Spurned by several top prep big men in the nation over the past
few months, UCLA men’s basketball coach Ben Howland finally
got his man.
Ryan Wright, the top Canadian prospect in this year’s
senior class, became the first post player to verbally commit to
UCLA this year when he told Howland on Monday afternoon that he
plans to enroll next September.
The 6-foot-8, 230-pound power forward’s decision should
help ease the sting of a couple of near-misses in recruiting over
the past calendar year. UCLA was a finalist for Kansas transfer
David Padgett and Seattle native Jon Brockman, but they instead
chose Louisville and Washington, respectively.
“I felt comfortable with the guys at UCLA,” Wright
told RivalsHoops.com. “Ben Howland and his staff are doing
the right things there … to turn the program around and make it
better. I’m going to get better because of that.”
Wright, a native of Ontario, Canada, reportedly narrowed his
choices to UCLA, Stanford and Michigan State several months ago
before taking official visits to all three schools. He visited the
UCLA campus on the weekend of Oct. 2, but did not begin his final
evaluation process until after a trip to Stanford the weekend
after.
“After I came back from UCLA, I knew they led for
me,” Wright said. “I wanted to go everywhere and ask
all the questions I had because I didn’t want to have any
regrets.”
A consensus top-60 player in this year’s senior class,
Wright should see immediate playing time as a freshman. Though only
backup Josiah Johnson will graduate from this year’s front
court, UCLA is already thin at the power forward position behind
likely starter Ryan Hollins.
One of the most athletic big men ever to come out of Canada,
Wright averaged 17 points and 9 rebounds per game as a junior at
Loyola Catholic High School. He runs the floor well for his size,
and he has impressed coaches with his tremendous leaping
ability.
Wright, the second player to commit to UCLA so far this year,
joins point guard Darren Collison in the Bruins’ class so
far.
Howland said last week that he would like to give out three or
four scholarships this year.
UCLA reportedly has also extended scholarship offers to a pair
of players from Cameroon, Alfred Aboya and Luc Mbah a Moute. Aboya,
a 6-foot-8 post player, reportedly will decide between the Bruins
and Georgetown, and Mbah a Moute, a 6-foot-6 wing, is also
considering South Carolina.