If J Randle is a Kentucky Silent Commit neither Calipari or Randle will admit it until after Marcus Lee's decision is announced. Calipari would love to stock pile Lee behind Randle and Wiltjer.

Calipari won't acknowledge J Randle as it would presumably push M. Lee away from Ky and toward Cal.

Calipari doesn't want to do any favors for Montgomery or Cal. He knows that the potential Cal "Monster Class" would have the talent to close out his mercenaries if they were to meet in the NCAA tourney.

Vineyardview;841962055 said:

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If J Randle is a Kentucky Silent Commit it neither Calilpari or Randle will admit it until after Marcus Lee's decision is announced. Calilpari would love to stock pile Lee behind Randle and Wiltjer.

Calilpari won't acknowledge J Randle as it would presumably push M. Lee away from Ky and toward Cal.

Calilpari doesn't want to do any favors for Montgomery or Cal. He knows that the potential Cal "Monster Class" would have the talent to close out his mercenaries if they were to meet in the NCAA tourney.

---

Hopefully Marcus will see through it, and come to Cal.

He will not regret choosing Cal over Hillbilly U.

cal's monster class will join their more experienced teammates to become monty & decuire's 1st entirely recruited team in 2013

the bears will be a team of high character great student athletes with the following hs gpas:

justin cobbs-3.3 gpa
alan crabbe-3.39 gpa
richard solomon-3.5 gpa (academic suspension was due to immaturity, not hs preparation at price, sister graduated from cal)
ricky kreklow-3.72 gpa
christian behrens-3.5 gpa
david kravish-4.1 gpa (bears professor in training)
tyrone wallace-3.5 gpa
kahlil johnson-not known
kaileb rodriguez-not known
geoffrey frid (7'1" walk on)-3.5 gpa
garrett galvin (walk on)-4.0 gpa
jabari bird-3.00 plus gpa
jordan matthews-3.55 gpa

and prospects:

marcus lee-3.2 gpa
torren jones-2.8 gpa (gpa from basha hs in az, now attending college prep school la lumiere in indiana)
sam singer-3.4 gpa

cal will have the ballers to compete with the kentucky and louisville for the final 4 but also the student athletes to rival duke and stanford

university of california, berkeley=#1 public university in the world

kentucky's bbm on october 12th will allow marcus lee the opportunity to meet 5 star and top rated 2014 pf cliff alexander from chicago who is 6'9", 240 pounds who will also be attending

alexander is being relentlessly recruited by coach calipari along with the top rated 2013 overall & pf julius randle who is allegedly a silent commit to kentucky...and coach cal is hard after aaron gordon too who would also add competition/depth at pf

always good to meet your potential future teammates, marcus

go wildcats

UK will always load up with Bigs, regardless of the schollie limit. If they want a top recruit, they will go after them, and will recruit over their current players.

It's all about Coach Calipari (even though he says otherwise). I really don't understand why that isn't absolutely obvious to everyone.

Shocky1;841966502 said:

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kentucky's bbm on october 12th will allow marcus lee the opportunity to meet 5 star and top rated 2014 pf cliff alexander from chicago who is 6'9", 240 pounds who will also be attending

alexander is being relentlessly recruited by coach calipari along with the top rated 2013 overall & pf julius randle who is allegedly a silent commit to kentucky...and coach cal is hard after aaron gordon too who would also add competition/depth at pf

always good to meet your potential future teammates, marcus

go wildcats

---

kaboom, welcome to the university of califrnia, sam singer and family!!!

34.1 pts ppg as a jr, how many will sam average as a sr?

guarantee that singer will have the stanford games circled on his calendar...

great kid, with a 3.4 gpa from a rigorous prep school, who will blend well with both bird and matthews

dominoes baby#

classy post from 97spiderfan at the university of richmond basketball message board, spidernation.com, re: sam's commitment to cal:

"Look I love UR more than anyone, but I can't begrude a kid with an opportunity to go to Cal. Our only advantage in this whole equation was really playing time. Cal is a great academic school, Berkley is a pretty awesome place, lots of pretty coeds, west coast."

go spiders

to willie beamon:

i appreciate your sharing with us your thoughts regarding marcus lee's recruitment...while many cal fans may not agree with all your points, i respect your point of view as you are obviously concerned about lee's future

would you mind answering some or all of these questions?

