Tulane forward Dylan Osetkowski could be a nice fit in Cal’s frontcourt.
Cuonzo Martin’s staff hopes to make up for a disappointing 2016 signing class with a big transfer or two.
If forwards Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb declare for June’s NBA draft, the Bears would have three open scholarships for next season. Graduate transfers who can play immediately are preferable, of course. But Martin is also looking at players who wouldn’t be eligible until 2017-18.
So far, reports have linked Cal to three transfer options. Here are the basics:
Name: Jimmy Whitt
Position: Point guard
Measurements: 6-foot-4, 173 pounds
School: Arkansas
2015-16 stats: 6.1 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game
Briefly: The former four-star recruit enjoyed a promising start to his freshman season at Arkansas. But after scoring in double digits in five of his first six games, Whitt scored 10 or more points only four times the rest of the way. He finished the season shooting 38.7 percent from the field. Under NCAA rules, Whitt will have to sit out a year. A redshirt season would give him time to add muscle and refine his shooting mechanics. If he chooses Cal, Whitt could be an instant-impact player. That 2017-18 Bears backcourt would be replacing Jabari Bird, Jordan Mathews and Sam Singer.
Name: Grant Mullins
Position: Guard
Measurements: 6-foot-3, 175 pounds
School: Columbia
2015-16 stats: 13.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game
Briefly: Mullins left Columbia because the Ivy League declares graduate students ineligible to play. With his final year of eligibility, the Ontario native figures to try proving he can thrive in a bigger conference. Mullins shot 46.8 percent from the field last season, including 43.9 percent from beyond the arc. Though not necessarily a star-making addition, he could be a valuable rotation player for Cal. The Bears are moving forward without all-Pac-12 point guard Tyrone Wallace. Per ESPN’s Jeff Borzello, Cal, Michigan, Syracuse and Hawaii were among the first schools to contact Mullins.
Name: Dylan Osetkowski
Position: Forward
Measurements: 6-foot-8, 245 pounds
School: Tulane
2015-16 stats: 11.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game
Briefly: The San Juan Capistrano native will be one of the most in-demand frontcourt players on the transfer market. As a sophomore last season, he was the third leading scorer for a Tulane team that won just 12 games and finished at the bottom of the American Athletic Conference. Even if Rabb and Brown came back next season, they almost surely wouldn’t be around by the time Osetkowski was eligible in 2017-18. The Bears could use his skill and experience along a frontcourt that might be offensively challenged. Kameron Rooks and Kingsley Okoroh, after all, don’t figure to win any scoring titles. According to Borzello, Osetkowski has heard from Cal, Texas, Arizona, Mississippi State and Colorado State, among others.
Other potential transfer options for Cal: College of Charleston guard Canyon Barry (grad transfer), New Mexico guard Cullen Neal (grad transfer with two years of eligibility), Harvard guard Patrick Steeves (grad transfer), Presbyterian forward DeSean Murray
Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cletourneau@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Con_Chron
