UCLA Basketball: Looking at a few prospects for the 2018 recruiting class
Marvin Bagley III, PF/C
Sierra Canyon High School Chatsworth, CA
The 6’11” Bagley is easily the star of the 2018 class. Last season he put up 24.4 points and 9.7 rebounds a game while leading Sierra Canyon to the CIF Open Division semifinals.
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He has advanced skills on offense and, according to nbadraftroom.com, “can change the game with his defensive presence in the lane.”
Already projected by some to be the first pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Bagley’s caliber of talent could take UCLA to the next level.
UCLA remains one of Bagley’s choices. A strong push by Alford and Co. this year could keep this top talent in Southern California. It also doesn’t hurt that fellow Sierra Canyon teammate Cody Riley has already committed to the Bruins for this season.
It may be easy for these and other high school stars to choose Kentucky, Duke, or Kansas thinking that this will increase their chances of being drafted. And it might. But UCLA also sends a good number of players to the NBA. Since 2010, UCLA leads the Pac-10/12 with players drafted in both the first round (9) and overall (13).
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A deep run into the NCAA tournament and two or three players taken in the first round of next year’s draft could go a long way for UCLA’s future. This would make a strong case for themselves as a top school in the West for players looking to showcase their talents and ready themselves for the jump to the NBA.