you have mentioned that marucs is a 2 and done player...have you spoken with any nba scouts, coaches or front office staff regarding their evaluation of lee's nba potential?

as the average weight for nba power forwards is between 255-265 pounds, what is the strength/nutrition program for marcus to reach this level during the next 2 years? have you toured cal's high performance center?

what is lee's current weight?

the comptetition for pf at kentucky in 2013 will likely include:

kyle wiltjer-current starter as a soph, not listed in any of the nba mock drafts in their top 2 rounds for 2013, 6'9", 239 lbs

julius randle-#1 player in the country, pf is considered a silent commt to kentucky, 6'9" 240 lbs

there is also a small chance that nerlens noel, 6'10", 228 might return in 2013

the center for kentucky in 2013 will be willie cauley-stein, 7 ft, 244 lbs who is also not listed in any of the nba mock drafts for 2013

do you really believe coach calipari will play marcus at the center spot? if so, is playing out of position the best thing for his playing development?

as a coach and lee family adviser, do you feel it is in his best interests to put all his eggs into the potential nba basket? where does academics play into the possibility of injury, maturation as a well rounded adult, etc. in terms of your college recommendation? what are marcus' favorite classes in hs in earning an impressive 3.2 gpa?

is the lee family affluent? will they be able to spend the thousands of dollars necessary to travel to louisville from antioch for any of his home games? is it important for marcus to have his mom, dad and older brother bryan and other family/friends at his games? how important is a local support system to marcus?

why do you care that other coaches are badmouthing monty and cal? what do you think of monty and travis decuire based upon your interactions with them?

how close is marcus to jabari and jordan?

look forward to your feedback, willie...regardless of his decision, hope marcus makes the best college choice for himself and his family

i have sent a private message to willie beamon (not a lee family member) asking him if possible to answer the above questions

wondering if willie fully appreciates that for every bernard king that fulfills their nba dreams, there are tens of thousands great players in the playgrounds of nyc and other major cities that do not achieve this pinnacle and unfortunately do not fully capitalize on their educational opportunities?

a mind is a terrible thing to waste

family matters

I will be surprised if you get a response from WB. You are asking him to do some intelligent explanation of his brief comments, which seemed to have slowed down considerably. When did he last post? He is focused on only one issue on this board - pumping Kentucky basketball.

Calipari's strategy is likely now painfully obvious to Kyle.

Obviously, 97spiderfan has never stepped foot on the UC Berkeley campus to take a good look at our coeds.

Shocky1;841968500 said:

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classy post from 97spiderfan at the university of richmond basketball message board, spidernation.com, re: sam's commitment to cal:

"Look I love UR more than anyone, but I can't begrude a kid with an opportunity to go to Cal. Our only advantage in this whole equation was really playing time. Cal is a great academic school, Berkley is a pretty awesome place, [U][SIZE="6"][SIZE="5"]lots of pretty coeds[/SIZE][/SIZE][/U], west coast."

go spiders

---

more feedback from the richmond board...r&b fan says:

"Cal=BCS league, Mike Montgomery and great academics. Probably 3 good reasons. I hate we did not get him but I can definitely understand why we did not"

go spiders

btw, richard, my cal gf appeared in the playboy girls of the pac 10 issue...haas undergrad biz majors with big personalities get all the hotties...lol

Won't impress Richard. He has long been hung up on Garrett Sim.

puget sound cal fan;841973083 said:

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Calipari's strategy is likely now painfully obvious to Kyle.

---

100% agreed that the handwriting is on the wall for kyle wiltjer

last year as the 7th man kyle played 11 mpg

the 5 starters averaged 32 mpg and the 6th man averaged 26 mpg

nobody else played outside of a couple of minutes during garbage time in coach calipari's tight rotation which is all about featuring his starters even during victorious blowouts

coach calipari sells guys like julius randle that he will make him the top pick in the nba draft and therefore the starters play nba like minutes

so how does 2013 shape up for kyle (who is not listed in any of the 3 major nba mock drafts)?

