Slasher, Scorer, Shooter, Distributor

[video=youtube;H-7nPlHjhiQ][/video]

Thanks for the clip. Great ball handling skills. ............Ivan, this is who will be passing to you.

breaking down the film#
road trip#

Shocky1;842411000 said:

---

the overrated at #22 bruins lost their 1st game of the season 71-65 to oklahoma

alford's insistence on starting his son bryce at point guard (he's a natural 2) has resulted in numerous point guard recruits for 2014 & 2015 avoiding westwood...bryce had 2 assists & 2 turnovers vs the sooners

ruh roh

---

the bruins lost their 2nd game of the season 78-56 to north carolina

ucla's starting point guard bryce alford could not facilitate the offense with 3 assists & 6 turnovers in the loss

not even tasty scooby snacks is gonna turn the coach's son from a pretty good shooting guard into a successful point guard

but guess what?

steve alford is gonna keep on starting his son at the 1 again during the 2015 & 2016 seasons in westwood

ruh roh

who really is ivan rabb?



perhaps a clue or two can be found in this ktvu channel 2 video news report
http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/local/bay-area-high-school-preps-basketball-star-future-/nhL2B/

listen to how an articulate, composed & thoughtful young ivee talks about his love, respect & appreciation for his mom often working 2-3 jobs at a time to support their family

tami rabb=mom of the year



salute#

Who is the hardest worker on this Cal's team?
My vote: [COLOR="#000080"]Christian Behrens[/COLOR]

He's battled through multiple injuries, working long and hard in the background while others have written him off. No one will ever understand what he's gone through to return to the court, when most others would have given up.

I have no doubt that his Cal TEAM and Coaches have supported him on many levels, helping him push through the adversity



[video]http://www.calbears.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=3159597[/video]

Shocky1;842411411 said:

---

it is 15 minutes after the bears victory vs the mustangs and tonya & carl bird's son is still patiently signing autographs in the hallway by the steps down to the locker room at haas arena...the little kids are surrounding the bird man from alcatraz, looking upwards at their hero, hoping that perhaps someday they can be like him...he's comfortably talking to them, perhaps not even realizing that he's fueling their collegiate dreams

there are 1,000,000+ reasons to celebrate these california golden bears & their families for reasons that extend far beyond basketball




cal family#

---

Dear Jabari,
Your sister needs a new turtleneck for Christmas! :gobears:

who really is ivan rabb?

bishop o'dowd's team manager/assistant coach last season lucas cortez has a heart defect which is kinda surprising because he seems to have the heart of 10,000 ferocious golden bears...lucas is now a team manager with the cal basketball program



so when the senior (lucas is #14) finally got into a game late in the season, check out the reaction of ivan (#23) when something magical happened


ivan's ecstatic celebration (1st teammate to run onto the court) tells you all you gotta know about him, the dragons all american is unselfish & loves his teammates

so after the ucla game at haas last season, i asked bod hc lou richie (a ucla grad & a tight friend with theo robertson) who brought all his dragons to berkeley if he would introduce me to my idol (lucas, of course...donors can never speak with any potential recruits such as ivan)...richie introduces me to the man of the hour & i tell an enthusiastic lucas he's got a sweet j & that he's an inspiration to me and everyone...the personable lucas thanks me & then humbly introduces me to the guy he thinks deserves all the credit, his teammate who took the video of this epic event...i tell his teammate that clips from the video are going viral & that he's gonna be a hollywood producer someday riding in stretch limos...all the dragons including ivan are laughing in agreement about that

go dragons#
the unassuming superstar#

who really is ivan rabb?

