sfbearz, you're on point with the call, stanford leans from conservative sheltered suburban backgrounds (think cameron walker) tend to almost always pick stanford over cal
but if mitch lightfoot can be persuaded by coach martin (who is running lead on the recruitment of the off the charts motor mitch lightfoot from gilbert christian high school in arizona) to make an unofficial visit to berkeley this summer with his family, then game on for the more advanced basketball skills david kravish student athlete (3.7 gpa)
i'll have more to say about lightfoot soon
That is what I figured but it does sound like Lightfoot is at least open to seeing what Cal has to offer. And Martin really did an excellent job almost getting Cam Walker.
That is what I figured but it does sound like Lightfoot is at least open to seeing what Cal has to offer. And Martin really did an excellent job almost getting Cam Walker.
coach martin made a heavy initial recruiting effort with the walker family promising he would personally watch cameron's aau & high school games...but then there were a couple of summertime scheduling conflicts with the soldiers & coach made the wise strategical decision to watch ivan's games
the walker family then made a commitment to stanford which was probably pretty inevitable all along...stanford could've fired johnny dawkins & hired ben braun and cam would've still ended up on the farm
yeah, the bears were the runner ups to the cards for walker but we really never had a legit chance
what are the key characteristics of successfully targeted cal basketball student athletes?
1) #1 ranked public university in the world: a prospective recruit has to value the educational component of the cal experience in order to make a commitment to the necessary academic workload...therefore quotes from high schoolers (both basketball & football players) that will become future california golden bears usually include an acknowledgment that "a big part of my collegiate decision today is that cal is the number one public university in the world that will set me up for life"
2) grade point average (gpa): future california golden bears have got academic ambition...talking about wanting to get better grades like davon dillard & brandon sampson is not the same thing as actually turning off the tv/social media every single night to do the necessary classwork to attain good grades...as the wise marco harris once told me, "men take care of their business"...hopefully oscar frayer & tyson jolly become mentally limitless to lead cal's howlin' at the moon class (2016)
3) family: coach martin's love train is all about sharing, living & supporting each other in pursuing the dream...guys like tyler dorsey who just wanna "get buckets" for a criminal like dana altman are not a good cal fit
4) diversity: listen to the ivan rabb & jaylen brown welcome to cal videos, they both sincerely mention with smiles on their faces their appreciation of the tremendous diversity at cal...guys who just wanna be around people with the same views & appearances as themselves are better suited at homogenous schools like gonzaga (zach collins)
5) personal development: cal student athletes are not only interested in developing/maximizing their basketball skills/potential but also becoming a better person, a true leader in their communities...dumb azzs just wanna play basketball on a basketball court with a basketball and hope they never get injured...let's be real here, guys who go to academically mediocre schools like oregon & arizona and then see their careers ended in a split second collision are ******
6) moms: cal basketball players love their moms like the shockster, we will walk to the end of the earth (and then back again) for our moms...dwight tarwater knows what i'm talking about
"victory to me is when you get your moms right" -tyrone wallace
"no ones gonna love you like your mama..." -oscar frayer
"i just wanna hand my mom a mil and say do with it as you please" -tyson jolly
Per Josh Gershon, Cal has offered huge 2018 target Jordan Brown.
I got to see Ivan Rabb play as a freshman twice and numerous times after that (probably about 15 times), Jordan Brown is the only freshman I have seen who compares with Ivan at the same age (size, athletic ability, defensive abilities, rebounding, and BB IQ). If the Bears can close on this young man, it will be HUGE for the future. I saw him interviewed and he is just as impressive a young man as he is a basketball player. Work hard Cuonzo.....
I got to see Ivan Rabb play as a freshman twice and numerous times after that (probably about 15 times), Jordan Brown is the only freshman I have seen who compares with Ivan at the same age (size, athletic ability, defensive abilities, rebounding, and BB IQ). If the Bears can close on this young man, it will be HUGE for the future. I saw him interviewed and he is just as impressive a young man as he is a basketball player. Work hard Cuonzo.....
