Cal Sports Report

6-foot-11 Center Devin Curtis, Rodney Brown Sign With Cal Basketball

Two players in class of 2023 officially commit to Cal on the first day of the early signing period begins
Jake Curtis|
6-foot-11 Center Devin Curtis, Rodney Brown Sign With Cal Basketball
6-foot-11 Center Devin Curtis, Rodney Brown Sign With Cal Basketball

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California Golden Bears

Devin Curtis, a 6-foot-11 player from Southern California Academy in Los Angeles, and Rodney Brown, a 6-foot-6 wing player from Temecula, Calif., signed letters of intent on Wednesday to join the Cal basketball program for 2023.

Wednesday is the first day of the early signing period for basketball.

Brown had decommitted from Cal in September, but is back in the fold for Cal.

Brown, who attends Rancho Christian High School, is ranked as the 138th-best prospect in the class of 2023 by 247 Sports Composite. He chose Cal over offers from Tennessee and USC, among others.

He averaged 19.5 points, 6.0 points and 5.3 assists last season.

"Rodney is a skilled, versatile combo guard who can handle the point-guard position," Cal coach Mark Fox said in a statement. "He's a very good perimeter shooter, but is comfortable in his ability to make plays for his teammates. He'll make us better as soon as he steps on campus." 

“I chose to re-commit to Cal because I felt the most comfortable there,” Brown told On3 Sports. “I feel I fit really well within the program and I feel its the best place for my future. I have great relationships with the staff and the players, and most importantly I feel I will develop there.”

Here is some film of Brown:

However, the more intriguing story may be the commitment of Curtis, who is listed as being 6-foot-11 by some sites.

He chose Cal after receiving offers from Loyola Marymount, Montana, Northern Illinois and UC Santa Barbara.

Curtis averaged 4.8 points and 6.2 rebounds last season at Heritage Christian High School.

"Devin is a physical presence on the floor with great size and length," Fox said. "He's skilled as both a shooter and passer and has the ability to alter and block shots on the defensive end. His high Basketball IQ and feel for the game give him the ability to be a difference-maker for us."

The 247 Sports website ranks Curtis as the 33rd-best center prospect in the class.  Injuries have slowed Curtis' progress, but here is a look at him in action.

“What made me choose Cal was I felt like it was the best fit for me of being a high-academic school and a program looking to win,” he told Adam Zagoria. “And I felt like they needed and wanted me being one of the guys to really help them change the program around.

"I would love to just dog it out for a season and prove to the basketball community.

“I will bring my versatility as a big that can stretch the floor, play inside and out, run the floor hard, grab rebounds and have the IQ to run plays and pick apart the defense. I would love to get in the film session with coach [Mark] Fox to help improve my skillset as well.”

His body is continuing to develop so it may take some time for Curtis to become a contributor in college.

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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