ivan attended montera middle school along with cal signee asha thomas & boise state signee paris austin in the oakland public school district & was not academically prepared for the college preparatory schoolwork required at bishop o'dowd...as a freshman big ivee's gpa was 1.8 the 1st semester & 2.8 the 2nd semester as tami rabb's son then started attending tutoring sessions both before & after school...dragons bb hc lou richie & the bod teachers/administration also deserve credit for fostering an intellectual curiousity & a successful academic gameplan for ivan

rabb now carries a very solid 3.15 gpa at the academically rigorous bod in his quest to be well balanced individual, a true student athlete & not just some dumb azz baller whose life is gonna turn to **** if he gets injured

hopefully someday ivan will give back generously to bod to ensure academic opportunities for future generations



ivan's career interests include becoming a real estate developer (his brother tamarik is interested in architecture) down the road & his academic achievements will further him along this journey

a mind is a terrible thing to waste, academic ambition is a beautiful thing


the university of california, berkeley=#1 ranked public university in the world (including oakland)

cuonzo martin is personally handling the recruitment of caleb swanigan, a top 10 2015 strongman from fort wayne, indiana...swanigan is known for his relentless rebounding motor & back to the basket power game along with a skillful soft touch from the perimeter with a nba future upside



caleb is 6'8" 275 lbs after losing 75 lbs from his days as a 6'4" 350 lbs middle schooler...at that time he left his family in utah to live with his current guardian roosevelt barnes jr, a former nfl player, who has mentored swanigan's healthier diet & dedicated cardio program

roosevelt barnes jr (also a 4 year player on the purdue basketball team) & cuonzo martin have a strong longtime friendship



swanigan has been offered by virtually every major powerhouse program in the country including kentucky & local favorite michigan state

dude is a smart guy, by working diligently in the classroom during summer school, swanigan has reclassified from the 2016 to the 2015 class...last season he had 20 ppg & 12 rpg at homestead hs in fort wayne

caleb played on the usa team in dubai with bay area superstar ivan rabb & shot an unreal 69.6% for the victorious american team...both caleb & ivan have a lot in common from an outside interests (beyond basketball) perspective...it should be noted that caleb has stated that ivan is his best friend among the high school basketball ranks

swanigan's in homes visits to date include cal, michigan state, kentucky, pittsburgh, ucla, arizona, notre dame, purdue, auburn, new mexico, missouri, north carolina state, michigan & alabama

caleb made officials visits to kentucky & arizona in october and unofficial visits to michigan state & duke this month

the key factor in this recruitment will be for cuonzo to secure an official visit from caleb to berkeley at the same time as ivan rabb...if that happens, anything is possible at that point

diamond in the rough#


the university of california, berkeley=#1 ranked public university in the world (including cold azz michigan)



update: swanigan opened his senior season wed nite with 25 pts on 8-14 shooting along with 14 boards as the homestead spartans conquered huntington north 72-45

tonite caleb faced double & triple teaming as the curie condors (chicago) made a roadkill meal out of homestead 49-36 at the bluegrass tnt in lexington with coach cal in the stands...swanigan had 10 pts & 10 boards in the 1st half but only 4 pts & 2 boards in the 2nd along with an overall 8 turnovers

Shocky1;842369682 said:

---

cuonzo martin has officially offered 2016 6'2" 175 lbs santa monica vikings man on fire sharpshooter jonah mathews

mathews is a huge cal recruiting priority and also has offers from asu, usc & utah...like his older bro jordan he also excels academically in the classroom, he ain't a dumb azz baller

jonah loved growing up in san francisco when his dad phil was the hc for the usf dons



dude already got the right gear

jonah grew up a ucla fan & his dad was later an assistant coach with the bruins for ben hovland...if ucla offers the best 2 on the west coast, then the bears are gonna be in fierce recruiting battle for the future ocean league mvp...alford's recent decision to accept a commitment from his #1 2016 shooting guard target prince ali from weston, florida is good news for the bears

visiting with jonah a couple of time ain't gonna get it done...cuonzo & tracy need to grabbing that quick hour+ flight down to lax during every open recruiting window to show jonah the bears staff love for him, they gotta be southwest a-list preferred members

---

jonah knocked down 25 pts in the season opener as the santa monica vikings were conquered 71-65

the vikings 2nd battle went better as jonah got en fuego in the 2nd quarter & finished with 19 pts as santa monica (1-1) stole the wallets of the campbell hall vikings 61-55

