Potpourri, May 18

News Bits

SportsCenter NEXT: "Breaking: Darius Bivins, the No. 46 ranked player in the SC Next 100 for the Class of 2026, has committed to Saint Mary’s, he tells ESPN’s @PaulBiancardi."

The 5-11 Bivins was also pursued by Stanford Rutgers, South Florida and VCU.

"Gaels Ink Highest Rated Recruit in Program History, McDonald’s All-American Darius Bivins"

"Saint Mary’s just landed the kind of recruit that could change everything after Randy Bennett"

and

"Gaels Add Youth, Sign Freshman Sam Curvy"

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Jalen Stokes: "J STOKES 5️⃣ is back for the Aggies!"

Stokes is completing his freshman year and entered the draft portal but has decided to return. The 6-foot-5 two guard out of Dougherty Valley High is likely a starter this coming season. He made seven starts in 2025-26, playing 14 minutes a game while shooting 45%, 33% and 88%.

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Maximillian Russell: "Ogden!! Let’s do it!!"

Russell is a 6-foot-1 guard who averaged 26 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in his senior year at Tracy High. He's headed to Weber State.

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Verbal Commits: "2026 Bella Vista Prep (AZ) G Nishayne Sharpe has committed to Pacific."

A 6-footer, he's out of Canada as is Pacific Coach Dave Smart.

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Jon Chepkevich: "NEWS: Hapoel Be’er Sheva’s Yoav Vitlem has committed to San Francisco, his reps Matt Slan and Liran Gudis tell DraftExpress. 12.5 PPG, 5.4 APG, 2.6 RPG, 1.8 SPG in the Israeli Winner League."

"Yoav Vitlem commits to San Francisco Dons"

He's a 6-foot point.

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"MEN’S BASKETBALL SIGNS MAURER"

7-foot, 230 Austin Maurer is coming to Stanford from Seattle.

and

"(JAYLEN) BLAKES JOINS STANFORD STAFF AS DIRECTOR OF PLAYER PERSONNEL"

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Foothill College Coach Mike Reynoso: "Another Owl on the next level. We get guys out at Foothill MBB. Trust the process… young fellas. Nothing given, everything earned."

Kenny Zuniga is a 6-foot-5, 195 sophomore forward out of Foothill College and Santa Teresa High. He'll be a junior playing for Coach Mark Darnall up in Rocklin at William Jessup University.

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Compton Magic: "6-5 Jaylen Williams, MontereyTrail High - Committed: University of Redlands (San Bernardino County)

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Compton Magic: "6-4 JoJo Wicker Committed: Cal State Stanislaus"

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AUSA Hoops: "Congratulations to AUSA Hoops athlete Mason Honeyman on his commitment to Cal State East Bay. The 6’2 guard from Brisbane, Queensland brings a dynamic offensive game after two strong seasons at Colorado Mesa University. An exciting next step out west. Well deserved, Mason!"

The shooting guard averaged 10.5 points per game this season, shooting 42%, 31% and 84% alongside 2.5 rebounds nightly plus 32 steals.

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Bryce Buchanan: "After a great conversation, blessed to receive an offer from San Francisco State. Thank you to Coach Vince and the coaching staff for believing in me."

The 6-foot-9, 230 Buchanan possesses a 3.9 grade point average at West Valley College after graduating from Inderkum High.

An update: Bryce Buchanan: "100% committed."

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Joe Moussa: "Canadian D2 transfer 6'9 F Luke Howard has committed to San Jose State. Averaged 16.7ppg, 6.1rpg, 48%FG, 41%3PT at Simon Fraser University in 2025-2026. Took a medical redshirt year this season."

Listed as a forward, Howard weighs 225 pounds and has one season of eligibility remaining.

and

"SPARTANS LAND TULSA FORWARD KJ MARTIN JR. FOR 2026-27"

He's 6-foot-8, 225 and will be entering his sophomore season. Interesting stats: he posted a 29/11 assist-to-turnover ratio, remarkable for a freshman and a frontcourter. He shot 43%, 39% and 67% in 328 minutes/38 games.

and

Also, former Spartan big 6-foot-8 Robert (Archbishop Riordan) Vaihola is returning to SJSU. He missed almost all of last season at Minnesota with a knee injury and appears to have one season of remaining eligibility. He also played one season at Fresno State.

and

"PHILANTHROPIC COMMITMENT OF FOUR MILLION DOLLARS MARKS TRANSFORMATIONAL MOMENT FOR SAN JOSÉ STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL

Historic donation fuels player retention, talent acquisition, budget augmentation, and facility planning as Spartans aim for the top of the Mountain West."