julius randle will play 32 mpg at pf
willie cauley stein (who is also not listed in any of the 3 major nba mock drafts) will play 32 mpg at c

that means that at most kyle is looking at 16 mpg

if marcus lee and/or aaron gordon heads to kentucky, then they will split those 16 mpg

if nerlens noel (2.1 hs gpa) is injured or doesn't demonstrate any offensive skills and returns in 2013 (low probability) then kyle is looking at 5 mpg

if kyle had picked the ducks, huskies or bears out of hs, his nba prospects would have been significantly enhanced by likely major minutes with teams spotlighting his talents...of course practicing every day against great talent is a plus but the nba doesn't have many (if any) guys who developed while riding the bench in college

my guess is that marcus will really enjoy all the excitement and hoopla of the midnight madness (except for the painfully long flights to/from louisville)...then he will return home to his mom & dad and then drive to berkeley for his official visit with the bears the following weekend for the big game

family matters

yeah, how can Lee showcase his talents if he's on the bench at UK? At Cal he'd be on the court in the first game.

Represent the Bay

Shocky1;841974570 said:

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100% agreed that the handwriting is on the wall for kyle wiltjer

last year as the 7th man kyle played 11 mpg

the 5 starters averaged 32 mpg and the 6th man averaged 26 mpg

nobody else played outside of a couple of minutes during garbage time in coach calipari's tight rotation which is all about featuring his starters even during victorious blowouts

coach calipari sells guys like julius randle that he will make him the top pick in the nba draft and therefore the starters play nba like minutes

so how does 2013 shape up for kyle (who is not listed in any of the 3 major nba mock drafts)?

julius randle will play 32 mpg at pf
willie cauley stein (who is also not listed in any of the 3 major nba mock drafts) will play 32 mpg at c

that means that at most kyle is looking at 16 mpg

if marcus lee and/or aaron gordon heads to kentucky, then they will split those 16 mpg

if nerlens noel (2.1 hs gpa) is injured or doesn't demonstrate any offensive skills and returns in 2013 (low probability) then kyle is looking at 5 mpg

if kyle had picked the ducks, huskies or bears out of hs, his nba prospects would have been significantly enhanced by likely major minutes with teams spotlighting his talents...of course practicing every day against great talent is a plus but the nba doesn't have many (if any) guys who developed while riding the bench in college

my guess is that marcus will really enjoy all the excitement and hoopla of the midnight madness (except for the painfully long flights to/from louisville)...then he will return home to his mom & dad and then drive to berkeley for his official visit with the bears the following weekend for the big game

family matters

---

Shocky1;841974570 said:

---

100% agreed that the handwriting is on the wall for kyle wiltjer

last year as the 7th man kyle played 11 mpg

the 5 starters averaged 32 mpg and the 6th man averaged 26 mpg

nobody else played outside of a couple of minutes during garbage time in coach calipari's tight rotation which is all about featuring his starters even during victorious blowouts

coach calipari sells guys like julius randle that he will make him the top pick in the nba draft and therefore the starters play nba like minutes

so how does 2013 shape up for kyle (who is not listed in any of the 3 major nba mock drafts)?

julius randle will play 32 mpg at pf
willie cauley stein (who is also not listed in any of the 3 major nba mock drafts) will play 32 mpg at c

that means that at most kyle is looking at 16 mpg

if marcus lee and/or aaron gordon heads to kentucky, then they will split those 16 mpg

if nerlens noel (2.1 hs gpa) is injured or doesn't demonstrate any offensive skills and returns in 2013 (low probability) then kyle is looking at 5 mpg

if kyle had picked the ducks, huskies or bears out of hs, his nba prospects would have been significantly enhanced by likely major minutes with teams spotlighting his talents...of course practicing every day against great talent is a plus but the nba doesn't have many (if any) guys who developed while riding the bench in college

---

This season looks very good for Wiltjer's playing time. With only 3 guys on the roster taller than 6'7" (Wiltjer, Noel, and Cauley), and Wiltjer being a year ahead of Cauley and more highly ranked than him to begin with, I think Wiltjer gets about 30 min a game.

For his junior year, yes, Randle will take 30+ mins a game, but that still leaves almost 50 for Wiltjer and Cauley (and any incoming frosh). I think its too early to assume Cauley (the #40 recruit in the class of 12) will be ahead of Wiltjer (the #19 recruit in the class of 11), let alone that Lee (the #24 recruit in the class of 13) goes to UK and ends up ahead of Wiltjer.

