The Weekly Commitment: UCLA’s Recruiting Class
In this article:
Who are the latest talents to commit to division one basketball programs and where do they fall in the various rankings in the Prep Hoops system? And what could happen recruiting wise at UCLA? Prep Hoops fills you in now!
Alford Fired, What Happens to the UCLA Class?
Last night UCLA Head Coach Steve Alford was fired as the Bruins Head Coach. Already national writers from around the country are predicting the next coach in Westwood (Fred Hoiberg? Jamie Dixon? Eric Musselman? Earl Watson?) but one of our first thoughts was, what about this recruiting class?
UCLA has signed three players: 4-star wing Jaime Jaquez (ranked 62nd overall), 4-star forward Jake Kyman (75th overall), and 3.5 star shooting guard Grant Sherfield (145th overall). The Bruins class is ranked 23rd overall.
The UCLA staff has also long been after available talent Matthew Hurt, Jaden McDaniels, Precious Achiuwa, Keion Brooks, and Cassius Stanley and the fan base still hopes a new staff can get back in on one or more of these players. But first the new staff will have to keep Jaquez and Kyman local and true to those National LOIs.
At the moment UCLA has a respectful ranking of 4th in the Pac 12 among team recruiting rankings. Bruin fans are looking for more than that especially considering that Arizona and crosstown rival USC have the best two classes in America. To close the gap the new UCLA coach will need to keep what they have, and then add another name or two to the group.
Pac 12 Team Recruiting Rankings
- Arizona (1st ranked nationally)
- USC (2)
- Oregon (10)
- UCLA (23)
- Utah (29)
- Arizona State (37)
- California (48)
- Oregon State (65)
- Washington (70)
- Washington State (71)
- Stanford (72)
- Colorado (no signed/committed players)
*** See the rest of the Prep Hoops national recruiting rankings here: https://prephoops.com/2018/11/ranking-the-top-150-recruiting-classes-in-america/
Arizona State Has a top 40 Class
The addition of 6-foot-9 power forward Jalen Graham to the Arizona State recruiting class brings the Sun Devils into the top 40 nationally with three commits/signed players. Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Kansas State were among the others to offer Graham, the 251st ranked player in the 2019 class by Prep Hoops and the 7th ranked player overall in Arizona’s senior group.
Arizona State now slots at 37th in the nation for team recruiting and sixth of twelve schools in the Pac 12. Signed point guard Jaelen House is the 126th ranked player in the nation by Prep Hoops while Alonze Verge is the 16th junior college player in the country (see a snippet of the Prep Hoops junior college rankings below).
The Junior College Prospect Rankings
- Khalid Thomas of College of Southern Idaho (Texas Tech)
- Dimon Carrigan of Odessa College
- Charles Manning Jr of Florida Southwestern State (LSU)
- Valdir Manuel of Harcum College (St. John’s)
- Nathaniel Jack of Eastern Florida State (Florida State)
- AJ Bramah of Sheridan College
- Jervay Green of Western Nebraska (Nebraska)
- Khadim Sy of Dayton State College
- Luka Basisic of Highland CC
- Ryan Murphy of New Mexico JC (Washington)
- Quenton Jackson of College of Central Florida
- Bryce Williams of Dayton State College (Ole Miss)
- Corbin Merritt of Dayton State College (Oklahoma)
- Chris Duarte of Northwestern Florida State College (Oregon)
- Atticus Taylor of Southwest Mississippi State College
- Alonzo Verge of Moberly Area CC (Arizona State)
- Tajzmel Sherman of Collin College
- Eric Parrish of Bossier Parrish CC (Nevada)
- Doudou Gueye of Daytona State College
- Wilfired Likayi of Casper College
*** The Prep Hoops list/ranking of junior college players eligible for four year schools next fall has not been fully released as of yet.
St. John’s Adds Key Transfer, Juco
St. John’s Head Coach Chris Mullin has yet to get a commitment from any of the big high school names he’s offered in the 2019 class but he has bolstered the future of his program by adding two key transfers: one from the junior college level and one as a mid-year transfer.
With a 12-1 record and an All-American candidate in Shamorie Ponds the Red Storm looks great entering league play. The recently added players will give the team a stronger frontcourt at this time next season. As shown above in the insert of our Prep Hoops junior college rankings, Valdir Manuel is the fourth ranked junior college prospect in the country. Mullin secured his commitment late last week.
Also, 6-foot-9 North Carolina State transfer Ian Steere is also an important addition. Steere played one game for NC State and left. Ian was a top 150 recruit in the 2018 class. Below you can see where Steere ranks in this insert of our Prep Hoops Transfer Rankings which at the moment only includes mid-year transfers (these rankings have yet to be released).
Prep Hoops Transfer Rankings
- Quade Green, PG, Kentucky to Washington
- Ian Steere, PF/C, NC State to St. John’s
- Miles Wilson, SG, Miami to ?
- Micah Potter, C, Ohio State to Wisconsin
- Chase Johnson, SF, Florida to ?
- Shamiel Stevens, SF, Pitt to Nevada
- AJ Oliver, SF, Clemson to Old Dominion
- Elijah Burns, PF, Notre Dame to ?
- Ashante Shivers, SG, Siena to ?
- Michael Lewis II, SG, Duquesne to ?
- Isiah Jasey, C, Texas A&M to SMU
- Najee Garvin, SF, Charlotte to ?
- Arinze Chidom, PF, Washington State to ?
- Antwan Walker, SF, Georgetown to Rhode Island
- Omar Thielema, SF, Arizona to Wright State
Columbia Adds Key Piece
Recruiting in the IVY League isn’t what it once was. One can consistently expect a couple four star talents to commit yearly to the IVY League for an education AND a strong basketball experience. Several national top 500 players are committed to play in the IVY League already and there could be more. Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Penn, and Brown all have national ranked recruits and Columbia recently jumped into the group with the landing of Edward Turner III out of Washington.
This isn’t just a luxury for Columbia, it’s a needed get. Turner is the 395th ranked senior in the nation according to Prep Hoops and a point guard that Columbia will use early and often. Turner also has Columbia approaching the top 150 area for college basketball team rankings. Four IVY League schools are in the top 100 this year! The Ivy League Team Recruiting Rankings are below with their national rank in parentheses.
IVY League Team Recruiting Rankings
- Harvard (53)
- Yale (90)
- Penn (94)
- Princeton (97)
- Brown (128)
- Columbia (156)
- Dartmouth (199)
- Cornell (297)