Shocky1;842345175 said:

---

ben kone, a 6'8" 240 lbs 2016 mitty & oakland soldier, unofficially visited with the cal bb staff this summer in berkeley



kone played at salesian as a freshman (recalls being dunked on by jabari daily in practice) & last season at mitty accumulated 12 ppg, 12 rpg, a fluid 5.5 apg, 3 blocks & 2 steals per game

ben has transformed his body & impressed the cal coaches with a 26 pt explosion at the pump n' run in anaheim this july

the former skiboarder needs to continue to work on his fitness, ball handling & shots off the dribble...kone is already a ferocious rebounder at the 4, an actively engaged defender & an excellent ft shooter (highly unusual for a young big)...in many ways, he is like a young leon powe



ben & his mom kristy are very close which would make a future potential offer from cal & the opportunity to continue playing locally at the #1 public university in the world with ringleader oscar frayer & other soldiers a highly attractive option

cal family#
salute#

---

kone now has offers from cal, san diego state, new mexico & new mexico state

"anything in life that's worth doing, is worth over doing...moderation is for cowards#lets hoop"
-ben kone

"big thanks to coach martin and the entire cal coaching staff for the calls tonight...we appreciate the offer!"
-kristy kone

Shocky1;842408810 said:

---

key bears targets will be starting the new season at the 8th annual nor cal tip off classic saturday november 29th at newark memorial high school
http://www.ibabuzz.com/prepcorner/2014/09/24/elite-matchups-headline-norcal-tip-off-winter-classic-basketball-tournaments/

moreau catholic's 2016 cal commit oscar "the ringleader" frayer


moreau catholic's 2017 damari milstead


berkeley yellow jackets


modesto christian's richard midgley (along with 2016 athletic christian ellis-needs work on shooting skills)


folsom's 2016 jordan ford


bishop gorman's 2015 zach collins


bishop o'dowd's 2015 ivan rabb

http://vimeo.com/45797764

rep nor cal#

---

did i mention that the yellow jackets will be playing today?

hold the rope#

Oscar Frayer's of Moreau Catholic got mad hops


[video=youtube;TeUAoQ8MnOs][/video]

cal is a basketball school#

oscar "the ringleader" frayer played tenancious d & scored 16 points with 12 boards & 4 thunderous blocks as the moreau catholic mariners (1-0) made the drake pirates walk the plank 65-64 with cuonzo martin in the house...2017 key bears target damari milstead dnp in the nor cal tip off classic because of a violation of a team rule




cal's howlin at the moon class (2016)#
salute#

Shocky1;842344615 said:

---

the bears staff is actively scouting 6' 155 lbs 2016 top 100 player jordan ford a fiery pg from folsom (sacramento) & an oakland soliders teammate of oscar frayer



jordan is from a close family as dad cuezar played baseball at uc santa barbara, mom ann encourages his strong academic work in the classroom & sister jennifer who is 3 years older used to kick his azz in family basketball games

ford scored 22.6 ppg, 3.6 apg, 4.2 rpg & 2.4 spg in leading folsom to a 32-3 record...the bulldogs lost 63-54 in the division ii championship game at sleepy train arena to st john bosco despite 20 pts from their uber competitive leader



after a strong summer starting for the soliders, ford's recruitment is starting to pick up velocity with offers from numerous mid majors including pepperdine...with a strong academic profile, an undeniable will to compete & an unselfish approach to the game, and a tight family that attends all of his games, a potential future offer from the local #1 ranked public university in the world might be a simple solution to jordan's collegiate decision

cal family#
salute#

---

jordan ford facilitated his teammates along with 28 points including 4 3 pointers as the folsom bulldogs (1-0) kicked to the curb the newmark memorial cougars 72-46 in the nor cal tip off classic

oakland's ivan rabb went beastmode against bishop gorman's nba sized frontline (including bears 2016 target zach collins) with 28 points on 10-17 fgs along with 20 ferocious boards, 4 blocks & 3 assists as the bishop o'dowd dragons (1-0) fireballed the nationally ranked las vegas visitors 63-55 in front of a capacity crowd at the nor cal tip off class




