May 17, 2007
Dreams do come true
The conventional wisdom earlier this season surrounding Acalanes High senior Jordan Fillmore was that he would continue playing basketball somewhere on the West Coast, more than likely in one of the mid level Division I conferences. But sometimes such wisdom is flat out wrong.
Jordan Filmore
But it was not to be.
No, the Acalanes High senior is going to be something beyond his wildest dreams-- a Bear-- having agreed to join Coach Ben Braun’s team in Berkeley.As Fillmore put this turn of events, "If I didn’t take this opportunity, then I would have regretted it 10 years from now. Cal’s in the PAC-10 and also is a very prestigious school educationally."
And the icing on the cake is that even though his current status is as an invited walk-on, Fillmore may very well be on scholarship all during his time at Cal. His status as a freshman will be based on the final decision of Bear center DeVon Hardin who has yet to decide if he will keep his name in the NBA draft pool or return for his senior season.
Early on in the season, both Coach Russ Scheibley and Fillmore expected that the star player for the Dons would more than likely be choosing from among various schools in the WCC. "Coach said I need to keep working and get better," Fillmore said.
But then Cal called. "The first question I was asked was ‘what did I think about Cal?’" Fillmore said.
Cal kept calling. The final contact turned into an invitation: "If you want to be a Bear, we’re here for you," was what Fillmore heard.
When asked where the Cal coaches see him on the court, Fillmore said, "I’ll be coming in as a 4 but they would also like to work me in as a 3."
Fillmore added, "First of all, I want to thank my aunt and uncle who took me in and have been so helpful and generous and also Lamont Gilbert who is a father figure to me. Also, Lou Richie for all the work he did with me."