[SIZE=5][COLOR="#0000CD"]Welcome back Tarah![/COLOR]
Tarah is one of the greatest Cal volleyball players ever, and the most inspirational Tarah Murrey helped lead the Bears to the NCAA title match in 2010 and two other NCAA regional finals, and was a two-time All-American [/SIZE]
listen to all american tarah murrey passionately speak about her bears teammate carli lloyd, the national player of the year, after their heartbreaking loss to penn state in the finals of the ncaa volleyball championship a few years ago
fast forward to the 9 minute & 20 second mark...emotional fireworks, this is the most epic interview in cal athletics history & reflects the pure unmitigated respect & love of true champions that are willing to take a bullet for their teammates...if you mist up a little watching this, that's ok, let's roll baby http://www.calbears.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30100&ATCLID=207750720
unbreakable#
every current cal basketball player & coach needs to listen to cal's newest assistant volleyball coach re: her passion & commitment to teammate carli lloyd and their unbreakable bond...just fast forward to the 9 minute & 20 second mark, absolute fireworks baby
Do you guys have any further insight into Frayer's rankings drop this summer? Has anyone seen him play recently?
He didn't play well in AAU games during the late spring/early summer and then didn't make the trip out to the Peach Jam with the rest of the Soldiers. I wouldn't read too much into it though but I do know he is a potential academic causality if he doesn't step it up in the classroom. Bottom line is that he is still an elite athlete at the wing who will be a very good rebounder/defender with a developing shot. His offensive game is a work in progress but his athleticism can't be questioned.
so after our family's hike with my dog pack up the mountain this evening, i ask everybody (except the canines) if they wanna go to the moreau catholic game tonight at pinnacle high school (20 minutes away)
taylor & her friend nikki say sure, so we put the top down & drive over to pinnacle while they school me on some new music
we enter the gym & i say "hey, let's sit behind the moreau catholic's bench"
taylor tells me, "sorry, dad, we're gonna go sit with our friends" & they walk over to the pinnacle side of the gym which has a couple hundred fans...from my vantage point behind the mc bench (there are 5 of us) i see my daughter & nikki greet & hug 3 dozen kids at a high school they don't even attend...i realize watching her in action that she's a mini shocky, fearless in introducing herself & socializing with both friends & strangers...taylor may only have a 3.0+ gpa & probably attend asu like her mom but maybe she's gonna be the #1 real estate broker in north scottsdale someday
1st play of the game is an attempted (lob is slightly off) back door ally up slam dunk by cal's 2016 commit oscar frayer...the whole place is absolutely buzzing as oscar is literally a couple of feet above the rim , this **** is getting live
on the 1st defensive series, frayer picks up a questionable foul cal from the ref...oscar doesn't complain or engage in any drama, he calmly just hands the ball to the ref...the assistant football coach i'm sitting with tells me that oscar is very level headed, a good kid
the pinnacle students are loud & well versed with both "oscar" & "overrated" chants...frayer never reacts to the crowd, he's focused on the game
mc presses the whole game (without key cal 2017 priority target pg damari milstead who is suspended for a couple of games due to a violation of school rules) & frayer steals the ball several times with quick twitch hands & high basketball iq anticipation
frayer blocks a couple of shots with redunkulous hops
oscar has a pretty good mid range game & a smooth 3 point stroke (although he slightly fades away)...his free throw shooting is solid
play of the game is a one handed running & then literally flying thru the air tomahawk jam by the junior
frayer is coltish lean & will greatly benefit from the nicodemus intense workouts & he also floats back on d sometimes ala jabari bird's daze at salesian...he also misses a couple of bunnies around the basket
"o" as he is nicknamed by coaches frank knight & jules milstead cramps up & misses most of the 4th quarter in the mariners (1-1) loss but still scores 23 points despite an ivan rabb like unselfish style of play...when a mariner makes a hustle play to steal the ball & fight for a layup late in the game, while coach knight is designing the mariners' d scheme during a timeout, oscar limps off the bench & hugs his teammates from behind while patting his head (which is a total sammy singer move)...dude is a good teammate
mark my words, oscar frayer is gonna be the MOST ATHLETIC student athlete to ever wear a bears jersey in the history of cal basketball...if you don't have season tixs at haas, you're gonna miss some pretty amazing acrobatics by a truly gifted young man...oscar will be multiple in terms of a playing position for coach martin because of his off the charts +1 athleticism
on the way back to the house i ask taylor & nikki what were their favorite plays of the game...the music is so loud, they just ignore me, all i can hear is their laughter
sf2012, national high school rankings are primarily based upon scouting evaluations during summertime aau tournaments when the top 250+ players often compete against one another...if you don't play, your ranking will go down, it's that simple
