Golden Recruiting Wire: Cal in Jabari Brown and Kyle Wiltjer's Top 7

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August 12, 2010 | August 5, 2010 | July 28, 2010 | July 22, 2010 | July 15, 2010 | July 8, 2010

Montgomery's Crew

• Jabari Brown, SG 6-3/205 Oakland (Oakland, CA) has his top 7 programs. In no particular order, they are: Washington, UConn, Georgia Tech, Oregon, DePaul, St. John’s and Cal [1]. His current plan is to unofficially visit Berkeley in the future. Washington may be the leader w/ an in-home visit on September 9th [2] and an official visit on Saturday September 18 [3].
  
  Brown has good things to say about Steve Lavin, Head Coach of St. Johns -
  
  

  "I still like St. John's, still like Lavin," said Brown, a 6-foot-5 wing who recently cut his list to seven schools.

  "He's a guy who's coached at the top level before, at UCLA. He has a pretty open style and he has gotten a few guys to the league."

• Kyle Wiltjer, PF 6-9/225 Jesuit (Portland, OR) released his top 7 of Gonzaga, California, Kentucky, Kansas, Texas, Georgia Tech, and Wake Forest [4]. Wiltjer talked about his choices [5]. Kentucky fans are giving up on Wiltjer and Brown [6].
  
  Gonzaga fans want to pair Wiltjer w/ Gary Bell Jr. [7]. Slipper Still Fits, Gonzaga's SBNation blog, analyzed the Bulldogs' chances and how Wiltjer would fit into Mark Few's system [8]. Scouting notes [9] compares Wiltjer to Mike Dunleavy Jr.

He [Wiltjer] has such a veteran presence on the floor because he makes the game easy for himself. He's just a smart guy with such a great skill set; he shoots the three, play down low in the post. He's not someone who's trying to become the best perimeter player or the best post player. He's got a really strong grounding in the fact that he has become the best player he possibly can which means on both ends of the floor. One of the things he really focused on this summer on the AAU circuit was becoming a better post player so he just played down low in the post whereas he has a lot of strengths on the perimeter. He's very complete from the skill set perspective. He gets a lot done, he rebounds well, he's getting better defensively and he's another one (like Khem [Birch, PF 6-8/180 Winchendon (Winchendon, MA)]). He's just a very, very special player with a great skill set. [10]

• Brandon Ashley, PF 6-8/225 Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, CA) {2012} notes [11].

  Although the outside shot has yet to materialize, comparisons to former Mr. Basketball State Player of the Year Tayshaun Prince are legit. Brandon has a similar wingspan that makes him very tough to deal with when he's defending shorter forwards. He was the top honoree from a Dragon team that reached the CIF Division III final while averaging 13 points and 13 rebounds per game. Ashley already has been named the State Sophomore of the Year and is one of the highest-ranked sophomore college prospects in the nation.

Tedford & Company

• Ray Drew, DE Thomas County Central (Thomasville, GA) named to Georgia Class AAAA All-State team [12]. Drew is most likely a National Signing Day decision as he is unwilling to rule out any offers yet. He is also not pledging early so college coaches will keep on coming to his practices and see his teammates [13]. Mark Richt of Georgia, Paul Johnson of Georgia Tech, Jimbo Fisher of Florida State, Dabo Sweeney of Clemson and Nick Saban of Alabama have already seen Drew in person. Coaches from Southern Cal, UCLA and Notre Dame have also visited twice during Drew's spring practice [14]. Auburn, Georgia Tech, UCLA may lead for Drew [15][$16][$17].
  
  Atlanta Journal-Constitution selected Drew among its Super 11 Prep Stars [18]. Bill Shaver, Drew's coach, projects Drew to have the same type of explosion & speed in college after putting on more than 30lbs of muscle [19].

  "I want to see LSU and I want to see UCLA," Drew said. "I want to make all five official visits. With some closer schools that I have seen a few times I may not waste an official visit. I want to make a decision around signing day. I want to soak in everything and I am looking at a number of things. I want to be successful in life after football."

  Drew has taken unofficial visits to Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida, USF, FSU, South Carolina, Clemson, Alabama, Auburn and Tennessee. He has relatives in South Florida, so Miami could be a team in the mix as well [20].

• Kasen Williams, WR Skyline (Sammamish, WA) has been selected as an All-American by SuperPrep Magazine [21]. Washington may be the leader. Williams and Austin Seferian-Jenkins (Washington pledge) both attended the Huskies' practice [22]. Florida doesn't stand much of a chance if Williams doesn't choose to visit before August 27th [23].

  While speaking with Sammamish, Wash., Skyline wide receiver Kasen Williams at the 2010 Gridiron Kings tournament, he said that even though Florida is thousands of miles away, he’s still very interested in coming to Gainesville for a visit.

