You guys know the drill. I'll answer questions from the board and address any loose ends if needed.
"Is Roman Davis going to open up a scholarship? Would we use it in 2019 or 2020?"-johnsonbob
While nothing is confirmed, I'm under the impression that this will be Roman Davis' last season at Cal. The goal is to do whatever is necessary to get him to graduate and assuming they can make that happen, which I think they will, he'll be balling somewhere else once he gets his degree from Cal.
Given that he's a Cuonzo Martin recruit and one with limited upside, I think the staff would prefer to have someone else on the team in his place come next season. Hopefully, he'll get his waiver soon and he'll be able to give them some front court depth for this year, but there's really no need to have him on the team past this season.
As far as whether or not Cal will use his scholarship spot for 2019 or 2020, that remains to be seen, but what I can tell you is that as of now, Cal is not looking to add anyone to the 2019 class. What I could see is a scenario in which Cal finds a grad transfer big to give them front court depth for next season while still being able to use that scholarship spot for 2020 as well. I do not see Cal adding any other freshmen on scholarship for 2019, but a graduate transfer I could see.
"Who does Cal like their chances with?"-ayetee11
2020: The guys who I think Cal feels most confident with are 3-star center Dishon Jackson and 3-star shooting guard Tramon Mark. Those are the two guys in the 2020 class who I believe Cal should be feeling the most optimistic about. Jackson because Cal is literally in his backyard and he's a big, which they really need. Mark because of his connections to Darius McNeill and Jacobi Gordon. He played AAU ball with them under Chris Walker. I already have a Future Cast put in for him to come to Cal so I'm feeling really good that they're going to get him.
There's another tier of guys who I feel Cal is very much in play for, but they have to be more worried about the competition. Below are a list of pros and cons for Cal.
4-star shooting guard Dalen Terry: Utah is on him hard and he just visited there. Having a Compton Magic kid on the team in Timmy Allen helps Utah as well. What gives Cal hope is David Grace's in-roads with Compton Magic. This could be another kid Grace helps pull in.
4-star power forward Terren Frank: Lots of Pac-12 interest including offers from USC and Arizona State. What helps Cal is they'll have the playing time to offer in the post and I know for a fact they'll be on him very aggressively.
4-star shooting guard Nimari Burnett: Stanford is making him a high priority as is Illinois, where he's originally from. Arizona and Arizona State have also offered. What helps Cal is they are local and he's a high academic kid.
4-star small forward Jaylen Clark: I expect more high level offers to pour in. The competition will definitely increase in the coming months. The good news for Cal is they offered early and he's another Compton Magic kid.
Center Boubacar Coulibaly: He's a kid I want to interview soon. His offers list is pretty modest and Cal should offer a lot of playing time for him. I just don't want to bump him up to the first tier until I interview him and get a better feel.
Then there's a third tier of guys who I know they're really trying with, but I don't see them getting: 5-stars Josh Christopher, Kyree Walker, Ziaire Williams, Greg Brown, Jaemyn Brakefield, Jalen Green, and Johnny Juzang. 4-stars Jabri Abdur-Rahim and Julian Strawther as well. If they could get any of these players, that would be a miracle.
If Cal football really showed 5-star point guard/4-star quarterback Jalen Suggs some love and sold him on the program's rich quarterback history, they could sneak in there since he wants to play both sports. But so long as Cal football doesn't offer him, I don't see him as a real possibility, either.
2021/2022: The only two guys in these classes who I've interviewed are 5-stars Nathan Bittle and Jaden Hardy. Given their 5-star status, they'll be tough to pull in. I have my money on Oregon landing Bittle since they're the local school and his family has strong ties to the state, though he does seem to be giving USC and UCLA some love as well. If Cal wants to give themselves a chance with either of these players, they're going to have to get a lot better and show that they are a worthy destination for players of their caliber.
"Is Roman Davis going to open up a scholarship? Would we use it in 2019 or 2020?"-johnsonbob
While nothing is confirmed, I'm under the impression that this will be Roman Davis' last season at Cal. The goal is to do whatever is necessary to get him to graduate and assuming they can make that happen, which I think they will, he'll be balling somewhere else once he gets his degree from Cal.
Given that he's a Cuonzo Martin recruit and one with limited upside, I think the staff would prefer to have someone else on the team in his place come next season. Hopefully, he'll get his waiver soon and he'll be able to give them some front court depth for this year, but there's really no need to have him on the team past this season.
As far as whether or not Cal will use his scholarship spot for 2019 or 2020, that remains to be seen, but what I can tell you is that as of now, Cal is not looking to add anyone to the 2019 class. What I could see is a scenario in which Cal finds a grad transfer big to give them front court depth for next season while still being able to use that scholarship spot for 2020 as well. I do not see Cal adding any other freshmen on scholarship for 2019, but a graduate transfer I could see.
"Who does Cal like their chances with?"-ayetee11
2020: The guys who I think Cal feels most confident with are 3-star center Dishon Jackson and 3-star shooting guard Tramon Mark. Those are the two guys in the 2020 class who I believe Cal should be feeling the most optimistic about. Jackson because Cal is literally in his backyard and he's a big, which they really need. Mark because of his connections to Darius McNeill and Jacobi Gordon. He played AAU ball with them under Chris Walker. I already have a Future Cast put in for him to come to Cal so I'm feeling really good that they're going to get him.
There's another tier of guys who I feel Cal is very much in play for, but they have to be more worried about the competition. Below are a list of pros and cons for Cal.
4-star shooting guard Dalen Terry: Utah is on him hard and he just visited there. Having a Compton Magic kid on the team in Timmy Allen helps Utah as well. What gives Cal hope is David Grace's in-roads with Compton Magic. This could be another kid Grace helps pull in.
4-star power forward Terren Frank: Lots of Pac-12 interest including offers from USC and Arizona State. What helps Cal is they'll have the playing time to offer in the post and I know for a fact they'll be on him very aggressively.
4-star shooting guard Nimari Burnett: Stanford is making him a high priority as is Illinois, where he's originally from. Arizona and Arizona State have also offered. What helps Cal is they are local and he's a high academic kid.
4-star small forward Jaylen Clark: I expect more high level offers to pour in. The competition will definitely increase in the coming months. The good news for Cal is they offered early and he's another Compton Magic kid.
Center Boubacar Coulibaly: He's a kid I want to interview soon. His offers list is pretty modest and Cal should offer a lot of playing time for him. I just don't want to bump him up to the first tier until I interview him and get a better feel.
Then there's a third tier of guys who I know they're really trying with, but I don't see them getting: 5-stars Josh Christopher, Kyree Walker, Ziaire Williams, Greg Brown, Jaemyn Brakefield, Jalen Green, and Johnny Juzang. 4-stars Jabri Abdur-Rahim and Julian Strawther as well. If they could get any of these players, that would be a miracle.
If Cal football really showed 5-star point guard/4-star quarterback Jalen Suggs some love and sold him on the program's rich quarterback history, they could sneak in there since he wants to play both sports. But so long as Cal football doesn't offer him, I don't see him as a real possibility, either.
2021/2022: The only two guys in these classes who I've interviewed are 5-stars Nathan Bittle and Jaden Hardy. Given their 5-star status, they'll be tough to pull in. I have my money on Oregon landing Bittle since they're the local school and his family has strong ties to the state, though he does seem to be giving USC and UCLA some love as well. If Cal wants to give themselves a chance with either of these players, they're going to have to get a lot better and show that they are a worthy destination for players of their caliber.
