ANG Newspapers: Cal is drawing attention with strong recruiting class

Bears get third verbal commitment for'06

By Jeff Faraudo, STAFF WRITER 

With a third commitment from a high-level prospect — and a fourth possibly around the corner — Cal's basketball team is assembling a powerhouse recruiting class.  Forward Ryan Anderson, who led Oak Ridge High of El Dorado Hills to the Division II state title last year, gave coach Ben Braun a verbal commitment Tuesday, joining center Taylor Harrison and wing Patrick Christopher as high school seniors headed to Cal in the fall of 2006.  "With the three players the Golden Bears have now, they're safely going to be a national top-15 or better recruiting class," said Bob Gibbons, veteran recruiting expert of North Carolina-based All-Star Sports.  Jerome Randle, a 5-foot-9 point guard from Chicago, is scheduled to make a Berkeley campus visit this weekend. Randle, who led Hales Franciscan to a pair of small-school Illinois state titles, also is considering Tulsa.  "If they get Randle, they could be a top-10 class," Gibbons said.

The Bears also are pursuing Nikola Knezevic, a 6-2 point guard and junior national team member from Serbia-Montenegro. A Serbian basketball Web site reported Knezevic is expected to choose Cal over signing with a professional team in his homeland.  Anderson, at 6-9, 245 pounds, is an inside-outside scorer who averaged 17.1 points and 9.1 rebounds last season. He picked Cal over USC and Pacific and is a nice complement to Harrison, who is primarily an inside player. "Getting two quality big guys certainly speaks volumes for California," Gibbons said. "That's the most difficult recruiting objective to accomplish."  "I think all the players they've recruited are awesome," Anderson said of the recruiting class he joined. "We pretty much have all the positions covered."  Christopher, who will play his senior season at Dominguez High in Compton, recommitted to Cal last week after taking the summer to consider other suitors, including Texas and Kentucky.  "He's a versatile guard and an excellent scorer," said Gibbons, who rates Christopher as the nation's No.44 overall prospect. "He could emerge as the No.1 senior in the Los Angeles area this year."  Randle led his Ferrari Youth Basketball Club to the 17-and-under national AAU title at Orlando, Fla., in late July. He scored 44 points in one tournament game. "He is really quick and creative," Gibbons said.  Knezevic, 19, gave a promising demonstration of his talents at the adidas Superstar Camp in suburban Atlanta this summer.  "I thought he was really good," said Gibbons, who watched Knezevic play. "He's really skilled, and he can shoot it. It looks like he has awesome potential."  Commitments do not become binding until the letter-of-intent signing period, which begins Nov.9.