who are these california golden bears?

alan crabbe-3.3 gpa@price (honorary team member/current playing w/portland trail blazers)
justin cobbs-3.39 gpa@bishop montgomery
richard solomon-3.5 gpa@price
jeff powers-3.6 gpa@delasalle
david kravish-4.1 gpa@lee's summit north
tyrone wallace-3.5 gpa@bakersfield
ricky kreklow-3.72 gpa@rocky bridge
garrett galvin-4.0 gpa@torrey pines
jabari bird-3.0+gpa@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+ gpa@notre dame
kingsley okoroh-3.0+ gpa@westwind prep/findlay prep
stephen domingo-3.4 gpa@st ignatius
brandon chauca-3.75 gpa@shannon forest christian school

cal fans can expect every player listed above to either leave cal with a degree and/or a nba contract...hopefully the bears' future nba players will eventually return to cal like former nba all star shareef abdur rahim, 3.8 gpa@cal, to graduate

of the 300+ ncaa d1 bb teams, cal is among the most academically elite programs along with duke, stanford, the ivy leagues & the service academies

the above is the MOST IMPORTANT stat sheet in cal basketball

cal family#
50 yr decision#



this is the difference between basketball factories that use up & then discard their workers (leaving them unemployable on the streets) and legitimate collegiate institutions of higher learning with an academic purpose

ambition


this is cal basketball#


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

Shocky1;842313159 said:

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who are these bears?

alan crabbe-3.3 gpa@price (honorary team member/current playing w/portland trail blazers)
justin cobbs-3.39 gpa@bishop montgomery
richard solomon-3.5 gpa@price
david kravish-4.1 gpa@lee's summit north
tyrone wallace-3.5 gpa@bakersfield
ricky kreklow-3.72 gpa@rocky bridge
jeff powers-excellent student@delasalle
garrett galvin-4.0 gpa@torrey pines
jabari bird-3.0+gpa@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+ gpa@notre dame
amhaad rorie-3.6 gpa@lincoln & montverde academy
idrissa diallo-3.4 gpa@cathedral
kingsley okoroh-3.0+ gpa@westwind prep/findlay prep
stephen domingo-3.4 gpa@st ignatius

cal fans can expect every player listed above to either leave cal with a degree and/or a nba contract...hopefully the bears' future nba players will eventually return to cal like former nba all star shareef abdur rahim, 3.8 gpa@cal, to graduate

of the 300+ ncaa d1 bb teams, cal is among the most academically elite programs along with duke, stanford, the ivy leagues & the service academies

the above is the MOST IMPORTANT stat sheet in cal basketball

cal family#
50 yr decision#



this is the difference between basketball factories that use up & then discard their workers (leaving them unemployable on the streets) and legitimate collegiate instituions of higher learning with an academic purpose


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

---

+1

welcome 7'1" 250 lbs kingsley okoroh, coach martin's 1st commitment to the california golden bears



spoke with okoroh's hc jai steadman at westwind prep (i'm an acquaintance of former suns tom chambers whose twins sons also attend westwind) in phx who emphasized several times that kingsley is an outstanding young man

okoroh has a 3.0+ gpa & his dad michael is a professor of facilities mgmt at the university of derby's school of engineering & technology...his dad has a family policy of mandatory good grades in order to play sports & is harder on his sons re: academics than athletics...kingsley bro is a bodybuilder back in england

westwind's academic tutor hannah has told steadman that kingsely is very polite & actively engaged in his schoolwork...apparently hannah doesn't say this about all of jai's players

okoroh season stats: 18 ppg, 12 rpg, 6 bpg & 4 apg



steadman thinks that okoroh like most young bigs has significant development potential on offense & has a nice soft touch...he shot 79% on fts & did not attempt any 3 pters, apparently kingsley does not think of himself as a stretch 4

defensively steadman compared him to dikembe mutombo in terms of his ability to be a monster shot blocker & rebounder but still needs more strength to reach his potential

jai also told me he has known cuonzo for yrs & that he knows kingsley is in "very good hands" with coach martin

most rating services have not seen okoroh play but tom chambers thinks okoroh with hard work could have nba potential

kingsley, welcome to the #1 ranked public university in the world (including waterford, england)



kingsley's loi has been signed & received by the bears staff

okoroh should be academically good to go between his education in england (low achievement students are funneled into trade schools), findlay prep classes, westwind prep coursework & additional credits at grand canyon university (15 minutes from westwind prep)

okoroh is ranked as the 5th best prospect in europe by espn's bb recruitiing services

