Over the last several weeks, much has been said about Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb, the two incoming freshmen expected to turn Cal into a national championship contending team. Given that both guys are expected to be top-ten picks in the 2016 NBA Draft, the attention and hype placed on them is understandable.
But there is one other incoming player of interest that hasn't been talked about, and that is junior small forward Stephen Domingo, a transfer from Georgetown. Part of why he hasn't been talked about has to do with the fact that he transferred to Cal last season but had to sit out due to NCAA transfer rules. So, in a way Cal is getting a new player and in a way they are not. Domingo has been in the program for a year, but he hasn't yet played in a game.
A big reason why you won't read many articles about him has to do with the fact that he is somewhat of an enigma. He graduated from Saint Ignatius high school in San Francisco a year early and went to Georgetown as a four-star recruit at the age of 17. Prior to playing for the Hoyas, he helped lead Team USA to the 2012 FIBA Under-17 championship along with many future NBA players like Justise Winslow (Heat), Dakari Johnson (Thunder), Jabari Parker (Bucks), Jahlil Okafor (76ers), Stanley Johnson (Pistons), and Tyus Jones (Timberwolves). During the 2012 FIBA Under-17 championships, he averaged 7.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, including a 17 point game against Australia and a 16 point game against China.
For him to even make the FIBA Under-17 USA team shows how highly recruited and hyped he was coming out of high school. There are plenty of fantastic high school players with NBA promise who aren't selected to make that team. With all the hype and expectations, it is fair to ask ourselves why he didn't pan out at Georgetown and whether or not all the hype was for nothing. That is really where the enigma part comes in.
After having such a fantastic basketball career prior to joining Georgetown, his time at Georgetown was hardly anything to get excited about. During his two years at Georgetown, he played a grand total of 39 games with an average of just 5.1 minutes per game. During those limited minutes, he averaged just .7 points, .3 assists, .1 steals, and .1 blocks. As for his shooting percentages, he shot 40% from the foul line, 11.1% from three-point range, and 27.5% from the field. Those are really bad numbers, but given the limited amount of minutes that he got, it's hard to say if those numbers really indicate that he was simply over hyped.
During his freshman season, future Wizards small forward Otto Porter, Jr. ate up a lot of the minutes at small forward, which is Domingo's most natural position given his 6'7" 210 lb. body frame. It's not a huge surprise that he didn't get many minutes during his freshman season considering Porter's presence. However, once Porter left for the NBA, Domingo didn't do any better during his sophomore season. He continued to ride the pine and not get a lot of minutes when there was certainly an opening at the small forward position. It was at this point that he decided to transfer to Cal and sit out a season.
Last season, Domingo worked out and practiced with the Cal basketball team but wasn't allowed to play in any games. In essence, he was a practice player. He got to learn the system, work on his game, and develop his body for a season.
What's amazing is that he is just 20 years old and he won't turn 21 until May 2016. Despite sitting out for a full season due to transferring, Stephen Domingo is still really young. It is possible that Georgetown simply didn't give him enough time to grow and develop. It is also possible that he simply began playing at the Division 1 level before he was ready.
But now that he is 20 years old and has spent the last season as a practice player, there is hope that he can have a renaissance at Cal and flower into the player that he was originally expected to become. At the very least, there is hope that he can become an integral part of the 2015-16 team and help them achieve their goals of winning a national championship.
Now, as far as what type of player he is, he is supposed to be a really good three-point shooter. During his time with Team USA at the FIBA U-17 games, he shot 35.9% from three-point range (5/8 against Australia and 3/5 against Egypt). Expect Domingo to stretch the floor with his three-point shooting abilities and average anywhere from 7-9 points per game. It's possible he averages more points than that, but given the fact that Jaylen Brown, Ivan Rabb, Jordan Mathews, and Tyrone Wallace will do the bulk of the scoring, I really don't see Domingo averaging in double figures. That doesn't mean he won't be effective, it's just the way things are given Cal's stacked lineup.
In conclusion, Stephen Domingo is a player who Cal fans should be aware of as we enter the 2015-16 season. He was a four-star recruit who was projected to be playing in the NBA when his career began at Georgetown. While it is true that things didn't go the way he hoped they would during his time with the Hoyas, there is still plenty of hope that with some maturation and seasoning during the past year, he can be a difference maker on the 2015-16 team. I'm excited to see what he brings to the table!
---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord for NBA news and Cal basketball updates
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