  He’s had Florida on his list of top schools for a while and said that he’s looking to narrow his list down to five schools before his high school season begins. Florida is expected to be one of those schools. However, Florida’s chances seem slim of landing him if he never makes it to town and as of now, he’s unsure if he’ll have the chance to visit.

  Williams has strong ties to Washington, where his parents went to school, and the word is that the Huskies will be hard to beat [24].

• (From left) Brendon Bigelow, RB, Tee Shepard, CB Central East (Fresno, CA) {2012} and their Central East Grizzlies are looking to make a run in the upcoming Tri-River Athletic Conference Season [25].

  It’s not exactly a secret a lot of Central’s success will ride on their superstar running back Brendon Bigelow and quarterback Michael Baker.

  Bigelow, who was named one of the MaxPrep Top 100 senior players and verballed to Washington, brings an explosiveness to the backfield that’s capable of breaking a huge gain at any moment. In 2009, he gained exactly 1,000 rushing yards on a 11.5-yard average. Serving as the team’s powerback, [Robert] Johnson gives Central the extra-punch to pick up short yardage. The Grizzlies also have an up-and-coming running back in Michael Grimes.

  "What Brendon has done is challege those other two kids to push him hard for playing time and those kids are working so hard, they’re pushing Brendon," Central coach Casey Quinn said.

  ...

  Central’s secondary will be led by arguably the best set of corners in the Valley in junior-transfer Tee Shepard and [Ernest] Carter.

• Maurice Harris, WR Northern Guilford (Greensboro, NC) is in week two of the Nighthawks' training camp. He is one of numerous skill positions returning for Northern Guilford to put some points on the scoreboard [26].

• Nathan Broussard, DE/LB Plano West (Plano, TX) doing 2-a-days practice for his Wolves to get ready for the season [27].

• Jon Lewis, DE Klein Oak (Spring, TX) and the Panthers are looking to build on top of their strong finish in 2009 into 2010 [28]. Their defense should be formidable with Lewis and Nathan Hughes (Oklahoma pledge) upfront.

• Danny Shelton, DT Auburn (Auburn, WA), Kasen Williams, WR named to Ron Siegel's 2010 Preseason Senior All-Washington State Team [29].

• James Sample, S, Viliam Moala, DT Grant (Sacramento, CA), Devon Blackmon, ATH Summit (Fontana, CA) named to SuperPrep Preseason All-American Team with Kasen Williams [30][31].

• Danny Shelton, DT interviewed [32]. He is looking to win the Washington State Champion this year. Washington, Oregon, UCLA, Cal are in the leader group for Shelton.

• Colt Lyerla, ATH Hillsboro (Hillsboro, NC) and his Spartans are moving up a class. The former Oregon Class 5A Hillsboro will be playing in the 6A Pacific Conference this year [33].

• Antoine Arnold, WR Chaparral (Temecula, CA) interviewed by local KCAL/CBS2 [34]. He looks up to his mother and Randy Moss. Arnold is setting up an official visit to Washington, joining Oregon and Cal in his leader group [$35].

• Daniel Lasco, RB The Woodlands (The Woodlands, TX) will be the focus of the Highlanders' offense this year [36]. He rushed for 1,572 yards and 17 touchdowns last season as the Highlanders are looking to repeat their undefeated district championship play and their 11-1 record [37].

• Marqise Lee, ATH Serra (Gardena, CA) has no favorite. Oregon has Lee as their top target [38].

• Bryce Treggs, WR St John Bosco (Bellflower, CA) {2012}, Todd Barr, DT Lakewood (Lakewood, CA), Jason Gibson, OLB Serra (Gardena, CA), Marqise Lee, ATH named to ESPN RISE Cal-Hi Sports 2010 Preseason All-Southern Section South Bay/Long Beach Football Team [39].

• Cyrus Hobbi, OG Saguaro (Scottsdale, AZ) and the Sabrecats are expected to capture the Arizona Class 4A-I Desert Sky Championship [40]. He's the emotional leader of the team [41].

• Todd Barr, DT interviewed by local KCAL/CBS2 [42]. His main sport was basketball before football. He's looking to make a legacy at Lakewood w/ his quickness and explosiveness. Education and a strong relationship w/ the coach as a role model will be his deciding factors.

• Shaq Thompson, ATH Grant (Sacramento, CA) {2012} is playing running back and cornerback this year to help Grant Pacers [43].

• James Sample, S, Shaq Thompson, ATH, Viliam Moala, DT feel slighted by CalPreps.com's predication in its opening loss to Folsom Bulldogs [1]. The Grant Pacers are going to play with a chip on their shoulders on August 27th. Moala gets everyone's respect on the line [44].

