Cal Adds Grad Transfer Kareem South
Graduate transfer Kareem South confirmed this afternoon he will be joining Mark Fox and the Bears in Berkeley this coming season. The fifth-year player originally from Toronto joins Kuany Kuany and Dimitrios Klonaras as Fox’s third signee. All three players are originally from outside of the U.S.
South will add immediate help and experience in the backcourt as he averaged 13.8 points per game in 2018-19, along with 5.1 rebounds per game, shooting 36.7% from three and 82% from the line.
With the Bears’ search for class balance and perimeter threats, 6-2/185 Texas A&M Corpus Christi’s grad transfer South jumped high on Cal’s radar and the Bears brought the talented shooting guard in for a visit last week.
“It was a really good visit. I enjoyed it,” said South of his trip to California.
“It was super-comfortable. I got to meet the coaching staff and some of the players. I felt a really good connection. The Cal atmosphere -I can definitely see myself being there.
“The Bay Area’s really nice. The campus is very clean and it’s a prestigious university. You can tell people are environmentally-conscious there. It’s a very attractive suburban/urban feel. And the weather was really nice, though it rained a bit on the day we left.”
As a high school senior, South played for Kiski School in Saltsburg, PA, averaging 18.3 points, six assists and 5.3 rebounds on the season, helping lead his team to the state semifinals and the Hill School Tournament title. Prior to the move to the states, South attended Senator O’Connor High School in Toronto and was ranked one of the top 20 prospects in Canada by NPH.com and a top-10 prospect by TopProspects.com.
A 4.0 student in high school and a first-team All-Southland Conference Academic awardee with a health sciences major, Cal’s academics are a big draw for South and his family.
“Academically-speaking, Cal’s one of the most prestigious universities in the world,” said South. “They’re known as the number one public university.
“Academics are a big factor in my decision.”
Head coach Mark Fox took the lead in South’s recruitment, with each of the additional staff members involved in the process.