Sean Cattouse (Safety - Hubbard HS, Chicago) 6'3"/190 Reported offers: Illinois, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue, Kansas State, NIU, Mississippi State
- He's a converted QB. We love converted quarterbacks because they tend to fly beneath the recruiting radar. - Cattouse has a big frame (6'3") and is a workout warrior, training with the same guy who works with Luol Deng and other members of the Bulls. Can teach his teammates Pilates. - Overshadowed in HS by All-America RB Robert Hughes, who chose Notre Dame over virtually every program. - The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Cattouse is the first Chicagoland football player to attend Cal on a scholarship. I can't think of one off-hand - can anyone?
D.J. Campbell (Corner - Cheyenne HS, Las Vegas) 6'0"/180/4.48 Reported Offers: Arizona State
- Played safety his senior year after starting at corner in both his sophomore and junior years. Recorded 61 tackles, 8 interceptions (four returned for TD), 2 forced fumbles and 3 recoveries. - Like Cattouse, Campbell started at QB (and also punted). Projects as a college corner. - Has a 39-inch vertical leap - Named to the Nevada 4A all-state team as a starting DB. - HS mascot was the "Desert Shields." From all accounts Campbell was a bit of a one-man show for his school, but he still led them to a finish as league runner-up.
Chris Conte (Corner - Loyola HS, Los Angeles) 6'3"/180 Reported offers: UCLA - Listed as a Bruin commit in this morning's LA Times. All through Conte's de-commit and the run-up to LOI day, Cal coaches were reasonably confident that he would come to Berkeley. - Played both ways for Loyola, but earned highest marks for his work at cornerback. Despite postings that he would definitely switch to safety, he probably projects at corner at the collegiate level (though he could make a fine FS). - Stands 6'3" or 6'4" depending on which report you read, which would make him a good matchup with taller receivers in the conference. - Made a key interception in Loyola's 14-0 upset of Mater Dei in the Division 1 semifinals in 2005. Loyola went on to win the CIF title.
- Averaged 42.1 yards per punt during his senior year - Led the Chris Sailer kicking camp with a 4.9 average hang time (a ridiculous number) - More than a kicker, he led his HS in receiving with a 16.5 yard per catch average. Think of him as a punter in the Ray Guy mold who could also play other positions. No pressure with the Ray Guy comparison, of course. - Is the highest ranked recruit at his position in Cal's entire '07 class (2nd punter in the nation behind Chas Henry (committed to Florida).
- Named CIF Division X Defensive Player of the Year after a senior year in which he recorded 72 tackles and 12 sacks. Battled a sore shoulder for most of the season. Also named LA Daily News Defensive Player of the Year. - Played defensive end in HS but will almost certainly switch to linebacker at Cal. There are suggestions he will fit in a middle backer. - An opposing coach said of Holt, "He's a Division 1 athlete whether he's playing outside backer, defensive end or any other position. He's just a premium player."
Robert Mullins (Linebacker - Dorsey HS, Los Angeles) 6'2"/205/ Reported offers: Oregon, Arizona, ASU
- Potential. If not for a truly awful hip injury that wiped out his senior season, Mullins might have been the highest rated LB in California. Teamed with Ohio State's Mark Johnson in high school to form the state's leading LB corps, but it was Mullins who got most of the attention. - Recorded a mind-boggling 165 tackles in his junior season. - Claims to be almost 100% rehabbed from his injury, which involved damaged cartilage deep in his hip socket. - Another outstanding student, he carries a 3.4 GPA taking AP courses and plans to study architecture. Dad is a LA County sheriff, and according to a 2005 LA Times feature on Mullins "doesn't take anything but A's and B's" from his son in school.
- You already know the family: Brother Desmond was an important leader on the 2006 team. - A strange recruiting saga saw him bounce back and forth between Minnesota and Cal. Once Devin's academics passed Cal muster, he landed with the Bears. - 2nd team Juco All-American at CCSF; led the team in tackles and helped CCSF to the state final where they lost to El Camino. - Projects at middle backer, just like his big brother. We'll see if he can cover sideline to sideline like him, too. A great get who adds immediate help at LB.
Alex Cook (SLB - Blinn College, TX) 6'4"/235/4.5 Reported offers: Arkansas, Louisville, Tennessee, ASU among others
- Excelled at DE, but LB coach Kenwick Thompson sees him playing SLB at Cal. Blinn limited opponents to 120 yards of offense per game. - Recorded five sacks in a single game against #2 JC Pearl River. - At Osceola High School in Seminole, FL Cook was an All-State selection as a senior. - Runs a 4.5 forty. Let us repeat - he runs a 4.5 forty. Matt Felder just got some competition.
Cameron Jordan (Defensive End - Chandler HS, Arizona) 6'4"/240/4.9 Reported offers: Nebraska, Colorado, Arizona, ASU, OSU
- Father was a 6-time Pro Bowl tight end for the Vikings - Niner fans will remember him and gnash their teeth. Dad went to Brown, so academics were stressed in the Jordan household. - Despite a mediocre forty time, Jordan was highly recruited because he's "ready to play" with good technique. - Recorded 17.5 sacks and 85 tackles as a senior. His team went 11-2 and contended for the state championship in Arizona. - May play as a true freshman (according to Jordan, Coach Delgado says two true freshman will contribute on the DL in '07)
Ernest Owusu (Defensive End - The Hun School, Princeton NJ) 6'4 1/2"/245/4.8 Reported offers: North Carolina, Washington, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Minnesota
- Attended the Hun School for one year after four years at Father Ryan HS in Nashville. Reportedly added thirty pounds during his prep year. - The Hun School is a leading college prep school; Myron Rolle was by some accounts the #1 prospect in the class of '06. - Owusu is a fairly common surname in Ghana, West Africa. Not sure whether EO's parents trace their heritage back there, but it's a fair guess. - The fact that Tedford/Delgado took him with three DEs safely in the fold tells you something about Owusu's potential (and Cal's lack of depth at the position).