Wish they had identified the names of the donors. This creates the potential for a major gamechange in the men's basketball program.

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College of San Mateo Men's Basketball: "Sophomore Keshawn Johnson has committed to University of Maine, Fort Kent!"

Johnson is a 6-foot-5, 180 forward out of Bullard High in Fresno. He averaged 9.6 points plus 6.6 rebounds, shooting 56% overall.

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College of the Sequoias Men's Basketball: "Please welcome Romello Bruhn to the GIANTS family! Romello comes to COS from Weston Ranch HS. Mello averaged 27.8 PPG and scored over 3,000 points in his HS career. He was named league MVP and first team all-state. Bright future ahead for an outstanding young man!"

He's a 6-foot-3 guard.

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College Hoops Guru: "🧨guru exclusive🧨 per elite guru source: mikey eggleton is being added to montana coaching staff -- previously was on staff at cal state east bay (d2)"

As a player, Eggleton is out of College Park High and Menlo College (where he was a three-year captain). Chris Cobb left the Montana staff to assume a position at St. Mary's, hence the opening. Montana Coach Travis DeCuire wanted another Bay Area connection for recruiting purposes. Eggleton was serving as Recruiting Coordinator and Defensive Coordinator at CSEB.

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The Portal Report: "Northern State (D2) G Cameron Mercadel has received interest from the following schools, he told TPR:

  • Hofstra
  • VMI
  • Chico St (D2)
  • West Virginia St (D2)
  • Northwestern Oklahoma St (D2)
  • Saint Leo (D2)
  • Northwest Missouri St (D2)"

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"2026 NBA mock draft: Projecting all 60 picks post-lottery"

Santa Clara's Allen Graves and Stanford's Ebuka Okorie are projected as first rounders.

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"Inside the West Coast Conference's Expansion and Rebrand. How the WCC went from "about 43" expansion candidates to their new identity".

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Best of the West Tournament, June 7, 2026

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If you ever have any questions, please contact:
Melvin Landry, 510-773-8083, oaklandrebelsbasketball@gmail.com.

Thank you for your continuous support.

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"Cal to hire Richard Midgley as men's basketball GM"

The 6-foot-3 Midgley is out of England and prepped at Modesto Christian High. He played at California for Coach Ben Braun in the early 2000s.

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"Memphis Grizzlies’ Brandon Clarke dies at 29"

"From Spartan beginnings, remembering Memphis Grizzlies Brandon Clarke’s rise from SJSU"

He started out at San Jose State University before transferring to Gonzaga and later earning a spot in the NBA.

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"STANFORD MOURNS PASSING OF JASON COLLINS"

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Chris Naulls: "I am blessed to receive an offer from Bluefield University, Thank you Joseph Cooper and Coach Devin Aye for making this happen! #AGTG."

Naulls is a 6-foot-8, 250 sophomore out of Christopher High and San Jose City College.

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"Season in Review: Jamaree Bouyea was a two-way spark plug who refused to stay in the shadows. Bouyea brings energy and defense, but remains too inconsistent to climb higher in the hierarchy."

Bouyea is a 6-foot-2 guard out of USF and Palma High.

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"I won’t put any ceiling on him,” Inside Ebuka Okorie's swift rise to top of college basketball scoring leaderboard"

Excellent article even though it's from back in November. 2025. Joey Dwyer did a great job with it. Okorie appears to be staying in the NBA draft as a couple of the latest draft projections have him going anywhere from #20-#25 in the first round.

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"Report: Allen Graves reveals conversations with LSU, Duke about potential transfer over NBA Draft"

Graves is 6-foot-9, 225 and a freshman out of Louisiana. Maybe I missed it but how he got to Santa Clara and played well enough to go in the mid-first round of the NBA draft after just a single college season needs to be written. 

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Point Loma Basketball: "A proven PacWest player by way of The Bay is headed to The Point! 🌊Please welcome Marcellus Edwards to Point Loma! A Bay Area product, Marcellus brings invaluable experience to our program."

Edwards is a 6-foot-3, 175 junior our of Archbishop Riordan, Speights Academy and Chabot College. He averaged 11.7 points this season for Concordia University Irvine. Point Loma finished 27-6 this past season, making it three games into the national tournamment before falling to Cal State East Bay.

