BearTalk

Cal coach Sonny Dykes has identified running back as an area of need in the 2014 recruiting class, and he got his first commitment at the position from Tre Watson, a 5-10, 184-pounder from Centennial-Corona.

He likely won’t be the last, especially if the Bears can lure four-star local talent Joe Mixon of Freedom-Oakley.

Watson committed Sunday, according to Rivals.com, which ranks Watson as a three-star prospect. Scout does not rate him.

Still, hard to say just how good Watson might be. He rushed for 1,483 yards and scored 24 total touchdowns last season, despite barely playing half a game because Centennial was so far ahead on most nights. He averaged 9.1 yards per carry for the season and scored two TDs in a 41-34 win over Narbonne Harbor in the SoCal open division title game.

He carried seven times for 33 yards in Centennial’s 48-24 loss to De La Salle in the state open division championship.

Watson had offers from BYU, Washington State, Nevada and Fresno State, among others, according to Rivals.

Here’s a 3 1/2-minute video interview with Pac-12 Player of the Year Allen Crabbe, conducted last weekend at the NBA pre-draft camp in Chicago, courtesy of www.DraftExpress.com.

Als0, DraftExpress provides a detailed analysis of the former Cal star’s game — strengths and weaknesses.

Click here for both the interview and analysis.

Cal junior forward Reshanda Gray was named to the USA Women’s World University Games roster and will participate in the event at Kazan, Russia, July 8-15.

Gray averaged 8.3 points and 5.2 rebounds as a sophomore last season. She will train with the USA team from June 25 through July 1 in Colorado Springs.

Cal senior Gennifer Brandon also took part in the team tryouts, which ended Sunday. Brandon was not chosen to the 12-player roster 

Here’s a Q&A with Gray, courtesy of USA Basketball:

What was your initial reaction when they called your name?
“I was nervous. I was having butterflies. I was locked arms with my teammate Gennifer [Brandon], and I was just telling her, ‘Make the team or not, this is just a learning experience for us to get better.’ We’re just very thankful and blessed to be here. I’m one of the top 33 college players in the country, just being able to be here and try. I just want to cry right now. I’m so emotional because we worked so hard, and I just give props to my teammate Genn. She definitely pushed me, and I just give props to everybody back home for sending good vibes and good luck wishes.”

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The No. 2-ranked Cal women’s rowing team won its sixth straight Pac-12 title on Sunday, with victories in the varsity four and second varsity at Lake Natoma.

The Bears totaled 39 points to edge second-place and top-ranked USC (37.5) and third-place and fourth-ranked Washington (36.5) in the team standings.

Cal, which has won nine of the past 10 conference titles, awaits Tuesday’s seeding for the NCAA championships, to be held May 31 through June 2 at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis.

The Cal women’s softball team was eliminated from the postseason on Sunday after a 3-1 loss to host Michigan in the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional.

The Bears (38-19) fell behind 2-0, got one run back when Cheyenne Cordes homered in the third, but never could catch the No. 7 Wolverines (48-10).

The Bears, coming out of the losers bracket, needed to beat UM twice Sunday to advance to the Super Regionals.

Jolene Henderson allowed seven hits and struck out six in the loss, and her sister Danielle Henderson had two hits.

Khalfani Muhammad, who will be a freshman running back for the Bears next fall, showed off the speed he will bring to Berkeley by winning four events Saturday at the CIF Southern Section championships.

Muhammad, who competes for Notre Dame HS in Sherman Oaks in Division 3, won the 100- and 200-meter dashes and anchored winning teams in the 4×100 and 4×400 relays.

Muhammad logged a wind-aided 100-meter time of 10.33 seconds. Although not eligible for record purposes, because of the 3.1-meters-per-second wind reading, the time was the fastest Muhammad has run under any circumstances.

It’s also faster than any California sprinter has clocked this season, according to the website www.dyestat.com.

Later, Muhammad won the 200 meters with a wind-legal time of 20.84, crossing six-tenths of a second ahead of the runnerup. That time is the third-fastest in the country this year.

Muhammad also anchored his team to victory in the 400 relay with a time of 41.27, and 1,600 relay to first place in 3:18.92.

Cal’s top-ranked men’s golf team completed its wire-to-wire victory at the NCAA Pullman Regional, winning a modern NCAA-record 11th tournament this season. Leading the way was junior Michael Weaver, who played the Masters earlier this spring and Saturday rallied to earn a share of medalist honors.

The Bears (265-276-280-821) finished 43 strokes under par and beat runnerup Texas Christian by 20 strokes at the Palouse Ridge Golf Club. Saint Mary’s was third, USC fourth.

Cal previously shared the NCAA record of 10 tournament titles with the 1985-86 Oklahoma State team.

“I’ve been doing this for 34 years and there’s never been a team that’s been close to this,” Cal coach Steve Desimone said about the record. “There are a lot of reasons for it but primarily it has happened because these guys have understood all along what was out there for us and they’ve worked so hard. They are the epitome of a team.”

As one of the top five finishing teams at the Regionals, Cal advances to the NCAA Championships, May 28 through June 2 at Alpharetta, Ga.

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Senior Jolene Henderson powered Cal to a 6-0 win over Valparaiso (35-27) on Saturday afternoon, keeping the Bears alive in the Ann Arbor Regional of the NCAA tournament.

Cal (38-18) plays Sunday against No. 7 Michigan (47-10), which beat the Bears 5-0 earlier in the day. The Bears must beat the Wolverines twice to win the Regional and advance to the Super Regional round next week.

Cal is 7-2 all-time vs. Michigan, but the Wolverines have won the past two meetings, including Saturday’s matchup.

Henderson struck out seven, walked no one and allowed just one baserunner (on an error) in her seven-inning gem. It was her fourth career no-hitter.

Victoria Jones drove in two runs for the Bears and Khala Taylor had three hits.

Cal lost 5-0 to host Michigan in a second-round winners-bracket game at the NCAA tournament Ann Arbor Regional on Saturday and will play at 2:30 p.m. PDT against either Central Michigan or Valparaiso.

The Bears (37-18) committed three errors and allowed the No. 7 Wolverines three unearned runs and now find themselves one defeat away from postseason elimination. Ashley Decker had two hits for Cal.

Lauren Sweet hit a pair of home runs for Michigan (47-10) and sophomore Sara Driesenga scattered five hits and struck out eight to win her 28th game of the season.

Ex-Cal guard Allen Crabbe, at the NBA pre-draft camp in Chicago this week, was measured at 6-foot-5 1/4 in bare feet, 197 pounds. His body fat was measured at just 4.7 percent and his wingspan is an impressive 6-11 1/4.

Compare that to Arizona combo forward Solomon Hill, who was measured at just 6-5 1/2 with a wing span of 6-9.  Crabbe’s wingspan even exceeded that of ex-Colorado forward Andre Roberson, who measured 6-6 1/4 with a 6-11 span.

Shabazz Muhammad, the reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year from UCLA, checked in at 6-4 3/4, 222 pounds, with a 6-11 wingspan and 9.0 percent body fat. Another Pac-12 freshman, power forward Grant Jarrett of Arizona, is listed as just 6-8 3/4, although he does boast a 7-2 wingspan. 

Former Arizona State forward Carrick Felix recorded the lowest body fat mark at 3.3 percent.

Figures provided by www.DraftExpress.com.