Busting Brackets
Fansided

NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Look at 2019 classes for each California school

By Andrew Dieckhoff

MARIETTA, GA - MARCH 25: Isaiah Mobley warms up before the 2019 Powerade Jam Fest on March 25, 2019 in Marietta, Georgia. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images for Powerade)
MARIETTA, GA - MARCH 25: Isaiah Mobley warms up before the 2019 Powerade Jam Fest on March 25, 2019 in Marietta, Georgia. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images for Powerade) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 5
Next
LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 08: A Pac-12 basketball logo is displayed on the court after a quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament between the Stanford Cardinal and the UCLA Bruins at T-Mobile Arena on March 8, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bruins won 88-77. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 08: A Pac-12 basketball logo is displayed on the court after a quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament between the Stanford Cardinal and the UCLA Bruins at T-Mobile Arena on March 8, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bruins won 88-77. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Through solid recruiting and some big transfers, the state of California will use a huge influx of talent  to put itself back on the NCAA Basketball map in 2019-20.

The state of NCAA Basketball in California has fallen on some hard times of late, with each of its four high-major schools failing to make the NCAA Tournament. As far as the mid-major schools go, the state got some representation in the Big Dance from perennial high-achievers Saint Mary’s and UC Irvine, but was missing another of its established brands in San Diego State.

In what was unequivocally a down year for the Pac-12, the California schools may have been the biggest underachievers. UCLA showed flashes of brilliance at times, but looked absolutely lost at others. USC was unable to consistently capitalize on their bevy of talented players, including program mainstay Bennie Boatwright and freshman Kevin Porter, Jr., who is now suiting up for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA.

The Bay Area schools had an even tougher go in the Pac-12. Stanford got a great season out of KZ Okpala, but were never really in contention for a spot in the top half of the conference. Meanwhile, Cal had one of its worst seasons ever, managing only three wins in league play and just eight overall.

As far as mid-majors go, the Gaels and Anteaters were as good as expected – though it took a herculean effort by Saint Mary’s to topple Gonzaga just to get to the NCAA Tournament. Along with the Aztecs, some other California schools, such as San Francisco and Fresno State, launched successful campaigns in the early going, but were unable to hang for the full five months and sputtered near the end.

So while their was something of a collective step backward statewide, every season brings a fresh opportunity for success. In the Pac-12, teams like Arizona, Washington, and Oregon are set to reload, but what about the California schools? Let’s take a look at the recruiting classes for each of the institutions in the Golden State, beginning with the team that secured the state’s best offseason haul.

Home/NCAA Basketball News