Christian Behrens commits to California

6-8 forward Christian Behrens from Tacoma, Washington, has committed to play for Mike Montgomery’s squad next season. Behrens joins David Kravish and De’End Parker as Cal commits this year, with one scholarship on the table.

Behrens was also receiving interest from Gonzaga and Washington while getting scholarship offers from Eastern Washington, Portland State, and Seattle. He tore his ACL during his junior season and averaged 21.8 points per game this season for Tahoma high school. He can play either forward slot and is somewhere between 190 and 215 pounds.

Behrens is rail thin forward who has some guard skills at his disposal. He’s an athlete with bounce that can run the floor well and get out on the break well. He has a solid mid range game that can make him a threat from outside the paint, which is a useful talent for a big guy. But for every tool he has, there’s a weakness he needs to work on to become a successful college player. He needs to pack on weight, or he’ll get abused either guarding the low post or trying to get interior position. His back to the basket game is very raw and will need work. But he definitely has some upside. If he can add strength, improve his footwork, and get better at scoring in traffic, the Bears might have themselves a ballplayer. He has all the skills, it’ll just take some development for him to reach his potential.

I’ll probably look at his highlight tape pretty soon, but for now let’s welcome Christian to the Bears. He’s an intriguing project that we should look for when he’s a junior or a senior. Welcome Christian!