Shocky1;842146346 said:

---

ucla coach: hey idy, how's it going?

idrissa diallo: real good, coach, how are you?

ucla coach: man, it's been crazy around here, sorry i haven't called in a while...we don't have a single point guard on the roster for 2014 and if josh perkins bails on us, we are gonna have a real problem
idrissa diallo: hmmm...

ucla coach: if that happens we might lose to cal poly at pauley again and then i'll be coaching at northern idaho...say, would you follow me to northern idaho if that happened?

idrissa diallo: geez coach, i'm not sure, i'd have to think about that

ucla coach: no worries, so how's that busted kneecap doing?

idrissa diallo: actually it's a broken elbow and its definitely getting better

ucla coach: good, good...how's coach muddlebrook doing?

idrissa diallo: coach middlebrooks is doing great, i'll tell him you said hello

ucla coach: thanks, how's the family back in kenya?

idrissa diallo: actually my family is from senegal which is...

ucla coach: (interrupts)...yeah, i knew that...hey idy, i gotta grab this other call but i can't wait to see you wearing a bruins uniform

click

end of phone call

this is ucla basketball#

---

ucla coach: hey idy, what's up?

idrissa diallo: doing great, coach, thanks for asking

ucla coach: hope this isn't too off the wall but have you ever played pg?

idrissa diallo: coach, i'm 6'11" and 230 pounds

ucla coach: hmmmm, ok, talk to you later then

end of phone call

this is ucla basketball#
ruh roh#

Shocky1;842156825 said:

---

two roads diverged in a wood, and i-
i took the one less traveled by,
and that has made all the difference

-robert frost

50 yr decision#


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

---

amhaad rorie is flying tonight from florida thru la$ vega$ to oakland for his official visit weekend to join fellow elite student athlete thomas welsh...both will be hosted by jabari bird & jordan mathews

bears bonding begins now#
cal family#


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

HoopDreams;842156814 said:

---

Rorie and his Mom (as he leaves for Florida)

---

mom matters#

roaring bears welcome to thomas welsh who is arriving tonight from los angeles into berkeley for his official visit

welsh is an strong cal fit as a 2014 top 50 recruit & best big man on the west coast along with a rocking 3.7 gpa at the academically dynamic loyola hs

coach gregg gottlieb was the 1st individual from a big time program to scout & correctly recognize tw's talents which resulted in the bears being the 1st major program to offer thomas

thomas welsh=ideal cal student athlete

cal family#


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

With Welsh's impressive development this summer, Thomas and Kameron would make a dynamic tandem in the post or the Bears in 2014.

I changed the settings for the size of images. I hope that solves the scrolling problem.

Shocky1;842133036 said:

---

congratulations to:

***mike montgomery
***travis decuire
***gregg gottlieb
***john montgomery
***jay john

for their successfully cleaning up the ben braun academic cesspool of dumb azz ballers as evidenced by the recent bears bb apr of 955.. should be noted that it is not challenging to stay academically eligible at glorified jcs like arizona (90+% acceptance rate) or stronger private educational institutions like stanford or usc that do not flunk out their students after they're accepted (gotta keep the donor $ rolling)

the 955 apr is only the begining...with the roster of true student athletes listed below this # will likely escalate toward 1000 in the future

who are these golden bears?

alan crabbe-3.3 gpa@price (awaiting nba draft this week)
justin cobbs-3.39 gpa@bishop montgomery
tyrone wallace-3.5 gpa@bakersfield
david kravish-4.1 gpa@lee's summit north
richard solomon-3.5 gpa@price
ricky kreklow-3.72 gpa@rocky bridge
christian behrens-3.5 gpa@tahoma
jeff powers-excellent student@delasalle & nightclub hero
kahlil johnson-scholastic honor roll@price
garrett galvin-4.0 gpa@torrey pines
jabari bird-3.0+@salesian
jordan mathews-3.55 gpa@santa monica
sam singer-3.4 gpa@ransom everglades
kameron rooks-3.5 gpa@mission hills
roger moute a bidias-3.0+@notre dame
amhaad rorie-3.6 gpa@lincoln/montverde academy

bears fans can expect every player listed above to leave cal with a diploma and/or a roster spot on a nba team (and hopefully those players will eventually return like shareef abdur rahim, 3.8 gpa@cal, to eventually graduate)

of the 300+ ncaa d1 teams excluding the ivy league & service academies, cal is among the top 3 schools for academically elite bb students alongside duke & stanford

if anyone can document a college with better academic bb student athletes than cal (other than the 2 schools listed above/ivy league/service academies), i will donate $5000 to a university of california educational scholarship fund of your choice in your name