Scott Smith (Defensive End - St. Louis, Honolulu) 6'5"/240/4.9 Reported offers: Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Boise State, Hawai'i
- I've seen him listed as tall as 6'7". Whatever his height, he's the tallest DE in this class. - Recorded 14 sacks and led St. Louis (one of Hawai'i's traditional FB powers) to the state championship. Rated the 5th best prospect in Hawai'i and voted All-State at DE. - The second Cal commit to have some history with hip problems - Smith missed camps with a bad pulled muscle in his hip in 2006. - Also a very good basketball player, which we just know is a good sign.
Solomona Aigamaua (Defensive End - St. Louis, Honolulu 6'3 1/2"/215/4.7 Reported offers: Arizona, Utah, Hawai'i, SDSU
- Call him the sleeper. Aigamaua is very quick off the edge, but seriously undersized for his position. Will use his blueshirt year to add bulk. - Almost completely unnoticed until he participated in a May combine and wowed scouts with his speed and agility. - Another good student; carries a 3.85 GPA. - Along with Smith, a high school teammate of Cal DT/DE Tyson Alualu. St. Louis is a great place to develop a little pipeline. Also starts for the basketball team.
Matt Summers-Gavin (Guard - St. Ignatius HS, San Francisco) 6'4 1/2"/280/5.2 Reported offers: Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oregon among many others
- Invited to the US Army All-American game, but sat out with a high ankle sprain - Led St. Ignatius to its first CCS title in 39 years in 2006. - Played tackle in high school, but is likely to move down to guard in college. - While he'll probably blueshirt, MSG is polished enough to conceivably play as a freshman.
- Excelled after Notre Dame made the switch from Division III to the Pac-5 Division and the Serra League, which includes Loyola, Bishop Amat and other powers. - Brother Tony plays at San Diego State. Dad Jack played at UCLA, but the Bruins never offered his son. - Team captain his senior year; tore a tendon in his ring finger that forced him to miss the playoffs. - A ringleader of a group of incoming recruits who have committed to go to the Rose Bowl on various social networking sites.
Mitchell Schwartz (Tackle - Palisades Charter HS) 6'5"/300/5.3 Reported offers: Michigan, Tennessee, Oregon, Stanford, Virginia
- His brother Geoff plays at Oregon. - 4.87 shuttle speed is very good for a 300-pounder. According to reports, he's never been in a serious weight training program, so there's probably lots of upside there. - Schwartz is a good athlete, pitching on the Palisades baseball team. - Another good student, carrying a 4.0 GPA and a 29 on the ACT.
- Older brother Scott played at SC (98-02) - 3.9 GPA/1820 SAT - Admitted to Stanford before he turned them down. Yes, it happens. Increasingly. - Crazy 4.55 shuttle time given his size. Very quick feet. - Signed with Cal despite hailing from the same high school as Erik Lorig.
- Another lineman who was a basketball star in HS. Very athletic, which has led some to believe he might play defense. So far, the coaching staff maintains he's an OL recruit. - Rated by Scout as the 3rd best OG in California. - Another great student; carries a 3.8 GPA. - Greatest HS nickname ever - the Bakersfield Drillers
Alex Lagemann (Receiver - Saratoga HS) 6'3"/206/4.51 Reported offers: Oregon, BYU, Boise State
- Grew up a Stanford fan; family had season tickets. Still committed to Cal before his senior season began. - Good all-around athlete; played varsity baseball and basketball as well. - One of few Cal commits with YouTube highlights, which can be found here.
Mike Calvin (Receiver - San Lorenzo HS) 6'2"/195/4.49 Reported offers: Oregon, Utah
- Posted the fastest forty time (4.49) at the Stanford football camp. This is the second consecutive year Cal got the fastest guy at that camp (Jeremy Ross being the winner last year). - Pretty good basketball player; has a 41-inch vertical. - Caught 37 passes for 794 yards and 9 scores (with 3 more scores rushing). Pretty good safety, too. - We really need a picture of him with a different shirt on.
- Was thought to be an Oregon commit before switching his allegiance to Cal in December. - More heralded as a DE in high school; Moanalua ran the option and Eselu's touches were limited. - By all accounts, he is a devastating blocker and would seem to be a nice fit in run packages. - High school team nickname was the Menehunes, which refers to a mythical people who lived in the deep forests of the Hawaiian islands and ate bananas. We're not making that up.
- Prepped at Woodland in the Sacramento area, where his HS QB was Daniel Pinegar, brother of Fresno State QB Paul Pinegar. - Broke his ankle in a high school all-star game, which sent him off to Butte. Good student throughout HS and JC with a 3.7 GPA. Tedford followed him throughout his rehab, and he was the first recruit to sign an LOI. - Reportedly benches 350 and squats 500; it's thought he could add another 15-20 pounds given his frame. - Will become the first Cal football player named Skylar.
