bassey? Any JuCo targets identified, etc.
If the coaching staff doesn't get Jordan Brown or Charles Bassey, the plan is to mine the JuCo market. I do know they are evaluating the JuCo market to see what bigs are out there. While they haven't offered any JuCo bigs yet, they should be farther along than they were a month ago since the JuCo season ends pretty soon.
Personally, my belief is that they are focusing much more on locking down Brown and Bassey than they are on the JuCo market and if they need to go to that well, they'll go to it when they really need to. Until they reach that point, they're going to be much more casual about seeing what the options are and having an idea of what's out there without really putting the screws on anybody. The grad transfer market is also possible, though I have not been specifically told that they'll look at that market.
One thing I should mention is if Brown goes elsewhere and Bassey is still undecided about what he'll do, it seems likely that Cal will get aggressive in the JuCo market and be open to perhaps pairing Bassey with another big if he does decide to reclassify to 2018.
2018 class
I already addressed the backup plan above in case Jordan Brown and Charles Bassey go elsewhere or if Bassey doesn't reclassify, so I don't want to repeat that again. 2018 is pretty straightforward right now. Cal has one scholarship open and they are hoping to use that on Brown and/or Bassey. If both guys want to come to Cal, room will be made for them and someone will not return to the team or be asked to go off scholarship. Roman Davis is the most likely guy to not be back with the team in that event. No sources have told me that, but that's the most logical conclusion. It would be another Brandon Chauca kind of situation.
2019
I should start off the 2019 class breakdown by reminding you all that as of right now, Charles Bassey is a 2019 recruit. The hope is he can reclassify and join Jordan Brown in 2018, but he is still technically a 2019 recruit. As I've reported, his guardian Hennssy Auriantal is running the show and is very close with Chris Walker and Renaud Gordon (Jacobi's dad). The connections there seem to give Cal good odds of landing Bassey whether it's in 2018 or 2019. I will say that there seems to be some pressure coming from at least Renaud for Bassey to reclassify to 2018, though Hennssy hasn't given me any indication of as to where they are leaning.
The other 2019 recruits that seem to be gaining traction with Cal are 4-star power forward Maxwell Lorca-Lloyd, 4-star power forward Isaiah Mobley, 4-star small forward Majok Deng, and 4-star shooting guard Charles Smith IV. That's not to say the other guys on the offers list aren't still in the mix, but those four are the ones who are standing out the most. Mobley, Deng, and Smith have all visited and Lorca-Lloyd told me last month that he plans to visit once he can get his schedule figured out. It's hard for him to find the time right now since he's located on the East Coast. The only one who has ties to Chris Walker is Charles Smith IV. Considering that, I think Cal sits best with him, though the other three guys seem to be very interested in Cal as well. It'll be interesting to see whether more guys start to pop up outside of this group.
Vineyard View inquired about Quinn Slazinski, who is a 2019 recruit with an offer. Slazinski at the moment seems to be angling to land at a more high profile program like Ohio State, Michigan State, and Virginia. None of those three have offered him, but he has taken unofficial visits to all three. It seems likely that if he got offered by any of those schools, he'd go there. I'm monitoring Quinn and the others with offers in the 2019 class, but for now, the guys I listed above are the ones gaining the most traction at this time.
2020
If there's any 2020 recruit who Cal appears to be most intrigued by right now, it's Julian Strawther, who is a 5-star wing out of Las Vegas. Wyking has been in to see him at least twice during the last month or so. He's definitely a kid to keep an eye on and would be a fantastic get. Ziaire Williams seems like the guy who Cal is in the best spot with right now. He seems to really value the academic side and has already taken a visit. Tramon Mark is another kid who Cal seems to have good odds with given that he's got connections to Chris Walker. He hasn't visited yet, but he seems like a kid who'll likely visit once he finds the time. I'm feeling good about him as well.
As for the two guys with connections to Cal, Josh Christopher and Jabri Abdur-Rahim, both of them remain in the picture as well. Nothing really new with either guy, but both are guys who I think Cal will remain in play with all the way until the very end. What happened with Theo could have an affect on Josh, but I think that's something Cal can overcome if they start to win. Nothing new with Johnny Juzang, but he's another kid who seems to be interested in Cal as well. He's a kid I've been meaning to get an update from, actually.
