A Point Guard Chooses UCLA

UCLA finally got its point guard recruit, Aaron Holiday just announced for UCLA.  First off Aaron is the second ranked point guard in the nation for the class of 2015 according to this Scout list.  ESPN has him much lower at only a 79 but in any case he is really good but not a 5 star ,at least not yet, like his NBA Point Guard brother Jrue was at this point.

Regardless he is the real deal and he ends UCLA very long drought of point guard recruiting.  While this is a victory for the current coaching staff, this really is a UCLA not an Alford recruit.  This is because the Holiday family loves UCLA.

His sister, Lauren, plays for UCLA's women's team.

His commitment is a triumph for new Coach Steve Alford, who had to re-recruit the family after Jrue's experience under former Coach Ben Howland.

Most UCLA coaches not named Howland could have recruited Aaron.  Aaron’s older brother Jrue loved UCLA and met his wife fellow Bruin Lauren Cheney at UCLA.  He just hated Ben Howland.

We have been very critical of Steve Alford pushing Bryce so much as a point guard, in part because that scared away point guard recruits.  Alford overcame that to convince Holiday to come to UCLA.  We would have been very critical of Alford if Aaron had not come but to say a triumph for Steve seems far fetched.  Of course, we still don't have a point guard next season.

However, it is great to have the Holiday family back in the UCLA fold with Aaron.  This is a prime example of why recruiting at UCLA is not that hard compared to many other schools.  Some videos:

Welcome Aaron.  Go Bruins.