Cal basketball recruiting needs: Ivan Rabb, Tyler Dorsey or someone else?

Nick Kranz: If it were a choice between an equally talented point guard and an equally talented post player, I'd probably pick the point guard. I saw the transformation Cal WBB made when they went from having no true point guards to having an elite point guard in Brittany Boyd - WNIT one and done to Final Four in two years. I am fully on board with the belief that going from substandard to elite point guard play is a huge, huge deal. Having said that, I also err on the side of talent, and Ivan Rabb (shameless plug: check out our scouting report on Rabb) is evidently the most talented recruit to seriously consider Cal since . . . Leon Powe? I dunno, a long time. And Cal is just as desperate for an interior upgrade. Adding a player like that would obviously lessen the attention other players on the floor get, so that we should hypothetically be able to run a perfectly decent set without a brilliant true point guard.

boomtho: I'd lean towards the PG. Based on my (still somewhat) limited understanding of Cuonzo's offense, it seems like having a dynamic guard that can attack, score, and create off the dribble is more valuable than a back to the basket scorer. That being said, I certainly would love, love, LOVE if Rabb decides he wants to play his college ball at Cal (shameless plug #2: check out how his Arizona visit went!). Even this year, we've seen how reasonably talented but raw centers have impact games (the Kingslayer for us, Robert Upshaw, Jacobsen for ASU). That kind of instant impact is somewhat harder for a guard, especially a PG, to have.

Rob Hwang: Is it too much to ask for both? But If I had to choose it would be an All-Around Weapon like Rabb. In my opinion, our playmaking is pretty solid its just that we don't have a finisher. Kravish was that guy the last 2 years along with Solomon, but this year just cannot buy a bucket under the hoop. Having Rabb who could easily average 18 & 10, would further open up the shooting space for Mathews/Bird/Domingo.

Avinash Kunnath: I think Cal needs a decent point guard like Tyler Dorsey (shameless plug #3: check out our Dorsey scouting report) for sure, but Cal will have great wing talent returning in Jordan Mathews and Jabari Bird, plus will have Stephen Domingo entering the rotation. Even if Cal might struggle with ball-handling, they should be able to spread the floor a bit better than they did last season.

But having a really good big man in college basketball seems to earn you 5 to 10 extra wins a year. Cal has been short on one big every year in the Mike Montgomery era, and that extra big could've been the difference between a deep run in the tourney and the disappointing March runs we always experienced. I think with a good point guard Cal can be really good offensively, but with a good big man like Rabb (and maybe Caleb Swanigan?), they can instantly leap right back up into the conference conversation.

Of course, we could really really use both.