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

---

thomas welsh=ideal cal student athlete

50 yr decision#
the grind#


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

if we can sign these two, that's a top class right there, and we ain't done yet either

Welcome to the Rorie and Welsh!



http://vype.com/california/2013/09/11/thomas-welsh-los-angeles-loyola/

Can't learn a lot about Welsh off the clips from the Crenshaw-Loyola game video, but he does show flashes of what he could become as a premier post. Of course, he's reportedly 7'0", with long arms and a frame that could add good bulk. He appears reasonably athletic and a "quick jumper", who can flush the ball with impunity, as well as swat-away shots in the paint. Welsh appears to have good hands. He will learn to be more assertive and look for the ball on offense, as well as control the boards at both ends. Monty and Co. have their work cut-out for them, but could end-up with a bone-fide D-1 Center as Welsh develops. I wonder how Thomas Welsh compares to Eleraki, who is older and further along the development curve?

Shocky1;842174444 said:

---

shaggy: where are the snacks and why is alford so creepy?

velma: shaggy, quit being such a scaredy cat...alford, which literally means a horse's ass in 18th century slavic cultures, could theoretically exclusively recruit family members for the next decade

scooby: ruh roh

this is ucla basketball#
ruh roh#

---

this is ucla basketball#
ruh roh#

The last big man that selected UCLA over Cal was Brendan Lane.
That's a player that Cal was on hard, and one that I felt was the perfect fit for Cal under Monty.

Well Lane signed with UCLA sat on the bench, and then transferred to Pepperdine.

I hope Welsh doesn't take the same route. Like Lane, I think Welsh would be better utilized under Monty.

Monty always favors playing the game through the post, but he hasn't had the player to do so. However he did demonstrate what he could do with strong post players when he had Markuri and Kamp on the same team. Neither were Monty's prototype big, but they were a tough matchup for opponents nevertheless.

Com'n Welsh. Make the right decision, and come to Cal

+1. With Welsh, Rorie, and someone else (Diallo?) as well as what we already have 14-15 will be so much fun to watch.

Rorie will help get the rest of his posse signed-up with the Bears.

Shocky1;842174444 said:

---

shaggy: where are the snacks and why is alford so creepy?

velma: shaggy, quit being such a scaredy cat...alford, which literally means a horse's ass in 18th century slavic cultures, could theoretically exclusively recruit family members for the next decade

scooby: ruh roh

this is ucla basketball#
ruh roh#

---

bryce alford tweeted: "i'm a pg, that's what i do"

mystery solved, nobody wants to compete with the coach's son for pt at pg at ucla...velma, daphne, shaggy, scooby & gang can go to bed now

rorie=cal
jackson-cartwright=arizona
cartwright=stanford
perkins=gonzaga
mclaughlin=usc
snider=illinois

therefore the bruins currently will not have a pg on the roster except bryce, the slowest pg in d1 bb

with no pg, 20+ losses is a definite possibility for the once storied ucla program in 2014

i dunno, maybe thomas welsh is being recruited as a 7' pg...

this is ucla basketball#
ruh roh#

HoopDreams;842175347 said:

---

---

ahmaad rorie's mom and thomas welsh's parents all accompanied their sons for their cal official visits

the players were able to experience campus life on friday, play ball on saturday morning & go the football game that afternoon

but most importantly, both thomas & amhaad had the opportunity to get to know the players & coaches in a more indepth way

cal family#


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

Is it the water? Is it watching entertaining offensive-minded football? Is it watching Goff excel?

I am not sure why but I am officially turning in my nega bear hat, telling Direct TV to F themselves, getting DISH out here to do the dead, and joining the pumpers. Next year is going to be so much family

#familytells
#Shockyrules
#pumpinghardin2013
#stilldontwanttoendlesslyreadabouthowNewellwassosmartandgood

socaltownie;842176913 said:

---

Is it the water? Is it watching entertaining offensive-minded football? Is it watching Goff excel?

I am not sure why but I am officially turning in my nega bear hat, telling Direct TV to F themselves, getting DISH out here to do the dead, and joining the pumpers. Next year is going to be so much family

#familytells
#Shockyrules
#pumpinghardin2013
#stilldontwanttoendlesslyreadabouthowNewellwassosmartandgood

---

SCT, welcome to membership in the Pumpers!

