Jenessa has a great high school resume and 3 years of eligibility remaining. She played only 44 minutes as a Duke freshie but I think she'd do much better at Cal.SFCALBear72 said:
Just putting a name out there. Jenessa Cotton. Duke freshman forward, 6'2. Mater Dei HS graduate.
She's in the portal.
No commitment yet.
Followed on Instagram by: Coach Eliza Pierre, Cal WBB and Puff Morris.
Hmmm.
I'm sure Puff's Etiwanda HS and Jenessa's Mater Dei HS battled quite a few times in the past few years. So, I would guess these two know each other quite well.
Portal activity
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Last: 3 mo ago by SFCALBear72
Hopefully she is past the injury and we can land her.stu said:I see that Chantae Embry has had two season-ending injuries, one in high school and one recently.RedlessWardrobe said:
I have identified three good players we may be after in those locations:
6'2" forward Chantae Embry who has just entered the portal from SMU (11.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg)
6'3" Center Kadidia Toure, Arizona State (5.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg in 2023-24)
6'2" Forward Kayla Rolph, William and Mary (6.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg)
Virginia has just signed its fifth good post out of the portal - Tabitha Amanze, 6'4" sophomore out of Princeton. They are flush with NIL from Serena Williams husband. They are probably the best example of the non-level playing field that we now have to live with.
If you wanted to come up with a dumber system for college athletics than this one, you would be hard-pressed to do so. Need the Congressional action as quickly as possible.
If you wanted to come up with a dumber system for college athletics than this one, you would be hard-pressed to do so. Need the Congressional action as quickly as possible.
I wonder how all these players will get playing time? I guess their bank accounts trump time on the court....She is a grad so maybe there's a program she's sincerely interested in too...
Mitchell Northam has an SB Nation article rating the winners and losers of the WBB transfer portal. Cal is rated as neither, but a push instead.
Push: Cal
Coming off their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019, Charmin Smith's Golden Bears lost five players to the portal, but just one significant contributor in starter Marta Suarez. Cal reloaded by adding a pair of SEC veterans in LSU's Mjracle Sheppard and South Carolina's Sakima Walker, while also picking up Morgan State's Naya Ojukwu, who averaged 17.1 points per game and was fourth nationally in offensive rebounding.
Winners: Clemson, LSU, Maryland, Ole Miss, South Florida, TCU
Losers: Boston College, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame
Pushes: Cal, South Carolina, UCLA, USC
Push: Cal
Coming off their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019, Charmin Smith's Golden Bears lost five players to the portal, but just one significant contributor in starter Marta Suarez. Cal reloaded by adding a pair of SEC veterans in LSU's Mjracle Sheppard and South Carolina's Sakima Walker, while also picking up Morgan State's Naya Ojukwu, who averaged 17.1 points per game and was fourth nationally in offensive rebounding.
Winners: Clemson, LSU, Maryland, Ole Miss, South Florida, TCU
Losers: Boston College, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame
Pushes: Cal, South Carolina, UCLA, USC
We ain't done yet.
Unfortunately, even if we get a "push" on the portal activity, it's hard to imagine that our incoming players (even with Puff) give us the same production as Michelle, Yo, Kayla, and Jayda. Hard to replace those four.
Dushawn London of 247 Sports says that Cal is one of the schools in contact with Akron transfer Lanae Riley.
Here is her Akron bio and her Sports Reference stats. Riley is listed as a 6-0 forward and a rising senior. She played only 6 games as a freshman and junior; I don't know if that changes her remaining eligibility.
Akron transfer Lanae Riley is in the transfer portal and has heard from the following schools:
— Dushawn London (@DushawnLondon1) May 10, 2025
- Boston College
- Florida State
- Cal
- NC State
- App State
- UIC
- Coastal Carolina
Many others pic.twitter.com/EVAnrNECNO
Here is her Akron bio and her Sports Reference stats. Riley is listed as a 6-0 forward and a rising senior. She played only 6 games as a freshman and junior; I don't know if that changes her remaining eligibility.
I wonder if she would seriously consider a West Coast school.
RedlessWardrobe said:
Unfortunately, even if we get a "push" on the portal activity, it's hard to imagine that our incoming players (even with Puff) give us the same production as Michelle, Yo, Kayla, and Jayda. Hard to replace those four.
Possibly not, but we don't know yet. Who predicted that sort of offense from M, Y, K and J a few years ago?
