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Hey I'm out in St. Louis checking in on Cardinal Ritter where they have a number of talented prospects. The highest rated one is wide receiver Dejerrian Miller. I previously thought that his recruitment would come down to Tennessee and Mizzou but after spending time at the school, I really like where UCLA is with him. The staff has made a big impression and have stayed in constant contact with him. He's visiting for the bye week next weekend and then plans to make a decision the following week.

Good news could be coming if the visit goes well.

This does not include wings like Kobe Johnson, Eric Dailey Jr. and Lazar Stefanovic since the bulk of those minutes will likely be at the three. It made more sense to give them their own preview to not clutter this up.

It’s a more formal version of my first impression notes in the scrimmage thread:

I know it’s not prime recruiting season, but it is coming up soon. It’s all a jumble now because we have no idea who stays, who transfers, who goes pro, how much hs kids need in NIL, and for our team, who is disgruntled by lack of PT.

But it seems like we should have 2-3 quality freshmen every year that understand the whole landscape and value what UCLA offers.

In a perfect world, we could get an elite prospect plus a couple of really good prospects each year. If one is good enough, they stay 2 years and go pro. One transfers, and the other plays by year 2 and stays 4 years. That provides a base of 8-9 homegrown players on the team at any given time. Add in a couple of transfer portal guys and a couple of transfers who still have eligibility and you have everything you need.

It seems the schools and coaches who need to remake their roster with 5+ transfers a year can’t develop talent or have such deep pockets that they can buy whatever they want. I hope this year is an aberration and we don’t have 8 new players every year.

5 new guys is a healthy way to grow a team but 8 every year is chaos and feels more like fantasy football than college basketball.

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Safeties coach Brian Norwood and offensive line coach Juan Castillo have been busy tonight.

Dyakonov was on the visitor list for the Minnesota game. He’s HS teammates with four-star WR Jameson Powell and both camped at UCLA in June.

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Jett Washington, a four-star athlete at Las Vegas Bishop Gorman ranked 178th overall nationally in the 2026 class, was offered Wednesday afternoon by UCLA.

It looks like he is being recruited as a safety.

He is the nephew of former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant.

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Napa (Calif.) Prolific Prep 7-footer Obinna Ekezie Jr. announced Wednesday morning that he’s been offered by UCLA.

He’s ranked 15th nationally in the 2027 class.

The UCLA men’s basketball program announced Wednesday that it will honor the late Bill Walton during the Feb. 23, 2025 game against Ohio State at Pauley Pavilion.

“It’s a difficult reality to know we’re getting ready to start a basketball season in Westwood without Bill’s presence,” UCLA head coach Mick Cronin said in a statement announcing the gesture. “He will forever be an icon in our great game, and his memory will forever live on at UCLA. For our program, especially over the past 12 seasons, he’s been a fixture while working as a broadcaster. On gamedays, he routinely chatted with our players, he shared advice with me, and he meant so much to everyone around our program. We want to honor Bill this season, and we’re grateful to have the support of his family. After conversations with his former teammates and with the blessing of his family, we wanted to select a game when we’re at home on the weekend, playing before a national television audience.”

The game will be nationally televised on CBS at 12:45 p.m.

UCLA will honor Walton during a halftime ceremony that afternoon and throughout the game itself. Fans at the contest against Ohio State will receive an exclusive, commemorative poster that celebrates Walton’s life and legacy. In addition, UCLA students will receive a custom tie-dyed T-shirt to celebrate Walton’s larger-than-life personality.

About to get underway