Football Bears notwithstanding, I hope (and expect) Monty's team will not make you rue your epiphany.

Go Bears!

sat conversations:

talking with enthusiastic scott thom, one gets the sense that you are speaking with someone who has found his dream job as the s&c coach for the cal bb program...thom is an interesting & well traveled guy that when he was the bb hc at vintage hs in napa would go on walkabouts during the summer to brazil, spain & new zealand...scott's mentor/inspiration is former cal bb legend russ critchfield

thom told me that justin cobbs has "a great attitude"...ricky kreklow is evolving into an intense leader and with respects to s&c work is "really getting after guys"

st customizes workouts for individual players & their personalities...kahlil johnson is not a fan of the treadmill so thom takes him on the court where they work on conditioning drills with a basketball which brings out kj's high energy level

while thom thinks cal's $150m high performance center is state of the art, he enjoys working out of haas (except for a few activities which are better suited to the hpc) which centralizes the players from a valuable time mgmt standpoint as bb practices, s&c work, rehab work with the trainer, the dining table is upstairs (wbb is on a different schedule and usually doesn't dine with mbb) and the study center/tutoring assitance is nearby

bottom line, how effective is thom?...when he started in his current role 3 players stayed during that 1st summer...this past summer every cal player stayed in berkeley, that's 100% total team buy in to grind & a commitment to create greatness

relentless recruiter gregg gottlieb & i had a candid conversation of which 90% cannot be repeated...it can be shared that the bears might take 3 bigs in 2014 if "they are guys we really want"...gg told me it is important to recruit recruit "guys who fit in" that don't "disrupt team chemistry" & "guys who really want to be at cal"

spoke briefy with mike montgomery after his workout and in response to my question if this will be his best cal team he smiled/smirked and told me "we'll see, gotta stay healthy"

jay john told me that sam singer makes "good decisions," jordan mathews has "3 pt range," & that roger moute a bidias has a "nice upside and is always around the ball"...jj explained that the benefit of cal's monster class having high level bb ties within their families (carl bird, phil mathews, luc moute a bidias & sean rooks) is that when they call home they aren't coddled, they are told to work harder & get after it...jj told me justin cobbs is "going to be fine"

sandy barbour told me she does not believe in naming coaches in waiting in response to my question re: the cal bb perpetuation plan...when mr cranky pants (who is still as fiesty as ever) finally hangs it up someday there will be a national search...sb told me she understands my reasoning for travis decuire to be promoted internally to continue the programs's current upward trajectory with elite high character student athletes...sandy told me that she has spoken directly with travis re: this process...barbour looked me in the eye when she said that if after the national search process, td is the best candidate to lead the cal bb program that "nobody will be happier than me"...imo & as stated in the 1st post on the cal monster class thread, travis decuire will eventually become the next hc at cal

the shockster feels strongly that td is the best person for the job, he is a highly effective recruiter that gets what cal is all about...bears fans hoping for phil jackson, shaka smart, chaka khan, the latest "hot" mid major program hc, etc. don't fully understand that cal cannot be successful by recruiting the hs 2.5 gpa dumb azzs that populate many high level d1 programs

sb made the mistake of inviting me to the ad's suite on the univesity level for the ohio state game...the shockster smoothly polished off $100+ of free sushi prepared on site (so tasty, definitely not gas station sushi)...not to worry, i walked & carried my bag for 36 holes today at coore & crenshaw's terrific clear creek which is my favorite course in nevada ahead of shadow creek, martis camp, edgewood tahoe & cascata

asked oski if he is ever gonna graduate, he didn't have much to say about that...

the grind#
cal family#


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

Shocky1;842156765 said:

---

"i just said goodbye to my mom...it was the most bittersweet moment ever...i love her more than life itself"

amhaad rorie traveled today 2938 miles from tacoma to lake county florida & the montverde academy for his sr yr of hs...ar will play for the school's nationally ranked bb team & also benefit from the rigorous academic preparation (montverde students have a 100% college acceptance rate & 85% college of 1st choice acceptance rate)

montverde will best prepare ar both athletically & academically for his transition to cal during the summer of 2014...but it also means he needed to leave his family & friends in the 253

selfless & loving decision by amhaad's mom, rhonetta thomas, to support him on his quest

mom matters#
the grind#
summer breezes#

---

big 18#
the grind#
mom matters#
cal family#

Shocky once again hits my jealousy meter. Would love to play Clear Creek. Sadly don't know a member and they won't reciprocate to my club.

