With the New Year upon us, it is time for me to provide a breakdown of the Cal hoops recruiting landscape going into January. I will first respond to questions asked and then give a detailed breakdown of how things look for the 2018, 2019, and 2020 recruiting classes.
Q: "Ben can you try obtaining info on progress the Bears are making in pursuing the 5-star Center out of Louisville, KY, Charles Bassey, as well as Isaiah Mobley and Bryan Penn-Johnson?"-seattle bear
At this juncture it's really difficult to get a real read on Charles Bassey since he and his camp are keeping things relatively on the down low. I can confirm that Cal is expressing interest in him and that Chris Walker is involved. Bassey is teammates with Jacobi Gordon at Aspire Academy and also knows Darius McNeill as well. So, there are enough connections to Cal that could make Bassey interested.
The only concern here is that when Bassey does mention schools that are on him, he hasn't made any mention of Cal. Cal hasn't really come up as a player in his recruitment thus far. That doesn't mean they can't get him, though. It just means that things between him and Cal are still in the very early stages and they clearly need to do more to get him seriously interested.
The main kicker here is whether or not Bassey reclassifies to 2018 or not. Right now, he's on track to be a 2019 recruit, but there is a possibility that he reclassifies to 2018. It's all about how much academic work he's done and whether or not he can get admitted to a school next fall. From what I've been told, it's a very murky situation and incredibly fluid. If he's able to switch to 2018, that could be huge for Cal as they could pair him with Jordan Brown, giving Cal a really really good class.
So, with Bassey, it's really a wait and see situation. Cal is on him, but haven't yet formally extended him an offer. My guess is they are waiting to see whether or not he can reclassify to 2018 or not before they really put the clamps on him. There are some other guys they really like in 2019 as well and his major appeal at this point is being a guy who they could use to entice Jordan Brown.
I did shoot a note to Bassey's camp to set up an interview. So we'll see if that happens. I'm not holding my breath since they've been keeping things pretty hush hush. Part of it also seems to be the fact that Bassey hasn't really whittled things down yet or anything along those lines. So long as a kid remains open and is taking his time, it's hard to get a read on where he's leaning.
Isaiah Mobley is 2019, not 2018. I recently interviewed him. Click here to check out the article. He talks about his recent visit, why he likes Cal, etc. Cal is definitely making strides with him. The win over Stanford is really nice since Stanford is one of the programs competing with Cal for his services.
As for Bryan Penn-Johnson, from what I've been told, Cal has moved on from him. BPJ never showed any interest in Cal and Cal in turn decided to move on.
My question relates to what happens if the Cal Basketball staff are unable to sign a high school Center (or PF bigger than Andre Kelly)? Will they look at Junior Colleges, eligible Senior transfers, or some other strategy?-calbears72
At this point, plan A is to sign Jordan Brown and possibly Charles Bassey for 2018 if Bassey can reclassify for 2018 (I'll go more into that later). If Cal isn't able to get either guy, the focus will immediately shift to the transfer pool. From what I've been told, they will first look at the junior college transfer pool before they explore other avenues. They're already testing the waters in the JC pool, but they won't aggressively pursue that option until they know for sure the fates of Brown and Bassey.
2018
In the 2018 class, Cal has one scholarship spot available. There's speculation that they may be open to adding two more big men, but that would require someone being pushed out. Conventional wisdom seems to be that Roman Davis would most likely be on the chopping block, but that's just speculation. As I said above, the 2018 targets right now are Jordan Brown, Charles Bassey (if he reclassifies from 2019), and the JC transfer pool. Graduate transfers are an option as well, but they really would like to add big men that can play for at least a couple of seasons.
As it stands with Jordan Brown, he's only taken two official visits so far to UCLA and St. John's. His dad recently told me that he's going to look at the calendar and see when they can get to a game, but the longer he delays a visit, the more I think Cal should start to worry. It's really hard to get a read on where he's going to go, but I definitely don't consider Cal the favorites anymore. I don't think Cal is out of it, either, it's just that I don't feel as confident as I did back in the early fall. UCLA I would say deserves frontrunner status, but I wouldn't say they're way out in front of the pack. It's just that they seem like the most logical landing spot as of right now.
As for Charles Bassey, it should be noted that he is currently a 2019 recruit. He plays at Aspire Academy along with Jacobi Gordon, so that's the main connection that he has to Cal. Chris Walker would be the main one to mine that vein. Like I've said earlier, it's not clear at all whether or not Bassey could reclassify even if he wanted to. He has moved around a lot so a lot of academic work would have to be done to make it happen. There's a lot of unknowns of as to whether or not he can pull it off. At this point, Bassey seems like a long shot. Even if he could reclassify, the competition to land him would be very fierce. I'll continue to monitor the situation, but I definitely wouldn't get your hopes up on this one.