Q: What plans does the coaching staff have if they don't get Jordan Brown or Charles Bassey? Any JuCo targets identified, etc.
If the coaching staff doesn't get Jordan Brown or Charles Bassey, the plan is to mine the JuCo market. I do know they are evaluating the JuCo market to see what bigs are out there. While they haven't offered any JuCo bigs yet, they should be farther along than they were a month ago since the JuCo season ends pretty soon.
Personally, my belief is that they are focusing much more on locking down Brown and Bassey than they are on the JuCo market and if they need to go to that well, they'll go to it when they really need to. Until they reach that point, they're going to be much more casual about seeing what the options are and having an idea of what's out there without really putting the screws on anybody. The grad transfer market is also possible, though I have not been specifically told that they'll look at that market.
One thing I should mention is if Brown goes elsewhere and Bassey is still undecided about what he'll do, it seems likely that Cal will get aggressive in the JuCo market and be open to perhaps pairing Bassey with another big if he does decide to reclassify to 2018.
2018 class
I already addressed the backup plan above in case Jordan Brown and Charles Bassey go elsewhere or if Bassey doesn't reclassify, so I don't want to repeat that again. 2018 is pretty straightforward right now. Cal has one scholarship open and they are hoping to use that on Brown and/or Bassey. If both guys want to come to Cal, room will be made for them and someone will not return to the team or be asked to go off scholarship. Roman Davis is the most likely guy to not be back with the team in that event. No sources have told me that, but that's the most logical conclusion. It would be another Brandon Chauca kind of situation.
2019
I should start off the 2019 class breakdown by reminding you all that as of right now, Charles Bassey is a 2019 recruit. The hope is he can reclassify and join Jordan Brown in 2018, but he is still technically a 2019 recruit. As I've reported, his guardian Hennssy Auriantal is running the show and is very close with Chris Walker and Renaud Gordon (Jacobi's dad). The connections there seem to give Cal good odds of landing Bassey whether it's in 2018 or 2019. I will say that there seems to be some pressure coming from at least Renaud for Bassey to reclassify to 2018, though Hennssy hasn't given me any indication of as to where they are leaning.
The other 2019 recruits that seem to be gaining traction with Cal are 4-star power forward Maxwell Lorca-Lloyd, 4-star power forward Isaiah Mobley, 4-star small forward Majok Deng, and 4-star shooting guard Charles Smith IV. That's not to say the other guys on the offers list aren't still in the mix, but those four are the ones who are standing out the most. Mobley, Deng, and Smith have all visited and Lorca-Lloyd told me last month that he plans to visit once he can get his schedule figured out. It's hard for him to find the time right now since he's located on the East Coast. The only one who has ties to Chris Walker is Charles Smith IV. Considering that, I think Cal sits best with him, though the other three guys seem to be very interested in Cal as well. It'll be interesting to see whether more guys start to pop up outside of this group.
Vineyard View inquired about Quinn Slazinski, who is a 2019 recruit with an offer. Slazinski at the moment seems to be angling to land at a more high profile program like Ohio State, Michigan State, and Virginia. None of those three have offered him, but he has taken unofficial visits to all three. It seems likely that if he got offered by any of those schools, he'd go there. I'm monitoring Quinn and the others with offers in the 2019 class, but for now, the guys I listed above are the ones gaining the most traction at this time.
2020
If there's any 2020 recruit who Cal appears to be most intrigued by right now, it's Julian Strawther, who is a 5-star wing out of Las Vegas. Wyking has been in to see him at least twice during the last month or so. He's definitely a kid to keep an eye on and would be a fantastic get. Ziaire Williams seems like the guy who Cal is in the best spot with right now. He seems to really value the academic side and has already taken a visit. Tramon Mark is another kid who Cal seems to have good odds with given that he's got connections to Chris Walker. He hasn't visited yet, but he seems like a kid who'll likely visit once he finds the time. I'm feeling good about him as well.
As for the two guys with connections to Cal, Josh Christopher and Jabri Abdur-Rahim, both of them remain in the picture as well. Nothing really new with either guy, but both are guys who I think Cal will remain in play with all the way until the very end. What happened with Theo could have an affect on Josh, but I think that's something Cal can overcome if they start to win. Nothing new with Johnny Juzang, but he's another kid who seems to be interested in Cal as well. He's a kid I've been meaning to get an update from, actually.