Brock Mansion (Quarterback - The Episcopal School of Dallas) 6'5"/221/4.75 Reported offers: Baylor, Mississippi State
- Played at a relatively small school - ESD has 400 kids from grades 9 through 12, and competes in the private school classification in Texas. Transferred there from Plano HS. - Didn't hit it off with Mike Leach, according to a Rivals site, so he's not very piratey. His father, who has been quite involved in Brock's career, fell in love with Tedford early. - Can run pretty well; covered 900 yards and nine TDs his senior year. - Volunteers with Ronald McDonald House and the Dallas Food Pantry. Nice touch.
Jahvid Best (Running Back - Salesian HS, Richmond CA) 5'10"/185/4.4 Reported offers: Notre Dame, USC, Oregon
- Gained 3,325 yards and scored 48 touchdowns at Salesian. This year. - Won the 100m and 200m at the NCS Meet of Champions. Placed third and fifth in those races, respectively, at the CIF state meet in 2006 with a broken bone in his foot. May be faster than DJax. - Named Player of the Year by the Chronicle. - Quote from his HS coach: "He's never late. Never cuts class. He does his homework; never misses practice. He practices hard, follows instruction and is respectful to others."
Shane Vereen (Running Back - Valencia HS) 5'10"/180/4.4 Reported offers: USC, UCLA, Oregon, Stanford, UNLV, Duke
- His father played football for UNLV (and in the CFL), which is why the Rebs were invited into the process. - Good student, carries a 3.8 GPA - Recruited primarily as a DB by SC and UCLA. Vereen is super quick and some think he might challenge Best for the fastest back in the class. - Rushed for 359 yards and 6 touchdowns on fourteen carries against Golden Valley his senior year. His coach took him out midway through the second quarter.
John Tyndall (Fullback - Pacific Grove HS) 6'3"/215/4.88 Reported offers: Army, BYU, Utah, SJSU
- Will likely grey shirt and count against the '08 class. - Monterey Athletic League Defensive POY at linebacker; Monterey County Offensive POY; Small Schools All-State team. - High school team won three consecutive league titles. - Shares same name as 19th century Irish physicist who is thought to be the first to link CO2 with global warming.
Two surprises off the bat - Chris Conte and Ernest Owusu both signed LOIs with Cal. Conte, a corner/safety, was an early Cal commit who switched allegiances to the Bruins last month. Owusu, a defensive end, was thought to be a lean to North Carolina as late as last night. Well, the faxes don't lie - welcome to both! We'll have profiles of each as part of their position classes later today.
Now that we've slagged on recruiting as the least precisescience in sports, it's time to drop our facade and become hysterical about California's Class of 2007. Sometime today a couple dozen young men will use this archaic device...
...to communicate their commitment to play football at our beloved University. We'll be following the process all day to provide some background on the Class of 2007, and some gentle analysis of other schools' hauls (not in the OMG they're ranked 8th by Rivals mode, but more looking at balance, depth, and players who Cal also recruited).
Following on from our more detailed examination of UCLA's historically disappointing class of 2002, we've taken a closer look at the '02 class for the entire conference. We can't be bothered with looking at how every recruit panned out (as we did for the Bruins), but we though it would still be interesting to compare the five most heralded recruits in each class with the five most valuable recruits over their careers. It's all subjective, of course, and it works like this (taking Arizona's truly awful 2002 class as an example):
Arizona 2002 Ryan O'Hara **** (backup QB, left school in 2004) Javier Martinez **** (arrested, left school in 2002) Matt Lamatsch **** (backup, left program) Carl Tuitavuki **** (ordinary starter at DT) Michael Jefferson **** (transferred to NAU)
These were the five hottest recruits signed to an LOI by John Mackovic in February of 2002. They didn't exactly pan out, which helps explain the recent state of Wildcat football. Now here's a list of the best five recruits from that class judged over their entire career in Tucson, with their original Scout.com star ranking:
Top 5 contributors Spencer Larsen * (all-conference LB - best at UA since Lance Briggs) Nick Folk * (probably the best punter in school history) Marcus Smith * (Pac-10 HM DE in his soph year) Danny Baugher * (another good punter in this class - strange) Tuitavuki ****
Not a distinguished group, but far better than the dropouts in the first list. Note that four of the five best players got exactly one star from Scout. So let's move on through the rest of the classes of 2002 and 2003:
Arizona State 2002 Aaron Austin ***** (never panned out at TE, moved to defense) Terry Richardson **** (great kick returner, OK receiver) Tim Faaita **** (two-year starter at OG) Robert James **** (pretty good linebacker) Ishmael Thrower **** (starter along the D-line) Top 5 contributors Derek Hagan * (one of the top receivers in school history) Richardson **** Andrew Carnahan *** (all-conference OL) Jamar Williams * (HM All Pac 10 at LB) Faaita ****
California 2002 Monte Parson **** (started as a senior, all-academic pick) Kevin Johnson **** (left school) Marcus O'Keith *** (reserve back and kick returner) David Gray *** (never delivered on promise) Randy Bundy ** (switched to defense, dime back) Top 5 contributors Donnie McCleskey * (all-conference as a junior) Erik Robertson * (2-year starter at guard) Tim Mixon * (starter at DB) O'Keith *** Eric Beegun * (backup TE)
Oregon 2002 Haloti Ngata ***** (greatest DL in school history) Chris Solomona ***** (good player, starter) Kellen Taylor ***** (backup receiver) Albert Toeaina **** (went to JC, eventually transferred to Tennessee) Marques Binns **** (transferred to Grambling) Top 5 contributors Ngata ***** Enoka Lucas * (all-conference center) Aaron Gipson * (all-conference DB) Anthony Trucks * (two time 2nd team LB) JD Nelson * (2nd team DB in 05)
