Men's Basketball Adds G Amier Ali, Loses TT Carr For Upcoming Season
The portal giveth, the portal taketh away
Mississippi State Guard Amier Ali will be coming to Berkeley for the upcoming school year. The former 4-star recruit started out at Arizona State for his freshman season before transferring to Mississippi State last year. Ali has two years of eligibility remaining.
The 6’ 8” Ali played in 32 games for Arizona State, averaging 5.5 points and 3.1 rebounds over 19 minutes per game. Last year, Ali appeared in only 12 games for Mississippi State, averaging 3.2 points and 1.7 rebounds in less than 8 minutes per game. Ali’s shooting percentages have room for improvement, shooting 34% from the field last year, 31% from deep, and 57% from the free throw line. Like Justin Pippen last year, Ali’s profile is of a former high-ranked recruit who is looking for a spot to develop his skills and be coached to his full potential.
Next year’s backcourt is getting crowded, with incoming transfers Ali, Nojus Indrusaitis, Michael Cooper and Jordan Ross joining returner Jovani Ruff. On March 28th, TT Carr indicated he would be returning to Berkeley next year. Last week, Carr entered the portal. The 6’ 1” Mill Valley native showed exceptional athleticism and was a pass-first floor leader. With Ross and Cooper logging the most minutes at the point position of the incoming players, the Bears could use one more ball handler for depth.
As of right now Cal has twelve players for next year;
PG - Michael Cooper, Jordan Ross
G/F - Amier Ali, Nojus Indrusaitis, Jovani Ruff, Dionycius Bakare
F - Jake Wilkins, Sammie Yeanay
F/C - Nicolas Mitrovic, DK Dhut, Montas Kocanas, Lee Dort
Rosters can have up to fifteen players total, counting both scholarship and walk-on players. Look for Cal to add one more backcourt player, one more wing player, and hold one spot for a walk-on.
Just a puzzling decision by Carr.