*********************************************************

"i like kinglsey's ability to block shots and protect the rim...he continues to make great strides with his offense...kingsley has great size at 7'1" 260 pounds and has the chance to get bigger and stronger in our strength and conditioning program...i think he has a bright future in front of him and has a chance to be really good"

-cuonzo martin

let's not look all stary eyed at the future of recruiting

the future is here
the future is now

HoopDreams;842313404 said:

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let's not look all stary eyed at the future of recruiting

the future is here
the future is now

---

Heard they won at South Seas

Who's the roger impersonator?

BC Calfan;842313410 said:

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Who's the roger impersonator?

---

I was wondering that myself. But, more importantly, what the hell is Jordan doing with a #18 Laker jersey? That's a Sasha Vujacic jersey. Sasha Vujacic!

so i fly in this morning from scottsdale with my daughter shay & her friend katie, drop them off at fisherman's wharf for the afternoon & arrive late in berkeley close to game time vs furman...don't even look at my will call tix (in my world, a tix to any event has no correlation to where i usually sit, to me it's all open seating) and just sit down in the 1st row behind jay john, a couple feet away from montgomery & the bears brain trust

right before the opening tip, monty attempts to pull his chair away from td's chair but they are stuck together...in like a dumb & dumber movie scene, they spend 30 seconds examining and pulling on the chairs before they figured it out...these guys ain't that smart

so early in the game montgomery summons an eager night club hero jeff powers to go to the scorer's table...as he walks by, i'm telling powers to "let it fly, baby, no hesitation"...perhaps it's my imagination but i think powers gives me an imperceptible nod, yeah, let's do this

jp's 1st shot is an ugly azz brick thrown from the hip at the end of the 35 second clock...i'm clapping for our night club hero & tell him "no worries, keep shooting, baby"

minutes later powers squares up his shoulders & drains a 3 pter...polite applause from the crowd & loud props from the shockster

powers squares up his shoulders & shoots another 3 pter...kaboom...more polite applause from the crowd except me who's yelling, "let it fly, powers, no hesitation"

powers squares up his shoulders & shoots another 3 pter...kaboom...big crowd response & now i'm standing & screaming, "let it fly, baby, let's do this, let's do this"...a couple of the guys on the bench look over to see what the fired up dumb azz in the blue golf shirt & cal cap is going ape **** about

by now the crowd is getting into it...powers works his way into position, squares up & shoots it...kaboom, 4 in a row...i'm standing & screaming "yeah, let it fly, baby, let if fy" & waving my arms to get other people on their feet...there is a collective recognition that maybe something special is going on

haas is starting to get a serious buzz...there is an undeniable undercurrent of anticipation in the crowd & cal bench...powers releases another 3 pter & everybody who's not in a wheelchair is on their feet...bottom of the net, kaboom, 5 in a row...mike, td, gregg, johnny & theo are all looking at each other & grinning...monty by now is shaking his head & smiling...and i'm full throttle screaming by now yelling, "let it fly" which some of the other fans are also starting to repeat

furman's coach is yelling insructions at his players re: "the shooter"

this **** is getting live

by now most of the crowd is on their feet & yelling...the cal bench is going wild...powers catches the ball, squares up his shoulders & releases another 3 pter...the ball floats in slow motion thru the haas airspace with perfect roation...half of the crowd is screaming & the other half is holding their breath...kaboom, 6 3 pters in a row!...the entire cal coaching staff & players are on the floor (ref does not call a technical, he's smiling too as he runs back to the other end of the court)...i'm losing my voice screaming, "let it fly, baby, let it fly" & high fiving everyone around me

the cal universe is in a galaxy of absolute perfection, all the planets are perfectly aligned....jeff powers is 100% del fuego & he finally shows some emotion (dude is usually pretty stoic) with a world class fist pump for the electrified crowd & a smile forever etched in time