  The defense starts with a monster in the middle in 6-foot-3, 340-pound Vei Moala. The nose tackle, who also plays guard on offense, is receiving scholarship offers from all over the country, including defending national champion Alabama. Florida, USC and most of the Pac-10 also covet the player who requires a double-or-triple team on defense.

  "He is as dominating, tough and powerful as you will ever see," Cal-Hi Sports Executive Editor Mark Tennis said. "He was our State Junior of the Year, which is pretty rare for a lineman."

• Lavonte Barnett, DE Paraclete (Lancaster, CA) is planning to officially visit Berkeley [45]. Colorado State Rams may be Barnett's other leader.

• Ray Drew, DE, Devon Blackmon, ATH are both still in the Rivals100 [46]. Drew dropped from #15 to #18 while Blackmon moved up from #41 to #20.

  "Drew was really limited at Top Gun so we decided not to move him either way, he just slipped a bit because others moved up," [Mike] Farrell [Rivals.com analyst] said. "He's very gifted physically and when he was healthy he was hard to handle but you could tell he was hampered by injury."

  ...

  "He [Blackmon] played both ways at Gridiron Kings and was exceptional," Farrell said. "As a wide out he was so quick and very good after the catch and as a corner he was physical and closed fast. The issue is that he plays quarterback in high school so he's a projection, but he's very athletic."

• Miles Shuler, ATH Long Branch (Long Branch, NJ) names Rutgers, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Fordham, the University of California, Stanford and Michigan as leaders. Shuler is looking forward to become more of a playmaker for his team. In the future, he wants to keep his options open by working toward a medical degree and getting a shot at the NFL [47].

• George Atkinson III, ATH Granada (Livermore, CA) is planning to officially visit South Bend during the Notre Dame Michigan game. The confidence in Brian Kelly's program and education from Notre Dame stand out the most to Atkinson.

  Despite Atkinson’s obvious attraction to Notre Dame, he’s far from making a decision.  As of right now he plans to announce at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

  "I am pretty open right now," said the talented Californian.  "I like Oregon, Alabama, Miami, USC and Notre Dame, of course.  That’s my top but I am also pretty open to other schools like California, Washington, schools like that."

  The Irish have yet to earn the verbal commitment of a wide receiver in this class and clearly would like to sign at least one.  Despite this, though currently being recruited as both a running back and a wide receiver by other programs, Notre Dame has simply said that they will decide where to play him once they get him on campus [48].

  Will the twins, both running backs and defensive backs with electric speed, be a package deal?

  "It’s a big possibility," George said. "Our dad (former Oakland Raiders defensive back George Atkinson) wants us to. It would a big help just competing (together) again and telling each other what we have to work on, and stuff like that [49]."

• Aaron Green, RB James Madison (San Antonio, TX), Brendon Bigelow, RB Central East (Fresno, CA), Brandon Wright, RB/DB Palo Verdes (Las Vegas, NV), Amir Carlisle, RB The King's Academy (San Jose, CA) selected by MaxPreps among the Top 25 Tailbacks in the nation [50].

• Aaron Green, RB may be headed to Nebraska to join his brother Andrew [51]. Daniel Lasco is coming to Cal, James Wilder Jr. pledged Florida State, and Texas got Malcolm Brown. Cornhuskers fans should be very happy.

• Brandon Wright, RB/DB notes [52].

  After transferring from Centennial before his junior year, Wright emerged as the leading rusher for the Panthers with 1,181 yards and 16 touchdowns. Wright finished fourth in the 100 meters at the 4A state track and field meet in the spring and Cal is the clear leader for his signature over offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Colorado State, Illinois, New Mexico State, San Diego State, UNLV and Utah.

• Viliami Moala, DT, Todd Barr, DT, Cyrus Hobbi, OG, Kasen Williams, WR, Colt Lyerla, ATH, Brennan Scarlett, DE/TE Central Catholic (Portland, OR), Brandon Wright, RB/DB, Lake Koa Ka'ai, DE Kamehameha (Honolulu, HI) are all top 5 recruits in the West States according to Scout.com [53].

• Steve Dillon, DE Palmdale (Palmdale, CA) also plays TE [54].

• Jermichael Selders, RB Cypress Creek (Houston, TX) has top 3 of West Virginia, Arkansas & Baylor [55]. Cal eliminated.

• Charles Jackson, DB Klein Collins (Spring, TX) will pledge this week with Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Florida & possibly one other program [56]. Cal eliminated.

People's Park Stories

• DeAnthony Thomas, ATH Crenshaw (Los Angeles, CA) has UCLA and Washington as his leaders instead of USC [57].

• George Farmer, WR Serra (Gardena, CA) may be visiting Berkeley [58].

• Scout.com released its California preseason rankings of recruits [59]. Viliami Moala is a five-star recruit.