Golden Nuggets, 8/4/20: Bear Basketballers making waves

It may not be college basketball season yet but the California Golden Bears basketball teams are making waves this offseason. Amid a global pandemic and restarts of the major sporting organizations across the country, your Golden Bears aren’t hard to find making positive news and change across the nation.

There’s former Bears making news in the WNBA and NBA, while current Bears are positive change makers and future Bears are committing from powerhouse high schools.

That latter facet comes to us via the Cal Women’s Basketball team where they picked up a big future player in Mia Mastrov, who plays for Miramonte High School, home of perhaps one of the greatest college basketball players of all time, Sabrina Ionescu.

Mastrov is a senior-to-be this year but committed to the Bears, in what was a decision a long time coming, stating “Ever since the second grade, I’ve been following Cal.”

She has multiple connections to the program and Pete Newell, who her grandfather played for back in 1954-55. She had interests from major college basketball programs such as Duke, Washington and Colorado already but chose to commit to head coach Charmin Smith and the class of 2021.

Smith, of course, was just recently named to the college basketball’s top 100 most influential people as well.

For more on Mastrov and the rest of the Golden Bears basketball players making news, here we go:

Mastrov, who plays at Sabrina Ionescu’s HS, commits to Bears

Cal basketball transfer Gordon’s move to UL is official

Cal women’s basketball announced Educate to Motivate campaign

Three Ex-Bears get fresh starts in the late-starting WNBA

Jaylen Brown (pictured above) still motivated by Billy Donovan’s six-year old remarks

Charmin Smith named among 100 most influential in her sport