I caught up with both Joel Brown and Lauren Fields about their recent official visits to Cal. Fields visited during the weekend of the Idaho State game while Brown visited during the weekend of the UCLA game. As a side note, I informed Brown that CREAM is named after the song by the Wu-Tang Clan "C.R.E.A.M." Instead of "Cash Rules Everything Around Me," it's "Cookies Rule Everything Around Me."
"The visit was great as I got to see the university, the facilities, attend the football game, get familiar with the guys and staff and see them practice/scrimmage. Some key things I did was watch how practices are ran and the scrimmage. Also, meet academic advisors and have personal meetings with coaches. Then also get a tour of the school.It’s beautiful! The weather is amazing. I love the buildings and how detailed everything is and even the antique things look brand new." -Brown on his overall experience
"Jacobi who I had knew prior to committing. Connected with him a lot when he was training in Canada. I bonded with Matt who was teammates with a very close friend of mine at Wastach Academy. Also bonded well with Blake, Darius and Juhwan."-Brown on who his host was and who he connected with on the team
"They are way more confident and playing together. They’ve got the pieces to become a competitive team. They are young but throughout the season they will mature."-Brown on his observations from watching the team practice.
"He’s a leader, great point guard who has experience. Lot of the guys look to him to lead, they feed off his energy and i feel like him and I playing together will be good. I’ll learn a lot from him and implement it to my game and lead the team after he graduates."-Brown on Paris Austin
"CREAM, which is a cookie and ice cream place. Then Rick and Ann’s."-Brown on favorite places he stopped by at
"My official visit was so amazing that I became even more certain about how much I wanted to continue my education at Cal and play for Coach Gottlieb. My overall experience in one word would be eye-opening. I met with various Cal staff members over the course of my visit regarding my college classes. It gave me a glimpse of what my days will look like when I get on campus. What stood out most to me, is how basketball is not the only thing the coaches are concerned about. Yes, of course they place great emphasis on winning and player development, but they’re big on relationships outside of practice and workouts. The Cal women’s basketball program has a true family connection. The coaches also talk about life after basketball and the larger picture which shows that they care for you as a person and not just your ability to play basketball."-Fields on her overall visit experience
"I’m hoping to bring energy, enthusiasm, and effort to the program. I want to bring the same kind of high energy that I was highly recruited for during my previous years of basketball. My love and passion for the game of basketball will hopefully contagious towards my teammates. Lastly, I’ve been taught that great effort will always go along way. I pride myself on working hard on both ends of the court."-Fields on what she hopes to bring to the program
"I had a good relationship with Kenzie before I went on my official visit, but I definitely built onto that relationship as well. Also, I built a great relationship with Kianna as well. Kianna and Kenzie are both people who I can reach out to if I have a question about something or need advice."-Fields on who she is close with on the team
"Cal is the home of freedom of speech so there’s a lot of opportunities to learn from different people. Also player development is one thing the Cal women’s basketball program is tremendous at. They have made un-ranked players, coming out of there high school years, into professional basketball players. I can’t wait to learn as much as I can from different people as well as my coaches regarding basketball."-Fields on what she loves most about Cal
"The visit was great as I got to see the university, the facilities, attend the football game, get familiar with the guys and staff and see them practice/scrimmage. Some key things I did was watch how practices are ran and the scrimmage. Also, meet academic advisors and have personal meetings with coaches. Then also get a tour of the school.It’s beautiful! The weather is amazing. I love the buildings and how detailed everything is and even the antique things look brand new." -Brown on his overall experience
"Jacobi who I had knew prior to committing. Connected with him a lot when he was training in Canada. I bonded with Matt who was teammates with a very close friend of mine at Wastach Academy. Also bonded well with Blake, Darius and Juhwan."-Brown on who his host was and who he connected with on the team
"They are way more confident and playing together. They’ve got the pieces to become a competitive team. They are young but throughout the season they will mature."-Brown on his observations from watching the team practice.
"He’s a leader, great point guard who has experience. Lot of the guys look to him to lead, they feed off his energy and i feel like him and I playing together will be good. I’ll learn a lot from him and implement it to my game and lead the team after he graduates."-Brown on Paris Austin
"CREAM, which is a cookie and ice cream place. Then Rick and Ann’s."-Brown on favorite places he stopped by at
"My official visit was so amazing that I became even more certain about how much I wanted to continue my education at Cal and play for Coach Gottlieb. My overall experience in one word would be eye-opening. I met with various Cal staff members over the course of my visit regarding my college classes. It gave me a glimpse of what my days will look like when I get on campus. What stood out most to me, is how basketball is not the only thing the coaches are concerned about. Yes, of course they place great emphasis on winning and player development, but they’re big on relationships outside of practice and workouts. The Cal women’s basketball program has a true family connection. The coaches also talk about life after basketball and the larger picture which shows that they care for you as a person and not just your ability to play basketball."-Fields on her overall visit experience
"I’m hoping to bring energy, enthusiasm, and effort to the program. I want to bring the same kind of high energy that I was highly recruited for during my previous years of basketball. My love and passion for the game of basketball will hopefully contagious towards my teammates. Lastly, I’ve been taught that great effort will always go along way. I pride myself on working hard on both ends of the court."-Fields on what she hopes to bring to the program
"I had a good relationship with Kenzie before I went on my official visit, but I definitely built onto that relationship as well. Also, I built a great relationship with Kianna as well. Kianna and Kenzie are both people who I can reach out to if I have a question about something or need advice."-Fields on who she is close with on the team
"Cal is the home of freedom of speech so there’s a lot of opportunities to learn from different people. Also player development is one thing the Cal women’s basketball program is tremendous at. They have made un-ranked players, coming out of there high school years, into professional basketball players. I can’t wait to learn as much as I can from different people as well as my coaches regarding basketball."-Fields on what she loves most about Cal