Oregon State 2002 Brandon Lockheart ***** (dismissed from the team in 2002) Lawrence Turner **** (starter, good player) Deondre Alexander **** (left school for Palomar juco) Joe Newton **** (oft-injured starter, good player) JC Ronnfeldt *** (reserve, left the program in 2005 under a cloud) Top 5 contributors Adam Koets * (2nd team all-conference OL) Brandon Browner ** (2nd team all-conference DB) Newton **** Ben Siegert * (HM tight end) Turner ****
Stanford 2002 Trent Edwards ***** (oft-injured QB never allowed to do much) Julian Jenkins ***** (honorable mention all-conference; hardly a 5 star) Matt Traverso **** (OK contributor at TE) Josiah Vinson *** (mediocre starter on OL) Marcus McCutcheon *** (bounced around, never started) Top 5 contributors TJ Rushing * (starting corner, all-conference return man) Jenkins *** Trevor Hooper ** (honorable mention All-Pac 10 DB) Edwards ***** Jeff Edwards *** (started 40+ games for Stanford on the OL)
UCLA 2002 Marcedes Lewis ***** (Terrific tight end) Ryan Boschetti ***** (OK DL starter) Jarrad Page **** (excellent safety now in the NFL) Eric McNeal **** (career backup) CJ Niusulu **** (kicked off the team) Top 5 contributors Lewis ***** Drew Olson **** (very good QB) Justin Medlock **** (all-conference kicker) Page **** Justin London **** (very good LB)
USC 2002 Manuel Wright ***** (better prospect than player) Winston Justice ***** (had great senior year) Darnell Bing ***** (terrific DB) Dominique Byrd **** (excellent college TE) Hershel Dennis **** (started as a sophomore, then perpetually injured) Top 5 contributors Mike Williams *** (All-America WR) Bing ***** Byrd **** Dallas Sartz **** (all-conference LB) Justice *****
Washington 2002 Donny Mateaki ***** (starter, not particularly good) Stanley Daniels **** (rather ordinary starter after switch to OL) Kenny James **** (starter, decent player) Brandon Ala **** (injured, reserve for most of his time at UW) Nathan Rhodes **** (never played due to a congenital back problem) Top 5 contributors Scott White *** (defensive team MVP) Clay Walker *** (honorable mention OL) Isaiah Stanback *** (dangerous QB) James **** Dashon Goldson *** (HM in '05 at DB)
Washington State 2002 Jermaine Green ***** (JC transfer became a solid back for the Cougs) Sammy Moore ***** (solid starter at receiver) Jonathan Smith ***** (solid player in the backfield) Kevin Sperry ***** (another juco starter) Carl Bonnell ***** (DNP, eventually signed with UW) Top 5 contributors MKristo Bruce zero stars (All-America) Eric Frampton ** (all-conference DB) Nick Millhauser * (2nd team all-conference OL) Moore ***** Scott Davis * (honorable mention LB)
The moral of the story? The guys at the top of your board are important; if most of them are busts for a couple of years (Arizona's 03 class was just as bad) you're probably going to be in trouble. Secondly, you need to pay attention to the entire class. In eight out of ten of these cases, the most valuable recruit wasn't among the five most decorated prospects. It's amazing in retrospect that guys like MKristo Bruce, Mike Williams, Enoka Lucas, Spencer Larsen, Donnie McCleskey and Derek Hagan were relative afterthoughts in their respective recruiting classes.
On LOI Day 2002 Bob Toledo was ecstatic. He had just inked the 7th best recruiting class in America according to Scout.com, and the talented youngsters were just what he needed to keep unhappy alums at bay. He had done so well that a frustrated Washington coach Rick Neuheisel publicly accused him of negative recruiting. UCLA's class that year averaged 3.62 stars per player - a high number given the large size (25 players) of the Bruins' class.
Five years later the UCLA class of '02 serves as a cautionary tale to those who would put too much emphasis on recruiting rankings. The class is littered with injuries, defections, discipline problems, and missed potential. Just for fun, we went back and assigned new ratings to the class based on their contributions to the Bruin program during their stay in Westwood. It's highly subjective, of course, but isn't everything related to this topic?
Ratings key * Didn't play, or played sparingly ** Contributed in a reserve capacity *** Starter **** All-Conference level performer ***** All-America level performer
***** (from Scout.com in '02) Marcedes Lewis, TE - Terrific tight end ***** (career rating) Ryan Boschetti JC - a starter and an OK player for UCLA on the defensive line ***
**** Jarrad Page, CB - excellent safety now in the NFL **** Eric McNeal, S - career backup ** CJ Niusulu, DT - kicked off the team * Kevin Harbour, DE - left school - ** Robert Chai, OL - solid if unspectacular starter on the OL - *** Joe Garcia, CB - transferred to Nevada - * Idris Moss, CB - kicked off the team; transferred to Tulsa - * Justin London, LB - solid starter at LB - *** Antwuan Smith, WR - didn't enroll - * Mike Nixon, S - played baseball for a while then went to ASU * Glenn Ohaeri, RB - transferred to Colorado State * Justin Medlock, K - terrific kicker **** Drew Olson, QB - pretty darn good **** Matt Moore, QB - started five games; transferred to OSU **
*** JJ Hair, TE - backup tight end ** Xavier Burgess, LB - dropped out of school, transferred to Sac State * Kirby Joseph, LB - transferred to McNeese State * Jebiaus Brown, CB - quit the team * JD Groves, LB - quit the team * Thomas Patton, DE - transferred * Wesley Walker, LB - good player *** Patrick Pierre-Louis, LB - didn't do much *
** Alex Potasi, OL - kicked off the team * Elliot Vallejo, OL - transferred to Davis *
On the revised rankings, UCLA earns a grand total of 1.94 stars per recruit, placing them at the bottom of the conference. UCLA's is an extreme case, but a look at the rest of the conference in 2002 and 2003 shows that the experts had as many misses as hits when it came to evaluating recruits. We'll roll that analysis out a bit later in the day.