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Potpourri, May 11

News Bits

"Steve Kerr will return to coach the Warriors after weeks of uncertainty"

Plus, a Kerr feature from late April:

"Has Steve Kerr Had Enough?

The head coach for the Golden State Warriors on his future with the team, his complicated relationship with Draymond Green, and whether he might give politics a try."

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Point Loma Basketball: "From the 9️⃣1️⃣6️⃣ to the 6️⃣1️⃣9️⃣! Please welcome Franklin High School’s all-time leader in points, assists, and steals, Aiden Rollins, to The Point!"

Gotta believe Rollins is a D1 talent but no one is paying me to issue scholarships.

His late father AJ played professionally, as well as collegiately at St. Mary's.

Here's our 2023 Rollins feature.

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Jaden Woodard: "progress in the process let’s work"

The 6-foot-3, 190 Las Positas College and Sheldon High guard is headed to a Cal State East Bay program coming off a fantastic 33-1 record. Woodard averaged 18.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists this past season.

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Jeremy Pierro: "far from finished"

With a 3.71 grade point average, the 6-foot-5 sophomore shooting guard out of College of San Mateo and Clovis East High posted 13.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game this past season.

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Skyline College Basketball: "Congratulations to Achilles Woodson on signing his scholarship with San Francisco State. Excited for him to return to the Bay Area and compete at the NCAA D2 level. Also excited that he will be reunited with his former Skyline teammate- Dev Chatha."

The 6-foot-0, 195 Woodson is also out of Rocky Mountain College and Archbishop Riordan.

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Tobias Bass: "NEWS: Larry Hughes II will transfer to Sacramento State, his agent Ryanmurphhoop tells TheAthleticCBB. He averaged 17.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game last season at CSUN."

A particular talent that Coach Henry Bibby needed and great size for a guard at 6-foot-5.

and

"MEN’S BASKETBALL SIGNS UC DAVIS POINT GUARD MARCUS WILSON"

This is an excellent pickup for Sacramento State Coach Henry Bibby especially since Wilson has three more seasons of eligibility. He was the only Aggie to start all 33 games, and finished with averages of 12.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.1 steals on 26.4 minutes per game.

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Jon Rothstein: "Source: UC Davis transfer Nils Cooper has committed to Loyola Marymount."

Heading back home to the Southland. His father Michael, of Lakers fame, is now the head coach at Cal State Los Angeles.

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West Valley College MBB: "We want to congratulate our sophomore Caleb Asante on his commitment to Division 2 Southern Nazarene University! In his time at WV, Caleb was 2x All Conference, All freshman team, & 1x All defensive team. Caleb averaged 11.2ppg on 57% from the field!"

The 6-foot-5, 210 Asante is out of Leigh High and owns a 3.8 grade point average. Southern Nazarene is located in Oklahoma.

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Portal Updates: "Manhattan transfer Jaden Winston has committed to Pacific. The 6’0” junior PG started all 32 games, averaging 15.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.6 steals per game. Winston earned All-MAAC Third Team, and Defensive Team honors. Finished #6 in the country in steals per game this season."

Appears to be a solid pickup at a critical position.

and

Dushawn London: "VCU transfer Christian Fermin had a zoom with Pacific today, source tells 247Sports."

Fermin is a 6-foot-10, 225 senior who seemingly is out of eligibility but has likely filed an appeal.

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"Stanford Star Ebuka Okorie Invited to NBA Draft Combine Following Breakout Year"

A needed next step to displays his wares.

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Verbal Commits: "Samford G Zion Wilburn is transferring to Georgia State."

The 6-foot-6 sophomore wing is out of Pinole Valley High and Salesian Prep. Moving from Alabama to Georgia.

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MN Crookston Basketball: "Excited to announce the signing of Jake Williams to UMC Men’s Basketball! A product of Cosumnes River College, Jake went 44-17 over two seasons and averaged 13 PPG and 9 RPG on 51% from the field and 38% from three in the 2025-26 season. Welcome to the Golden Eagle Family, Jake!"

Williams is a 6-foot-6, 220 sophoore also out of Del Oro High.

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des.sicat.2026: "100% VIKING! Thank you to everyone who supported me & I’m excited to get to work wvc_mbb!"

Out of Castro Valley High, the 6-foot-1 point has signed with West Valley College and new Coach Mykel Morse.

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JoJo Hunter: "1000% Committed! AGTG."