cal's diamonds are forever class (2015)#
salute#

the bulldawgs pound attack is led by #14 6'4" 195 lbs julien lewis (15.8 ppg & .143 3 pt%), #23 6'4" 210 lbs marvelle harris (14.2 ppg, 5 rpg & 4 apg), #4 6'6" 226 lbs karachi edo (10.8 ppg & .633 fg%) & #22 6'7" 197 lbs paul watson (7.4 ppg)

the bulldogs have struggled this season with starting well, often digging themselves a deep hole & then playing much better in the 2nd half...the fresno state gameplan is focused upon mentally preparing themselves for a strong start in front of their rabid fans at the save mart center...the hostile townies would love nothing better than to watch their dawgs take down an overconfident pac 12 team

the bears gotta come out with relentless energy, dominate the boards vs a shorter opponent & open up the offense with the fast break transition...if cal can play relentless d, fresno state thus far is not a proven effective 3 point shooting team (.211%)

the bulldogs hung around forever in last year's tilt at berkeley, the bears will not have that luxury on the road in fresno

Shocky1;842386958 said:

---

http://vimeo.com/45797764

hungry bears will enjoy dining at the ol' yeller caf which is at 2708 98th avenue in oakland (segments of the the souls of mischief 93 til' infinity video were filmed just a few blocks away), across the street from bishop o'dowd high school (which has a funky angular baseball field with its vastly varying distances to the outfield fences)...you can dine inside & watch games on the large flatscreens or sit outside on the delightful hillside backyard patio which is also rescue dog friendly...the oakland zoo is just around the corner



the food is very tasty & most of the dishes (maybe not the comfort food chili fries or frosty chocolate milkshake) would meet the nicodemus high standards of nutritional excellence...service is excellent & always comes with a smile

no more shoneys#

---

gonna enjoy a warm, quick & delicious breakfast on the way out of town

Game 3: Moreau Catholic 65, Drake 64
Player of the Game: Oscar Frayer- Moreau Catholic - 16 points, 12 rebounds

Game 6: Folsom 72, Newark Memorial 46
Player of the Game: Jordan Ford- Folsom - 28 points

Game 7: Bishop O'Dowd 63, Bishop Gorman 55
Player of the Game: Ivan Rabb- Bishop O'Dowd - 28 points, 20 rebounds

[COLOR="#000080"][SIZE=7]Rep the Bay[/SIZE][/COLOR]

left to right, tyrone "home again" wallace, mike "the wrestler" williams, lucas "the dragon" cortez, christian "******* nails" behrens, david "let's rumble" kravish & jay "lute's braintrust" john

coach martin was over his nyc jet lag as he barked out defensive & offensive assignments & plays in a tireless coaching up of his golden bears

my favorite play of the game?...no doubt, behrens taking another beastmode charge firing up all his teammates

winning on the road is always challenging (tv fans will probably never understand this) as cal avoided a black out day in fresno

fun bus ride home#

Shocky1;842378394 said:

---

what player in the pac 12 has the disruptive length & skillset to most resemble the playing style of nba rookie of the year michael carter-willliams of philly?



what california golden bear most resembles samuel l jackson in unbreakable?



who will cuonzo martin & staff rely upon for upperclassmen leadership next season?



tyrone "let's rumble" wallace significantly improved his perimeter shooting from his freshman season & was the bear's best defender at times

but his game last season was erratic with the low point at the asu game in tempe when mike montgomery lit up t-wall during a timeout after he inexplicably failed to dive for a loose ball near the bears bench...when play resumed, mike turned sideways to travis decuire and said "they're not listening" & shook his head

tyrone needs to bring it every moment he is on the court & also continue improving his outside jumper & shot selection...he is virtually unstoppable when he attacks the rim, if he wants to get paid $ playing bb down the road, that's gonna be his $ move