CLEANING OUT THE DESK (AND ORDERING A HAM SANDWICH)
* Surprise, surprise. No takers on our open invitation to a debate on the stadium project. Lots of anonymous alleged tree huggers in the comment section, though, which we've now positively ID'd as 15-year old USC fans. The offer still stands.
* SC is already calling out the Bruins for Thursday night's battle in Pauley. Our favorite quote from Paragon at Conquest Chronicles:
"I am unconcerned at what they think across town. Most of the "tradition" is from days gone by and a loss in last years title game is just that, a loss. This team can play no doubt but they can be beat and I am unimpressed about a bunch of banners that have been collecting dust in an old unrefurbished building from another era, that was then, this is now."
It's funny, that's exactly what we used to say about USC football...
* Husky fans have taken off the gloves after a thirty-point blowout loss at McKale. The term "must win" is a horrible cliche and often misused. That said, Cal is a must win for Washington.
* LOI day is fast approaching and we'll have profiles of Cal's class by position on Wednesday. There's really only one guy left on Cal's board - Juco DE Alex Cook - and he's supposed to announce between Cal, ASU and Arkansas tomorrow. No Gary Doxy surprises in this class, it seems.
#10 - ED GRAY - GUARD (1996-1997) A transfer from Tennessee, Gray played only two years in Berkeley, but they were among the most memorable in school history. When he signed with Cal it merited one sentence in the San Francisco Chronicle: "College of Southern Idaho basketball player Ed Gray, a former player at the University of Tennessee, has signed a letter of intent to attend UC-Berkeley for the 1995-96 season." Gray was a JC All-America and a great recruit, but couldn't help but look small next to classmate Shareef Abdur-Rahim.
Gray got off to a hot start, averaging 16 points through the first two months of the season, before Todd Bozeman benched him for missing classes. He eventually applied himself well enough in the classroom to stay in Bozeman's good graces and contribute huge performances on the court (22 in an upset of #9 Arizona, 27 against ASU). Gray was occasionally erratic, falling into slumps that led to subpar performances (2 points against USC), but when he was on no one in the Pac-10 could guard him. He ended the year with 15.6 ppg, and was named Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year. The Bears limped to the finish line and were knocked out in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by Iowa State.
After Abdur-Rahim left for the pros, Gray became new coach Ben Braun's first and last option on offense in 1997. He got right to work, scoring 20 points in an upset of Iowa in Braun's first game at the Maui Invitational. He then added 32 in a loss to #2 Kansas, and 24 in an upset of #17 UMass that gained Cal a surprising 3rd place finish in Maui. Then came 30 points in an overtime win over Illinois, 26 against Penn State, and suddenly nobody was talking about Shareef. Gray continued his torrid shooting throughout the conference season, leading the Bears to a 2nd place finish in the Pac-10. It was Gray's shot (giving him 29 points) that put the nail in UCLA's coffin at Pauley in January of '97, giving the Bears hope that they might win the crown; but losses down the stretch to WSU and Stanford kept the Bears from the title.
His greatest game as a Golden Bear was unfortunately his last. In that loss to WSU at Friel Court, Gray was unstoppable, scoring 48 points on a combination of long-range jumpers and drives to the basket. With 1:14 left he soared above the Cougar defense and was fouled in a dunk attempt; after hanging on the rim for a second or two he fell to the floor and fractured a bone in his right foot. Without their top scorer, Cal still somehow made a memorable run to the Sweet 16; one wonders how far they might have gone if Gray had been pouring in his usual 24 points per game.
Even with the sour ending, Gray's senior season was perhaps the greatest individual performance in school history. He averaged 24.8 ppg, and left Berkeley with the records for the highest career scoring average (20.0 ppg) and the most 30-point games (six). Gray was named Pac-10 Player of the Year and a third-team All-American by the Associated Press. He was drafted 22nd overall by the Atlanta Hawks in 1997, and his two-year career in Atlanta was marked by injury, inconsistent play, and off-court troubles. He played for a bit in the CBA, and then in London, and then we lost track of him. As the Cyberbears' handle asks, "Whatever happened to Ed Gray?"
Tarik Glenn ('97) hoists the Lombardi Trophy (REUTERS/Mike Blake)
Matt Giordano ('05) ends the Bears' final drive (AP/Michael Conroy)
Our congratulations to two great Golden Bears for winning their first Super Bowl championship. Tarik and his linemates had a terrific game, and the G-Man got a nice lick in towards the end of the game. Condolences to Ron Rivera ('84), but he's already got a ring and should soon become the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. So he's doing OK.
