Cal basketball needs wings. Who have they contacted in the transfer portal?

Mark Madsen will need to find top wing talent to keep the Bears on the upward path.

Credit: Rob Hwang.

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We discussed point guards the Cal men’s basketball team contacted last week. Moving onto the wings!

Cal is starting over from scratch on the perimeter. Jalen Celestine, Rodney Brown Jr. and Devin Askew is in the portal. Keonte Kennedy is out of eligibility. Jaylon Tyson is testing the draft waters.

Here’s a look at some of the wing talents the Bears have been in contact with:

UC San Diego guard Bryce Pope is highly sought after, with a list that includes Texas, NC State, Creighton, Florida State, Louisville, Nebraska, UCLA, USC, Utah, Northwestern, Arkansas, LSU, Xavier, Seton Hall, Maryland, Colorado, Cal, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame and Ole Miss. The 1st Team Big West wing averaged 18.3 points per game and 3.9 rebounds this season.

Colorado guard J’Vonne Hadley has been hearing from Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Depaul, Utah, UCLA, BYU, Iowa State, Texas A&M, Grand Canyon, Arkansas, Cal, Oregon State, Florida and Texas Tech. Hadley averaged 11.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game this season.

Vanderbilt guard Tyrin Lawrence has not announced any teams on his list, but Lawrence had Cal on his short-list when he first committed to the Commodores years ago. There are also additional connections with Cal associate coach Adam Mazarei having been previously on the Vanderbilt staff before Mark Madsen brought him to Berkeley as his lead assistant. Lawrence averaged 13.8 points and 5.1 rebounds with the Commodores last season.

JUCO prospect Jeff Nwankwo has received a recent offer from Cal, as well as Colorado, Arkansas, Ole Miss, LSU, Arizona State. Nwankwo has been ranked as the 7th best JUCO prospect by JUCO Recruiting. A member of the Cowley College Tigers, he was MVP of the Jayhawk Conference as well as 1st Team All-KJCCC.

Combo guard Deuce Turner averaged 15.5 points per game at San Diego last year. Ole Miss, California, Arizona State, FIU, Richmond, Temple, Seton Hall, UC Santa Barbara are among the programs that have reached out.

St. Louis transfer guard Sincere Parker averaged 16 points per game while shooting 43% from three. Programs he’s heard from include Ole Miss, Georgia, Arizona State, DePaul, Oregon, Cal, Missouri and Illinois.

Idaho State guard Maleek Arington averaged 11.8 points and 4.8 assists per game this season. Cal, Utah State, Rhode Island, Washington State, Wyoming and UNLV have all been in touch.

Hampton forward Jerry Deng averaged 10.1 points on 39.1% three point shooting. Seton Hall, Florida State, Cal, George Washington, George Mason, St. Joseph’s, FAU, Providence, Georgia Tech, Florida and SMU have all been in touch.

Also, two omissions from our earlier post on point guards.

ASU point Frankie Collins has also been contacted by Cal. Collins averaged 13.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.2 assists this season. Arkansas, Tennessee, Ole Miss, BYU, Virginia Tech, TCU, Florida, San Diego State, UNLV, Nevada, Cal, Stanford, and Washington have all reached out.

UIC grad transfer Toby Okani has declared for the NBA draft, but if it doesn’t work out he is also looking into the portal. The 6-8 wing averaged 11.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, and 1.5 steals per game. Xavier, Clemson, UCLA, Arkansas, Florida State, BYU, Arizona State, California, Utah State and Wisconsin have all been in contact.