the dude always has a smile on his face, t-wall just gotta love it not hate it


"to the best mom i could ask for...broke her back for a long time to make sure her kids were taken care of...did it on your own, always made sacrifices for me and my siblings and i love and appreciate you for that!...the strongest woman i know...literally my bestfriend, i call you when i'm sad or make dumb mistakes so you can make me feel better...we're argued, cried and laughed together but no matter what, you are always going to be my heart!...a true bestfriend bond that can never be broken!...you've always believed in me and been my #1 fan!...i just hope that one day that i can take care of you because you deserve it!...my inspiration, my hero!...i love you baby"
-tyrone wallace

tyrone wallace=man of steel

"he can do a lot of things...there will be a lot of demands for his time on both ends of the floor...we've worked on the consistency of his shot...he's done a great job getting consistent reps...i tell him, "don't be just a 3 point shooter, let that be a part of your game"...he's a guy who's got to get to the rim, go to get to the free throw line"
-cuonzo martin

always smilin'#

---

introduced myself & visited with tyrone's mother, michelle before tip off this afternoon...mom introduced me to her kids, they made the quick drive over from bakersfield to fresno for the afternoon...several of them including michelle had bears face paint, it's gametime baby

michelle told me that tyrone talks to his brother & sisters all the time about their academics & they sometimes call him with homework questions...they idolize him...he loves working with kids & would like to potentially pursue that in the future after his playing days are over

if tyrone graduates from cal, he will be the 1st person in his family to do so & that would send a tremendous message to his brothers & sisters according to michelle

t-wall, what's gonna be your legacy?

men take care of their business#
cal family#

Shocky1;842414738 said:

---

introduced myself & visited with tyrone's mother, michelle before tip off this afternoon...mom introduced me to her kids, they made the quick drive over from bakersfield to fresno for the afternoon...several of them including michelle had bears face paint, it's gametime baby

michelle told me that tyrone talks to his brother & sisters all the time about their academics & they sometimes call him with homework questions...they idolize him...he loves working with kids & would like to potentially pursue that in the future after his playing days are over

[U]if tyrone graduates from cal, he will be the 1st person in his family to do so[/U] & that would send a tremendous message to his brothers & sisters according to michelle

t-wall, what's gonna be your legacy?

men take care of their business#
cal family#

---

that's awesome. thanks, shocky.

Shocky1;842414738 said:

---

introduced myself & visited with tyrone's mother, michelle before tip off this afternoon...mom introduced me to her kids, they made the quick drive over from bakersfield to fresno for the afternoon...several of them including michelle had bears face paint, it's gametime baby

michelle told me that tyrone talks to his brother & sisters all the time about their academics & they sometimes call him with homework questions...they idolize him...he loves working with kids & would like to potentially pursue that in the future after his playing days are over

if tyrone graduates from cal, he will be the 1st person in his family to do so & that would send a tremendous message to his brothers & sisters according to michelle

t-wall, what's gonna be your legacy?

men take care of their business#
cal family#

---

Fantastic! Way to go Tyrone Wallace!

Holmoephobic;842414769 said:

---

Fantastic! Way to go Tyrone Wallace!

---

t-wall with tenacious d (early 3rd foul in the 2nd half resulted in some bench time) and 21 points on an effective 8-14 fgs including a deadly 3-4 3 pointers & 2-6 fts (ouch)...t-wall's gotta facilitate da bears better, 2 assists isn't enough, that's why the 1st substitutions in the game included sammy singer (6 assists) at the 1

tryone encouraging his younger teammates=priceless

Shocky1;842398022 said:

---

the johnny dawkins coached stanford cardinals narrowly defeated the d2 cal state pomona broncos 79-76 in palo alto last nite

other than last season's sweet 16 run, johnny's teams missed the ncca tournament his first 5 years down on the farm

stanford is a great university...like cal & the ivy league schools, it will open many, many doors in life...i will never give **** to guys (like cameron walker) particularly those that grow up kinda sheltered that seek a less urban & diverse environment than berkeley for commiting to stanford

let's face it, a circus clown with a drinking problem could successfully recruit quality student athletes to stanford

but the reality is that johnny isn't a very good game day coach...his ability to be outcoached & outmanuevered in the last 5 minutes of games is predictable...hopefully stanford will extend johnny's contract 10-12 years at season's end after the cards miss the ncca tnt for the 6th out of 7th time...i dunno, maybe wily coyote will catch the roadrunner someday...



