BearTalk

Harrison Barnes, rated the No. 1 prospect in the ESPNU Top-100, announced today he will attend North Carolina next season.

The 6-foot-8, 209-pound small forward from Ames, Iowa, picked the Tar Heels over ACC rival Duke. UCLA, Kansas and Iowa State also coveted Barnes, who led his team to a 26-0 record and the Iowa Class 4A state title last season.

Barnes is rated the nation’s No.1 overall prospect by Scout.com and No. 2  by Scout.com.

As expected, Cal confirmed it received four signed letters of intent today. Scout.com rated the Bears’ class as the 17th-best in the country.

The newcomers:

   — Allen Crabbe, 6-4 wing, Price HS, Los Angeles

   — Alex Rossi, 6-5 wing, New Trier HS, Winnetka, Ill.

   — Gary Franklin Jr., 6-2 PG, Mater Dei HS, Santa Ana

   — Richard Solomon, 6-8 PF, Price HS, Los Angeles

The names are familiar to Cal fans — all four committed to Cal long ago – but today was our first chance to hear from coach Mike Montgomery, as coaches are prevented from discussing recruits until signing day. Actually, because the Bears are playing tonight, Monty wasn’t available to reporters this afternoon, but he released these remarks through the sports information office:

“We’re really pleased with the recruiting class that we have. We knew this was going to be a big year. When we first got here, potentially, this was going to be seven or eight. But with Jordan (Wilkes) graduating and Taylor (Harrison leaving), we ended up with five. This group of four, we still have one available, is really an outstanding group of kids.

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The Long Beach Press Telegram’s venerable Best in the West rankings are out, and three prospects expected to sign Wednesday with Cal made the 15-man first team. Here’s a link to the entire Best in the West package.

Wing Allen Crabbe of Price HS in Los Angeles checked in at No. 4 on the list, combo guard Gary Franklin Jr. of Mater Dei HS in Santa Ana is No. 9, and power forward Richard Solomon of Price HS is No. 12. Cal’s fourth oral commitment is from Alex Rossi, a wing player from New Trier HS in Winnetka, Ill.

This is the 31st year the Press Telegram has published results of its survey of college coaches, and forward Terrence Jones of Jefferson HS in Portland, Ore., earned top billing.

Salesian HS forward Desmond Simmons, committed to Washington, is a second-team choice, and De La Salle HS powerforward/center John McArthur, headed to Santa Clara, made the third team.

It goes without saying that every team in the Pac-10 — Cal included — would love to get a signature on a letter-of-intent this week from Josh Smith, the 6-foot-10, 270-pound center prospect from Kent, Wash.

Smith, rated as a top-20 player in the 2010 recruiting class by both Scout.com and Rivals.com, has given an oral commitment to UCLA. Smith picked the Bruins over hometown Washinton, and he should impact the Bruins early.

He’d better, because Smith has all the earmarks of a one-and-done player, quite possibly headed to the NBA after his freshman season. He hasn’t said as much, but with his size and potential, the NBA money will be a powerful magnet.

Cal apparently was involved with Smith on some level early, but the Bears never became a serious player in this process. Smith told Scout.com he’s been strongly leaning toward UCLA for quite some time.

As good as he may be, Smith does not fit the profile of the prospect with whom Mike Montgomery wants to build his program. Monty covets talented players who will become juniors and seniors, and if Smith gets to that point before bolting, I’ll be surprised.

This is no apology for Montgomery, who needs to find a true big man to complement the otherwise very solid four-man class he expects to sign Wednesday. This is just reality: The one-and-done types won’t form the foundation of Monty’s program because they aren’t foundations at all, just college basketball passers-by.

Even the most talented ones.

Devon Collier, a 6-8, power forward from St. Anthony’s HS in Jersey City, N.J., has committed to Oregon State, according to Scout.com, and is expected to make it official Wednesday when the fall letter-of-intent signing period begins. Collier, also recruited by Seton Hall and Providence, is rated as the nation’s No. 70 prospect, according to Scout.com.

Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins got his fifth commitment to the recruiting class of 2010 when Josh Huestis, a 6-7, 210-pound forward from CM Russell HS in Great Falls, Mont., picked the Cardinal over Harvard on Thursday night. Rivals. com and Scout.com both reported the news.

Huestis, who led his team to the Montana Class AA state title last year, also plays for a traveling team in Southern California. Other collegiate suitors included USC, Arizona State, Washington State and Marquette.

The news comes on the heels of word that sophomore guard Jeremy Green has been suspended from the team indefinitely for what Dawkins called violation of team rules. Media News reported that Green was arrested early Sunday morning for suspicion of felony domestic violence at a campus dormitory.

The case was under investigation, according to a spokesman for the Stanford University Department of Public Safety, and no charges had been filed as of Thursday afternoon.

USC coach Kevin O’Neill has added one more big piece to the Trojans’ puzzle for 2010-11, getting a commitment from 7-foot center DeWayne Dedmon of Antelope Valley JC. Scout.com reported that Dedmon picked the Trojans over the likes of UNLV, LSU, West Virginia, Texas and Cal.

He is a freshman — meaning he will have three years of eligibility when he arrives at USC next fall — and apparently just began playing basketball last year. Makes you wonder what a 7-footer has been doing with all his spare time in recent years.

The Arizona Daily Star has reported that Rod Odom, a 6-foot-8 forward prospect from the Middlesex School in Concord, Mass., has decommitted from Arizona and will sign next month with Vanderbilt.  Odom was rated as a top-100 prospect by both ESPNU and Rivals.com.

A report on Scout.com indicated Odom made the switch based strictly on academics.

– Meanwhile, Scout.com reported that Cole Dickerson, a 6-6 forward from Federal Way HS in Washington has committed to USF. Cole is the half-brother of former Arizona star and NBA player Michael Dickerson.

Power forward Dwight Powell’s recent commitment to Stanford has pushed the Cardinal to No. 8 on the latest national team recruiting rankings, according to Rivals.com. Stanford has four commitments, led by Toronto-born Powell, who is the No. 23 overall prospect on the Rivals list.

Cal, which also has a four-man class expected to sign beginning Nov. 11, checks in at No. 25.

The Cardinal and Bears are the only two Pac-10 schools on the Rivals’ top-25 list.

Here is the full list.

Robert Thurman, a 6-foot-10, 250-pound sophomore who played last season at NCAA Division III Norwich University, has joined the Bears as a walk-on.

Thurman averaged 11.4 points and 6.9 rebounds as a freshman last year, leading the 7-19 Cadets in both categories. He also topped the team with 42 blocked shots. Thurman had 34 points in one game against Suffolk and earned all-Great Northeast Athletic Conference third-team honors.

Thurman will red-shirt this season as a transfer, but will be eligible to practice with the team. Norwich is a military school in Northfield, Vt., founded in 1819.