If not for a hand injury, Rodney Brown would have been one of the hottest names on the recruiting trail in recent months. Instead, he was sidelined for one of the most important times of the year for a rising junior prospect. The wave of offers that looked like it would be awaiting Brown by the time his senior season rolled around has not happened yet, but alls well that ends well.

The 6-foot-6 guard committed to Cal two weeks ago, and if all goes according to plan he will be the cornerstone for the future of the team. Though his offer list didn't expand like it was expected to, Brown doesn't feel like he settled in any way with his decision.

Had more schools decided to jump into the mix this summer, Cal likely still would have been where he ended up. The Golden Bears eventually were the only team to host the Rancho Christian (Temecula, California) standout guard on an official visit.

He made the trek to Berkeley in the middle of the spring.

Plus, he found everything he was looking for in the school and basketball program. That ultimately made the difference in his decision to commit this summer over delaying the process any longer.

“Honestly, I would say a big thing was the schooling,” he said. “I know the ball stops bouncing, so I wanted to go somewhere that had a great education. Also, it just felt like home. So, that was big to me.”

Mark Fox, Andrew Francis and the Cal coaching staff jumped into the fray with Brown early in the process and never wavered in their pursuit of him. As some schools continued to look at their options, Cal stayed zeroed in on landing the versatile recruit.