As we head into November and the early signing period, Cal men’s basketball has three commits on board for 2018 in Jacobi Gordon, Andre Kelly, and Matt Bradley. While one scholarship is presently open, it does appear as though Cal is open to adding two more big men given their pursuit of Jordan Brown and most notably J’Raan Brooks, who is visiting this weekend. Before I dive into my breakdown for each recruiting class, let me respond to some questions from the board.
“Are we still on the running for Penn-Johnson? Asking for a friend.”-ayetee11
No. Curtis Condie, head coach of Wasatch Academy, made it very clear to me that Bryan Penn-Johnson is not interested in Cal. Also, Corey Evans is reporting that it’s looking like Penn-Johnson will either land at DePaul or Washington, with a commitment possibly happening this month.
“Are there any other actionable offers in the table besides Brown? How many recruits does the staff hope to add?”-djsit
Outside of Jordan Brown, J’Raan Brooks and Kenneth Nwuba have actionable offers on the table. J’Raan is visiting Cal this weekend and Nwuba’s coach Omhar Carter tells me that a visit is still possible, though it’s looking like he’ll likely land at Baylor, UCLA, or Maryland. How many recruits the staff is hoping to add appears to be two. They would love to land another big man to help them look like a more attractive option for Jordan Brown.
“I'd be interested to know who are the lead recruiters on the staff for the verballed 2018 class, Brooks and Brown, and 2019 targets.”-telegraph66
Of the 2018 commits, Chris Walker is the primary recruiter for Jacobi Gordon while Wyking Jones appears to be the primary recruiter for both Matt Bradley and Andre Kelly. As for J’Raan Brooks and Jordan Brown, Wyking Jones is the primary recruiter for both. Brooks was the first offer Wyking put out while in the case of Brown, Wyking is the only guy who was on the staff when Cal was initially recruiting him in the Cuonzo Martin era. Tim O’Toole appears to be involved with Jordan a bit as well since he would have known him going back to his days at Stanford, but it really does appear to be Wyking spearheading the Jordan Brown efforts.
As for the 2019 targets, Tim O’Toole is the primary recruiter for Maxwell Lorca-Lloyd, Bryce Wills, and presumably Kofi Cockburn. Chris Walker is the primary recruiter for Charles Smith IV. Wyking Jones is the primary recruiter for everyone else.
In general, Wyking is the primary recruiter, though Chris Walker and Tim O’Toole can be said to be the primary recruiters for a few guys. Theo Robertson is chipping in a little bit as well.
2018 class:
While Cal does have one scholarship open for 2018, it appears as though they are open to adding two more guys for 2018. Jordan Brown is obviously their top target and it looks like they want to add one more guy to go along with him. At the moment, J’Raan Brooks, who is visiting this weekend, is the only guy who I could realistically see Cal landing to go with Jordan Brown. Everyone else has pretty much dried up. Kenneth Nwuba is a theoretical possibility, but as I said above, it looks like he’s going to Baylor, Maryland, or UCLA.
For those wondering about Moses Brown, it’s looking like Maryland or UCLA with Florida State as a dark horse. He doesn’t have an offer from Cal and it really does appear to be a case where Cal inquired but he didn’t reciprocate a high enough level of interest to warrant an offer. That’s how I see it.
As far as how things are looking on the Jordan Brown front, everyone I’ve reached out to that has gotten back with me agrees that it’s looking like a Cal or UCLA race. No clear front-runner between those two. However, St. John’s is looking like a legitimate dark horse. The Johnnies are on him really hard and are really showing him the love right now. If there’s anyone that pries him away from California, I think it would be St. John’s.
2019 class:
It’s still a little early to get a feel for how 2019 will shake out, but at the moment, the following guys appear to be gaining some traction with Cal: Maxwell Llorca-Lloyd, Isaiah Mobley, Charles Smith IV, Bryce Wills, and Majok Deng. Those five look to be the prime targets for this class. Cal is heavily recruiting all five right now. Out of all the guys in that group, I’m feeling most optimistic about Charles Smith IV. The Chris Walker connection is strong and Charles Smith III is always sending me stuff about his son.
2020 class:
In the 2020 class, Ziaire Williams looks to be the most likely guy to commit to Cal right now. When I interviewed him, he seemed to genuinely be enthusiastic about Cal and what it can offer him. Everyone else on the 2020 offers list is either a 4-star or 5-star recruit, all of which will be tough to pull in.
Out of that 4-star/5-star group, Cal appears to be best positioned with Josh Christopher. The Patrick Christopher connection is really nice and Josh does seem to have a strong affinity for Cal. I think Cal would be wise to really zero in on him and make him their top focus in the 2020 class.
Jabri Abdur-Rahim doesn’t appear to be showing all that much interest in Cal, to be honest. He visited Kansas for their Late Night in the Phog and really does appear to have his sights set on a more traditional basketball powerhouse. That’s my take on Jabri right now.
