Mark Madsen has done great work to rebuild Cal men’s basketball in the transfer portal, two years in a row. The Bears have some work to do to compete for March Madness in 2025, but they will have the roster that can give them that shot.
The next step for the Bears is to start landing top high school prospect to raise the ceiling. And they have a chance to make a big splash this week.
Jovani Ruff, one of the best wing prospects in the 2025 class, listed a top four of Cal, Kansas, Oregon and USC. He will decide tomorrow on June 5th.
Ruff is a 6-foot-5 wing out of Long Beach (Calif.) Poly High. Ruff is the 41st best national prospect, the 5th best shooting guard, the 4th best California prospect in 247Sports Composite. He would be Cal’s biggest pickup via the regular high school recruiting circuit since Jaylen Brown.
Ruff has visited Berkeley, and has said very good things about his trip to Cal, Madsen and the coaching staff. The Bears appear to definitely be in the mix, if this interview from last September from Rivals is any indication ($).
“It was really good, and it was actually way better than I expected,” he told Golden Bear Report. “People be talking down on Cal because of the season they had las year, but I feel like they’re gonna have a really good year. The staff is great, and the players are really good.”
So what made Cal the spot that Ruff wanted to visit first this fall? Simply, the attention he’s received from Madsen and the Bears coaches.
We shall see if Madsen was able to close here and keep the excitement going for 2025.
The Bears still have two scholarships open for the 2024 class as well, so let’s hope we can find those players to fully stock up our roster.