Cal men’s basketball has landed their third transfer of the 2020 recruiting class in Stony Brook grad transfer guard Makale Foreman, who averaged 15.6 points per game last season on 36.5% shooting from the field, 36.0% shooting from 3-point range, and 84.9% shooting from the foul line. Foreman chose Cal over Iowa State and Santa Clara, who were also in his final list.
Foreman joins a Cal recruiting class that consists of freshman small forward Monty Bowser, freshman shooting guard Jalen Celestine, sophomore combo guard Jarred Hyder (Fresno State transfer) and graduate shooting guard
Ryan Betley (Penn transfer). With the NCAA’s one-time transfer waiver put on hold until at least the 2021-22 season, Hyder will likely need to sit out next season, giving Foreman more minutes and responsibility.
What Cal has been seeking in the grad transfer market is a guard who can provide some scoring and also take some pressure off of sophomore Joel Brown, who is the team’s primary point guard. Brown is a more of a pass-first facilitator whereas Foreman is more of a score-first guard, so they should complement each other well.
What makes Foreman a nice addition to the program is his ability to score both inside and out. His 36.0% shooting from 3-point range came on 8.8 attempts per game, so he’s not afraid to let it fly from deep. He also can score inside the arc as well and is a very solid foul shooter. He should give Cal a balanced scoring attack that compliments not only Brown, but also their leading scorer Matt Bradley and the rest of the team.
It’s easy to be skeptical of how good Foreman will be in the Pac-12 considering he hasn’t played in a high major conference before, but his numbers speak for themselves. He’s proven he can score at the D-1 level and with quality pieces around him in the backcourt, he should be able to continue to score at a high level.
As for where Cal sits scholarship wise, Foreman is the 13th scholarship player, which means Cal has no more scholarships to give out for next season. Cal can now shift their focus to the 2021 recruiting class.
