Cal officially inks Christian Behrens

BERKELEY -- Christian Behrens, a 6-foot-8 forward from Tahoma High School in Washington, has signed a National Letter of Intent with California, Golden Bear head coach Mike Montgomery announced Wednesday. Behrens joins fellow forward David Kravish as the two new Bears joining the team this fall.

"I feel really fortunate to have Christian join the program," Montgomery said. "He has the versatility to play more than one position, and he gives us an active 6-8 player that has both perimeter and inside skills. I watched him develop for a number of years. He seems like a perfect fit for our needs, and he should be a great addition to our program. He's a true student-athlete."

As a sophomore, Behrens averaged 20 points per game, and later posted 22.4 ppg and 12.8 rpg as a junior. He scored at least 21 points in the first seven games of 2011, setting career highs in both points (32) and rebounds (18) in a game on Jan. 29.

"I'm really excited to be a part of the Cal basketball team," Behrens said. "I'm ready to get down there and start contributing. I really liked how family-oriented the team was, and I really like how hard they play. I was really impressed with how well they did this year, despite battling all the injuries and how it was supposed to be a `down' year. It's going to be a great honor to play for Coach Montgomery, and I really liked the rest of the coaching staff, as well."

Behrens was named to the All-South Puget Sound League 4A First Team. He also participated in the Northwest Shootout (annual game between the top high school seniors from Oregon and Washington) and the Washington state all-star game.