oscar has only played in a couple of aau games this summer as he is focusing upon family & academic issues...the cal staff has transparently communicated the academic expectations & remains 100% behind oscar & his family
i've seen both jaylen brown & oscar frayer play in person and while jaylen is more physically & skills developed at this time, oscar has top 50 player potential with his off the charts athleticism
jordan is reworking his 3 point shot this summer in the eybl aau circuit with the oakland soldiers from a two motion shot to more of a quicker release one motion shot (like steph curry)
with only 1 scholly available right now (t-wall is the only senior on the bears roster) for the oscar frayer led cal's howlin' at the moon class (2016), this recruiting class will be very fluid in terms of size & prospective targets depending upon potential season end nba declarations...this class could range from 1 to 5 recruits
but the cal staff has confirmed they are targeting a point guard for the 2016 class & jordan ford is rising to the top of the big board as he continues to build strong relationships with the coaches...jordan is the consummate blue collar fiery competitor, a terrific student athlete (strong gpa) with academic ambition & has talked with oscar about potentially joining him in berkeley
ford, a former tournament chess champion, is from an athletic family as his dad cuezar played baseball at the university of california, santa barbara & mom ann was also an athlete...these days they jet ski with the best of them
"for everyone who took today off...thanks" -jordan ford
salute#
"alot of people dont understand having the right nutrition is a part of training, probably the toughest thing to train...i need to be 170 by the start of the season fr"
"when i was 8 i played aau basketball for the first time and i sat the bench..alot and i hated it and after every game/practice me and my dad went out to train and work on my game..until it became an every day thing...my dad would tell me that someday i would be the best player in sacramento and i would pass a lot of people with hard work and dedication if i really wanted it that bad...we worked out in the summer for 2 and a half years when i was 8...and eventually started passing up people as the years progressed, and now i'm 17 but moral of the story is i learned to hate the bench and i hated being mediocre so i gave up chess and dedicated my life to basketball to be better than everyone i sat behind...the end" -jordan ford
gym rat#
"jordan ford shot an impressive 40% from 3 during the nike eybl regular season...can score from all three levels" -ballers bridge
coach martin on monday offered mitch lightfoot, a 6'7" 195 lbs fast rising 2016 volcano of energy wing from gilbert christian (arizona) after watching him play on sunday...mitch led his team to an arizona d2 state championship last season & his head coach kurt keener thinks that if mitch grows into his feet he could be 7'
lightfoot is blowing up on the aau circuit this summer with his relentless motor including a recent 28 points & 16 rebounds game...dude fights for every rebound & loose ball and isn't afraid to mix it up inside along with the ability to knock down the mid range jumper...last season he averaged 17.9 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 4.8 bpg & a stealthy 6.8 steals per game
mitch is not a dumb azz, he's got a 3.7 gpa at the tiny gilbert christian high school including coursework in biochemistry
lightfoot's recruitment has been a rollercoaster...it all started with a commitment to new mexico as a sophomore & then reopening his recruitment this past april...since then stanford (my take is that he will commit to the cards if given an actionable offer), arizona (a longtime wildcats fan) & kansas (born in kansas city) along with utah, new mexico & asu are the key schools under consideration
the key from a bears perspective is to get an unofficial visit from mitch & his family to berkeley this summer
finally, yoga in berkeley, california...both steve kerr & the shockster applaud this program changing moment, recovery from the mentally & physically challenging off season workouts will now be possible
and look at jaylen in the bottom foto, he's finally gonna be able to sleep...good night, jb
but let's be real here, coach christopher is real tired of me badgering him re: when are them california golden bears gonna develop yoga practices...and who said the cal's monster class never accomplished nothing?
[SIZE=4]for some people, going to college is a forgone conclusion for others, it's an unattainable dream
for those who are fortunate for the opportunity, no matter what their circumstance nor path to get there congratulations now make it count[/SIZE]
[COLOR="#0000CD"][SIZE=5]This American Life: Three Miles - There's a program that brings together kids from two schools. One school is public and in the country's poorest congressional district. The other is private and costs $43,000/year. They are three miles apart. The hope is that kids connect, but some of the public school kids just can't get over the divide. We hear what happens when you get to see the other side and it looks a lot better. [/SIZE][/COLOR]
listen to the 3rd segment of this and you're understand a little better...
