After a down year this last year, Cuanzo Martin has had so many things fall his way this off season.
His star point guard Tyrone Wallace chose to stay in school for his senior year instead of going pro early as he was predicted to be picked in the 2nd round if he declared. This is great news because it gives Cal a senior guard who has played all the years he's been in Berkeley and can provide leadership. Wallace is also one of the best scorers and overall players in the Pac 12 as evidenced by his 17 points a game last season and first team all PAC 12 honor.
Cuanzo Martin and his staff also picked up the number 5 recruiting class in the country which has allowed him to title this off season "California Rising"
This was a really special recruiting class of 4 because Cal beat out the blue bloods (teams who always win-Arizona, Kentucky, Kansas, Duke, Michagen State and some others) for two of the best class of 2015 basketball players in the nation.
The players are
1) Jaylen Brown-2nd ranked small forward in the nation. He's from Marietta GA, and he went to Wheeler High school. IF you know your Cal basketball history,you would recognize that Sharref Abdur Rahim was from the same town and went to the same high school before going to Cal in the 90's. Jaylen Brown can play every position except center and he is going to start from the beginning since he's way too talented and athletic to sit on the bench. Plus 2016 NBA mock drafts have him going really early should he follow the one and done pathway.
2) Ivan Rabb-4th ranked power forward in the nation. He hails from local Bishop O Dowd in California, a school that's produced many big time athletes in various sports. Ivan Rabb became the biggest east bay athlete to commit to Cal since Leon Powe and Jason Kidd did. Rabb is a long and lanky power forward who can score on the low block and drain jump shots, but also act as a rim protector on the defensive end-he's good at blocking shots. He ended up winning the state championship for O dowd over Mater Dei at Haas. Everyone thought he was going to commit then, but he waited and committed later. Ivan Rabb also projects to be a starter from day one and a potential lottery pick in the 2016 NBA draft if he decides to go one and done.
3) Tyson Jolly-a physical defensive minded wing who can also score and hails from Oklahoma. This kid got his toughness from his childhood when he had to deal with pulmonary embolism. He probably w on't start, but he will play and provide good defense off the bench.
4) Davon Dillard-another wing who's very athletic and a good shooter. He hasn't singed yet because there's something wrong with his eligibility and so the NCAA is investigating him. If he does eventually come to Berkeley, i don't know if he'll play freshmen year.
Noah Dickerson is a forward from Monteverde Academy in Florida who de-committed from Florida once Billy Donovan left for OKC and now is choosing between a final 2 of Washington and Cal.
If he comes, he'll basically play what they wanted Caleb Swanigan to play.
Plus they still have Matthews, Bird, Domingo, Okoroh, Rooks, Singer, and Chuaca who all were on the team last year and will be able to help and provide depth and experience to this team so that Wallace and the freshmen don't get tired.
I look forward to this winter and what i hope to be an exciting basketball season that culminates in Cal going far in the NCAA tournament.
Cal Football
Over spring practice, from what I read on CGB (California Golden Blogs), Cal seems like a much improved team especially on defense. Their defense looks to be playing better and that is what will need to happen if they want to make noise in their division next year.
Their secondary especially needs improvement and 7 defensive backs coming in the fall could greatly help the secondary.
Their offense will be one of the best in the Pac 12 and it will be led by Jared Goff, the amazing quarterback who has a shot at the Heisman if Cal wins games and he puts up huge numbers. Most draft predictors have Goff going in the first round next year if he has another good year this season.
They also have Daniel Lasco, their running back who should look to build on last year's 1000 yard season.
Then of course, their stable of athletic wide receivers who in the bear raid will be able to rack up the statistics catching passes from Goff.
These wide receivers are led by Bryce Treggs, a beast out of the slot.
I know that the offense will put up a lot of points this year, but I'm hoping that the defense will not give up the most points in the Pac 12 again and actually put us in position to win games and get to a bowl, maybe the Rose Bowl or the CFP (College football playoff).
It's going to be a fun fall and winter in Berkeley and i really hope that both the football and basketball teams can have a lot of success in 2015-16.
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/school/_/id/25/class/2015
http://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/
http://www.goldenbearsports.com/2014-2015/football/vsarizona/h3E9B7D15#h3e9b7d15
http://www.calbears.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=207769910
http://www.hercampus.com/school/uc-berkeley/campus-cutie-bryce-treggs
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