Jabari Bird goes from Cal recruit to Bears' recruiter

Jabari Bird has joined the other side.

The Salesian (Richmond, Calif.) High School basketball standout had enough of the recruiting process and simply went with his instincts late Tuesday night by choosing Cal over Pac-12 rivals Oregon, Washington and Colorado.

Now, the nation's No. 22 recruit from the class of 2013 will be Cal's No. 1 recruiter.

"We're after a monster class," said the 6-foot-6, 185-pound shooting guard.



During his official visit to the Berkeley campus last weekend, he brought along his Bay Area pals and national recruits, Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) 6-8 forward Aaron Gordon (No. 4) and Deer Valley (Antioch, Calif.) 6-9 post Marcus Lee (No. 21).

Gordon, who many believe is headed to Washington, and Lee were intrigued with the Bears, according to Bird. "I don't think Marcus had shown a lot of interest in Cal, but they're definitely on his radar now. Aaron will make his own decision but I know he was impressed."

Bird always leaned toward Cal and the weekend trip solidified everything. So much so he cancelled trips to his other finalist. He called Cal's assistant coach and top recruiter Travis DeCuire and eventually talked with head coach Mike Montgomery Tuesday.

"They seemed real excited about my decision," Bird said. "The thing is they recruited me longest and hardest. I felt all along it was the place for me, so there was no reason to prolong it."

Bird said that his father Carl, a former Cal standout and Warriors draft pick in 1976, pushed him toward Berkeley occasionally, "but at the end of the day he let it be my decision," Bird said.

A big part of his attraction, he said, was Montgomery.



"He's a player's coach and he knows how to adjust to his talent. If they're small and athletic, he'll speed the game up or he'll slow it down if he has bigs.

"I feel like right now (Cal) has a nice combination of all of those things. And hopefully with a big recruiting class we'll have even more. There hasn't been a big national splash at Cal and I hope I can help bring that."

He'll bring a scorer's mentality and high-flying action to the team. Bird averaged almost 19 points per game, leading the Pride to a 2012 state Division IV title.

Bird transferred from Benicia to Salesian following his freshman season. "He has a very humble attitude off the court and is a total team player," Salesian coach Bill Mellis said. "At the same time, he doesn't shy away from the limelight or pressure situations on the court. He's not afraid to take the big shot."