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| Wednesday, February 7 |
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| A bear or bare market for bruins? By David Benezra and Mark Mayemura Special to ESPN.com | |||
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As has been the trend the last few years, more and more of the nation's elite players have been making early decisions to the nation's elite programs. What has been troubling to many UCLA fans is none of those "elite" players have given the Bruins a verbal decision.
UCLA has received a verbal commitment from 6-foot-10 Michael Fey (Capital High School/Olympia, Wash.), a young senior with a big frame and good potential. But the Bruins have not yet reeled in any of the big fish, in particular, from the
excellent talent available in the state of California this year.
In fact, early on it appeared that UCLA could possibly draw a doughnut on their "Fab Five" of 7-foot Tyson Chandler (Dominguez/Compton, Calif.); 6-11 Jamal Sampson (Mater Dei/Santa Ana, Calif.); 6-6 Josh Childress (Mayfair/Lakewood, Calif.); 6-5 Cedric Bozeman (Mater Dei/Santa Ana, Calif.), and 6-foot Aaron Miles (Jefferson/Portland, Ore.).
It is almost a certainty that the athletically gifted Chandler, whose game is starting to resemble that of Rasheed Wallace of the Portland Trailblazers, will enter the NBA Draft directly out of high school.
It is also very doubtful, despite some appearances to the contrary, that Childress will wind up at UCLA. Stanford is the leader over Kansas and Arizona. Miles could still somehow wind up at UCLA, but Arizona and Kansas have the edge. Miles will be at Arizona for Midnight Madness.
That leaves Bozeman and Sampson. Bozeman made an early verbal to UCLA, only to renege and declare himself open. It's no secret that Bozeman and his family have always wanted him to be a Bruin. The perception was that he
just wanted to be recruited and then go to Westwood.
That seems to have changed over time, as first Kansas, and then Florida, became prominent in his recruiting. Now it seems that it is Florida and UCLA ahead of Kansas. If it were strictly up to Bozeman, he would likely be a Gator
right now.
The problem is that the Gators are in Florida. The family is very close and really wants Bozeman to play at home at UCLA, where Bozeman can walk in and be a starter as a freshman from the moment he steps on campus for freshman orientation. Thus, this is a battle between Bozeman's desire and that of his family.
Sampson has been more puzzling. Sampson has never listed UCLA among his schools. Perhaps being cagier than his peers, in that Sampson has definitely wanted to be recruited nationwide. Kansas has oft been rumored as the leader. In addition to Kansas, Sampson's schools include St. Louis, Syracuse, Connecticut, Virginia and California.
St. Louis is doing better with Sampson than most would think. Head coach Lorenzo Romar, formerly a UCLA assistant and head coach at Pepperdine, has built a strong relationship with Sampson.
Another interesting note is that in looking at Sampson's list of schools, California is the only Pac-10 program and the only California
school in the group.
Were Childress to commit to Kansas, the Jayhawks could be the favorite for Sampson. Barring changes, Childress, Bozeman and Sampson are all scheduled to be at Kansas for Midnight Madness. It does not appear that Sampson will attend UCLA, despite heavy West Coast rumors that he will do so.
UCLA is considered the favorite for 6-7 Dijon Thompson (Redondo Union/Redondo Beach, Calif.), a multi-position player who has received less hype than Childress, but is a better player in our opinion. Childress does have a little more upside. Arizona is also recruiting Thompson.
It has been said that UCLA head coach Steve Lavin has nine lives. UCLA has managed to endure, despite a lot of turmoil during his tenure. But, the Bruins need a big class this year.
The departures of 6-11 junior Dan Gadzuric (leaving after this year for the NBA), 6-8 sophomore Jason Kapono (ditto), and 6-2 senior Earl Watson, will leave the Bruins "Bear-boned."
Signing Fey, Bozeman and Thompson would certainly help, but the Bruins need
a "UCLA-quality recruit" that can come in and play immediately at a high
level in the post, and there does not appear to be anybody with that
capability available to them right now.
In other news, 6-8 Travon Bryant, who played his high school ball at Jordan
in Long Beach, Calif., and committed to Missouri last year, is enrolled at Maine
Central Institute, and has re-affirmed his commitment to
Missouri.
Ed Starks, a talented scorer, will walk-on at Iona. Starks was hotly recruited by several high majors, including UNLV and committed to Rutgers originally. If Starks can make the grade, he could eventually team with 6-foot Solomon "Chilli" Brown (St. Thomas More/Oakdale, Conn.), who recently committed to the Gaels over Texas El-Paso and Long Beach State, giving Iona a high
major backcourt. Head coach Jeff Ruland got the Gaels into the NCAA
Tournament last year and they have been able to take a step up in their
recruiting.
Taurence Johnson (Faith Christian/Collingswood, N.J.), a much traveled and
very talented under-achiever with an 6-9 NBA body, has been gaffed by Florida
International -- a great get for FIU, which can afford to take a risk in
Johnson.
Georgetown received two more commitments from student-athletes at Montrose Christian in Rockville, Md., bringing the Hoyas' total from the school to three this fall. As expected, 6-1 point guard Tony Bethel committed to the Hoyas,
and so did 6-3 Drew Hall, joining the earlier commitment of 6-9 Harvey
Thomas -- one of the premier players in the class.
Greg Tinch (Westover/Albany, Ga.), a great 6-4 athlete who was coveted by Louisville and Tennessee among others, committed to Seton Hall. The Pirates, coached by Tommy Amaker, have definitely become the hottest "flavor" in the east.
David Benezra and Mark Mayemura cover the national college basketball recruiting scene, both high school and junior college recruiting, at their Recruiting USA (www.recruitingusa.com) website.
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