nycgobears, i hear you loud & clear re: your naming/branding suggestion: cal's kiss my azz class (2018)
i like it but unfortunately the in house overpaid high school creative content consultants for the cal's monster class thread are more skeptical
but make no mistake about, the bears are actively targeting with offers the ludicrous 2018 class of jordan brown, miles norris, elijah hardy & arguably the greatest high school player since lebron james, marvin bagley 111
in a perfect world, john shaft would take care of business with criminal dana altman
can you dig it?...right on...they say that coach martin is a bad, shut your mouth [video=youtube;Z2NaN_QNFUo][/video]
trust me, the staff knows about 2018 phenom jordan brown...both theo robertson & travis decuire were telling me about a blue chip middle schooler from near sacramento a year ago
6'9" 180 lbs phenom jordan brown of woodcreek high school in roseville is blowing up in the eyes of the national recruiting scouts/analysts today at the team usa camp in colorado springs
coach martin & the bears staff are actively building relationships with the future top 5 player in the 2018 class
nor cal, baby
"jordan brown has been great this evening...2018 pf is a potential big timer" -eric bossi
[video=youtube;gdbdtj8odfw][/video]
yeah, jordan brown is the real deal...
jordan, are you gonna ask former nba all star & current mayor sacramento kevin johnson how that cal degree set him up for life?
the university of california, berkeley (short drive from roseville for moms)=#1 ranked public university in the world
august 13th-depart san francisco, ivan hugs tami goodbye august 14th-cross international dateline, roger shows everybody his well stamped up passport august 15th-arrive melbourne, tour melbourne & meet shelias, roman buys a "i luv melbroune" t-shirt for moms, brenden takes a selfie with the hot female lifeguard at the pool august 16th-game #1 august 17th-tour old melbourne gaol, brandon tells t-wall that joeys got hops, jaylen misses the morning tour while oversleeping in his hotel "really comfortable bed" august 18th-game #2 august 19th-depart for sydney, look for jordan's lost luggage, jabari gets lost in the hotel elevators, nick trades his signed warriors t-shirt to an aussie for her signed bikini top august 20th-game #3 august 21st-tour sydney, bail (k)rooks & the king out of jail, brandon shows everyone his new tat of a kangaroo august 22nd-depart for brisbane, drive to gold coast, stephen sings showtunes on bus, cole & nick threaten to walk the rest of the way & sammy has to be the peace maker august 23rd-game #4 august 24th-arrive in san francisco, huf visits with the parents of a key bears target in san mateo, a 3rd grader with a solid mid range game & straight a's in school
down under#
just checking my voice messages & missed the following call (didn't sound group recorded, there was a click at the end) at 12:58 pm scottsdale time
"good afternoon, my name is ivan rabb from the men's basketball team...uhmm, i'm a freshman on the team and i'm just calling to thank you for your contributions to help make our fund, our trip to australia possible...we really appreciate your donations and i just wanted to say go bears and thank you once again"
nycgobears, i hear you loud & clear re: your naming/branding suggestion: cal's kiss my azz class (2018)
i like it but unfortunately the in house overpaid high school creative content consultants for the cal's monster class thread are more skeptical
but make no mistake about, the bears are actively targeting with offers the ludicrous 2018 class of jordan brown, miles norris, elijah hardy & arguably the greatest high school player since lebron james, marvin bagley 111
in a perfect world, john shaft would take care of business with criminal dana altman
can you dig it?...right on...they say that coach martin is a bad, shut your mouth [video=youtube;Z2NaN_QNFUo][/video]
Shocky, if we land Brown and Bagley, we'll have a super crime fighting duo that'll reverse pimp slap The Criminal Altman and scare the sprinkles outta The Fatman Cometh Miller. The Kiss My Azz Class will be in full effect. The Straw Hat Band will be playing the theme from Shaft before team introductions at every game and The Haas will be a funk and soul ball palace.
just checking my voice messages & missed the following call (didn't sound group recorded, there was a click at the end) at 12:58 pm scottsdale time
"good afternoon, my name is ivan rabb from the men's basketball team...uhmm, i'm a freshman on the team and i'm just calling to thank you for your contributions to help make our fund, our trip to australia possible...we really appreciate your donations and i just wanted to say go bears and thank you once again"
ivan who???
class act (you done good with your sons, tami)#
Ok which one of you jokers has been calling Shocky claiming to be Ivan Rabb?
