BearTalk

The Golden Bears suffered a significant recruiting loss this weekend when 6-10 center John Gage of Vashon Island, Wash., picked Stanford over Cal, according to Scout.com.

Gage, who also considered hometown Washington, told me last month he didn’t expect to make a decision until early August. As it stands, he plans to enroll at Stanford in the fall of 2010.

Still 16 and young for his class, Gage led Vashon Island to a 26-1 record and Washington’s Class 1-A state title, averaging 20.5 points and 12 rebounds in the four-game state tournament. He has a 3.94 grade-point average.

A pretty good week in the Northwest for second-year Cardinal coach Johnny Dawkins, a few days after he got a commitment from point guard Aaron Bright of Bellevue High.