beep, beep#
adios johnny#

---

it's not just that stanford lost their 2nd game of the season 87-72 to depaul (it's tough winning on the road), it's not all about the 21 turnovers for a stanford team that was described as "sluggish"

gotta love johnny's playing time allocations:
stefan nastic: 33 minutes
rosco allen: 33 minutes
reid travis: 37 minutes
anthony brown: 37 minutes
chasson randle: 38 minutes

are you more surprised by the 3 points from the bench or the ZERO player development of back ups?

beep beep#

me: taylor and i are gonna go practice drive around carefree tonite, anybody wanna go?

shay: dad, i have homework from five honors classes and have zero interest in reconstructive surgery

kyle: no, i'm going skateboarding later

me: got it, you'd rather fall on concrete than go in a car with taylor driving

kat (current 1st wife): am i the named beneficiary of all the life insurance policies?

me: typical comment from an asu golddigger

kat: didn't you live in an apartment on a landfill with orange carpet when we first met?

me: yeah but you knew i was a cal grad

kat: whatever...go bears

me: anybody wanna go with us?

at that point i notice my rescue pets happy, misty mae, trouble, mugsy & minko stinko all slinking upstairs...man's best friend my azz

taylor: do you think ivan rabb wants to go with us?

me: love you, taylor, are you ready to go?

taylor: no, i have to put on my makeup

me: what are you talking about?...we're driving alone at night, are you expecting to meet any cute paramedics tonite?

shay: dad, do you want me to print out for you the phone number for the mayo clinic emergency room?

kat: good luck tonite, champ




beep beep#

[COLOR="#000080"]With Cal's academic support program, elite athletes can succeed and even excel at Cal Berkeley[/COLOR]
[COLOR="#000080"]Cal had 11 all-academic student/athletes[/COLOR]
That's more than Arizona (6), UCLA (9), Colorado (10), Oregon (8), Oregon State (7), USC (2), Washington (7), Washington State (5)
Hats off to Pac 12 best Utah at 23 (includes 17 honorable mentions)



1st team:
Chris Adcock: 3.54 Business Admin. and ISF
Caleb Coleman: 3.56 Undeclared
Griffin Piatt: 3.64 Undeclared

2nd team:
Alejandro Crosthwaite: 3.14 American Studies
Brennan Scarlett: 3.14 Business Administration
Cameron Walker: 3.22 Undeclared

Honorable Mention: Todd Barr, James Langford, Cole Leininger, Hardy Nickerson, Drake Whitehurst

[U]1st Team by School:[/U]
UA: 1
ASU: 4
Cal: 3
CU: 1
UO: 0
OSU: 3
Stanford: 6
UCLA: 1
USC: 0
UU: 1
UW: 3
WSU: 2

[U]2nd Team by School:[/U]
UA: 2
ASU: 3
Cal: 3
CU: 4
UO: 2
OSU: 0
Stanford: 3
UCLA: 1
USC: 0
UU: 5
UW: 2
WSU: 0

[U]Honorable Mention by School:[/U]
UA: 3
ASU: 5
Cal: 5
CU: 5
UO: 6
OSU: 4
Stanford: 10
UCLA: 7
USC: 2
UU: 17
UW: 2
WSU: 3

http://pac-12.com/article/2014/12/01...academic-teams

thx, Berk18

Shocky1;842398627 said:

