Cobbs to Cali.

Ok, so Mr. Cobbs is transferring, officially this time, to Cal.  Great.  Good for him.  Now he gets to play closer to home and be in a shitty conference.  I have to say though, I think he'd be much better served going to a mid-major type school rather than a BCS conference school - even in the worst conference.  I know we only got to see him for a year, but I don't think he'll be able to handle a starting gig in the Pac.

Do you think he'll be able to guard Malcolm Lee?  Isaiah Thomas (if he's still around when Cobbsy is eligible) would run circles around him.  The Pacific-10 might be in a down-cycle now, but they have some awfully good recruits coming in the next two years at the point.  Keala King at Arizona State and Ahmad Starks at Oregon State are already committed for 2010, and odds are guys like Anthony Wroten, Josiah Turner, and Jahii Carson will end up out there in 2011, right as he becomes eligible.  And Carson is a good bet to be a Golden Bear.  And that's not even mentioning Gary Franklin, a top-20 point guard and top-80 national recruit who is already heading to Cal next year.

About the only point guard he'll be able to guard in the conference is Lil' Romeo who, yes, is still at USC and will be a senior when Cobbs starts playing.

I just don't get this decision, and I'm not trying to rip the kid because I actually thought he would end up being a decent contributor and solid back-up PG down the line.  His reasons for transferring (outside of the understandable homesickness) were concerns about playing time and a dislike for Tubby's slow it down offense. But I don't see a real opportunity for more playing time at Cal, and the Bears are basically an average team in terms of tempo.  Faster than the Gophers, yes, but we aren't exactly talking Loyola-Marymount 1988 here.  Honestly Long Beach would have been perfect for him.  A big-time uptempo squad (38th) who can make the NCAA Tournament, and it's still a low-major so he'd have a chance to be a major contributor.

Fare thee well, Justin Cobbs.  I wish him luck.  I think he would have been best served sticking around and being the back-up PG for three more years and contributing that way instead of doing the exact same thing at Cal, but to each his own.  I just think he could have made a better choice.