"Don't get distracted, myself. Don't get distracted." Self-talk from a young relative
Why did she play only 6 games for Akron last season?
Harborview
Intuit said:
Why did she play only 6 games for Akron last season?
Good question. I don't have a good answer, but I can direct you to a couple of articles from the Akron Beacon-Journal. (According to her game log, Lanae Riley played the first 6 games of the season, from November 4-24.)
November 14: University of Akron women's basketball | What to know about the Zips
Akron returns six players: 5-7 senior Alexus Mobley, 5-8 senior Zakia Rasheed, 5-3 senior Kaia Woods, 6-2 junior Lanae Riley (Hoban graduate), 6-5 junior Liisa Taponen and 5-9 sophomore Teniesha Clarke.
January 29: Injuries to starters force Akron women's basketball team to 'roll with the punches'
Senior Kaia Woods entered the transfer portal earlier this season and junior Lanae Riley is "away from the team."
Thanks for the info. As a 2022-23 freshie Lanae played only 30 minutes in 6 games at Middle Tennessee State (which finished 28-5). Her soph stats at Akron showed good shooting (.469 from the field, .429 on threes, .756 from the line) but 16 assists to 45 turnovers. As a junior she played only 57 minutes in the first 4 games then only 10 minutes in the next 2 games. Looks like something wasn't right but I couldn't find out what. FWIW Akron hasn't been winning a lot, 11-18 in 2023-34 and 10-21 in 2024-25.
Riley's Akron bio says that she has been majoring in Nursing, which we do not offer.
With that in mind (Nursing major), I'm wondering why the coaches are still pursuing her. Unless there are ways that Riley can use the Cal curriculum to augment those studies with the goal of grad school later on. (UCSF calling). lol.annarborbear said:
Riley's Akron bio says that she has been majoring in Nursing, which we do not offer.
She might have completed the Akron requirements for the program....or, even more likely, she has changed her mind about that area of interest. Any number of folks here changed their majors right? Not like the bio was written yesterday....SFCALBear72 said:With that in mind (Nursing major), I'm wondering why the coaches are still pursuing her. Unless there are ways that Riley can use the Cal curriculum to augment those studies with the goal of grad school later on. (UCSF calling). lol.annarborbear said:
Riley's Akron bio says that she has been majoring in Nursing, which we do not offer.
Will be interesting to see how this one turns out. Riley was committed enough to Nursing at Akron that she even had an NIL agreement based on that connection.
PSI Announces NIL Partnership with Akron Women's Basketball Forward, Lanae Riley - Learfield
Since she was away from the team a lot last year, maybe she accelerated work on her degree, although she is listed as a Junior and not as a grad transfer.
You can also always go back to school for an RN certification after you have majored in something else.
PSI Announces NIL Partnership with Akron Women's Basketball Forward, Lanae Riley - Learfield
Since she was away from the team a lot last year, maybe she accelerated work on her degree, although she is listed as a Junior and not as a grad transfer.
You can also always go back to school for an RN certification after you have majored in something else.
I changed my major so many times I had to file for a degree in a field major to avoid being kicked out for accumulating too many units.mbBear said:
She might have completed the Akron requirements for the program....or, even more likely, she has changed her mind about that area of interest. Any number of folks here changed their majors right? Not like the bio was written yesterday....
stu said:I changed my major so many times I had to file for a degree in a field major to avoid being kicked out for accumulating too many units.mbBear said:
She might have completed the Akron requirements for the program....or, even more likely, she has changed her mind about that area of interest. Any number of folks here changed their majors right? Not like the bio was written yesterday....
That's a great story!
xxnatedoggxx said:
Louisville and Lindsay screwing us like always.
The Calwhoops program has given me PTSD. Goody pulls a 32-4 record out of her bum, then tanks our recruiting for the next 5 years. After the remains of the final four team left went only 30 and 42 in conference play. Of course this is allowed to happen because she already knew that the upper administration of Cal sports doesn't give a hoot. The same thing happens with the fb coach and other coaches. (Fox, neu) Once they sense that the top dogs at Cal don't care they don't care
Thankfully we have a recruiting pitbull in Charmin.
It's her extensive Muay Thai training. She spent last week (recruiting shutdown period) in Thailand learning from some of the best in this martial art. Now she's ready to hit the recruiting trail!Ccajon2 said:xxnatedoggxx said:
Louisville and Lindsay screwing us like always.
