Today is a good day for UCLA basketball. Not only did he win top 100 prospect Devin Williams, but he beat rival USC in the process.
In NCAA basketball, some recruiting battles tend to be complicated. And then there was four-star Devin Williams, a consensus Top 100 contender for the 2023 class. He’s from Corona, California, where he’s an hour away from Los Angeles. And before making a decision, it became clear that he wanted to stay close to his home because of his two options: UCLA basketball and his USC Trojans.
Both programs had a lot to offer the 6’10 power forward, but there were clear differences from a roster standpoint. UCLA’s expected starter is Jaime Jaquez, a senior and likely to be there for another year. For USC, four-star freshman Kijani is likely to be Wright, someone with professional potential but who could be years away from leaving.
Therefore, on paper, bruins had an advantage. And they ended up being the big winners after the decision was made official on Sunday night.
Williams It will be the first commitment in the 2023 class and the first of what could be a large group. Here is a UCLA roster that could lose Amari Bailey, Tiger Campbell and David Singleton in the backcourt and Jacquez and Adem Bona in the frontcourt. They’re mixed for five-star point guard Isaiah Collier, top 30 shooting guard Andrei Stojakovic, and five-star big man Aaron Bradshaw.
The good news is that Williams has negated one need for the Bruins at power forward. He’s athletic his scorer, he’s also solid defensively and should make an early impact. The team has used several smaller lineups in recent years, but now Cronin and his coach can have a big frontcourt to work on going forward.
Most importantly, UCLA beat USC in the recruitment process and hopes to do the same for Collier in the coming months. The Bruins beat his local rival last season with his 2-1 win, and in the 2023 class he’s 1-0 thanks to Devin Williams.