jeff powers told me at the santa barbara airport the morning after that game that he mentally prepares himself the same for every game, he's ready to roll...he told me that when he started against washington state, he was told of his starting role at the last minute...the guy never complains or throws a pity party for his broken down sorry azz, he just gets ready for the next game, the next moment of potential opportunity in his life

jeff powers is an unathletic dan majerle, he's a long range pure shooter who understands spacing that plays hard & doesn't commit turnovers...his lack of lateral defensive mobility can be masked for 5-6 minutes spurts by the bears playing zone d

cal family#
let it fly#



------

"i can't put into words how it felt but that was pretty special...just to play, i mean i really wasn't coming into tonight's game saying i want to to have 18 points and shoot 6 for 7...the shots fell, nothing really else i can say...when i put the amount of hours that i have over the years, i expect them to go in...i just think my teammates did a really good job of finding me when i did start hitting a couple...i owe more to my teammates than to myself tonight"

-jeff powers

fireworks#
let if fly#





for me cal basketball is a metaphor for life, if you only focus on the destination (winning championships) you will miss much of life's amazing journey

appreciate the small things, a holed 4 ft slippery downhill putt, the smile of your beautiful yoga teacher, little kids playing basketball at the park, watching jeff powers let it fly

***********************************************************

is it just a trick of the lights of my imagination (again) or does the furman tv game announcer with bill walton really say "let it fly, big fellow"
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k3GroF7z98EWPG6R0gM

r u serious?

this **** is getting live

idrissa diallo is taking an official visit to boston college per his coach/mentor william middlebrook's twitter this thurs & fri (may 7th & 8th)

boston in the winter


iddy, if you want to know how cold azz boston is in the winter, wear your warmest clothes & ask the cafeteria mgr at cathedral hs to let you sit in the school's food walk in freezer for 30 minutes...yeah, that's the deal

san francisco bay area in the winter




the university of californai, berkeley=#1 ranked public university in the world (including senegal)

Shocky1;842313464 said:

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idrissa diallo is taking an official visit to boston college per his coach/mentor william middlebrook's twitter this thurs & fri (may 7th & 8th)

boston in the winter


iddy, if you want to know how cold azz boston is in the winter, wear your warmest clothes & ask the cafeteria mgr at cathedral hs to let you sit in the school's food walk in freezer for 30 minutes...yeah, that's the deal

san francisco bay area in the winter




the university of californai, berkeley=#1 ranked public university in the world (including senegal)

---

Why would Diallo rather go to the 8th best school in Boston rather than the #1 public university in the world?

Idrissa Diallo named to the All State Elite 3rd Team making him Top 30 in the State

All-Academic team...



CalHiSports:

C Idrissa Diallo (Cathedral, Los Angeles) 6-11 Sr.
He helped lead the Phantoms to the CIFSS Open Division playoffs with his defense, presence and timely inside baskets. Stats don't do Diallo justice for how much he impacted games because Cathedral was a deep team and head coach Williams Middlebrooks substituted liberally in games his club had a big lead in. Diallo averaged 10.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game for a 24-6 team. He was named the Camino Real League MVP over fellow third teamer Joey Covarrubias. Diallo was committed to Cal, but with Mike Montgomery retired he decided to re-open his recruitment.

Deleted

sluggo_Cal;842313482 said:

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With mentors like that, who needs enemies?

Sluggo

---

sluggo, there's a backstory of vile corruption in diallo's "late" signing with the bears last fall

coach middlebrooks is the hero in this story & he's always had iddy's best interests at heart...he is a true mentor for a young student athlete whose parents reside in senegal

tip of the iceberg#

Shocky1;842313464 said:

---

idrissa diallo is taking an official visit to boston college per his coach/mentor william middlebrook's twitter this thurs & fri (may 7th & 8th)

boston in the winter


iddy, if you want to know how cold azz boston is in the winter, wear your warmest clothes & ask the cafeteria mgr at cathedral hs to let you sit in the school's food walk in freezer for 30 minutes...yeah, that's the deal

---

Easy for you to say. You grew up in SF, where it never drops below 40 degrees, and now live in the desert. Other than your never-ending travels to worldwide golf clubs, have you ever lived anywhere else? I'm in Boston right now and it's spectacular. What's really to dislike about Boston?