---

the targeted 2015 is intended to forever change the trajectory of the cal basketball program, to compete for national championships...these guys are elite 5 star immediate impact blue chippers that have been ranked in the top 40 of their class, they are all truly diamonds

stephen domingo, #35 ranked player in the 2013 class, is already a california golden bear, gotta develop his rim attacking game


tyler dorsey, #19th ranked player in the 2015 class


brandon sampson, #40th ranked player in the 2015 class


caleb swanigan, #8 ranked player in the 2015 class


ivan rabb, #1 ranked (prior to a minor summertime injury) player in the 2015 class





diamonds are forever#

---

before the season the cal staff indicated that the targeted key recruiting weekends would be either the home games vs arizona (january 24-25) and/or ucla (february 6-7)

with ivan & caleb indicating they would like to trip together to cal, there are scheduling challenges those 2 weekends with their high school games:
bishop o'dowd: http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/bishop-odowd-dragons-(oakland,ca)/basketball/schedule.htm
homestead: http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/homestead-spartans-(fort-wayne,in)/basketball/schedule.htm

if the objective is to have caleb & ivan officially visit during a cal home game, then the season finale (and senior send off) oregon state weekend (february 28-march 1) might work depending upon the bod playoff schedule as homestead's regular season ends on february 27th; otherwise, the duo might visit after their high school seasons have concluded

who knows, maybe tyler dorsey and/or brandon sampson might wanna unofficially visit berkeley when the big boyz officially trip to cal

logistics#

Shocky1;842412157 said:

---

cuonzo martin is personally handling the recruitment of caleb swanigan, a top 10 2015 strongman from fort wayne, indiana...swanigan is known for his relentless rebounding motor & back to the basket power game along with a skillful soft touch from the perimeter with a nba future upside



caleb is 6'8" 275 lbs after losing 75 lbs from his days as a 6'4" 350 lbs middle schooler...at that time he left his family in utah to live with his current guardian roosevelt barnes jr, a former nfl player, who has mentored swanigan's healthier diet & dedicated cardio program

roosevelt barnes jr (also a 4 year player on the purdue basketball team) & cuonzo martin have a strong longtime friendship



swanigan has been offered by virtually every major powerhouse program in the country including kentucky & local favorite michigan state

dude is a smart guy, by working diligently in the classroom during summer school, swanigan has reclassified from the 2016 to the 2015 class...last season he had 20 ppg & 12 rpg at homestead hs in fort wayne

caleb played on the usa team in dubai with bay area superstar ivan rabb & shot an unreal 69.6% for the victorious american team...both caleb & ivan have a lot in common from an outside interests (beyond basketball) perspective...it should be noted that caleb has stated that ivan is his best friend among the high school basketball ranks

swanigan's in homes visits to date include cal, michigan state, kentucky, pittsburgh, ucla, arizona, notre dame, purdue, auburn, new mexico, missouri, north carolina state, michigan & alabama

caleb made officials visits to kentucky & arizona in october and unofficial visits to michigan state & duke this month

the key factor in this recruitment will be for cuonzo to secure an official visit from caleb to berkeley at the same time as ivan rabb...if that happens, anything is possible at that point

diamond in the rough#


the university of california, berkeley=#1 ranked public university in the world (including cold azz michigan)



swanigan opened his senior season wed nite with 25 pts on 8-14 shooting along with 14 boards as the homestead spartans conquered huntington north 72-45

tonite caleb faced double & triple teaming as the curie condors (chicago) made a roadkill meal out of homestead 49-36 at the bluegrass tnt in lexington with coach cal in the stands...swanigan had 10 pts & 10 boards in the 1st half but only 4 pts & 2 boards in the 2nd along with an overall 8 turnovers

---

caleb shined up his mining work boots and threw down a dominating 39 pts on 12-15 fgs & 21 boards as homestead (2-1) knocked off a strong memphis white station team 83-67

"next up i'm going to visit cal...i don't know the date yet but i'm going there next"
-caleb swanigan (to eric bossi)

Shocky1;842407246 said:

