Season isn't over yet: UCLA Basketball Recruiting

Bruinette has a very good article on the front page on basketball but I think it is too early to close the books on the 2014-15 season.  A key part of that season is not over yet.  That part, of course, is recruiting.

Last year, Steve Alford hit one home run on recruiting and had some spectacular strikeouts on point guards.  Kevon Looney was a home run.  We can debate endlessly on whether the failures on point guard were because Steve Alford really did not want a point guard so his son could have the position.  Anyway you look at it, he failed in point guard recruitment.

Kevon though was a home run.  Yes, I realize his numbers were not the greatest nor is he going down in any UCLA record books.  However, Kevon showed he was truly a 5 star recruit with elite ability.

Which brings us to this year.  We are losing Kevon and Norman Powell.  I would argue our two best players but on one can argue they are our two best ATHLETES.  We need an elite recruit to step in from day one and take their place.  I am not expecting the leadership of Powell necessarily but we desperately NEED an elite athlete.

That is why I don't think we can grade the season until we know about recruiting is done.  There may be another elite athlete out there but it looks like UCLA is really betting all its eggs on Brown.

That would be Jaylen Brown, the 6-foot-7 forward from Wheeler High School who is rated as the state's No. 1 prospect, along with No. 2 overall in the nation. . .

"My guess is that it's going to be two or three more weeks with him," said Rivals.com's Dan McDonald. "I think he's trying to sit down and meet with his family and the coaches. He's trying to figure out what he wants to do.

"I don't want to say Georgia is out yet, but it seems pretty unlikely that they are going to get him. I think UCLA, Kansas and Kentucky are going to be in the forefront of that one. We'll see how it all plays out."

Brown is that big a deal.  Alford pursued Brown over local kids.  In other words instead of 2-3 4 stars, Alford went for a big national 5 star.  It worked for Looney, will it work for Brown?

UCLA needs Brown or else the team is going to be facing a seeming "athlete deficit" and its star may very well be Tony Parker.  We are running out of Howland leftovers.  Brown could be the star of the team by PAC 12 time.

So it looks like at least three more weeks before we can close the books.

Come Brown and join a fellow Georgian Tony Parker.

Go Bruins.