Friday July 29, 2022
By SAM CONNON
The Bruins have joined Kansas, Kentucky, LSU and others in the race for the consensus four-star wing.
With many of the nation's top programs already deep into their recruitment of a top small forward, the Bruins have officially entered the race.
UCLA men's basketball sent a scholarship offer to class of 2024 wing Amier Ali on Wednesday, the Montverde Academy (FL) prospect announced on Twitter. The 6-foot-8 Ali has seen his recruitment explode over the past few months, with the Bruins marking just the latest team to jump on board.
Ali did not have a single offer before the first evaluation period of the year back in April, but he has grown his recruitment far beyond that in the ensuing months. All in the span of five days, Ali added offers from Texas Tech, Memphis, Kansas State, Kentucky, Alabama, Ohio State, LSU and Wake Forest.
Kansas and Arizona State came calling with offers a few weeks later, followed by Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Oregon in June.
Ali stars for Houston Hoops on the Nike EYBL circuit, and he has been steadily crawling up the rankings this spring and summer thanks to his abilities as a three-level scorer.
ESPN, Rivals, On3 and 247Sports all have Ali pegged as a four-star recruit and top-35 player in the country. In the 247Sports Composite, Ali comes in as the No. 6 recruit in Florida, the No. 8 small forward in the nation and the No. 30 player in his entire class.
The long wing earned plenty of praise at the Pangos All-American Camp in June, even putting up 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists in one of the exhibition games. A month later, Ali shined at the Nike Peach Jam and further cemented himself as one of the top small forwards in the nation.
Last year, Ali participated in Team USA Men's U16 National Team training camp. Not long after, Ali transferred to Montverde, where he served mostly as a reserve for the eventual 2022 Geico Nationals tournament champions.
Ali's family is from Somalia, but he was born in Philadelphia and grew up in Ohio and Texas.
UCLA continues to look outside of California for its 2024 recruiting class, with 11 of their 14 offers going to out-of-state prospects.
The 2023 recruiting class will be pivotal – with as many as eight scholarship spots opening up next offseason – and how it shakes out will likely determine how coach Mick Cronin and his staff approach 2024 moving forward.
