Freshman Jonah Bolden Ruled Ineligible, Per ESPN
Mar 27, 2014; Memphis, TN, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Steve Alford reacts during the first half in the semifinals against the Florida Gators during the south regional of the 2014 NCAA Mens Basketball Championship tournament at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports
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The UCLA basketball team will be without one of their players from a Top 10 recruiting class as forward Jonah Bolden was ruled ineligible, per ESPN. The five-star rated big man from Brewster Academy in New Hampshire via Findlay Prep in Las, Vegas Nevada via Australia was set to play a major role on this year’s squad, but will have to sit out the 2014-15 season.
The ruling is due to “Bolden leaving Australia after his senior season had begun to attend Findlay Prep in Las Vegas” as stated in the ESPN article.
UCLA's heralded freshman class took a significant hit as one of the players has been ruled ineligible by NCAA. Story: http://t.co/okNJWbTBXD
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) September 12, 2014
Bolden will able to participate and practice with UCLA this season while he stays on scholarship. Either way, Bolden might have also been looking ahead as he has apparently viewed UCLA as a one-year stop.
Freshman F Jonah Bolden told me he's coming into this #UCLA season with the mindset that he'll be one-and-done ($): https://t.co/l3zuBMohFP
— Edward Lewis (@Edward__Lewis) August 5, 2014
As of now, it looks like he will have a minimum of two-years as he would be cleared for next year. Still, for the up-coming season, the Bruins now only have junior Tony Parker, sophomore Wanaah Bail and Freshmen Gyorgy Goloman, Kevon Looney and Thomas Welsh, which is still a very formidable group. Young, but very talented. Sure it might be easier to manage, but having Bolden active would have been a big positive for the Bruins.
#UCLA freshman Jonah Bolden is a partial qualifier and will not be able to compete for the men's basketball team this season.
— Bruin Report Online (@BruinReport) September 12, 2014