Kobe Paras Withdraws From UCLA

This morning, the UCLA Athletic Department put out the following statement on incoming freshman basketball player Kobe Paras.

Incoming freshman guard Kobe Paras, admitted upon condition to UCLA, has withdrawn from the university due to academic conditions of his admission not being met.

This is a significant blow to UCLA’s freshman class because the size of basketball recruiting classes is generally much smaller than, say, a football recruiting class.

Ultimately, it was Paras’ responsibility to make sure he met the academic conditions of his admission.

At the same time, Steve Alford and his staff should have been monitoring the situation better to prevent an issue like this.

Considering everything else that has gone on with the basketball program over the past few months, situations like this illustrate why hope is not a strategy.

Go Bruins.