Hunter is headed to Southern University from Seminole State JC (FL) as a 6-foot-6 redshirt sophomore guard who earned Region 2 Player of the Year due to his 18.3 point, 7.5 rebound, 4.5 assist averages. He started out at San Joaquin Memorial High and then Fresno State. Hunter encountered multiple legal problems while at Fresno State and apparently decided it would be better to leave the area and pursue his basketball options elsewhere.

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Sam Kayser: "VISIT NEWS: 2026 guard Marcus Zelee will take an official visit to Cal on May 6th-8th, he told LeagueRDY. The 6-foot-3 guard out of Austin, Texas is a lockdown defender who was originally committed to Iowa State."

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Mi chael Salvo: "UC Riverside point guard Tyler Jones is generating significant interest in the transfer portal, per his rep Nick McElroy of nilsonsports. The 6-foot-2 redshirt freshman started 5 games this season, averaging 9.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game while shooting 36% from 3pt in those starts.

Jones is out of Archbishop Mitty. Sac State may be out of the running, having signed Marcus Wilson.

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Modesto Junior College Men's Basketball: "Daniel Huerta has received an offer from Division II Menlo College (PacWest)."

Huerta is a 6-foot-5 wing out of St. Mary's High in Stockton.

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Brandon Jenskins: "𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦: Darius Bivins, one of the top available recruits in the national 2026 class, tells 247Sports, he completed an official visit to Saint Mary's."

Bivins is 5-foot-11, 160 and out of Virginia. His official visits as of last Fall: Stanford (Sept. 18), USF (Oct. 11), Rutgers (Oct. 17), and VCU (Oct. 22).

Adam Finkelstein offers this analysis.

and

Adam Beadle: "New ASU HC Randy Bennett on why Gonzaga played a factor in his decision to leave Saint Mary's. "I kinda felt like, man, I don't know how much more we could do, and with Gonzaga leaving, it's going to be harder to do, not easier to do. You're not going to get Quad 1 games, which in a league like the WCC, you have to get those games...and we were going to lose two (of those games) every year...But the biggest factor was ASU. I wanted to be here. It's my dream job... I think you can win championships here."

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"2026 NBA Mock Draft: Adam Finkelstein's projections for top picks as Sunday's lottery to determine No. 1 looms"

The first 10 selections are projected to be college freshman. Stanford's Ebuka Okorie is listed at #26 and Santa Clara's Allen Graves

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"Allen Graves Transfer Portal Scouting Report: Why Santa Clara’s Versatile Forward Could Be a Winning Addition"

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BTI Basketball Club: "BTI Basketball Club welcomes Brennan Williams to the BTI Nation. Williams is 6’7 wing-forward from the Bay Area who will re-class and head to @newhamptonbasketball next fall. He has size, athleticism and versatile scoring instincts which make him a terrific D1 bound prospect."

Williams is out of Bellarmine College Prep.

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Compton Magic: "Jermaine Washington Jr.

Committed: New Mexico State"

He's a former SJSU guard out of southern California.

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Sterling McClanahan: "AGTG!!! I am blessed to receive a full scholarship offer from Hawaii Hilo!! Thanks to the coaching staff for this opportunity!"

Finishing up your college basketball career in the islands has to be enticing. The 6-foot-3 McClanahan is out of UC Merced, Las Positas College and Vanden High.

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Simply Basketball: "Keeyon Moulla (2029) has received an offer from Stanford University."

Moulla is a 6-foot-7 forward attending Del Oro High and playing AAU with Team Lillard.

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Verbal Commits: "Texas A&M–Corpus Christi F Jaden Haire is transferring to Cal State Los Angeles (DII)."

The 6-foot-7 Haire is out of Hanford High and College of the Sequaoias.

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Coach Mike Reynoso: "Another sophomore trusted the process and is due for big things. Congrats to sophomore Gavin Cox on his commitment."

The 6-foot-9, 215 Cox committed to La Sierra University (Riverside) after averaging 8.7 rebounds plus 11.5 points per game on 57% shooting in 23 minutes a contest. He graduated from Turlock High and now Foothill College.

and

Coach Mike Reynoso: "Congrats to Soph Miles Bonilla for his commitment. Proud of you young fella. Another Owl on the move!!"

The 6-foot-4 Bonilla is out of Wilcox High in San Jose.

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Mason Adimora: "After careful consideration, I have committed to American River College! I have full belief in Coach Lorente and the entire coaching staff‼️"

Adimore is a 6-foot-5, 205 prepster out of Rodriguez High. He sports a 4.02 grade point average.

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