The news has been confirmed by Viet Nguyen of Bear Insider, though no reason or destination has been announced.
Sherbert averaged 20 minutes and 5 points/game, and was one of the most outwardly cheerful athletes I've ever followed. Watching the team (and all of the videos produced) you certainly got the sense that she was a model teammate. Hopefully her decision to transfer works out for her. As always CGB extends her the best of luck at her new school and thanks her for her years as a Golden Bear. Alas, no longer will shouts of 'Rainbow Sherbert' be heard at Haas.
After the jump a quick look at what this transfer means for next year along with some other team news.
Right off the bat it means more responsibility and playing time for Afure Jemerigbe. Afure had some of her best games as a Bear and brings a three point shooting ability not too dissimilar from what Sherbert had. I've generally been impressed with her defending, and she's always had a knack for getting into the lane. If she can start finishing I could see a big step forward next year.The rest of Sherbert's minutes will probably to go Eliza Pierre or Mikayla Lyles as one of the two will join Brittany Boyd and Layshia Clarendon in a three guard alignment.
The biggest impact might be in terms of depth. Without Sherbert, Cal will be left with 'just' 10 players on the roster and at this point I don't think the coaching staff plans on adding any players in this recruiting cycle. Perhaps Sherbert's transfer will change that strategy. Cal currently has enough depth on the roster, particularly if Avigiel Cohen is ready to play ~10 minutes a game if necessary . . . assuming good health.
Ahh, but can we really assume good health? The Bears were extremely fortunate last year not to lose a single player to a major injury. UCLA, USC, Stanford and WSU (and probably other Pac-12 programs) all lost one or more players for the year. If the same thing happens the Bears could find themselves perilously thin. It's a shame Erika Johnson didn't stick around, because she'd probably be in line for 20 minutes/game as Sherbert's replacement.
As of right now Cal should be able to absorb Sherbert's departure without missing a beat. Hopefully this is the only bad news of the off-season.
Assistant Coach Daron Park head to USC
Like many assistant coaches, Park is well traveled and was only at Cal for one year. I really have zero insight what kind of impact (if any) his departure has on the Bears - or on the Trojans, for that matter. Mostly it's just a matter of trusting Lindsay Gottlieb to hire a capable replacement. As I understand it, coach Park worked with the post players primarily, so in that regard he must have done well because Cal's post players were uniformly excellent last year. It's also true that Lindsay Gottlieb was an excellent bigs coach when she was an assistant, so I'm not too worried.
If he's remembered for nothing else, Coach Park's time at Berkeley will forever be immortalized in one video.