Cal MBB Officially Signs Three Commits in 2019 Class
Cal men's basketball announced the signing of three 2019 commits Monday morning, as Joel Brown, DJ Thorpe, and Charles Smith IV have sent in their national letters of intent to sign with the Bears. All three signed late last week, but the signing was made official by the Cal announcement.
Per Rivals, Cal has the 53rd ranked class by team in the Rivals recruiting rankings in signing the trio of Brown, Thorpe, and Smith.
Brown, a 6'2" point guard out of the Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, was the most recent of the three to commit, making the call for the Bears on October 2nd. Brown, a native of Brampton, Ontario, Canada, was rated the 29th best point guard in the country by Rivals.
He also played for Canada's U-18 team at the FIBA Americas Championship, averaged 7.0 points, 4.0 assists and 3.8 rebounds to help Canada reach the gold-medal game against the United States. Brown listed Wyking Jones and David Grace as his main recruiters.
In the Cal release, Jones had this to say about Brown:
"Joel is one of the fastest players with the ball in America. His ability to get by his defender and get in the lane along with his tremendous vision and body control make him a threat,. His unselfishness and ability to deliver passes will make him a favorite amongst his teammates."
Rivals' National Analyst Eric Bossi had this to say about Brown back in October:
"One of the top point guards in the country, Brown is athletic and tough. He gets to the rim, isn't afraid to take jumpers and has all of the tools to be a dynamic defender at some point during his career in the Pac 12."
Thorpe, a 6'8" forward out of Lake Travis HS in Texas, committed to the Bears on September 21st, adding size to the class and an NBA pedigree (his father is former Houston Rocket Otis Thorpe). He's ranked as the 35th best power forward in the country, averaging 13.5 points and 9.5 rebounds as a junior to help Lake Travis reach its first-ever Class 6A regional final. This year, he's the centerpiece of Lake Travis's squad, developing an outside shot in addition to his post skills.
Jones said about Thorpe:
"DJ already has impressive size and a college frame today. His high basketball IQ, toughness and willingness to mix it up excites our staff. His back to the basket skillset along with the ability to step out and shoot makes him a weapon."
Bossi had this to say about Thorpe in September:
"Thorpe has the tools to be (a reliable low post scorer) in Berkeley. He can make the jump shot from the free throw line area, he's got tremendous feel in the low post and he's a sneaky athlete with a body to build on. Having watched him develop over the past couple of years I'm betting on him ending up a productive Pac-12 player."
More on Thorpe from TexasHoops
Finally, Smith is the longest tenured of Cal's commits, picking the Bears back on April 24th over 16 other offers. Nicknamed C4, due to his name and his explosiveness, Smith is a 6'4" wing player who brings outside shooting and a springiness in attacking the basket.
Smith played some AAU ball alongside Jacobi Gordon and Darius McNeill for assistant coach Chris Walker, and currently attends Wheeler High School, the alma mater of Cal standouts Jaylen Brown and Shareef Abdur-Rahim. He led all prospects at the Pangos All-American camp in 3-point shooting over the summer, with a 7-11 performance from behind the arc.
Jones had this to say about Smith:
"Charles is an elite-level athlete who has tremendous range from anywhere on the court. He's an extremely hard worker, and I'm looking forward to him showcasing highlight-reel plays that will bring our fans in Haas to their feet."
At the moment, Cal doesn't have anyone set to leave after this season, so the three freshmen will join the current Cal team next summer