Taeshon Cherry's name has been kicked around as well. From what I've seen, it really doesn't seem likely that he'll consider Cal. They didn't make his top 8 the first go around and he's already got two of his final four remaining official visits set up to Arizona State and Texas A&M. I really don't have a good reason to see why Cal would be a player at all in his recruitment. I'm sure they've called him and everything, but I never got the vibe he was all that interested.
2019
The 2019 guys who Cal is really focusing on right now are Maxwell Lorca-Lloyd, Isaiah Mobley, Charles Smith IV, and Majok Deng. Everyone else has either officially scratched Cal off their list or doesn't appear to be gaining as much traction with Cal at this time. Mobley visited back in November, Deng and Smith both visited over the summer, and Lorca-Lloyd appears to be very interested in a visit when he can find the time. He's on the East Coast, which makes it harder for him.
Lorca-Lloyd is a high academic kid who seems intrigued by what a UC Berkeley degree can offer. He's gotten some offers from Ivy League schools, so academically he's doing just fine.
Mobley is a West Coast kid who says he likes the urban environment of Berkeley and also the academic side as well. He seems to be seriously considering what Cal has to offer and while I've considered Stanford to be the front runner in his recruitment (just a gut thing), Cal's win over Stanford on Saturday could change his perception of Cal and whether or not they'd be the better basketball destination for him. I know one game doesn't make or break a recruitment, but I actually think Cal beating Stanford helped them a bit in their quest to land Isaiah Mobley.
Charles Smith IV was teammates with Jacobi Gordon and Darius McNeill on the AAU team that Chris Walker coached. I know that he and his dad are following the season closely and are interested in how Darius McNeill is doing. To see McNeill thrive in his freshman season is definitely a plus for Cal as they go about recurring Smith. While a lot of schools are after Smith, I feel like Cal is right in there because of the relationship with Walker, McNeill, and Gordon.
As for Majok Deng, this feels like a race between Stanford, Cal, and Arizona (no particular order). Arizona was the consensus front runner for quite a while, but after the recruiting scandal that hit them, they've definitely slipped a bit. What is encouraging for both Cal and Stanford is the fact that Deng is very adamant about keeping his grades up and was aiming to have a 3.8 GPA at the end of the fall semester. The fact that he's taking his grades as seriously as he is indicates that he is very much interested in going to a strong academic school.
Q: "Ben can you try obtaining info on progress the Bears are making in pursuing the 5-star Center out of Louisville, KY, Charles Bassey, as well as Isaiah Mobley and Bryan Penn-Johnson?"-seattle bear
At this juncture it's really difficult to get a real read on Charles Bassey since he and his camp are keeping things relatively on the down low. I can confirm that Cal is expressing interest in him and that Chris Walker is involved. Bassey is teammates with Jacobi Gordon at Aspire Academy and also knows Darius McNeill as well. So, there are enough connections to Cal that could make Bassey interested.
The only concern here is that when Bassey does mention schools that are on him, he hasn't made any mention of Cal. Cal hasn't really come up as a player in his recruitment thus far. That doesn't mean they can't get him, though. It just means that things between him and Cal are still in the very early stages and they clearly need to do more to get him seriously interested.
The main kicker here is whether or not Bassey reclassifies to 2018 or not. Right now, he's on track to be a 2019 recruit, but there is a possibility that he reclassifies to 2018. It's all about how much academic work he's done and whether or not he can get admitted to a school next fall. From what I've been told, it's a very murky situation and incredibly fluid. If he's able to switch to 2018, that could be huge for Cal as they could pair him with Jordan Brown, giving Cal a really really good class.
So, with Bassey, it's really a wait and see situation. Cal is on him, but haven't yet formally extended him an offer. My guess is they are waiting to see whether or not he can reclassify to 2018 or not before they really put the clamps on him. There are some other guys they really like in 2019 as well and his major appeal at this point is being a guy who they could use to entice Jordan Brown.
I did shoot a note to Bassey's camp to set up an interview. So we'll see if that happens. I'm not holding my breath since they've been keeping things pretty hush hush. Part of it also seems to be the fact that Bassey hasn't really whittled things down yet or anything along those lines. So long as a kid remains open and is taking his time, it's hard to get a read on where he's leaning.
Isaiah Mobley is 2019, not 2018. I recently interviewed him. Click here to check out the article. He talks about his recent visit, why he likes Cal, etc. Cal is definitely making strides with him. The win over Stanford is really nice since Stanford is one of the programs competing with Cal for his services.