The rankings above are those of ESPN. If you take the avg of ESPN, Rivals, and Scout, it is Wiltjer 22, Lee 28, and Cauley 43. I don't think there is any basis for assuming that in 2013/14 Cauley or Lee (if he even goes to UK) would be ahead of Wiltjer.

Wiltjer was in a very unique situation in 2011/12. The two guys who prevented him from getting playing time, Davis and Jones, were, respectively, the #1 or 2 recruit in the same class as Wiltjer, and an incumbent starter who was a higher rated recruit from the class before (13th vs 22nd) and who returned after having had a very solid freshman year (averaging 31.5 mins a game).

Mr. Frumble;841974621 said:

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This season looks very good for Wiltjer's playing time. With only 3 guys on the roster taller than 6'7" (Wiltjer, Noel, and Cauley), and Wiltjer being a year ahead of Cauley and more highly ranked than him to begin with, I think Wiltjer gets about 30 min a game.

For his junior year, yes, Randle will take 30+ mins a game, but that still leaves almost 50 for Wiltjer and Cauley (and any incoming frosh). I think its too early to assume Cauley (the #40 recruit in the class of 12) will be ahead of Wiltjer (the #19 recruit in the class of 11), let alone that Lee (the #24 recruit in the class of 13) goes to UK and ends up ahead of Wiltjer.

The rankings above are those of ESPN. If you take the avg of ESPN, Rivals, and Scout, it is Wiltjer 22, Lee 28, and Cauley 43. I don't think there is any basis for assuming that in 2013/14 Cauley or Lee (if he even goes to UK) would be ahead of Wiltjer.

Wiltjer was in a very unique situation in 2011/12. The two guys who prevented him from getting playing time, Davis and Jones, were, respectively, the #1 or 2 recruit in the same class as Wiltjer, and an incumbent starter who was a higher rated recruit from the class before (13th vs 22nd) and who returned after having had a very solid freshman year (averaging 31.5 mins a game).

---

mr frumble, hs rankings are certainly interesting but on court production in college is more important in assessing future nba potential

last seaso wiltjer played 11.6 mpg as the 7th man and averaged 1.8 rpg and 5.0 ppg while shooting only 43%...no wonder he is not listed in any of the 3 major nba mock drafts

willie beamon's echoing coach calipari & his assts sales pitch to the lee family that wiltjer will likely be gone (thereby opening up pt for marcus) is not an opinion shared by nba front offices (or even kentucky fans for that matter)

nobody (to the best of my knowledge) has ever been prepared for the nba by sitting on the bench in college

if kyle had decided to become a duck, husky or bear he would have been the featured spotlight scorer and thereby been much closer to his nba aspirations

as i mentioned before, because of the expensive and lengthy timewise travel issues in getting to and from lexington, kyle is the only wildcat from the western united states...there is a reason there are NO kids from california on the kentucky roster

family matters

Shocky1;841974644 said:

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mr frumble, hs rankings are certainly interesting but on court production in college is more important in assessing future nba potential

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I wasn't offering an opinion on the importance of college production in assessing future NBA potential. Rather, I was addressing your claim that Wiltjer is looking at 16 mpg, at best, during the 13/14 season.

(pssst...UK is in Lexington)

Civil Bear;841974788 said:

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(pssst...UK is in Lexington)

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Lexington, Kentucky
LINK

civil and calalumnus, good catch...either way an expensive and lengthy trip from antioch

mr frumble, you accurately mention that willtjer was in a "unique" situation in 2011 which resulted in limited pt...11.6 mpg as the 7th player and 1st biggie off the bench

my point is that coach calipari is a relentless recruiter and that every season is "unique" in kentucky

2012 pt is likely to play out as follows:

nerlens noel-32 mpg at pf
willie cauley stein-32 mpg at c (at 7', 244 lbs he is the board cleaner)
kyle wiltjer-12 mpg as the 7th player and 1st biggie off the bench

2013 pt

juliius randle-32 mpg at pf
willie cauley stein-32 mpg at c
kyle wiltjer-16 mpg max if noel departs
kyle wiljer-5 mpg if noel returns

coach calipari plays arguably the tightest rotation in college basketball even in victorious blowouts...he's successfully preparing his starters for the nba with nba like minutes and virtually no pt for the back ups (this isn't like little league where everybody gets to play and gets a strawberry snow cone after the game)

at kentucky you either rise to the top and start or you ride the bench (there is no middle class in wildcat basketball)

starting matters

I think 13/14 will be different than 11/12 because although Randle and Davis are comparable, Cauley does not equal Jones. Wiltjer is a year ahead of Cauley, and was higher ranked to being with. Wiltjer was a year behind Jones, and was lower ranked to being with.

