Carl Foster on Fresno State's incoming recruitng class

Okay, much more than a day late and about a stimulus package cost short, we finally talked with someone who knows three of Fresno State's incoming recruits quite well.

Carl Foster (pictured here) is a longtime San Francisco Bay Area basketball figure and Slam N Jam Director (Drew Gooden's Soldiers) -- high quality bonafides -- and nothing takes place in prep basketball in and around northern California without him having the 411.

So without further ado, here is Carl Foster on Chris Jones, Jerry Brown and Greg Smith, three fourths of the recruiting class heading to Fresno State for the 2009-2010 season.

He began by describing all three as "really nice kids" and then the focus was on Chris Jones.

"Chris Jones is a tremendous competitor defensively who is opportunistic offensively ... he's versatile, comfortable with or without the ball and can play the point in college and manage his club because there are only a few teams that pressure ... he's very focused and gets after it ... whatever his team needs, he will do because he's a high character person and all about the team."

In a past article we wrote about Jones, we jokingly described him as "coming out of the womb in the defensive position..." That's what he does best -- Jones doesn't care about scoring a lot of points. We still believe he will be more comfortable and a greater asset if he doesn't have to direct a team and there seems to be confirmation of that with Steve Cleveland's pursuing a point for the April signing period. Also, Jones' father is a pastor.

As for Jerry Brown:

"Steve Cleveland uses a slightly different playing style than when he was at BYU and Brown is perfect for the [Fresno State] fast-pace style ... he loves using his instincts and energy to dominate the game ... he's willing to get after it and out-work and out-hustle others ... Brown is more of a point forward, working the seams and out of the high post."

Lee Hubbard, who writes for NorCalPreps, recently wrote this about Brown: "The athletic forward is doing it all on both ends of the court. Scoring, rebounding and defending and the Fighting Irish are starting to make a run as a result of his stellar play."

And now Greg Smith:

"Greg Smith can be the X factor in a mid major program ... he's an excellent athlete and looks like a Greek God ... Smith is a post guy, a power player, who also likes to float but he will establish an interior presence and give you 11-13 points in the hole. He is more nonchalant than the other two."

We had previously used former Kansas Stater Michael Beasley -- a one-and-doner -- as a level of talent example beyond Smith's ranking, with the point also being that our expectation was that Smith would be at Fresno State four years and not be an early entry candidate. Foster believes former NBA-er Brian Grant (Kings, Trailblazers, Heat, Lakers, Suns and Celtics) is a more appropriate Smith style and potential comparison.

So there you have it.