Ok which one of you jokers has been calling Shocky claiming to be Ivan Rabb?
oaktown, if it was anybody other than ivan the phone call would've played out differently:
"good afternoon, my name is ivan rabb from the men's basketball team...uhmmm, i'm a freshman on the team and i'm just calling to ask you to ******* grow up and quit being such a dumb azz"
notice how young ivee misses the celebratory arm swing five with the young fan in the gold pants & blue shirt but then has the thoughtfulness to go back & connect/share the love with the little guy
this little guy is never gonna forget that moment, maybe he will study a little bit harder in school just to be like his hero ivan
honestly that's all you ******* need to know about ivan rabb [video=youtube;6_MaZApdKbo][/video]
the multitude of reasons that i love them california golden bears extend far beyond anything that any of them ever achieved with a basketball in their hands
oaktown, la familia de shockster has consulted with the fbi's quantanico voice recognition team (ok, maybe i read too much vince flynn) & they have "unequivocally confirmed beyond a shadow of doubt" that the voice on my message is the same as the diamond in the video above
the california golden bears staff with huf as the lead recruiter are the 1st major school to actively target miles norris, a 6'8" 180 lbs 2018 big wing from mater dei catholic in chula vista
miles got size 15 feet & is expected to grown a couple more inches...he is smooth with interior dunks, an accurate mid range game & 3 point shooting skills and most importantly, a very high basketball iq which is a coveted trait by the staff...defensively norris uses his elite length to close out on defenders
the gameplan right now is to get miles on campus for an unofficial visit in the very near future
yeah, a 2018 class of marvin bagley iii, jordan brown & miles norris with elijah hardy distributing/facilitating would be the cornerstones of a ncca championship team
let's do this#:gobears:
the university of california, berkeley=#1 ranked public university in the world
oaktown, la familia de shockster has consulted with the fbi's quantanico voice recognition team (ok, maybe i read too much vince flynn) & they have "unequivocally confirmed beyond a shadow of doubt" that the voice on my message is the same as the diamond in the video above
diamonds are forever#
RIP Vince Flynn. Absolutely the best of many good ones. Will selfishly miss his writings down the line. Great read for pure pleasure.
elijah hardy is also blowing up nationally with rave reviews at the 2015 team basketball u16 team usa tryouts in colorado springs
hardy is a 6' 155 lbs 2018 point guard phenom for lou richie's bishop o'dowd dragons that directed his team to a state of california championship at haas pavilion vs mater dei as a freshman
elijah is arguably the top point guard in the 2018 class & has already received an offer from coach martin
yeah, elijah is gonna return this season to haas to check out his former dragon teammate that made the decision to stay home for college so his mom & family/friends could watch him & them diamonds play at the #1 public university in the world
"cal is a great school...i'm around it a lot because i live 15 minutes away...it's a great environment and great people...coach martin, coach yanni and coach webster are great people" -elijah hardy
"2018 team arsenal pg elijah hardy is terrific in transition...can handle and has very good speed but his vision is his best quality" -josh gershon
marvin bagley iii, a 6'10" phenom from corona del sol high school (tempe) is from gilbert (an upper middle class suburb of phx) is ranked as the #1 player in the 2018 class
my yoga classmate buddy padraig o'brien (a highly respected basketball trainer that has worked with 5 lottery picks & kingsley okoroh) told me that marvin is an excellent student in the classroom with a strong academic focus & that his parents (dad is the head coach of the phoenix phamily 2018 youth basketball team) are very strict (and highly religious) & won't let their son's recruitment turn into a circus...a major factor that will damage the recruiting efforts of arizona & arizona state is the family's concerns re: the lack of diversity in arizona (greater detail can only be shared directly with the staff)
so i asked padraig how good is marvin, a freshman this year in high school, compared to the pac 12's best players
padraig smiled & told me that bagley would've won the pac 12 mvp award this year...by a large margin
this afternoon marvin bagley scored a dominating 28 points on 9-12 field goals along with 13 rebounds...and yeah, he's 4-9 on 3 pointers this weekend at the peach jam...yeah, marvin is arguably the greatest high school player since lebron james
the head coaches watching today included sean "dunkin' donuts" miller, bobby "off to the races" hurley, coach cal, coach k & california golden bears head coach cuonzo martin
let's do this#
warning: do not watch this video if you have any heart conditions [video=youtube;zu9M-qK1yuo][/video]