Cal basketball among those recruiting Wendell Carter the hardest

Cuonzo Martin has made it a point to sign top players since he's arrived at Cal by bringing in Jaylen Brown, Ivan Rabb and Charlie Moore. Martin and his staff continue to hit the recruiting trail by targeting the best players in the nation and the recruitment of Wendell Carter is a prime example of that.

Carter is a 6'10 center who is listed as weighing as much as 260 pounds by various recruiting services. After watching his highlights it is easy to see why everyone is so high on his playing abilities. The play which starts at 53 seconds in the highlight video is ridiculous.

Carter demonstrates good ability to finish around the basket with equal parts ferocity and touch, while also being able to knock down mid-range jump shots. He runs the floor particularly well for someone his size and has great quickness in the post which allows him to lose defenders with ease.

This kid is the real deal. Here is where he ranks in the class of 2017 by each of the major recruiting services:

ESPN: five stars, top ranked power forward, second ranked player in the nation

Scout: five stars, third ranked center, third ranked player in the nation

Rivals: five stars, ranked fourth in the nation

247sports: five stars, third ranked power forward, fifth ranked player in the nation

Carter has a scholarship offer from a ton of schools, but the major players seem to be Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Harvard, Cal and Stanford.

Wendell Carter (CP3) says Duke Kentucky UGa UNC Cal Stanford are recruiting hardest

Harvard will get 1st official pic.twitter.com/HL8QX6dRIE

— Jamie Shaw (@JamieShaw5) April 3, 2016

Carter talked up his interest in Cal's academics and location during an interview with Rivals, so we have that going for us.

The highly rated center would be a fine addition to the Cal basketball program and it is great to see how committed Martin and the staff are to going after the top players in each recruiting class.