Lonzo Ball Leads No. 14 UCLA to Wooden Legacy Title Over Texas A&M
Freshman point guard Lonzo Ball went for
Freshman point guard Lonzo Ball went for
By JILL PAINTER LOPEZ
FULLERTON, Calif. (AP) — UCLA senior guard Bryce Alford wants the ball in his hands during critical moments at the end of games. He had it, and he delivered, scoring 14 of his 18 points in the second half to pace the No. 14 Bruins to a 82-71 victory over Nebraska in the Wooden Legacy semifinals Friday at Cal State Fullerton.
The Bruins (6-0) will play Texas A&M in Sunday’s championship game at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
Alford made a 3-pointer with 1:02 left to give UCLA a 77-66 lead. He made all four of his free throws after that. Isaac Hamilton scored 15 points and Lonzo Ball added 13 for UCLA. Center Thomas Welsh had his fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Kris Wilkes, the 6-foot-8 small forward from Indianapolis (IN) North Central, committed to UCLA over Indiana and Illinois on Sunday.
Assistant coach David Grace gets the assist.
All signs had pointed to Wilkes picking the Bruins after Brian Bowen cancelled his recent visit to UCLA.
“When I took my official visit there it just felt right to me,” Wilkes told Scout.com. “I just felt it was the perfect spot and it felt like home. All of the schools recruiting me did a great job, and I thank them very much for their interest, but I was more comfortable with UCLA.
“I watched a lot of tape and did a lot of research into the roster, and I saw all the centers and power forwards they had on their roster so I knew I’d be playing my position,” Wilkes said. “I was just very confident that I would develop there, and that I could reach my potential in their system.”
With Kris Wilkes' commitment to UCLA imminent,
BY CHIP MILLER
Only one day after watching targets Carlton Bragg and Jayson Tatum, Kentucky head coach John Calipari was in Marietta, Georgia to see Jaylen Brown, the No. 2 prospect in the 2015 class according to 247Sports.
With five current Kentucky players on the DraftExpress 2015 Mock Draft and with two more — Trey Lyles and Devin Booker — gaining more praise from NBA scouts, Calipari is wasting no time in looking to secure Kentucky’s fourth commitment in the 2015 class.
BY CHIP MILLER
Kentucky head coach John Calipari is on hand Friday to see 2015 Cleveland (OH) Villa Angela-St.Joseph five-star forward Carlton Bragg at the Cancer Research Classic in Wheeling, W.V.
Kansas head coach Bill Self and assistant Norm Roberts and Illinois assistant Dustin Ford are also expected.
SNY.tv confirmed what was first reported by the Lexington-Herald.
Bragg, and his Villa Angela teammates, will face Arlington Country Day (Fla), which features 2015 top 100 forward Tulio Da Silva and 2016 Top 100 guards Mario Kegler and Lamonte Turner.