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eddie at the front desk of my hotel calls this morning with the requested 4:30 am wake out up call so i can catch an early morning flight from jfk to sfo in time for the big game...i tell eddie i'm in a hurry & if he can line up a taxi for me in 5-10 minutes...he tells me sure, no problem, he'll take care of it himself

get downstairs, check out & sure enough hustling eddie's got the taxi ready to roll & the door open for me...so i slide smooth eddie a fiver & he gives me a sly thank you with a nod of the head as he closes the door to the taxi

so we are driving the deserted streets of manhattan & as we cross broadway sayeed the cab driver lets me know that eddie shook him down for $5 in order to keep the coveted airport run...i tell sayeed no problem, i'm gonna take care of him

15 minutes later as we cross thru a toll sayeed is telling me that toll doesn't automatically charge him, that's gonna be a $5 extra charge...sure sayeed, whatever

gotta love nyc...i don't got no worries, i'm gonna charge you 5 bucks for reading this post




city never sleep#

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just got a phone call from eddie at the front desk advising he's been "safeguarding my yves st laurent shades" that i apparently left in the room during the recent trip to nyc...implicit in the air is that a generous tip would be most appreciated by eddie

so i tell eddie that i didn't bring any sunglasses to nyc

ok, he says, do i still want them?

listening to eddie & dana altman is kinda like playing a smokey backroom high stakes billiards game after midnite at the hotel de paris in monte carlo, you gotta watch all the angles

3 card marvin#

mike & the cal staff originally signed sami "where's waldo" eleraky, a developing 5 from denmark...eleraky (a good student) could not enroll at cal because of academic admission requirements related to his being a foreign student...so sami went to barton cc in cold azz kansas (he did not enjoy the winter weather or the non diverse community, eleraky is of a mixed heritage family including egyptian blood), did not play ball there but completed almost 15 units & then returned to denmark

eleraky then returned to the united states to play for the winningiest coach in the history of college basketball (87% winning record), former bears walk on justin labagh at city college of san francisco...while at ccsf sami took full loads including summer school & also on line classes in order to complete the 2 year degree

gregg gottlieb ran point on eleraky's recruitment & watched several of his games...i also caught a game at ccsf & wrote a post re: his skills & upside...after mike watched sami in a league game late in the season the decision was made to head in a different direction for a 2014 big & eleraky ended up signing with uop

john montgomery completed an extensive international player search & identified jakof poeltl of austria, a very strong student with advanced offensive skills for a big...gregg gottlieb then got involved & also built strong relationships with the poeltl family

because of the distance, jakop poeltl & his family made the decision to visit cal, arizona & utah during a week plus tour of american colleges

sean miller had 3 international bigs on the arizona war board with poeltl as his #1 target (this info is from a golf acquaintance of mine who is arguably the wildcats largest donor...he never seems to forget that i honestly think tuscon is a dump, of course he doesn't live there either)...so sean miller tripped jakob first among his 3 prospects...the official visit did not go well as the lack of academic focus for the arizona basketball program became clearly evident, the wildcats are like a minor league professional sports team not a well regarded educational institution

both the cal & utah visits went really well with the poeltl family loving the san francisco bay area the most (they also liked salt lake city as it reminded them of their hometown in austria with maybe a couple more mormons here & there)



jakob (far left, wearing the backwards cal lid) is pictured above in the 1st row with the good looking montgomery women, sarah & my partner in bears crowd noise, anne

after returning home from the united states, jakob made basically a silent commitment to the staff & started the comprehensive & lengthy required international student admissions acceptance process/applications...attending the #1 ranked public university in the world was a significant factor in this decision

when mike retired, jakob quickly switched his commitment to utah (coach k is highly respected by mike)...cuonzo & co never had a chance to build a relationship with the promising austrian blue chipper

so austria's jakop poeltl signed with utah, dusan ristic of serbia signed with arizona & coach martin signed the king of england

jonah "don't call me jordan" mathews, the best shooting guard in the 2016 class on the west coast, an excellent student & a huge cal recruiting target, scored 20 points as the santa monica vikings (2-2) were terrorized 67-58 by the taft toreadors

what's a toreador?...sounds like a really unhealthy super bowl party junk food or a lawnmower or something