The UCLA basketball team could potentially lose another underclassmen as PF Cody Riley is the third Bruin to declare for the NBA Draft but not hire an agent.
Yesterday it was reported that UCLA basketball power forward Cody Riley is going to test the waters of the NBA Draft. He is the third freshman to do so as Jaylen Hands and Kris Wilkes announced their intentions a few weeks ago.
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The interesting part about all of this is that Riley did not played a single game for the Bruins except a few minutes in their exhibition contest prior to the 2017-18 season.
Few more names that hit the early entry list: Cody Riley, Tremont Waters, Lamonte Bearden.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 24, 2018
Riley, along with fellow freshman Jalen Hill and LiAngelo Ball, were suspended following the shoplifting incident that happened in China during the Pac-12 Goodwill Tour.
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Head coach Steve Alford had suspended Riley and Hill for the entirety of the season after returning home from China (Ball was pulled out of school by his father LaVar Ball before the decision). Both players were allowed to remain with the team and practice, but they would not play the entire season.
That is what makes this decision by Riley slightly questionable.
Riley is a very athletic power forward that has the ability to score in the paint. Unfortuately, scouts do not have a lot to go on as the last time he actually did play was in high school. He is a very talented individual, but it doesn’t make sense to enter the NBA draft especially after his inexcusable decision to steal from three stores in Shanghai last November.
If anything, he’s playing it smart by not hiring agent, leaving the door open to return to UCLA if he doesn’t get positive feedback By NBA scouts.
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UCLA is expected to be a favorite to win the Pac-12 next season, but if they lose Riley, Hands, Wilkes, on top of losing upperclassmen Aaron Holiday, Thomas Welsh and Gyorgy Goloman, the Bruins could be in a spot of trouble despite bringing in the #4 recruiting class in the nation.