Go to any other school and you will experience crappy weather, skid row, cash register jobs, association with drug dealers and sexual assault criminals. Meanwhile, go to Cal and you have beauty, babes, and piles of money. Is that it?

Yes, these are softball questions for ya.

Shocky1;842313495 said:

---

sluggo, there's a backstory of vile corruption in diallo's "late" signing with the bears last fall

coach middlebrooks is the hero in this story & he's always had iddy's best interests at heart...he is a true mentor for a young student athlete whose parents reside in senegal

tip of the iceberg#

---

Let's hear it!

I defer to your greater knowledge, but Boston College makes no sense. Mediocre basketball, mediocre university, bad weather, and complicated ethnic relations (to put it mildly).

I will edit my post.

Sluggo

sluggo_Cal;842313516 said:

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I defer to your greater knowledge, but Boston College makes no sense. Mediocre basketball, mediocre university, bad weather, and complicated ethnic relations (to put it mildly).

I will edit my post.

Sluggo

---

yeah but if iddy wants to jack up 18' shots for a 20+ loss bc team as a basket facing stretch 4, it makes total sense

if iddy wants to develop post interior moves & clean the boards as power forward 4 that will enhance his pro potential, then cal makes total sense

shades of solo#

I don't see how anyone says BC has mediocre academics . CAl is # 20 in US News and World Report and BC is # 31 .... Not much difference in my book . Basketball is of course a lot different .

concordtom;842313498 said:

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Let's hear it!

---

i already told everybody at the april 31st meb fund gathering at the kingfish

:beer:

sluggo_Cal;842313516 said:

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I defer to your greater knowledge, but Boston College makes no sense. Mediocre basketball, mediocre university, bad weather, and complicated ethnic relations (to put it mildly).

I will edit my post.

Sluggo

---

Plus they sold out the IRA.

BC is a very good school in a very nice neighborhood in the middle of a major college town. There is a lot to like if you are 18. The team isn't very good so can really use him and he's probably getting a lot of love. Obviously I would rather he come to cal but not sure how much love he is getting from Martin.

I think this ranking reflects the relative prestige of the two universities: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2013-14/world-ranking. Cal 8, BC 135. No doubt one could get a good education there, like everywhere they will have professors trained at Cal, but it is not in Cal's league.

(Yes I am cherry-picking which rankings to use.)

Sluggo

Absolutely agree with the sentiment but don't get the flippant disregard for a good school in a great area. Diallo said he didn't want cold so this is a head scratcher but my guess is the cold weather school is currently his best option.

my favorite lincoln abe ahmaad rorie officially visited washington this past sun & mon (which included a scrimmage with the returning players)

ahmaad was scheduled to visit eugene mid week but cancelled after the sexual assault news became public...the ducks currently have an open assistant coach position, would get interesting if altman hired travis decuire

rorie will tour washington state this weekend with ernie kent...unlike washington where he would have to sit on the bench behind nigel williams-goss for at least 1-2 more seasons before then competing (that would be very weird & uncomfortable) with his cousin david crisp for the starting pg position, ahmaad could probably start as a freshman for the cougs

the wild card option would be the beavers if td is hired as the hc or the associate hc at oregon state

all 3 of these schools present much weaker career opportunities outside of basketball than the #1 ranked public university in the world

as the world turns#

Shocky1;842313636 said:

---

my favorite lincoln abe ahmaad rorie officially visited washington this past sun & mon (which included a scrimmage with the returning players)

ahmaad was scheduled to visit eugene mid week but cancelled after the sexual assault news became public...the ducks currently have an open assistant coach position, would get interesting if altman hired travis decuire

rorie will tour washington state this weekend with ernie kent...unlike washington where he would have to sit on the bench behind nigel williams-goss for at least 1-2 more seasons before then competing (that would be very weird & uncomfortable) with his cousin david crisp for the starting pg position, ahmaad could probably start as a freshman for the cougs

the wild card option would be the beavers if td is hired as the hc or the associate hc at oregon state

all 3 of these schools present much weaker career opportunities outside of basketball than the #1 ranked public university in the world

as the world turns#

---

Here is a crazy idea...DeCuire and Rorie to Vanderbilt?

