UCLA Basketball: The Top 10 Recruiting Classes Since 2000

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Jan 13, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; General view of the UCLA Bruins logo before an NCAA basketball game against the Southern California Trojans at Pauley Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

9. 2009 Recruiting Class

5*: Tyler Honeycutt

4*: Mike Moser, Anthony Stover, Brendan Lane

3*: Reeves Nelson

Ben Howland did an excellent job recruiting, especially in the beginning when he was starting off of as the new Bruin head coach. Along the way he changed his approach to recruiting which became hit or miss, even with elite recruits.

Despite the fact that this 2009 class was bringing in a lot of talent, it would also the start of the downfall for the Bruins in the Howland era. The majority of these players had talent, but they also a bit too much attitude.

There was no denying that this team played competitive basketball, but off-court antics proved too much for Howland to handle. This lead to a Sports Illustrated expose on the Bruins as well as Howland and how he had lost control of the team and allowed a player like Reeves Nelson to dictate the path of the program.

This was a good recruiting class, but it did not amount to a lot.