Bonus points to the Shockster for mention of NVBear78's alma mater, Vintage High School.

And kudo's for all the great insights into the program, at this moment you have partially mollified concern number one:

Cobb's health status after the broker foot in SF Pro Am (Cobb's will be fine per JJ).

But concern number two lingers.......

What about Ricky Kreklow's health status? The last detailed report with all of the inside scoop on his foot condition from family members reminded me of Brennan Scarlett's "hand that will not heal" injury.

And for even more bonus points would love to hear the Shocksters predictions on production for Solomon, Kravish and Rooks after the summer of strength and conditioning work with ground control to Major Thom and whether he expects any of the fab five recruits to redshirt? I personally hope they all play including luc moute a bidias.

NVBear78;842178643 said:

---

Bonus points to the Shockster for mention of NVBear78's alma mater, Vintage High School.

And kudo's for all the great insights into the program, at this moment you have partially mollified concern number one:

Cobb's health status after the broker foot in SF Pro Am (Cobb's will be fine per JJ).

But concern number two lingers.......

What about Ricky Kreklow's health status? The last detailed report with all of the inside scoop on his foot condition from family members reminded me of Brennan Scarlett's "hand that will not heal" injury.

And for even more bonus points would love to hear the Shocksters predictions on production for Solomon, Kravish and Rooks after the summer of strength and conditioning work with ground control to Major Thom and whether he expects any of the fab five recruits to redshirt? I personally hope they all play including luc moute a bidias.

---

I've seen Rooks at the football games with his teammates and he is looking strong, lean and very tall.

To me JJ's saying that Cobbs will be fine signifies not much more than a commendable hope. I would like to believe it, but Kreklow's history makes me pause. I am sure when Kreklow first injured his foot, no one was predicting the actuality of what has happened with him since then.

Go Bears!

Great post Shocky!

HoopDreams;842178894 said:

---

---

Who is that in the pic, cant tell from my phone?

NVBear78;842178991 said:

---

Who is that in the pic, cant tell from my phone?

---

Can't tell from the picture itself as it's pretty blurry, but I assume it's Jabari going off the title of HoopDreams post ("Air Bird").

Shocky1;842128792 said:

---

walked 18 holes early this morning (gotta beat the desert heat, golf carts are for fat boyz) at whisper rock as a fast moving twosome with one of the university of arizona's largest donors who told me this jay john story:

jay john's youngest son is participating at the wildcat's summer basketball camp and he tells his coach he lost one of his contact lens...since jj was the braintrust of the highly successful lute era, all play stops immediately while all the camp players, asst coaches, counselors & parents are on their knees meticulously searching the floor of mckale for the missing lens

finally somebody runs up to jj's office and tells him what's going on...jay leans back in his chair, offers a sheepish smile and says "he doesn't wear contact lens"

summer breezes#

---

jay john confirmed to me on sat that this story about his son is true

jj will be accompanying one his boys, a 6'3" guard, on several of his official visits during the next month

jay told me he still keeps in touch with lute & that he will wish him a happy b-day next week

Shocky1;842177798 said:

---

sb made the mistake of inviting me to the ad's suite on the university level for the ohio state game...the shockster smoothly polished off $100+ of free sushi prepared on site (so tasty, definitely not gas station sushi)...

---

Yeah, I had sushi at the Northwestern game....
Either:
a) they changed the sushi vendor, or
b) the University Club gets different sushi than the Stadium Club, or
c) coming from the desert, you don't know your sushi.

And, oh yeah, since the Stadium Club seats are about $5k per season, and there are 6 home games, that's $833 per game. That makes it very easy to eat $100 of "free" sushi!

That 1.5 beers I had probably cost $75.
The M&M's? $50.
The 2 bottles of water? $60.
$200 of chili. But where were the chips to go with it this time?

Back in the day, the "candy lady" would pass around a baggie of Brach's candies for everyone in the general vicinity whenever the canon would boom. That was truly priceless!

....The best part about the renovations? Plush leather cushioned seats. No more knees in your back, room for your arms, and no need to worry about sitting at an angle so you don't poke the person in front of you in their back with your knees. This could have been accomplished for a mere ...$10 million?

Still, I ain't complaining. Wasn't MY money, per se.
Still good times.