Noel staying or UK bringing in another top 15 big would change things, but I don't think either will happen, and I therefore think Wiltjer has a good chance of starting in 13/14.

idk if anyone has mentioned this yet but I went on the top 25 recruiting class rankings and Cal is no#9 and its been updated since Singer committed. if we can get Lee or Gordon I think we gotta be top 5 if not atleast one spot below. go bears nice work Monty

marcus tweeted tonight: Yay!! I'm home!!!

family (including gf) matters

best of luck to marcus lee at kentucky

cal's #1 recruiting priority is torren jones who will be visiting missouri this weekend on an official trip

jones has already taken ovs to both depaul and washington state...has quite a few other top 25 offers

at 6'8, 215 lbs jones could be a beast in the paint for the bears!

"nobody (to the best of my knowledge) has ever been prepared for the nba by sitting on the bench in college"

Sven Nater comes to mind. Backup to Bill Walton at ucla.

Shocky1;841979766 said:

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best of luck to marcus lee at kentucky

cal's #1 recruiting priority is torren jones who will be visiting missouri this weekend on an official trip

jones has already taken ovs to both depaul and washington state...has quite a few other top 25 offers

at 6'8, 215 lbs jones could be a beast in the paint for the bears!

---

A year ago, I wanted Zena E to sign with Cal but he ended going with Harvard...(raw but very athletic)
this year, it is Marcus L

my take, it is their own decision after they each pondered the variables... each decided what is best for them..

so, the team/coaching staff turn the page and move forward... and focus should now be on Jones..

cal's incoming recruits for 2013 will be a monster class...literally

with quality depth from the thurminator and (to a lesser extent) bak bak, both seniors, there will no reason to rush geoffrey frid's development and play him in garbage time...he is currently 7'1" & 235 pounds and a 3.5 gpa

we should expect frid to scrimmage collision style against solomon and the thurminator while building up his body at cal's world class high performance center and blueshirting this season

remember frid has virtually no bad habits to break...fridenstein will truly be a basketball monster created by monty

therefore frid will ideally enter the 2013 season at 7'2" & 255 pounds as a blueshirt freshmen and joining his more polished teammates the deadly law firm of bird, matthews & singer

frid will likely backup solomon in 2013 (thereby earning a scholly) and then start for the next 3 seasons

while torren jones presented a basketball upside he was never a completely solid cal fit in my mind...with a 2.8 hs gpa at basha hs in chandler while playing with his cousin and then a transfer to la lumiere for his sr season, there were a few potential red flags...wish torren good luck at missouri both on and off the court but check out the cal team's hs gpas earlier in this thread for the academic profile that monty & decuire are targeting

also good luck to marcus lee...he has an unlimited upside that i hope he has the opportunity to fully develop in light of aaron gordon tripping to kentucky in early november, julius randle considered a silent commit to the cats, noel & cauley stein likely to return in 2013 along with wiltjer

if he ends up rididng the bench, lee could always transfer back to cal...stranger things have happened

btw, willie beamon in marcus lee's high school coach...phillips would benefit from reading harry edward's the struggle that must be re: the exploitation of black youth by misinformed adults

a mind is terrible thing to waste

go beers

Shocky1;841991417 said:

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cal's incoming recruits for 2013 will be a monster class...literally

with quality depth from the thurminator and (to a lesser extent) bak bak, both seniors, there will no reason to rush geoffrey frid's development and play him in garbage time...he is currently 7'1" & 235 pounds and a 3.5 gpa

we should expect frid to scrimmage collision style against solomon and the thurminator while building up his body at cal's world class high performance center and blueshirting this season

remember frid has virtually no bad habits to break...fridenstein will truly be a basketball monster created by monty

therefore frid will ideally enter the 2013 season at 7'2" & 255 pounds as a blueshirt freshmen and joining his more polished teammates the deadly law firm of bird, matthews & singer