The Calwhoops program has given me PTSD. Goody pulls a 32-4 record out of her bum, then tanks our recruiting for the next 5 years. After the remains of the final four team left went only 30 and 42 in conference play. Of course this is allowed to happen because she already knew that the upper administration of Cal sports doesn't give a hoot. The same thing happens with the fb coach and other coaches. (Fox, neu) Once they sense that the top dogs at Cal don't care they don't care
Thankfully we have a recruiting pitbull in Charmin.
My own list of frontline portal transfers with proven past production is now pretty much exhausted. Worse yet, some of the final players are signing with other ACC schools.
Laila Phelia, who was a 16 ppg scorer at Michigan, but then played only 8 games last year at Texas. has signed with Syracuse, who had already signed another 6'4" post out of Auburn.
Boston College has just signed 6'2" Kayla Rolph, 6.7 ppg and 4.2 RPG, who shot 33.7% from the three out of William and Mary.
In the meantime, Louisville has signed a 6'4" freshman post recruit for the coming year out of the Ukraine.
We may have simply run out of enough NIL to compete for these additional good transfers. We do need some Congressional action to level this playing field.
Laila Phelia, who was a 16 ppg scorer at Michigan, but then played only 8 games last year at Texas. has signed with Syracuse, who had already signed another 6'4" post out of Auburn.
Boston College has just signed 6'2" Kayla Rolph, 6.7 ppg and 4.2 RPG, who shot 33.7% from the three out of William and Mary.
In the meantime, Louisville has signed a 6'4" freshman post recruit for the coming year out of the Ukraine.
We may have simply run out of enough NIL to compete for these additional good transfers. We do need some Congressional action to level this playing field.
Cal has negligible proven depth. If one or two players pick up two fouls in the first half, who would the Bears give the starters' minutes to? If they lose someone to injury from their starting five, will they be able to field a competitive team? I'm assuming that the three transfers will start along with Puff Morris & Lulu Twidale. Charmin Smith has a dozen scholarship players on her roster at present. The initial subs off the bench might be Abigor, Maul & freshman Barnes. I'm speculating regarding Barnes because I have not seen her play, yet.
HC Smith brought in four transfers each of the last three years prior to this one. This team has fewer experienced players than any of the other teams. As I commented previously, I don't know which players are going to be able to generate seventy points a game.
HC Smith brought in four transfers each of the last three years prior to this one. This team has fewer experienced players than any of the other teams. As I commented previously, I don't know which players are going to be able to generate seventy points a game.
If we can't sign any of the last of the good ones, I would now focus on grad transfers who would not take up longer-term roster space while we wait for the Congressional action.
No one can tell anything till you watch their first practice. I'll see you guys there.
What eight-player rotation would you project at this point? Do we have enough front-line players to compete in the top-half of the ACC, or do we need to sign somebody else? I agree that we will need to wait to see what we look like, but we will still have to have some numbers. I think our problem is low NIL. Our coaching staff is fine and we offer a great degree. But money now seems to be overriding everything else. Otherwise, why would someone pick Syracuse, Virginia or Boston College over us?wvitbear said:
No one can tell anything till you watch their first practice. I'll see you guys there.
We might be better defensively than last year (far from certain) but I don't see us better offensively unless we sign some proven scorers
It's late in the transfer calendar so proven P4 scorers are probably not realistic but WBB recruits are rarely known in advance so hopefully there is a surprise announcement soon
It's late in the transfer calendar so proven P4 scorers are probably not realistic but WBB recruits are rarely known in advance so hopefully there is a surprise announcement soon
To succeed you need scorers, and scorers are the hardest players to find.
With good coaching, you can defend pretty well, and rebound OK, but to score, you need talent. You can't just draw up plays and get baskets.
With good coaching, you can defend pretty well, and rebound OK, but to score, you need talent. You can't just draw up plays and get baskets.
If this is the universal magic number, (is there a statistic out there indicating that?), then just maybe we can take the approach to win a lot of games by holding the opponent under seventy points a game. Last time I checked, if the game ends with our team leading 67-66 it still counts as a win, no?Schroeder71 said:
Cal has negligible proven depth. If one or two players pick up two fouls in the first half, who would the Bears give the starters' minutes to? If they lose someone to injury from their starting five, will they be able to field a competitive team? I'm assuming that the three transfers will start along with Puff Morris & Lulu Twidale. Charmin Smith has a dozen scholarship players on her roster at present. The initial subs off the bench might be Abigor, Maul & freshman Barnes. I'm speculating regarding Barnes because I have not seen her play, yet.
