Touted freshmen look to make splash
Although Oakland native Ivan Rabb’s decision to come to Cal was no surprise, Jaylen Brown said his decision to join Rabb was called “the worst decision of your life” on social media.
Such criticism didn’t faze Brown, he said. He doesn’t spend a lot of time on social media anyway.
The two five-star basketball recruits are banging away with the other Bears on the practice court this week, getting ready for a four-game trip to Australia beginning Thursday.
Rabb drew cheers from his teammates Thursday when he grabbed an offensive rebound and dunked with both hands. Brown showed he can drive to the basket and shoot threes with confidence. While others rested and drank water during breaks, he worked on his three-pointer.
“Where I’m from, we didn’t really have water breaks,” Brown told reporters of playing in the Atlanta area. “Maybe the coaches are being a little nice to us because the cameras are out here.”
Already a strong driver, Brown wants to be just as good a perimeter shooter: “I’m going to put in as much effort as I can on it because it takes 20,000 hours plus to be great. I’m going to put in 30,000.”
Although Brown and Rabb developed a friendship over the course of several basketball camps, Brown said Rabb’s decision to attend Cal over Arizona didn’t affect his choice at all. He had narrowed his options to Cal, Kentucky, Michigan and North Carolina.
Both players had developed close relationships with Cal head coach Cuonzo Martin, who in just his second season has burnished his reputation as a master recruiter.
Thanks to the addition of Rabb, Brown and freshman guard Roman Davis and the decision of All-Pac-12 point guard Tyrone Wallace not to turn pro — sticking around with fellow starters Jordan Mathews and Jabari Bird — expectations for the Bears are huge.
Two very early rankings, by ESPN and USA Today, listed them 12th in the nation, and CBS Sports pegged them 14th. That’s heady stuff for a team that went 18-15 overall and 7-11 in the Pac-12 last season.
“I don’t get consumed with somebody’s rankings,” Martin said. “I don’t know if that really matters. Those are preseason polls. I think those things are great for our fans. But for our basketball team, it’s one day at a time.”
Brown called it “an honor to be ranked” but said, “I never paid any attention to rankings.”
Rabb said he’s been dealing with high expectations since he entered Oakland’s Bishop O’Dowd High School. “It’s something I thrive on,” he said.
The 6-foot-11 Rabb said he has put on 12 pounds over the summer and weighs 219. That’s quite a bit lighter than two of the players he’s currently trying to outmuscle in the post: 7-1, 256-pound Kingsley Okoroh and 7-foot, 260-pound Kameron Rooks.
But he’ll have to guard everybody in Cal’s switching defensive schemes, even 5-9 backup point guard Brandon Chauca. “That’s a big adjustment for him,” Martin said.
Brown’s versatility and aggressiveness should make him a load to handle for opponents. “You’re talking about a guy who’s almost 6-8, 230 pounds, and he can guard all five positions,’” Martin said.
“The advantage that we have is: Who defends him ?If you have a bigger guy on him, as quick as he is in transition, it’s tough to defend him. If you have a smaller guy on him, he’s strong enough to make plays.”
For Bears fans who assume Brown is there for only one season before entering the NBA draft, he is noncommittal, but he said his family has a strong commitment to education. A couple of his relatives have doctorates and “made it known to us that education was important,” he said. “I take that very seriously. That’s basically who I am.”
It’s also important to Davis, a late signee from Los Angeles. “This was always one of my dream schools,” he said. Among the schools he considered, he said, were Harvard, Brown and Yale.
“If you have a bigger guy on him, as quick as he is in transition, it’s tough to defend him. If you have a smaller guy on him, he’s strong enough to make plays.” Cuonzo Martin, Cal basketball coach, on freshman forward Jaylen Brown