By SAM LANCE
Class of 2026 four-star point guard Mason Magee took the first official visit of his recruitment process to Cal from April 25-27.
Magee — the 6-foot, 170-pound point guard from Basha (AZ) and the Compton Magic Adidas 3SSB AAU program — was offered by Cal in December 2024 and has since built a solid rapport with the coaching staff.
On his visit, Magee participated in several activities with the staff, including going to the San Francisco Giants game during Cal night on Friday. The next day, Magee toured the campus, took some cool media day pictures and then met some of the other personnel on the staff like the strength and conditioning and health and wellness coach.
“It was my first official visit, which I think is going to be a really important deciding factor when it comes to making a decision,” Magee told ZAGSBLOG. “It’s obviously very special to me that they believe in me, and they’re showing they believe in me so early as to have me on an official visit. The love that I received from all the coaches all weekend — and not just one coach because you know how sometimes it’s just one coach that’s recruiting you — but for me it’s the whole staff. Mark Madsen, we’ve built a really good relationship. It was just good to get up there and see what they do, kind of how things work. How they envision me in their program and what they have to offer. It was special. It was really fun.”
Magee’s favorite moment from the visit was going to a steakhouse for dinner on Saturday night before he left the next morning.
“I forget the name of it, but they just kept bringing steak,” Magee said. “Different kinds of steak over and over and over. It was really good.”
As for Madsen’s main message?
“Just telling me how they believe in me and how they envision me in a Cal uniform,” Magee said. “You know, running their offense. The plan that they would have for me as a student athlete there at Cal. We went over some film. We talked about situational stuff and obviously we already have a close relationship, so it was easy for us to be transparent with each other. We talked about the transfer portal and some of the effects it would have on me. And just like the landscape of college basketball and how it’s shifting. But it was good. Really good.”
Another thing that stood out to Magee was how modern, yet classic Cal’s campus looked. He loved the views and said when he toured the fraternity row, it was “live.” That was on Saturday, and many students were outside having fun. He could also tell the facilities were “top notch.”
“Overall, it was very chill, very relaxed, but it was very informative,” Magee said. “They showed me how everything would work, where I would stay and stuff like that. So it was good.”
Right now, Magee doesn’t have any other visits set in stone. He’s likely going to trip Houston sometime in the fall and St. Louis sometime this summer. Both of those schools have been in to see Magee at Basha, with Houston coming twice recently.
“They’re the defending runner up,” Magee said of Houston. “There was a guard that was named Jamal Shead, and he was one of my favorite players. Every time I used to watch them play I would always envision myself in his role. So I just think that it’s a dream come true that they’re even considering me to attend their school and play for them. But we just talk about the role I’d have and the process that I would have to go through in order to become on of those guys, those Houston guys. So I think it’s important that they’re getting out here and making an effort to come see me. Not a lot of schools and coaches will do that, so I think that speaks volumes.”
Magee loves how Houston develops point guards.
“It’s very obvious and apparent that they take pride and rely heavily on their point guard, which is why it’s so sacred to them I feel like,” Magee said. “It’s also why a number of their point guards go to the NBA or end up having really successful college careers. I think they pour so much into the point guard, the extension of the coach on the floor. And it shows. They play winning basketball. And yeah, it’s a credit to coach [Kelvin] Sampson and his coaching staff, just what it means to be a point guard.”
Along with Houston and St. Louis, Stanford and Washington have been in contact and have seen Magee at Basha. He broke down some of those other schools:
St. Louis: “They met with my coach and I. We just kind of got familiar. We talked for 30-35 minutes. Had some good conversation. Coach [Corey] Tate.“
Stanford: “Coach [Derrick] Wrobel was the leader of recruiting from my side of it. He came into my school a number of times. We built a relationship over these years that he’s recruiting me. Not too long ago for my playoff game, coach [Kyle] Smith came in and watched one of my playoff games. And we talked after. It’s just been good with them.”
Washington: “Washington is a good program. With the portal, I think they’ve been really heavy on the portal. So I haven’t heard a lot from Washington. But initially, I started to build a relationship with coach Danny Sprinkle, the head coach there. They came into see me.”
Magee is ranked the No. 90 overall prospect by 247Sports. Last time ZAGSBLOG chatted with Magee, he described himself a true point guard who can also get buckets. He’ll begin his summer with the Compton Magic the weekend of May 3 in Ladera Ranch (CA) for 3SSB’s first session.
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