And maybe Gottlieb too...they currently have two open assistant positions.

Otherwise, once Oregon State hires a coach perhaps the Beavers get involved. Could see all three of the above names in Corvallis too.

Shocky1;842313636 said:

---

my favorite lincoln abe ahmaad rorie officially visited washington this past sun & mon (which included a scrimmage with the returning players)

ahmaad was scheduled to visit eugene mid week but cancelled after the sexual assault news became public...the ducks currently have an open assistant coach position, would get interesting if altman hired travis decuire

rorie will tour washington state this weekend with ernie kent...unlike washington where he would have to sit on the bench behind nigel williams-goss for at least 1-2 more seasons before then competing (that would be very weird & uncomfortable) with his cousin david crisp for the starting pg position, ahmaad could probably start as a freshman for the cougs

the wild card option would be the beavers if td is hired as the hc or the associate hc at oregon state

all 3 of these schools present much weaker career opportunities outside of basketball than the #1 ranked public university in the world

as the world turns#

---

I really doubt Rorie would start at WSU over Isabell. In fact, coming in with Isabell he might not start for years.

Serious question: Is DeCuire really a hot commodity for these openings?

Or is it more of wishful thinking by us Cal fans? Find it hard to believe that OSU who is considering Howland would even sniff at DeCuire. I could see him being an option in the WCC or something but not high profile BCS programs. Maybe I'm wrong.

SFBearz;842313657 said:

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I really doubt Rorie would start at WSU over Isabell. In fact, coming in with Isabell he might not start for years.

---

who is isabell?...is that the name of your golden retriever?

if you're talking about wsu's starting pg last season that would be ike iroegbu...consider these stats:

5.5 ppg with an abysmal fg shooting % of .357
45 assists to 41 turnovers & 40 personal fouls

can almost guarantee you that ernie kent would start ahmaad rorie over ike irogbu next season as the cougs pg

there is zero chance that ahmaad is gonna beat out nigel williams-goss at washington & there's no guarantee that he could beat out his cousin david crisp who is quicker than him in future yrs

ahmaad's best opportunity for pt is vs a relatively inexperienced sam singer as cal's starting pg next season

roll over, isabell, that's a good girl...

ahmaad ain't a dog#
50 yr decision#

Shocky1;842313741 said:

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who is isabell?...is that the name of your golden retriever?

if you're talking about wsu's starting pg last season that would be ike iroegbu...consider these stats:

5.5 ppg with an abysmal fg shooting % of .357
45 assists to 41 turnovers & 40 personal fouls

can almost guarantee you that ernie kent would start ahmaad rorie over ike irogbu next season as the cougs pg

there is zero chance that ahmaad is gonna beat out nigel williams-goss at washington & there's no guarantee that he could beat out his cousin david crisp who is quicker than him in future yrs

ahmaad's best opportunity for pt is vs a relatively inexperienced sam singer as cal's starting pg next season

roll over, isabell, that's a good girl...

ahmaad ain't a dog#
50 yr decision#

---

C'mon Tremaine Isabell- Google him.

SFBearz;842313743 said:

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C'mon Tremaine Isabell- Google him.

---

r u talkin about tramaine isabell whose only other actionable offer other than wsu was cameron dollar's offer to attend seattle university?

sbearz=not a spelling champion

Shocky1;842313746 said:

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r u talkin about tramaine isabell whose only other actionable offer other than wsu was cameron dollar's offer to attend seattle university?

sbearz=not a spelling champion

---

It appears you know little to nothing about him- he's considered a very good pg prospect. Read the actual evaluations.

Shocky1;842313495 said:

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sluggo, there's a backstory of vile corruption in diallo's "late" signing with the bears last fall

coach middlebrooks is the hero in this story & he's always had iddy's best interests at heart...he is a true mentor for a young student athlete whose parents reside in senegal

tip of the iceberg#

---

HoopDreams;842313811 said:

---

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YES! What a wonderful vibe.

Shocky1;842313746 said:

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sbearz=not a spelling champion

---

And, of course, the Shockster is?

Go Bears!

south bender;842313852 said:

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And, of course, the Shockster is?

Go Bears!

---

watt er u tawking abowt?