As for Bryan Penn-Johnson, from what I've been told, Cal has moved on from him. BPJ never showed any interest in Cal and Cal in turn decided to move on.
My question relates to what happens if the Cal Basketball staff are unable to sign a high school Center (or PF bigger than Andre Kelly)? Will they look at Junior Colleges, eligible Senior transfers, or some other strategy?-calbears72
At this point, plan A is to sign Jordan Brown and possibly Charles Bassey for 2018 if Bassey can reclassify for 2018 (I'll go more into that later). If Cal isn't able to get either guy, the focus will immediately shift to the transfer pool. From what I've been told, they will first look at the junior college transfer pool before they explore other avenues. They're already testing the waters in the JC pool, but they won't aggressively pursue that option until they know for sure the fates of Brown and Bassey.
2018
In the 2018 class, Cal has one scholarship spot available. There's speculation that they may be open to adding two more big men, but that would require someone being pushed out. Conventional wisdom seems to be that Roman Davis would most likely be on the chopping block, but that's just speculation. As I said above, the 2018 targets right now are Jordan Brown, Charles Bassey (if he reclassifies from 2019), and the JC transfer pool. Graduate transfers are an option as well, but they really would like to add big men that can play for at least a couple of seasons.
As it stands with Jordan Brown, he's only taken two official visits so far to UCLA and St. John's. His dad recently told me that he's going to look at the calendar and see when they can get to a game, but the longer he delays a visit, the more I think Cal should start to worry. It's really hard to get a read on where he's going to go, but I definitely don't consider Cal the favorites anymore. I don't think Cal is out of it, either, it's just that I don't feel as confident as I did back in the early fall. UCLA I would say deserves frontrunner status, but I wouldn't say they're way out in front of the pack. It's just that they seem like the most logical landing spot as of right now.
As for Charles Bassey, it should be noted that he is currently a 2019 recruit. He plays at Aspire Academy along with Jacobi Gordon, so that's the main connection that he has to Cal. Chris Walker would be the main one to mine that vein. Like I've said earlier, it's not clear at all whether or not Bassey could reclassify even if he wanted to. He has moved around a lot so a lot of academic work would have to be done to make it happen. There's a lot of unknowns of as to whether or not he can pull it off. At this point, Bassey seems like a long shot. Even if he could reclassify, the competition to land him would be very fierce. I'll continue to monitor the situation, but I definitely wouldn't get your hopes up on this one.
Taeshon Cherry's name has been kicked around as well. From what I've seen, it really doesn't seem likely that he'll consider Cal. They didn't make his top 8 the first go around and he's already got two of his final four remaining official visits set up to Arizona State and Texas A&M. I really don't have a good reason to see why Cal would be a player at all in his recruitment. I'm sure they've called him and everything, but I never got the vibe he was all that interested.
2019
The 2019 guys who Cal is really focusing on right now are Maxwell Lorca-Lloyd, Isaiah Mobley, Charles Smith IV, and Majok Deng. Everyone else has either officially scratched Cal off their list or doesn't appear to be gaining as much traction with Cal at this time. Mobley visited back in November, Deng and Smith both visited over the summer, and Lorca-Lloyd appears to be very interested in a visit when he can find the time. He's on the East Coast, which makes it harder for him.
Lorca-Lloyd is a high academic kid who seems intrigued by what a UC Berkeley degree can offer. He's gotten some offers from Ivy League schools, so academically he's doing just fine.
Mobley is a West Coast kid who says he likes the urban environment of Berkeley and also the academic side as well. He seems to be seriously considering what Cal has to offer and while I've considered Stanford to be the front runner in his recruitment (just a gut thing), Cal's win over Stanford on Saturday could change his perception of Cal and whether or not they'd be the better basketball destination for him. I know one game doesn't make or break a recruitment, but I actually think Cal beating Stanford helped them a bit in their quest to land Isaiah Mobley.
Charles Smith IV was teammates with Jacobi Gordon and Darius McNeill on the AAU team that Chris Walker coached. I know that he and his dad are following the season closely and are interested in how Darius McNeill is doing. To see McNeill thrive in his freshman season is definitely a plus for Cal as they go about recurring Smith. While a lot of schools are after Smith, I feel like Cal is right in there because of the relationship with Walker, McNeill, and Gordon.
As for Majok Deng, this feels like a race between Stanford, Cal, and Arizona (no particular order). Arizona was the consensus front runner for quite a while, but after the recruiting scandal that hit them, they've definitely slipped a bit. What is encouraging for both Cal and Stanford is the fact that Deng is very adamant about keeping his grades up and was aiming to have a 3.8 GPA at the end of the fall semester. The fact that he's taking his grades as seriously as he is indicates that he is very much interested in going to a strong academic school.