HC Smith brought in four transfers each of the last three years prior to this one. This team has fewer experienced players than any of the other teams. As I commented previously, I don't know which players are going to be able to generate seventy points a game.
^ this is outdated 1950's thinking & reflects why cal has a tiny fanbase with abysmal haas attendance (which is a function of markeisha everrett being 100% incomptent & jennifer simon-o'neil running almost all the women sports teams into the ground) despite a generational talent ncca team at a time that the local wbna franchise got 20,000+ season tix depositsSFCALBear72 said:It's her extensive Muay Thai training. She spent last week (recruiting shutdown period) in Thailand learning from some of the best in this martial art. Now she's ready to hit the recruiting trail!Ccajon2 said:The Calwhoops program has given me PTSD. Goody pulls a 32-4 record out of her bum, then tanks our recruiting for the next 5 years. After the remains of the final four team left went only 30 and 42 in conference play. Of course this is allowed to happen because she already knew that the upper administration of Cal sports doesn't give a hoot. The same thing happens with the fb coach and other coaches. (Fox, neu) Once they sense that the top dogs at Cal don't care they don't carexxnatedoggxx said:
Louisville and Lindsay screwing us like always.
Thankfully we have a recruiting pitbull in Charmin.
coaches in 2025 need to relentlessly cultivate potential nil donors during recruiting quiet periods, this is why lindsay is competing for national championships while charmin is getting away from it all in thailand
coach smith might be "ready to hit the recruiting trail," but without nil dollars she's only gonna be able to attract mid level transfer players with talent level question mark issues
This is why Charmin was in Thailand last week.Shocky1 said:^ this is outdated 1950's thinking & reflects why cal has a tiny fanbase with abysmal haas attendance (which is a function of markeisha everrett being 100% incomptent & jennifer simon-o'neil running almost all the women sports teams into the ground) despite a generational talent ncca team at a time that the local wbna franchise got 20,000+ season tix depositsSFCALBear72 said:It's her extensive Muay Thai training. She spent last week (recruiting shutdown period) in Thailand learning from some of the best in this martial art. Now she's ready to hit the recruiting trail!Ccajon2 said:The Calwhoops program has given me PTSD. Goody pulls a 32-4 record out of her bum, then tanks our recruiting for the next 5 years. After the remains of the final four team left went only 30 and 42 in conference play. Of course this is allowed to happen because she already knew that the upper administration of Cal sports doesn't give a hoot. The same thing happens with the fb coach and other coaches. (Fox, neu) Once they sense that the top dogs at Cal don't care they don't carexxnatedoggxx said:
Louisville and Lindsay screwing us like always.
Thankfully we have a recruiting pitbull in Charmin.
coaches in 2025 need to relentlessly cultivate potential nil donors during recruiting quiet periods, this is why lindsay is competing for national championships while charmin is getting away from it all in thailand
coach smith might be "ready to hit the recruiting trail," but without nil dollars she's only gonna be able to attract mid level transfer players with talent level question mark issues
Bears now in a Recruiting Shutdown as noted in a Facebook posting
May 5th - 11th
No calls
No texts
No emails
No visits
No contacts
No evaluations
No social media interactions
No written or electronic correspondence
And Lindsay lost her 2024 freshmen class to the portal. hmmmmm.