Gearing up for a busy week - LOI Day and the Washington roadie. Stay tuned....
We've always figured ourselves to be smack dab in the middle of the never-ending Ben Braun debate. We haven't written him off as many Bear fans have done; on the other hand, we're unsatisfied with the results of his tenure at Berkeley - 11 years with no conference championships and a single Sweet 16 berth is not acceptable.
We think we've been fair to him this year, crediting his ability to improve the Bears' offense with eight-nine healthy scholarship players and maintain the team's focus through a very rough period. For the most part, this team has played hard and smart.
But last night's effort raises a troubling question that can't simply be answered by a glance at the injury list. How could the Bears come out that flat in a home game with their hated cross-Bay rival? Stanford got off to a 20-4 lead, and the game was essentially over after eight minutes. We know that Cal made a spirited comeback, but the abysmal start reflects poorly on Braun's ability to motivate his charges for what should have been the Game of the Year.
Are we being too harsh on Coach Braun? We don't think so, but we'd invite opposing viewpoints.
In other action...
* That grease stain on the floor of Pauley Pavilion? That's the once proud Oregon State Beavers, who lost by forty-seven points to UCLA. OSU scored 35 points in the entire game. Building the Dam has all the gory details of an historic butt-kicking. It's UCLA's conference to lose at this point, as we expected.
* Ernie Kent had his first Lost Weekend - how will the Ducks respond next week against the Arizonas at home?
* We don't buy that Arizona is back because they crushed UW at home by thirty. We are intrigued by the emergence of Jordan Hill, who went for 16 points, eight boards and five big blocks. Three of their next four are at Oregon and home dates with the LA schools. If they can go 3-1 through this stretch, we'll say they're back.
This is a tough game to call (on at 6:30 on Fox Sports national). On the one hand, Ken Pomeroy predicts a two-point Cal victory. On the other hand, numbers can be misleading.
It's hard for us to imagine how the Bears can cope with two healthy Lopez brothers inside and on the glass. At the same time, Stanford has difficulties of its own on the defensive end. Their height discourages penetration and inside scoring, but the Cardinal have been vulnerable to teams with strong perimeter games. If we knew that Ubaka and Vierneisel would be at 100%, we'd probably pick the Bears. Ubaka should be ready to go, but Vierneisel is still hobbled with a bad ankle and won't play much (if at all). Given this, we're forced to concede the strong possibility of a season split with our hated rivals. Prove us wrong, you Bears!
In recent days there have been some rather uncivil exchanges between Cal fans and, I guess, tree fans. We've had to switch the blog to moderated comments, which is disappointing, but the hassle is better than a stream of obscene one-word posts from trolls.
That's of course what makes the Stadium story so irresistible to the mainstream media - the antagonists hate each other. On one side you've got Cal football fans, most of whom attended the University and suffered through at least four years of living in the People's Republic of Public Filth and Assorted Madness. On the other hand you've got the professional protesting classes, who love trees and conflict and hate the University and most other large concentrations of wealth and influence. These groups would argue about the weather, let alone a large construction project.
Regardless of one's views on the project, we can all agree that anonymous posts filled with ad hominem attacks on the character of the other side add nothing to the debate. So we're inviting anyone who is legitimately involved with one of our four antagonists - the Tightwad Hill crowd, the City of Berkeley, the Panoramic View homeowners, or the Oak Tree mob - to join us in a friendly Q&A on the merits of the University's project.
Seriously - we'll go modified Lincoln-Douglas style, with an unedited opening statement and then an exchange of questions and answers from both sides. We of course reserve the right to point out the errors in your statements, since we're confident there will be more than a few, but we won't edit anything you say beyond obscenities and calls for illegal activities. We're not afraid to hear your side of things, or to let you pick apart our arguments for the project. We are skeptical that you're willing to do much more than shout epithets and massage the facts to suit your needs. Prove us wrong. Send us an email with your credentials and we'll go from there.
And just to show we're of the best intentions, here's some old school Santana as inspiration. Probably the only thing we can agree upon is that this kicks a little ass, even considering Carlos' outfit.
#11 - LARRY FRIEND - FORWARD (1955-1957) OK, we're back in the swing of things in our highly subjective countdown of Cal's 16 greatest basketball stars. This is the second of several "who's he" picks for many of our readers. Larry Friend was Pete Newell's second star in Berkeley (we'll meet the first a little higher up on this list) and the captain of Newell's first championship team.
Friend was born in Chicago, and played his first three years of prep basketball at Marshall HS before his family moved to Los Angeles. He became a star at Fairfax High, and entered junior college to prepare for an eventual transfer to California in 1954. He arrived on campus the same time as a certain head coach, who had left Michigan State to revive Cal's basketball fortunes.
Newell's first team was led by All-America Bob McKeen (more on him later in the countdown) but aided by 12.3 ppg from Friend, his 6'4" sophomore. That team limped to the finish line with a 9-16 mark, but after a full off-season of tutelage from the master, Cal burst out of the gate in 1956 with a 9-1 mark. After losing three of their next four - including a memorable 33-24 four corners loss to Bill Russell's USF Dons, the Bears caught fire, winning eight in a row behind Friend's scoring in the paint. He finished the year with a 13.0 ppg average, and the Bears improved to 3rd in the conference with a 17-8 mark.
