Markhuri Sanders-Frison Signs Cal LOI
|
With the departure of center Devon Hardin and forward Ryan Anderson this off-season, bringing in size in the front court as soon as possible took on primary importance to new Cal Head Coach Mike Montgomery. However, coming in late in the game to a world where relationships with star big men are built throughout high school careers rather than on the fly, Cal's options were limited.
The Bears relied on the Pacific Northwest connections of assistant coaches Jay John and Travis Decuire to make a late save.
"Coach John asked Coach Travis to come watch me when I was playing in the Dallas Jamboree since he was out recruiting somewhere else, and Coach Travis liked what he saw in me," said Sanders-Frison. "I was playing pretty good and he came back and told Coach John that I looked like a totally different player since the last time he saw me because I'd grown a couple inches and lost some weight.
"Coach John came down later and watched me practice and he was amazed because I was just a totally different player from high school. I'm 22 pounds lighter than in high school, at 270. I'm working harder and in the preseason, I was working out three times a day."
The conditioning paid off for the big man and left him better able to handle the rigors of a full game with consistency.
"It definitely helped my game a lot," said Sanders-Frison. "My conditioning was my biggest weakness. Getting in better shape just changed my overall game -just being able to move faster and stay in the game consistently."
"Markhuri's a big 6-8/short 6-9 kid with a very wide body," said South Plains Head Coach Steve Green. "He's very skilled, with great hands. He catches anything and passes well. You'll be surprised how well he moves for a guy at 270.
"When he first came here, he was around 290 and he's lost around 20 pounds, which has made a world of difference. He's got very quick feet and really good instincts for playing basketball so he knows where to be on the court. He's so wide that it's hard at our level for people to guard him. If you pick a side, whatever side you get on is the wrong side."
Another thing that sold the Cal staff on Frison was his character, both on and off the court.
"He's a solid kid," said Green. "I really like him. He's a good person. He speaks well. He's very responsible and takes care of business. I have nothing but good things to say about Markhuri. On the court, he talks and helps his teammates. He's coming into a team that won the national championship last year and I have 3 or 4 guys back that played big roles for us last year but he's still come in and established a leadership role, which is kind of hard to do when you've got players that have already done it.
"He gives us a chance to compete again this year. He's as good of a low post presence as I've ever had. We had two good ones last year but they did not have the power that he has."
"I know the game real well and have a high basketball IQ," said Sanders-Frison, of his game. "I can do all the little things to help us win games. I'm aggressive. I'm a blue-collar guy that just goes hard."
The void in the middle for the Bears stood out immediately on the big forward's visit to Berkeley.
"That's what kind of sold me on Cal, along with the coaches, when I visited," said Sanders-Frison. "During my official visit, they had a scrimmage and I was just watching my position. It was like they had an empty slot there for me with my name on it."
Besides the prior relationships established with John and Decuire, Sanders-Frison has struck a bond with Montgomery as well.
"We talk as much as possible," Sanders-Frison. "I didn't know a lot about Coach Montgomery at first but my father told me a lot about him as well as people back home -that he's a great coach. I did a lot of my own homework on him, too, and found out that he's a great coach, especially at Stanford."
Sanders-Frison will join Sudan native Bak Bak in the Cal frontcourt next year -another player somewhat off many recruiting fans' radar. However, from what is known of both, the potential is there to help reshape the Bear roster when they arrive next summer.
"It's hard to project junior college players as difference-makers in power conferences like the Pac 10 but I do think he's a formidable opponent for teams to handle," said Green of Sanders-Frison. "If he plays his game, which is big and strong inside -there's not going to be anyone stronger than he is- he'll get things done.'