Shocky1;842202094 said:
denmark's world traveler & relentlessly physical sami eleraky drove across the bay today to berkeley to check out jabari bird & the monster class at the bears open scrimmage
shout out to south bender for the detailed scrimmage report...cal's ability to knock down a high % of clutch fts at the end of games will likely result in several thrilling wins
sami can't take any official visits by ncaa rules until he has completed half of his jc credits required for graduation...his unit totals will include classroom work at both barton & sfcc along with several online classes at sfcc
eleraky will debut for the sfcc rams on friday night, nov 8th
cal famiy#
50 yr decision#
took the 10 minute drive from the olympic club* to sfcc this afternoon to watch sami eleraky for the 1st half (20 minutes) of the rams 4th annual tip off tnt 3rd place game vs santa rosa on my way to berkeley for the women's bb spinal tap level 11 loud crowd game vs duke
spoke with justin labagh, sfcc's hc & former cal bb walk on, before the game and he told me that sami is working hard in the classroom, the weight room & on the court...when i reminded labagh he is the winningest hc in the history of college bb (87.6 winning % heading into this season), he calmly replied, "all i know is that we're 0-1 this season"...justin's real shining achievement is that he academically prepares his players to earn college scholarships as more players from sfcc earn schollys than any other jc in california
sfcc lost yesterday to yuba (which also beat defending state champion mt san jacinto fri nite) & labagh told me eleraky did not have his best game
eleraky is a shade under 7' & is listed at 245 lbs in the program...he is lean looking (but not skinny) & could add another 15 lbs of muscle (under scott thom's elite s&c program if he signs with cal) quite comfortably with his frame
while sami is from aalborg, denmark, his parents are of egyptian descent and he is olive skinned with no visible tats
eleraky can really run with long strides & style wise would fit well with cal's new high tempo transition game...he also has above average jumping skills for a 7 footer
on d he is actively engaged with a crouched stance & constantly talks to his teammates...very impressed with his ability to quickly & physically put his body on an opposing player in an effort to block out when the opponents shoot...sami is not afraid of contact
offensive stats don't mean anything at sfcc as labagh constantly rotates players in & out of the game and they impressively share the ball with one another...his teams don't feature star players with gaudy stats, they just win championships
having said that, sami doesn't demand the ball & doesn't appear to have a go to post move yet...he had one exceptional offensive play when he pinned the defender and then released him for an over the top entry pass catch & lay up...eleraky appears to have good hands
eleraky's inexperience shows up as he doesn't quite have all the angles for rebounds (kravish is great at this) figured out yet & his high flying shot block attempts are a split second off...continued strong coaching & game experiences could remedy those issues
as a disciple under bobby knight, labagh is giving eleraky tough love...after a missed 10 ft fall away jumper (instead of pounding it to the basket), justin yelled, "sami, that's not the shot we want" & then quickly substituted him out
like kameron rooks, sami eleraky has a chance to be good at a high d1 program which is the same scouting report that would have been stated re: both richard solomon & david kravish when they arrived at cal
i'm looking forward to checking out sami again later this season to check out his development (hopefully other bears fans will take in a sfcc game too, wear your cal gear & sit in the row behind the rams bench-listening to jerome randle sized #3 animatedly talk to his coaches, teammates, referees, opponents, the guy in the 4th row and even himself when he's not draining nba 3 pters is worth the $7 admsission in itself)
sami's remarkable journey of traveling from denmark to kansas to san francisco is a story of perseverance & mental courage with many chapters still to be written...
*played the olympic club's fabulously fun par 3 cliffs course with dramatic ocean views & clever shot values with the o-club's greens chairman this morning in under an hr...the cliffs course is one of my 3 favorite 9 hole courses in the united states along with augusta national's par 3 course & the dunes club in new buffalo, michigan...please note that the short course at pine valley is actually 10 holes & the par 3 conservation course at bandon is actually 13 holes...my favorite international 9 hole course is the highly original & quirky valliere course at morfontaine (in the subrubs of paris) whose downhill par par 3 4th hole to a wildly undulating green is arguably the best inland par 3 in the world
the university of california, berkeley=#1 ranked public university in the world (including denmark)