As a senior, Friend was named team captain and became the unquestioned leader of the Golden Bears. He averaged 18.9 ppg over a season that saw Cal race out to a 16-2 start, suffering losses only to defending national champion USF and #1 ranked Kansas. The Bears lost only twice in conference play, and in each instance they avenged the loss with a later win (against Washington and UCLA). The 14-2 mark was good enough for Newell's first PCC championship, Cal's first since 1953.
Cal met Brigham Young in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Corvallis, Oregon. The Bears blew out the Cougars behind 25 points from Friend and 18 from teammate Earl Robinson. On deck was a date with two-time defending champion USF, who had lost Russell and KC Jones but still featured stars like Mike Farmer and Gene Brown. Friend scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds, but it wasn't quite enough; Brown's twenty points led the Dons to a narrow four point victory. Despite the loss, Friend was named the MVP of the Western Regional, having set a Cal record for most points in an NCAA tournament game that would last for 39 years.
Friend was named to the Helms Athletic Foundation's first team All-America squad following his senior season. He was drafted by the New York Knicks and averaged four points per game in a reserve role before badly injuring his knee at the end of the season. He returned to professional basketball in 1961, playing a starring role for the Los Angeles Jets of the new American Basketball League, but that league unfortunately folded after just one season of play.
Turning away from basketball, Friend built a very successful investment practice in Orange County and later became a part owner of the NBA's Phoenix Suns. He died in 1998 after a long bout with prostate cancer. Larry Friend was only 62. He is a member of both the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame and the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
In the first meeting, Cal waxed Stanford on their home floor for the first time in fourteen tries. That historic victory was made possible by Ayinde Ubaka's 26 point performance - his best game as a Golden Bear.
Since that game, Stanford has made dramatic improvements while Cal has grown even thinner with injuries and illness limiting the effectiveness of Eric Vierneisel, Ubaka and now Theo Robertson. In this preview we'll break down what went right for Cal against the Cardinal last month, and examine the chances for a series sweep tomorrow at Haas Pavilion.
As noted above, Cal beat the Cardinal at Maples because Ubaka and his teammates dominated the Stanford backcourt, outscoring them 41-20. As expected, Stanford controlled the boards, pulling down 50 rebounds to Cal's 32. However, Stanford missed several easy put backs and les freres Lopez were a combined 7-20 from the floor. Brook Lopez only played 16 minutes and was generally ineffective. Anthony Goods shoot poorly from three (2-7) and the Cardinal as a team were only 3-16 beyond the arc.
So what has changed for Stanford? For starters, Brook Lopez (right) is reasonably healthy. He's playing 30+ minutes per game, and he's become much more effective, scoring 20 points against Gonzaga and 18 against USC with a school-record 12 blocked shots.
Trent Johnson has shuffled his starting lineup, going with both Lopez brothers, Lawrence Hill, Fred Washington and Anthony Goods. There's not a true point guard in that lineup, but the Cardinal have still done an OK job getting the ball inside the Lopez brothers. Mitch Johnson, the former starting point, is now the first man off the bench. He continues to underwhelm, and the Cardinal are a less effective offensive team with him on the floor.
Keys to the Game - Cal offense When both bigs are on the floor, Stanford will often zone - and they'll likely do that against Cal, whose #4 and #5 men can run and shoot from outside. So the recipe for Cal's success is pretty simple - attack the zone effectively with cutters to the high post, and shoot well from the perimeter. We've seen Cal do the latter - the Bears are shooting a respectable 37% from three this year. However, we haven't seen them dissect a zone effectively all year.
Ubaka (left) needs to return to form; according to Braun he was still feeling the effects of the flu as late as Wednesday. Vierneisel doesn't figure to play much, but we could certainly use him from the outside if Stanford does indeed run lots of zone.
Keys to the Game - Cal defense On the defensive end, Cal will need to do two things: 1) play effective pressure defense to complicate entry passes to the post, and 2) limit Stanford's opportunities on the offensive glass. That's a tall order, even with Cal's recent improvements in rebounding.
Taylor Harrison is another key. (Did we just write that?) Harrison got USC's Taj Gibson out of his game by inducing a technical foul in Saturday's loss to the Trojans. Look for him to pester the Lopez brothers tomorrow in the hopes of luring them into foul trouble.
#12 - GEORGE DIXON - GUARD (1925-1927) Who? Just the only two-time first team All-American in school history, that's who. Dixon was a guard and captain for the Bears who led the team to undefeated records in both 1926 and 1927. The basketball of that era would be barely recognizable today. In 1926 the Cal team averaged fewer points per game than the football team did this year. They beat UCLA 21-8, and St. Mary's 27-12.
Dixon was a big, physical guard who was named the top guard in the Pacific Coast Conference after his junior and senior years. After both seasons Dixon and his mates faced Oregon in a two out of three tournament for PCC conference supremacy. Cal won all four games, by an average of ten points. Dixon was the first Golden Bear to be named to an All-America squad, earning the honors from the Helms Foundation in both '26 and '27.
One wonders whether California might have contended for national championships during Dixon's era, but sadly he came along much too early for the NIT or NCAA tournaments, which started in 1938 and 1939, respectively. Dixon's worth to the Cal team was proven out in 1928, the year after his graduation, when Cal slipped to a 9-6 record.