frid will likely backup solomon in 2013 (thereby earning a scholly) and then start for the next 3 seasons

while torren jones presented a basketball upside he was never a completely solid cal fit in my mind...with a 2.8 hs gpa at basha hs in chandler while playing with his cousin and then a transfer to la lumiere for his sr season, there were a few potential red flags...wish torren good luck at missouri both on and off the court but check out the cal team's hs gpas earlier in this thread for the academic profile that monty & decuire are targeting

also good luck to marcus lee...he has an unlimited upside that i hope he has the opportunity to fully develop in light of aaron gordon tripping to kentucky in early november, julius randle considered a silent commit to the cats, noel & cauley stein likely to return in 2013 along with wiltjer

if he ends up rididng the bench, lee could always transfer back to cal...stranger things have happened

btw, willie beamon in marcus lee's high school coach...phillips would benefit from reading harry edward's the struggle that must be re: the exploitation of black youth by misinformed adults

a mind is terrible thing to waste

go beers

---

Happy Halloween?

Wallace, particularly, and Johnson received PT, and showed their promise, in the Cal Halloween Scrimmage. A 2012 recruit, who may not have got on the floor, Rodriguez, may be worth watching closely this season along with Frid. Rodriguez needs development--his game and his physique. He may be close to 6'10" with a frame that could use both bulk and strength. His hoops skills are undeveloped, which will limit his PT early, but Rodgriguez may be the type of "big" that Monty can bring along to become a contributor as early as the 2013-14 season. With Monty's lack of success signing all-star bigs, Cal has no choice but to develop "their own"--guys like Thurman, Frid and Rodriguez.

how rare is frid's skill set?

fridenstein is 7'1"

the november 5th sports illustrated says, "Seven-footers are routine in the NBA but so rare in the rest of the country that of American men ages 20 to 40 who stand seven feet tall, an estimated 17% are in the NBA right now, according to anaylsis of data from the NBA and Centers for Disease Control"

fridenstein is athletic...he excelled in tennis, baseball & swimming in hs

played this morning with 2 orthopod buddies at whisper rock this morning and they both believe that most males over 7 feet suffer from growth issues (bad backs, overweight, etc.)..they agreed that probably only 20% at best of all male seven footers could be considered "athletic"

fridenstein's hs gpa is 3.5

thanks to the misguided "mentoring" of under educated coaches like willie beamon, etc. who encourage an all in approach to bb while disregarding academics, my guess is that frid is arguably the smartest male between ages 20 to 40 over seven feet tall on planet earth

will be fun to watch monty's mad scientist work with fridenstein

go beers

That nickname is not very flattering. You should run it by him.

Shocky1;841999464 said:

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how rare is frid's skill set?

fridenstein is 7'1"

the november 5th sports illustrated says, "Seven-footers are routine in the NBA but so rare in the rest of the country that of American men ages 20 to 40 who stand seven feet tall, an estimated 17% are in the NBA right now, according to anaylsis of data from the NBA and Centers for Disease Control"

fridenstein is athletic...he excelled in tennis, baseball & swimming in hs

played this morning with 2 orthopod buddies at whisper rock this morning and they both believe that most males over 7 feet suffer from growth issues (bad backs, overweight, etc.)..they agreed that probably only 20% at best of all male seven footers could be considered "athletic"

fridenstein's hs gpa is 3.5

thanks to the misguided "mentoring" of under educated coaches like willie beamon, etc. who encourage an all in approach to bb while disregarding academics, my guess is that frid is arguably the smartest male between ages 20 to 40 over seven feet tall on planet earth

will be fun to watch monty's mad scientist work with fridenstein

go beers

---

Agree with Civil about the nickname, we have to come up with something better--but agree with the rest. Amazing we were able to get a 7'1" guy with athleticism, coordination and a 3.5 GPA as a walk-on big man "project" for this coaching staff. I honestly think that given the improvement Monty and Co routinely get with big men this kid could be a great player for us in a couple of years. If Francisco Elson could have a long career in the NBA, this kid will definitely have a chance.

Elson may have been in the NBA a long time, but he didn't make a huge impact while at Cal. The same can be said for Sean Marks.

I'm all for The Fridibulator making it to the NBA down the road, but here's hoping he realizes his potential while he's still a Bear!