72, the no calls, texts, emails, visits, contacts does NOT apply to head coaches visiting in person with the university's whale donors to solicit nil donations for their programs
trust me, lindsay is doing that around the clock 24/7/365...back in the day she went to men's bb games at haas & would introduce herself & sit by floor seat donors like myself (which resulted in my becoming a wbb floor seat donor for a couple of years & supporting her recruitment of sabrina ionescu)
gottlieb will navigate another championship team next season, that's just what she does...while charmin wuz in thailand for the week no doubt lindsay wuz visiting in person potential trojans nil donors from bel air to newport beach asking for financial commitments
coaching coaches in 2025 need to be gregarious extroverts that can successfully fundraise nil support not introverts
trust me, lindsay is doing that around the clock 24/7/365...back in the day she went to men's bb games at haas & would introduce herself & sit by floor seat donors like myself (which resulted in my becoming a wbb floor seat donor for a couple of years & supporting her recruitment of sabrina ionescu)
gottlieb will navigate another championship team next season, that's just what she does...while charmin wuz in thailand for the week no doubt lindsay wuz visiting in person potential trojans nil donors from bel air to newport beach asking for financial commitments
coaching coaches in 2025 need to be gregarious extroverts that can successfully fundraise nil support not introverts
charmin would be wise to recognize her personality shortcomings with respects to fundraising & thus surround herself with assistant coaches that can successfully handle nil fundraising
theo robertson is already known/like/respected by the bears fanbase & would be ideal meeting daily with potential wbb nil donors...he called for tv a significant # of wbb games last season & knows the personnel plus as a former nba shooting skills development coach for both the lakers & warriors he could work with lola on her crooked azz shooting stroke
the best people to sell/recruit berkeley to prospects are berkeley grads like theo that are passionate about the university & its academics...it's not a coincidence that the staff's best recruiter right now is eliza pierre a berkeley grad...part of smith's overall losing record can be correlated with her revolving door of assistant coaches who never have any berkeley affiliations or understanding of the bay area's high cost of living
this team is gonna struggle to score 50+ points a game next season (which translates into a losing season) as the roster is currently constructed
theo robertson is already known/like/respected by the bears fanbase & would be ideal meeting daily with potential wbb nil donors...he called for tv a significant # of wbb games last season & knows the personnel plus as a former nba shooting skills development coach for both the lakers & warriors he could work with lola on her crooked azz shooting stroke
the best people to sell/recruit berkeley to prospects are berkeley grads like theo that are passionate about the university & its academics...it's not a coincidence that the staff's best recruiter right now is eliza pierre a berkeley grad...part of smith's overall losing record can be correlated with her revolving door of assistant coaches who never have any berkeley affiliations or understanding of the bay area's high cost of living
this team is gonna struggle to score 50+ points a game next season (which translates into a losing season) as the roster is currently constructed
Some of you need to watch your joints with how high you're jumping to conclusions.
FYI-we have one of the most prolific scorers in the state of California coming in next year. A player who won the State Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior Player of the Year. This has only ever been achieved seven times in 41 years. Ionescu didn't achieve this. JuJu didn't achieve this. Puff Morris did.
Is the portal closed? Are we doomed to not signing any other players? Do we have zero chance of locking down another international recruit?
Some of you need a brighter outlook on life or a Xanax prescription. It's exhausting and a little pathetic.
FYI-we have one of the most prolific scorers in the state of California coming in next year. A player who won the State Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior Player of the Year. This has only ever been achieved seven times in 41 years. Ionescu didn't achieve this. JuJu didn't achieve this. Puff Morris did.
Is the portal closed? Are we doomed to not signing any other players? Do we have zero chance of locking down another international recruit?
Some of you need a brighter outlook on life or a Xanax prescription. It's exhausting and a little pathetic.
cal fanatic, u can't participate in a honest discussion re: wbb without resorting to drug references on conflicting points of u to ur own??
trust me shocky is 100% more healthy than u
anyways the player that needs to significantly improve her conditioning is lulu, without supporting shooters like ionna & marta she's gonna be targeted & chased off the 3 point line...the wide open looks she got this season with the spacing that comes from multiple 3 point shooters on the floor at the same time won't be as prevalent next season which means twidale is gonna have to run/move twice as hard to find her shots while being chased off the line
shocky is a big fan of lulu, gabby & puff, they will bring a lot to the table...DEFENSE wins basketball games and both lulu & puff will struggle against elite acc +1 athletes
loading up in the portal requires nil dollars in 2025, do u feel coach smith is gonna raise the funds??
trust me shocky is 100% more healthy than u
anyways the player that needs to significantly improve her conditioning is lulu, without supporting shooters like ionna & marta she's gonna be targeted & chased off the 3 point line...the wide open looks she got this season with the spacing that comes from multiple 3 point shooters on the floor at the same time won't be as prevalent next season which means twidale is gonna have to run/move twice as hard to find her shots while being chased off the line
shocky is a big fan of lulu, gabby & puff, they will bring a lot to the table...DEFENSE wins basketball games and both lulu & puff will struggle against elite acc +1 athletes
loading up in the portal requires nil dollars in 2025, do u feel coach smith is gonna raise the funds??
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