Recruiting News Update, July 31st

Plenty of recruiting news has gone down in the last couple of days and weeks, including several commitments on recruits that Cal was interested in, and a transfer making his choice. Here’s an update of what’s gone down:

-Dominic Artis, a 4 star point guard from the Bay Area, committed to UCLA and the Bruins. Cal was allegedly the second choice.

-Brandon Ashley has cut his list down to 7 schools, none of them which have the mascot of the Golden Bears. Pac-12 schools Oregon and Arizona are still in the mix.

-To keep the bad news coming, Ricardo Gathers, one of the top forward prospects that Montgomery was pursuing, has opted to go to St. John’s. Cal and LSU were considered to be the favorites at one point, but Steve Lavin worked his magic and got his commitment.

-If all the bad news has gotten you down, at least look up at the prospect that Ricky Kreklow, a Missouri transfer, is headed to Cal. He’ll be eligible in 2012-2013 and play the shooting guard and small forward slot for the Bears.

-A really interesting story about the Bay Area schools and their failure to retain local talent can be found in the New York Times here. It explains that many leave the area because they feel the schools don’t get them enough national exposure and how academics don’t really play a part in their decision. A really interesting read, especially for those shouting FIRE MONTGOMERY at the top of your lungs for his failures to nab local recruits.

-Landen Lucas has his top 7, and the former Findlay Prep center has Cal included in it. Arizona, Oregon, and Stanford are the other Pac-12 teams in his final group. He also announced he was transferring to a high school back in Oregon, closer to home for him.

-Jabari Bird, a 2013 five star recruit, has Cal in his early favorites, alongside Washington and Arizona. It’s far too early to get excited for the kid coming, but it’s good to see positive news coming from a big-time Bay Area product.

-The coaching staff’s interest in Ben Carter is heating up.

Hopefully the coming weeks provide some better news in the recruiting trails. In the mean time, Go Bears!