Cal inks Rivals150 guard Ahmaad Rorie
It's been a long time coming for Ahmaad Rorie.
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Committed to California since March of 2012, Rorie cemented his pledge on Wednesday by becoming the first of the Golden Bears 2014 recruiting class to sign.
A member of the Rivals150, Rorie told GoldenBearReport this evening that the excitement of coming to Cal never waned.
"I'm like way more excited now," said the senior point guard. "I'm just trying to finish strong so I can get out there [to Berkeley] this summer."
It's been a strategic build-up for the 3-star, who, though he stopped accepting phone calls from suitors nearly two years ago, kept ramping-up his college preparation. He spent his sophomore season at Clover Park High School, dominated opponents while a junior at Tacoma's Lincoln High School -- Rorie scored a record-setting 101-points in three games at last year's Washington State Tournament -- and transferred to the No. 1 ranked prep program in the country, Montverde Academy in Florida this fall.
"It's all about getting prepared for next year," commented Rorie. "[Montverde] is preparing me academically and athletically. We play against the best competition and I'm doing the best academically I've ever done."
A 3.8 gpa student before arriving in Florida, academics have always been a strength of Rorie's, and the work in the classroom has been a boon to his leadership training.
"The coaches want me to be a full-time leader," said Rorie, "off the court and on it … I'm always talking on the court and they want me to put my teammates in the right spots."
Central to Rorie's longstanding commitment has been his relationship with fellow Pacific Northwest native and Cal associate head coach, Travis DeCuire.
"I talk to him every day," said Rorie. "every day."
But as excited as DeCuire was upon learning of Rorie's official inking, mother Rhonetta's jubilation trumps all.
"She's very proud," said Rorie. "She was crying."