The Chris Walker connection could come through for 4-star shooting guard Tramon Mark as could it for 5-star point guard R.J. Hampton. While Hampton does look much more likely to land with a traditional basketball powerhouse, he did seem excited to get to know Chris Walker. If Walker could reel in Hampton, that would be impressive.
“Are we still on the running for Penn-Johnson? Asking for a friend.”-ayetee11
No. Curtis Condie, head coach of Wasatch Academy, made it very clear to me that Bryan Penn-Johnson is not interested in Cal. Also, Corey Evans is reporting that it’s looking like Penn-Johnson will either land at DePaul or Washington, with a commitment possibly happening this month.
“Are there any other actionable offers in the table besides Brown? How many recruits does the staff hope to add?”-djsit
Outside of Jordan Brown, J’Raan Brooks and Kenneth Nwuba have actionable offers on the table. J’Raan is visiting Cal this weekend and Nwuba’s coach Omhar Carter tells me that a visit is still possible, though it’s looking like he’ll likely land at Baylor, UCLA, or Maryland. How many recruits the staff is hoping to add appears to be two. They would love to land another big man to help them look like a more attractive option for Jordan Brown.
“I'd be interested to know who are the lead recruiters on the staff for the verballed 2018 class, Brooks and Brown, and 2019 targets.”-telegraph66
Of the 2018 commits, Chris Walker is the primary recruiter for Jacobi Gordon while Wyking Jones appears to be the primary recruiter for both Matt Bradley and Andre Kelly. As for J’Raan Brooks and Jordan Brown, Wyking Jones is the primary recruiter for both. Brooks was the first offer Wyking put out while in the case of Brown, Wyking is the only guy who was on the staff when Cal was initially recruiting him in the Cuonzo Martin era. Tim O’Toole appears to be involved with Jordan a bit as well since he would have known him going back to his days at Stanford, but it really does appear to be Wyking spearheading the Jordan Brown efforts.
As for the 2019 targets, Tim O’Toole is the primary recruiter for Maxwell Lorca-Lloyd, Bryce Wills, and presumably Kofi Cockburn. Chris Walker is the primary recruiter for Charles Smith IV. Wyking Jones is the primary recruiter for everyone else.
In general, Wyking is the primary recruiter, though Chris Walker and Tim O’Toole can be said to be the primary recruiters for a few guys. Theo Robertson is chipping in a little bit as well.
2018 class:
While Cal does have one scholarship open for 2018, it appears as though they are open to adding two more guys for 2018. Jordan Brown is obviously their top target and it looks like they want to add one more guy to go along with him. At the moment, J’Raan Brooks, who is visiting this weekend, is the only guy who I could realistically see Cal landing to go with Jordan Brown. Everyone else has pretty much dried up. Kenneth Nwuba is a theoretical possibility, but as I said above, it looks like he’s going to Baylor, Maryland, or UCLA.
For those wondering about Moses Brown, it’s looking like Maryland or UCLA with Florida State as a dark horse. He doesn’t have an offer from Cal and it really does appear to be a case where Cal inquired but he didn’t reciprocate a high enough level of interest to warrant an offer. That’s how I see it.
As far as how things are looking on the Jordan Brown front, everyone I’ve reached out to that has gotten back with me agrees that it’s looking like a Cal or UCLA race. No clear front-runner between those two. However, St. John’s is looking like a legitimate dark horse. The Johnnies are on him really hard and are really showing him the love right now. If there’s anyone that pries him away from California, I think it would be St. John’s.
2019 class:
It’s still a little early to get a feel for how 2019 will shake out, but at the moment, the following guys appear to be gaining some traction with Cal: Maxwell Llorca-Lloyd, Isaiah Mobley, Charles Smith IV, Bryce Wills, and Majok Deng. Those five look to be the prime targets for this class. Cal is heavily recruiting all five right now. Out of all the guys in that group, I’m feeling most optimistic about Charles Smith IV. The Chris Walker connection is strong and Charles Smith III is always sending me stuff about his son.
2020 class:
In the 2020 class, Ziaire Williams looks to be the most likely guy to commit to Cal right now. When I interviewed him, he seemed to genuinely be enthusiastic about Cal and what it can offer him. Everyone else on the 2020 offers list is either a 4-star or 5-star recruit, all of which will be tough to pull in.
Out of that 4-star/5-star group, Cal appears to be best positioned with Josh Christopher. The Patrick Christopher connection is really nice and Josh does seem to have a strong affinity for Cal. I think Cal would be wise to really zero in on him and make him their top focus in the 2020 class.
Jabri Abdur-Rahim doesn’t appear to be showing all that much interest in Cal, to be honest. He visited Kansas for their Late Night in the Phog and really does appear to have his sights set on a more traditional basketball powerhouse. That’s my take on Jabri right now.
The Chris Walker connection could come through for 4-star shooting guard Tramon Mark as could it for 5-star point guard R.J. Hampton. While Hampton does look much more likely to land with a traditional basketball powerhouse, he did seem excited to get to know Chris Walker. If Walker could reel in Hampton, that would be impressive.