Dixon's reputation for hard-nosed play is supported by his decorated rugby career. In his sophomore year, he was a member of the 1924 US Olympic rugby team, which traveled to Paris to compete in a three-team tournament with Romania and the favored host country. The US had won the gold medal in the 1920 Antwerp Games behind a half-dozen Cal stars, but the French team were 20-1 favorites to win the gold on home soil in '24. The majority of American players this time around were football and basketball players from Stanford and Cal who had only been playing rugby for six months. We'll turn it over to the Rugby Football History website from here:
"If these young American athletes expected to be welcomed to France with kisses on both cheeks, they were unpleasantly surprised. The team was the target of hostility even before the players set foot on French soil. French journalists branded them "streetfighters and saloon brawlers" after a brouhaha in the port of Boulogne where immigration officials mistakenly refused the team entry, and the players - many of whom had been seasick during the turbulent crossing - forced their way off the ship onto dry land.
The American rugby players' reputation only deteriorated. When Paris authorities cancelled previously arranged games against local club teams and restricted American workouts to a patch of scrub land next to their hotel, the players responded by marching down to Colombes Stadium, scaling the fence, and going through their paces on the hallowed turf.
"It wasn't the best way to conduct international affairs," concedes Norman Cleaveland, chuckling at the memory. "If they wanted to push us around," snarls 91-year-old Charlie Doe, who was vice-captain of the 1924 team, "then we damn well pushed back."
Dixon and the rest of the ragtag bunch of Bay Area athletes kicked the favored French all over the pitch and won a 17-3 upset and the gold medal. The crowd of 40,000 Frenchmen had to be restrained by les gendarmes from attacking the upstart Americans, who couldn't hear the Star Spangled Banner through the booing and catcalls.
Word's breaking that Tedford has decided to promote Jim Michalczik to Offensive Coordinator. We had the right idea, but the wrong guy. Coach Mich is an excellent choice and by all accounts a terrific guy who commands respect from his players. We thought Gould was the more natural pick, based on two things: 1) his tenure with the program, and 2) the fact that RB coaches do less in-game 'coaching' than OL coaches.
The questions that come to mind are: 1) Will Michalczik be in the booth, and 2) Will Cal then hire a replacement or assistant to work with the OL during the games? We can't imagine that he can wear both hats on the field, unless the Bears are going to drop pretenses and just have Tedford call all the plays. The official release suggests Michalczik will continue his OL responsibilities, so perhaps that is the case.
In any event, Michalczik loves the power run game, and so do we. If the spread isn't dead, it's certainly on life support - at least until Longshore graduates.
Congratulations to Coach Michalczik and his family on a well-deserved promotion. GO BEARS!
Sure, why not? Beats debating the most effective vector for spreading Sudden Oak Death.
* Alonzo Carter, the successful and relentlessly self-promoting head coach at Oakland McClymonds for the past eight years, is moving a few miles north to become the head coach at Berkeley High. This Coach Carter looks nothing like Samuel L Jackson - he's built like a beer keg and is loud and boisterous. Under his watch, Mack has won four Oakland Athletic League championships, and sent Derrick Hill, Kyle Reed and David Gray among others to play at Cal. Here's an entertaining video of the man himself touring around the Mack campus.
Coach Carter regularly projects himself as being "close to the program," and he probably is - Tedford has been very careful to repair relations with Bay Area coaches that had frayed during the Gilby/Mooch/Holmoe era. If he can turn Berkeley High into a local power, that's only good news for Cal down the road.
* Big night in hoops, headlined by the Ducks and Bruins at Pauley in the Battle for Conference Supremacy. Our gut tells us this will be a UCLA win, but then we think of how the Bruins struggled to contain Stanford's guards. And then we think of Aaron Brooks....and we still pick UCLA by four. The key to this game should be offensive rebounding by the Bruins. We love Maarty Leunen, but he'll have his hands full tonight.
* Arizona needs to get its shit together in a hurry, but may have to wait until Saturday. Washington State visits Tucson tonight, and the Cougars look to again be a tough matchup for the Cats. Greg Hansen has a great piece in the Daily Star on the recruitment of the Cougars which should put stars in perspective for those fretting over Cal's Scout ranking. Our favorite quote comes from Devon Harmeling - "Genetically, I'm not a Division 1 player." Except for the genes that make you money from 22 feet, we suppose.
* Cal had a visit this week from Juco DE Alex Cook, who's reported to be an Arkansas lean. ASU's also in the running and hosted Cook this week as well. Probably a long shot, but we thought we'd mention it since this is the one area JT and staff haven't addressed in the '07 class - a DE who can come in and contribute immediately.
90-86. Double OT. Stanford losing at home. You really couldn't ask for much more from a basketball game. The biggest winner last night was Gonzaga, who needed this game badly to build a better case for an at-large bid (in the event they don't win the WCC).
The biggest loser? Other than the very ordinary crowd of Maples dorks, who haven't yet regained their fastball, the biggest losers are the Washington Huskies. Washington seems primed for a second-half run, but Jerry Palm rates their RPI as 69th best in the nation (right ahead of Winthrop). The Huskies need their non-conference opponents - particularly LSU - to play better down the stretch; they also need Pac-10 teams to win their games out of conference. A Stanford win last night (and for that matter an Arizona win last weekend) would have been one of the many shots in the arm that Romar's team needs to earn a bid in March.
The Cardinal come to Haas this weekend, and we'll take a closer look at the game later today.
An ongoing discussion of California Golden Bears football and basketball...Other college football and basketball news filtered through a west coast bias...Like the actual Tightwad Hill, a bit messy and disorganized, but free!
Sean Cattouse (Safety - Hubbard HS, Chicago)
6'3"/180