Shocky1;842177798 said:

---

sat conversations:

talking with enthusiastic scott thom, one gets the sense that you are speaking with someone who has found his dream job as the s&c coach for the cal bb program...thom is an interesting & well traveled guy that when he was the bb hc at vintage hs in napa would go on walkabouts during the summer to brazil, spain & new zealand...scott's mentor/inspiration is former cal bb legend russ critchfield

thom told me that justin cobbs has "a great attitude"...ricky kreklow is evolving into an intense leader and with respects to s&c work is "really getting after guys"

st customizes workouts for individual players & their personalities...kahlil johnson is not a fan of the treadmill so thom takes him on the court where they work on conditioning drills with a basketball which brings out kj's high energy level

while thom thinks cal's $150m high performance center is state of the art, he enjoys working out of haas (except for a few activities which are better suited to the hpc) which centralizes the players from a valuable time mgmt standpoint as bb practices, s&c work, rehab work with the trainer, the dining table is upstairs (wbb is on a different schedule and usually doesn't dine with mbb) and the study center/tutoring assitance is nearby

bottom line, how effective is thom?...when he started in his current role 3 players stayed during that 1st summer...this past summer every cal player stayed in berkeley, that's 100% total team buy in to grind & a commitment to create greatness

relentless recruiter gregg gottlieb & i had a candid conversation of which 90% cannot be repeated...it can be shared that the bears might take 3 bigs in 2014 if "they are guys we really want"...gg told me it is important to recruit recruit "guys who fit in" that don't "disrupt team chemistry" & "guys who really want to be at cal"

spoke briefy with mike montgomery after his workout and in response to my question if this will be his best cal team he smiled/smirked and told me "we'll see, gotta stay healthy"

jay john told me that sam singer makes "good decisions," jordan mathews has "3 pt range," & that roger moute a bidias has a "nice upside and is always around the ball"...jj explained that the benefit of cal's monster class having high level bb ties within their families (carl bird, phil mathews, luc moute a bidias & sean rooks) is that when they call home they aren't coddled, they are told to work harder & get after it...jj told me justin cobbs is "going to be fine"

sandy barbour told me she does not believe in naming coaches in waiting in response to my question re: the cal bb perpetuation plan...when mr cranky pants (who is still as fiesty as ever) finally hangs it up someday there will be a national search...sb told me she understands my reasoning for travis decuire to be promoted internally to continue the programs's current upward trajectory with elite high character student athletes...sandy told me that she has spoken directly with travis re: this process...barbour looked me in the eye when she said that if after the national search process, td is the best candidate to lead the cal bb program that "nobody will be happier than me"...imo & as stated in the 1st post on the cal monster class thread, travis decuire will eventually become the next hc at cal

the shockster feels strongly that td is the best person for the job, he is a highly effective recruiter that gets what cal is all about...bears fans hoping for phil jackson, shaka smart, chaka khan, the latest "hot" mid major program hc, etc. don't fully understand that cal cannot be successful by recruiting the hs 2.5 gpa dumb azzs that populate many high level d1 programs

sb made the mistake of inviting me to the ad's suite on the univesity level for the ohio state game...the shockster smoothly polished off $100+ of free sushi prepared on site (so tasty, definitely not gas station sushi)...not to worry, i walked & carried my bag for 36 holes today at coore & crenshaw's terrific clear creek which is my favorite course in nevada ahead of shadow creek, martis camp, edgewood tahoe & cascata

asked oski if he is ever gonna graduate, he didn't have much to say about that...

the grind#
cal family#


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

---

probably a good thing that i didn't ask monty if the bears will engage a hands on approach to the season opener against cop a feel state...

shut up shockster#

AH...gin, and this time i am really serious why the hell don't you run for president ?

joshbalt;842168452 said:

---

Hey Shocky,

I played Bethpage Black on a simulator yesterday, that place is ridiculously tough.

---

bethpage black is the best state/municipal course in the united states & the only course in the world with a warning sign by the 1st tee

bb only has 2 sets of tees, the tips at 7400 yds that the us open is played off and the men's tees at 6800 yds...there are no other tees

golf carts are not allowed on the black course, everybody must walk which is the way the game should be played...the bethpage state park complex has 4 other courses (of which the red is the 2nd best) that allow golf carts

the only other state/municipal course in the us that mandates walking only is tacoma's chambers bay, the 2015 us open venue...like amhaad rorie, chambers bay will be magnificiently reppin' the 253

when arriving at the 1st tee at bethapge black you hear long islanders making introductions for the round, "how ya' doin?"


new york city, baby#