Somebody always says "lets get some JUCO players to make up for our lack of HS recruiting". Talking is as far as it goes. Why are we pretty much shut out? Is it academics or something else?

ASU just signed 3 JUCO players including the #2 and #5 ranked players. One went to HS in Oregon and ASU beat out Oregon.

Two 6-9 forwards with some meat on them. Not guys who will blow away in a strong wind. These are the kind of guys Cal could use.

A 6-3 guard - ASU can use him. Cal has enough guards.

Oregon and ASU recruit places where Cal does not dare to tread. They are always ahead of us and both went to the NCAAs last year. With our recruiting restrictions our permanent spot in the Pac 12 is 7-11. OR and ASU are shooting for 1-4.

caltagjohnson said:

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Somebody always says "lets get some JUCO players to make up for our lack of HS recruiting". Talking is as far as it goes. Why are we pretty much shut out? Is it academics or something else?

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In the distant past we've had good JUCO players, e.g. Connie White, Carl Bird (Jabari's dad), and Jay Young. I think you're right that academics might in some cases be an issue, also I'd rather have 4-year players.

4 year players are almost as scares as an Edsel or Dodo bird. The transfer portal and something and done have rendered them an endangered species.

stu said:

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caltagjohnson said:

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Somebody always says "lets get some JUCO players to make up for our lack of HS recruiting". Talking is as far as it goes. Why are we pretty much shut out? Is it academics or something else?

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In the distant past we've had good JUCO players, e.g. Connie White, Carl Bird (Jabari's dad), and Jay Young. I think you're right that academics might in some cases be an issue, also I'd rather have 4-year players.

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Cal's history of JUCO transfers goes back even farther. Pete Newell recruited Larry Friend from JC, who went on to become an All-American at Cal and played in the NBA and ABA, and led the ABA in three point shooting one year. Newell also got Duane Asplund from a JC, I believe, who was starting center on Cal's first Elite 8 team in 1957. In the more recent past, Montgomery signed Markhuri Sanders-Frison, a very good center, and a good contributor, even though plagued with injuries. Cal could really have used a player like him last season in the middle.

And in 1986, Brad Duggan of CCSF convinced Bobby Knight to start looking at JUCO players. He sent CCSF's Dean Garrett to Indiana, and Knight's Hoosiers won the NCAA title, with Garrett and Alford leading the way. Duggan also helped Knight recruit Joe Hillman and Mark Robinson to Indiana. Keith Smart from Garden City Kansas JC also was a big star for that Indiana NCAA Championship team.

As for whether it would work today, we don't have to look much farther than Arizona's Kadeem Allen, JUCO player of the year in 2014, who played the next two seasons at Arizona and is now with the Knicks, playing 20 minutes a game. He is an outstanding defensive player, and Lord knows we sure need good defenders. They are out there. It may take a little more looking, as many stop looking at JUCO players, due to various issues, and some blossom in JUCO unnoticed. I don't know if we're not looking, but if so, we should start ASAP. I think we should build a relationship with Justin Labagh, CCSF coach and former Cal player, who would have first hand knowledge of the best JC players in California at least, and maybe have relationships with some beyond his own players at CCSF. It would seem a natural thing to do.