Cal has contacted Eastern Kentucky SR G Jomaru Brown, and is the only P5 school in his final 7...the 6'2" Brown was the leading scorer and averaged 12.2 ppg on 38% shooting for an underwhelming 13-18 EKU in 20 mpg in the ASUN Conf.
Sounds pretty on-brand for Fox and the current Cal program, unfortunately...lose the best player on the roster to the portal (the most likely outcome), and replace him with a role player from a lower level conference (the former Atlantic Sun) who may or may not be overmatched v P12 competition, at least on paper. He has yet to set up an official visit to Cal, but has Coastal Carolina and Milwaukee in the queue.
More troubling, though unsurprising, is you are not seeing Cal linked to ANY big names in the transfer portal. Working the portal is essential nowadays, and Fox/Cal are just a complete non-factor with impact players. In bigger minutes, Brown did have a solid SO year, though his JR year was a waste and his mpg were down in '21. If they landed him AND another experienced transfer, then maybe there are some pieces...but we need a big, as Fox's aversion to trusting FR means the talented but raw ND Okafor may not make a huge impact, and Thorpe wasn't much of a factor before missing the entire season to injury.
Offseason improvement from Jalen/Sam/Kuany remains tantamount.
Kelly was the rock for this Cal team. Skilled player who got better every year. I think by declaring for the NBA, he will also be visible to overseas pro leagues. I think there are plenty of teams who will like his scoring and rebounding, and perhaps he'll be able to extend his range playing overseas.
By putting his name in the portal, he can also see what interest he has from other schools, so he will have a choice between pro and transfer options. He also can return to Cal of course.
Really liked watching Kelly improve and become the team leader. Good luck to him.
He shouldve transferred a year earlier, but better late than never. Hope he lands with a quality team and gets some exposure.
https://twitter.com/ThePortalReport/status/1515044100411699202
Cal has contacted Eastern Kentucky SR G Jomaru Brown, and is the only P5 school in his final 7...the 6'2" Brown was the leading scorer and averaged 12.2 ppg on 38% shooting for an underwhelming 13-18 EKU in 20 mpg in the ASUN Conf.
Sounds pretty on-brand for Fox and the current Cal program, unfortunately...lose the best player on the roster to the portal (the most likely outcome), and replace him with a role player from a lower level conference (the former Atlantic Sun) who may or may not be overmatched v P12 competition, at least on paper. He has yet to set up an official visit to Cal, but has Coastal Carolina and Milwaukee in the queue.
More troubling, though unsurprising, is you are not seeing Cal linked to ANY big names in the transfer portal. Working the portal is essential nowadays, and Fox/Cal are just a complete non-factor with impact players. In bigger minutes, Brown did have a solid SO year, though his JR year was a waste and his mpg were down in '21. If they landed him AND another experienced transfer, then maybe there are some pieces...but we need a big, as Fox's aversion to trusting FR means the talented but raw ND Okafor may not make a huge impact, and Thorpe wasn't much of a factor before missing the entire season to injury.
Offseason improvement from Jalen/Sam/Kuany remains tantamount.
Go Bears!
Good for him, we don't deserve him.
Kelly was the rock for this Cal team. Skilled player who got better every year. I think by declaring for the NBA, he will also be visible to overseas pro leagues. I think there are plenty of teams who will like his scoring and rebounding, and perhaps he'll be able to extend his range playing overseas.
By putting his name in the portal, he can also see what interest he has from other schools, so he will have a choice between pro and transfer options. He also can return to Cal of course.
Really liked watching Kelly improve and become the team leader. Good luck to him.